Thanksgiving was a couple of weeks ago, Christmas is right around the corner. We’re in that midst of holidays. The holiday “season”. The “Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”
So what are we thinking about?
Dates and scheduling.
Vacation time.
Holiday music.
Decorations.
Presents.
Family.
I know what you’re thinking. This is one of those “keep Christ in Christmas” blogs.
Nope, you’re wrong. It’s a little bit different than that.
I have a challenge for you, readers.
And I don’t even know who you all are (at least I hope there are people I don’t know reading my blog! That would make me feel ever so awesome and grateful to the Lord.)
This holiday season, amongst all the things to think about and remember, I challenge you to care.
Remember that although the world may only seem as big as your town and family and job and debt and stores that are in the area that your car can reach in two hours, that’s not true.
It’s bigger than that.
It’s bigger than the stress you feel or what you hear on the news. Bigger than the reach of Wal-Mart holiday commercials that have ACDC playing in the background (did anyone else wonder how on earth that happened?) and seasonally decorated city streets.
Guys, the world is so big, that 340 million people in the world could not pick up a Bible and read it in their native language, because no such Bible exists.
(To make that more relative, there are about 312 million people in the United States)
The world is so big that there are thousands of people trafficked to be human labor slaves and sex slaves every day. Think that’s way far away from you? It’s estimated between 14,500 and 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States every year. Think it’s only big cities? It happened in Williamsburg, Iowa in 2005. You can read about it here,
The world is so big that this summer, half the population of Somalia set off with their families and whatever possessions they could carry to leave their homes and take refuge in Kenya. On foot. Because they had nothing to eat and nothing to drink. Can you imagine a situation so desperate that you would take your family and WALK to Mexico (for example)? I can’t. But remember, just because we can’t imagine it, doesn’t mean it isn’t real. Doesn’t mean they are weak because that’s what they had to do. Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t care. The beginning of this article relates the story of a man who buried 5 of his children on this walk.
The world is so big, that 1 in 7 people go hungry every day worldwide. Interestingly enough, 1 in 8 Americans goes hungry every day. Hunger is not just an issue in faraway places; it’s in our own backyard. Chew on that. (Pun intended).
About a year and a half ago I saw the movie Hotel Rwanda for the first time. After the genocide occurred in 1994, the media attention and film publicity transformed the events of this tiny East Africa nation into fairly common knowledge (brownie points if you can point out Rwanda on an unlabeled map of Africa, or even a labeled map of Africa). Once people found out what happened in Rwanda, they were talking about it. And once people started talking about it, they were appalled.
There is one line in this film that really sticks out to me. When an American journalist captures footage of Hutu militias brutally killing Tutsi civilians, he and his partner want to broadcast it right away- put it on the evening news. Paul Rusesabagina, the main character and owner of the hotel, wants the footage to be shown, too. He says to the journalist,
“I am glad that you have shot this footage. And that the world will see it. It is the only way we have a chance that people might intervene.”
“Yeah, and if no one intervenes? Is it still a good thing to show?”
“How can they not intervene when they witness such atrocities?”
“I think, if people see this footage, they’ll say “Oh my God, that’s horrible.” And then go on eating their dinners.”
(See this scene at 3 mns into the YouTube clip).
Guys, one person can’t save the world. I know that. But one person can do something. And that something can immensely impact the life of another person.
"I am only one but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."
-Edward Everett Hale
And just in case you need a little more convincing…
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and truth.
1 John 3:17-18
For anyone who does not love his brother, who he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command- Whosoever loves God must also love his brother.
1 John 4:20-21
Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men that we may work together for the truth.
3 John 1:5-6
The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
Matthew 25:40
I hope by now you are inspired and want to do something! Don’t know what? Lucky for you, I have an awesome list of ways that you can help your fellow world citizens, all the while spreading God’s word, abroad and in the US.
And they make great Christmas gifts!!!!!
Abroad:
Tukula is an organization that helps women in Uganda. All of the women that sew these quality products for Tukula are featured on their website. They have cool bags, purses, wallets, etc.
Shining A Light is an organization founded by an amazing woman that I know personally, Jennifer VanderGalien. She has been a missionary in Tanzania for the past four (I think) years. Shining A Light empowers women, gives them jobs, and sells beautiful beaded sandals.
Blood:Water is working on improving the sanitation situation and AIDS crisis in Africa. Some cool stuff they have-
"I know someone” shirts: The inside of each shirt contains the name of a person living with HIV/AIDS. With each shirt purchased, you will receive a booklet to learn more about their story, so you can say "I Know Someone".
Cement is the main component for most sanitation projects- buy a bag here for $25. You can also request a Christmas card sent to the recipient of the gift.
Ornaments- $10 made by women in Africa.
Watter Bottles- $15 stainless steel water bottles. A good reminder that 1 in 7 people around the world don’t have access to clean water.
(I wanted to put in hyperlinks for those items, but they didn't work. You can access the store from the Blood:Water's main page.)
Wycliffe Bible Translators
There are 340 million people in the world are native to a language in which the Bible has not been translated in. Read their stories, and donate $20.25 to help reach those 340 million people.
Higher Authority is a Christian Clothing line!! Cool shirts, good opening to talk about your faith, and no cleavage. Win/win/win.http://higherauthorityclothing.com/
Doxa Clothing– Doxa (which means Glory in Greek) is a British company that partners with other organization to support the alleviation of poverty. Eventually they’d love to have their own cotton farm in Kenya and create all products from start to finish. And their clothes are pretty cool too. Excerpt from their “About us” page-
"In our world of brokenness and disaster, I can only imagine what those individuals (from poverty stricken countries) feel and think when they see what are branded Christians parading around in suits, keeping themselves to themselves and the ones that preach the Love of God but are not showing it out to those in need.
At Doxa Clothing we want to instigate a cycle of change. We don’t want to sit back and wait till someone else does something. We want to pioneer something; we want to see lives changed in a way that only Christ can. We long to bring hope both to the consumer through the products we produce and to the workers who have worked tirelessly to put together the t-shirt."
Compassion International is most well known for their child sponsorship programs, but they also have a wide range of other initiatives to supplement the areas where they sponsor children. Here’s their gift catalog– my favorite item is “Survive to Age 5”. For $52 you can give a child all the necessary immunizations that every American child gets, giving other children the same chance at living that we enjoy.
Heifer International is an amazing organization that places money-making livestock (as well as some other things) into the hands of poor families around the world. Buy a flock of geese, a cow, or even honeybees to transform a needy family into a sustained family.
Right now Heifer is also doing a project in Honduras which costs 3 million dollars. Luckily a sponsor is matching every dollar, up to 1.5 million! Donate to this specific project and make your money do twice as much good.
A21 is an organization that started in 2008 to help victims of human trafficking. They have a shelter in Greece, which is a major hub for trafficking in Europe. My favorite in store item- Key2Free necklace. $25.
Falling Whistles developed after one of their founders learned that child soldiers were being sent to the front lines of war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They sell whistles to raise awareness, aka be “whistle-blowers” for a peaceful end to this war that specifically targets children.
We all know about the disaster in Haiti and Haiti Rising is doing something very tangible to help- rubble removal. You’ll get a card to give (if you made a donation in someone’s name) and you can watch the progress of their monetary goal online.
Two Eastern Iowa couples are singlehandedly (well, just those two families!) sponsoring two villages in Uganda- Ogolai and Bukedea. They are trying to build a well for one of the communities- their closer water source is 6 miles away. Can you imagine? Walking SIX MILES for water? Help them out here.
Home:
Here in Eastern Iowa the radio station Life 101.9 is doing a project called Christmas Angels. Needy families right here in the area can put their Christmas wishes on the website, and anyone can help meet their need. From car repairs to Christmas presents, this is a great way to help local believer in need at Christmas.
Wanna help fight hunger in America? Donate to your local church or food shelf, or to Feeding America.
Let's be a generation of people that don't just talk during our dinners, but one that actually does something.
We CAN do it!
