Orphans

Quick Ministry
Update:

First, I apologize for not posting for so
long. We have not had Internet connection this past month. What were we doing?
I, and the rest of team Kaleo were in the country of Swaziland assisting an AIM
based organization called Generation 42. Whose goal is to reach out to
needy and orphaned children and enable them to be all Christ intended them to
be.

We spent our time
visiting 6 different care points that are set up to feed and teach kids that
have little to nothing. We stayed at a Safari where we could hear a lion roar
as we went to sleep and look at a crocodile as we ate our meals.

Anyway more on both
later…..(Read For Those to Lazy to Read a Blog)

Was that ever an appealing enough argument to help you choke down
some more vanderloose casserole?

Not really.

It’s not that as a kid, I had no concern whatsoever for
the “starving kid” in Africa that mom would always talk about. It is that
thought in my head that would say, “What does a kid in Africa have to do
with me having to choke down some food that I dislike?”

Many years later, on a deeper level, the question remains:

Should what goes on in Africa affect our lives as
American’s?

And further more….

Should it make us live any different? What should our
response be?

Don’t worry. I’m not going to spend the rest of the blog
preaching at you or trying to guilt trip you into action. Because even though I
am here in Africa, I struggle with those questions as much as anyone else. But
I would like to invite you into the struggle with me and give you a glimpse
into the world of orphans here in Africa.

These words will fall short. But I offer them up anyway:

Africa is a hurting continent. Swaziland is a desperate nation.
It has an HIV rate of 46% and if this percentage keeps up, in 20 years
Swaziland as a nation will not exist. At least 1/3 of the kids have no father
or mother. An even greater percentage that are fortunate enough to have a
mother, have never known their father.

Kids walk around with bloated bellies and malnourished
bodies. Little girls are raped by older men because they have no protection to
prevent it. 12-year-old girls are left in charge of their 5 younger siblings
because both of the parents have died.

Anyway, enough facts and words.

I
know when I was in the States; they would affect me but they never changed me.
In fact, right before I left, I remember receiving an email from Adventures in
Missions with a story about these very kids I just spent the last month with. I
read it quickly before I went off to work, was actually moved enough to give a
20 dollars and went about my day unaffected.

It took coming here and actually being with the kids to
really affect me.

Maybe that’s what it will take for you. But I hope not. I
pray that you can wrestle with this issue right where you are.

Here’s my challenge:

Pray passionately to the Lord.

Ask Him to give you His heart for these kids, for Africa,
for the downtrodden.

Ask Him to break your heart and to bust down the walls or
numbness you might have.

Ask Him to show you what your response should be.

And search the scriptures.

Here are a few
suggestions:

Jeremiah 22:3,16-17

Matthew 25:31-46

Micah 6:8

I Timothy 6:6-10 &
17-19

Luke 11:42 & 12:13-21

Galatians 2:10

Or just look up
“justice” or “mercy” in the back of your Bible and go to town.

I can’t change your mind. I know my words can’t either.
But I pray Christ will and that you don’t have to come to Africa to have your
heart broken like I did.

There will be many more blogs and videos to come this
week. And there will be a chance for you to respond.

I pray you will.

Editors Note: Although I never did like her vanderloose
casserole. My mom is an excellent cook
and I love everything else she makes! Also, I will explain more about the lion and crocodile in future blogs. I love you guys! Leave your precious comments for me!