IDK…

My mom asked me a few months ago how many text messages I
thought my youngest brother sent out in a month.  I shot high and guessed 300-400…

She laughed in my face and informed me that he had, in fact,
sent over 3,000 text messages the previous month.  That’s literally 10 times as many as the other 5 family
members COMBINED.  (Luckily, all
the text messages are “In Network” and cost nothing.)  But the truth is, many of these messages are probably less
than 5 characters long… probably acronyms or abbreviations…and probably full of
cultural slang…

We have a whole vocabulary of slang we’ve developed for our
digital communication…

CUL8R

One of my favorites is “IDK” (“I don’t know”).  When I was thinking about writing this
blog, “IDK” flashed in my head and made me smile.  But if I think about what’s going on in my heart right now,
it’s not that “I don’t know”, it’s that maybe “I don’t care.”

I’ve referenced “The 8^th Habit” (a book I’m
plowing through right now that’s rocking my world) in my past few blogs and I
keep reading this same sentiment: you can have all the know-how, passion and
motivation, but all of that has to intersect with something the world
actually needs.

Too often we get disillusioned by the fact that our
“hobbies” don’t become our realities when, in fact, the things we enjoy doing
can still be channeled into a valuable contribution.

But the deeper issue is this: we have to choose to care.

It’s a sad commentary, but as defensive as we’d be to say
“but I DO care”, our actions speak far less.  Do we really care that people around the world are starving
to death?  Do we care that Thailand
has nearly 2 million slaves in the sex industry?  Do we really care that 51% of Swaziland is infected with the
HIV/AIDS virus?

Okay, let’s bring it down to earth a little.  Do we really care that our neighbor
next door just lost their job and can’t keep the lights on next month?  Do we really care that the teenagers
that pace the mall need their lives wrecked with a vision that’s greater than
themselves?

People who live their lives saying that these needs are
UNACCEPTABLY UNMET in our world do something about it. 

Our teams work with a ministry in Bangkok Thailand called
“Night Light”.  It employs women
who are willing and able to leave the sex industry a job and Christian
community.  They currently employ
80 of these women but the latest on their Web site says they have 22 women on
the list they just can’t afford to pay that would get out if they could.  We’re talking $250 here…$250 to get
women out of sex slavery THAT WANT TO LEAVE!

Adventures in Missions feeds orphans in Kenya, Swaziland and
India through the Sound of Hope campaign. 
Do you have any idea how far $1 goes in these countries? 

This isn’t a petition to give (though that’d be awesome), it’s
an example of things people have done to
meet needs that are unacceptably unmet in our world.

Passion, gifts and motivation have intersected with
something that really matters, a genuine need in our world.

Here’s the thing: contributions come in all shapes and
sizes.  You may not go to Bangkok,
but you might buy the jewelry Night Light sells.  You may not adopt an orphan, but you may help raise
awareness for Sound of Hope.

I spend my time training and mobilizing hundreds of missionaries
to go to all these places.  My
method of meeting these unacceptably
unmet needs in the world is to multiply myself by being a part of not one
person going (me) but literally hundreds who can meet these needs. 

I need supporters to continue this.  Your contribution may not be as hands
on, but you can still play a part.