Great Ideas!

I love sharing inspiring ideas. This one is from partner organization Mercy Homes and what the President Mike is doing with his employees at work.

The company decided to give all of the money that it makes in the soda machine to help support the Mercy Home. Mike and I were in Peru talking about ways to engage employees, and somehow the idea of putting the kids faces on the soda machine buttons was born.

Take a look at these cute kids in Peru and see what you think.

Do you have creative ideas you can share with us?

What do art and human slavery have in common?

Read the entire post to find out:

Over the weekend I had a great chance to catch up with a friend I hadn’t talked to in some time. These days, keeping up with my friends is so hard because every day is SO full here at Giving Children Hope.

As she and I sat yesterday over coffee the time flew. I finished telling her about my week last week and she looked at me and said, “Most people don’t do all of that in 6 months, how do you do it all in a week?” I guess the answer is, when you work in the industry that I am in with the ever changing conflicts around the world (ie Gaza) and you work with so many different kinds of people to get in resources and give out resources, it means that a lot always happens in a week.

For those of us that need to be working in a fast-paced and interesting environment, it’s really perfect. Every day I am learning from the partners that we serve about what issues they are facing in their part of the world. Hopefully this blog is a good place to share them with you and keep you informed in ways that mainstream media can’t. If there are particular things you’d like to learn about, please submit your questions. I promise to listen, and I promise to inform you of the most pertinent information that our partners face and what you can do to make a difference.

Recently, Giving Children Hope is getting more involved with the issue of human slavery because so many of our partners are dealing with the issue of human slavery. We want people to know that when they support us that are assisting in practical ways to support this cause. In response, we’re having an art show on April 18th in our facility entitled My Hands Have a Voice. (www.MyHandsHaveaVoice.org). If you know of people that might like to participate as an artist, let me know. If you know of a celebrity that might like to attend or that can create art, let me know. Otherwise, just save the date and plan on attending.

Honoring the Life of Martin Luther King Jr

Most people know that MLK day is a big volunteer day. What better way to honor the life of Martin Luther King Jr. then to spend the day in community service. Today Giving Children Hope hosted about 70 volunteers over the course of the day: http://www.gchope.org/serve-on-martin-luther-king-jr.-day.html. The volunteers also had the opportunity to learn about his life.

I learned some things today. I didn't know that he skipped the 9th and 12th grades or that he finished his PhD at the age of 26! Wow!

So today we tried to inspire the many people in our office to continue to give back. To use their talents and passion to make a difference. Martin Luther King Jr. was a single person who inspired great change in the USA. Who are the Martin Luther's of this generation? What can YOU do to inspire change for the better in your community? Around the world?

What to do about Gaza?

As a humanitarian, we get asked so many questions about the work that we do. On Tuesday, the press was out to talk to us about Gaza.

The story will air tonight on the Real Orange at 6:30. I’m anxious to see how the story plays out. This was a new reporter we haven’t worked with, and we all know the wonderful job of editors who can make you say controversial things to drive ratings. I understand that the news can be more about ratings than reporting facts, but that’s not the case for every reporter or every station. Of course we understand that the media needs to make a living.

Here’s the situation; the reporter was asking about how you deal with uncooperative governments and in this case how to you deal with a terrorist group not recognized as a government. The fear is that the news report will say that Giving Children Hope thinks its still good to send aid even if 50% goes to Hamas.

It came up because my boss acknowledged the fact that sometimes, some aid lands in the hands not of the poor, but of the people you don’t want it to. He acknowledged this when most organizations that do what we do don’t acknowledge it. In fact, we often know when someone’s cargo gets taken but I’m not sure I’ve ever heard another organization publicly admit to this. I’ll also add that in my two years at GCH I’ve not experienced any of our cargo ending up in the hands of government officials. I know of problems with customs and the length of time it takes to clear, but I am not aware of any product that has actually not gone for its intended use.

That being said, in our 16 years there have been times when some cargo has been extorted from our partners and confiscated by the government. Not most of the shipment, but some of the shipment. The point John was making was that if we send aid to Gaza, if 90% of it ends up serving the poor and 10% ends up in the hands of Hamas, we would still send the aid. We hope that 100% of it goes to serve those in need, but if 10% gets used to open the door for 90% going to those in need we think that we should still work hard to serve those in need.

I’d love to hear your feedback on this. I suppose it’s a controversial subject. I have to say that I agree. We work with a network of advocates around the world and together we all do our best to ensure that those we are attempting to serve get served in the best way possible. But I suppose if I were the person in Gaza distributing aid and there were many wounded all around me that might die, and that if I gave 10% of the aid to them in order for them to allow me the 90% to come and save the lives of those around me, I’d do it. I’d do it in a heartbeat. I might be irritated about it, but when peoples lives are at stake you do what you have to do to help a maximum number of people.

So tonight, we’ll see what the news reports. However, I can assure you that we are working hard to send aid to Gaza and we always pray that 100% of our cargo reaches those in need. And by God’s grace that is usually what happens.

Adventures in Peru

There will be more to write in the coming days, but for now I have returned from the jungle and will fly home from Lima today. Here´s the net net:

Highlights: Playing with the kids, seeing our taxi driver and his wife accept Jesus, delivering medicines to the doctor who serves over 80,000 people, the cool team of people I was with, swimming in the waterfalls, seeing the beauty of the jungle, meeting with high-ranking government officials, dedicating the new Mercy Home.

Sad times: hearing stories of the kids and families in need, learning about the terrorism that hurt the region, and hands down - sitting with 90 year old Augusto who lives in the dirt crippled up and blind- thankfully he will be moving into the Mercy Home.

Unexpected: Becoming a godmother to my Taxi drivers two kids in a church ceremony, having one of the tribal people at the first Inca village come running at us in face paint with a spear, seeing a freshly killed large poisonous snake, riding on the top of the van through the jungle, dancing with the Inca tribes, being interviewed on the radio, having a bat flying around on of the ¨hotel rooms¨, eating cow heart, dedicating the new medical building by breaking a bottle of champagne over it.

Pictures and video to come later. But this trip really encouraged me in the work of Giving Children Hope. The doctor, the mayor and all of the people came out and were so grateful for the medicines, which cleared customs on the last possible day (praise God). The community felt blessed. Additionally, because we worked with Mercy Homes who is running projects on the ground, they gained favor in the community.

What a wonderful thing to see all that God is doing in the jungle of Peru!

Arrival into Peru

Mike and I arrived late last night. In addition to our cab driver, there were 6 others waiting to welcome us at 1:30 AM. Today we made our way to a town outside of Lima to visit the new Mercy Home. A family of 5 there has committed to taking in 6 kids. We later spoke in the church about what we are doing in their community and encouraged them to help out this new home.

We're now getting our bags ready to take an overnight bus into the jungle. We'll be there Monday through Friday taking another overnight bus back. We're still praying that the medicines will clear tomorrow so that we will actually be able to deliver them to the clinic. Please pray for Pastor Roger who is working hard to get them cleared in time for us.

It's a blessing to be able to participate in what God is doing here in Peru!

Off to Peru

So, I'm off to Peru in just a few hours. We're still praying that the medicines cleared customs in time for our trip as we don't have confirmation.

We'll arrive in Lima at midnight tonight, travel in the morning to the construction site of the new Mercy House, and that evening will board an overnight bus into the jungle to visit the first Mercy House and clinic where we'll be delivering the medicines.

I'm not sure I'll have Internet access, but if I do I'll post something here. We return on Sunday the 11th. We'll meet with any government officials while we there, but also get to hang out with the kids. The town is outside of San Miguel.

Thanks for your prayers during this trip. The adventure has now begun.

Partners in Peru

In a few days I’ll (hopefully) be taking off on my first international trip for work. Now, I’ve actually been several places around the world, including living in both Italy and South Africa. But this will be my first time to Peru, and my first time in South America. For this I am grateful to Mission Viejo Christian Church and to Mike on the Missions Board.

Here’s how it all happened. We had a volunteer phone repair man in our office in the Spring (we use LOTS of volunteers) and he brought someone from MVCC with him. Well, Jim loved what we do and quickly became our friend, advocate, and supporter. One of the best things that MVCC does for us is to pray for us. I so appreciate all of their prayers for us and for our partners around the world.

Well, Jim sent Mike to our office one day to use our Mission Store for one of their missions trips. On that visit Mike learned about our program that ships highly-needed pharmaceuticals to projects around the world in need. He ended up in my office that day to talk about getting medicines to their project in Peru and thus the partnership deepened.

At the end of the summer, I was sharing stories in their church along with a couple other ministries they support. Between the first service and the second service Mike had decided that their project in Peru really needed to partner with Giving Children Hope to start a new medical clinic in the community. The government had given the orphanage/clinic the building and even the medical personnel; the only thing needed was equipment, supplies and medicines. And this is where they could partner with GCH to get all that they need. So the partnership deepened again.

Mike asked me if I ever go to the field projects. Mind you, I sit in countless meetings with countless people from around the world and hear about their communities. My sense of adventure and love of travel has me longing to see each one in person. However, I know that I am best used not out in the field, but rather by working for an organization such as GCH getting resources to those communities. So when Mike heard that I had not been to any of our field projects he felt compelled to bring me along on their next trip to Peru. And with my boss’s permission, I’ll be taking off soon.

I cannot put into words how excited I am to participate in this missions trip. Really, I can’t! You see, God gives me this great privilege to partner on projects all over the world to get medical supplies, equipment and medicines. But I don’t ever get to see any of people that actually benefit. And that’s really fine. I don’t do my job to SEE the benefit. I do it because I am called to it and because I know that the poor DO benefit. That’s all I really need to know.

But you see, to SEE it firsthand. Well, that’s a real blessing. We’re praying that the medicines clear customs in time for us to take them with us from the airport to the rural clinic. This might not sound significant to anyone reading this, but I assure you it is. When you have done countless shipments around the world and only seen the photos of delivery and heard the stories of how the medicines helped, well, to know the communities by name that goes beyond words.

So I am truly grateful that the Lord brought Mission Viejo Christian Church into my life and into partnership with GCH. And I am grateful that MVCC is in partnership with this community in Peru. I can’t wait to hear of all that God is doing in the community and learn first hand. Every trip I take I learn more of the wonder and splendor of God. When I think He can’t possibly get any bigger He does. And I remember that I don’t really know that much at all. For these things I am truly grateful; there is nothing better then to learn about the greatness of God and be all that He has called me to be.

Thanks for your prayers as we travel in hopeful expectation of what God would have us do.

The Spirit of Christmas

I just left the office this Christmas Eve and I’m getting ready to go visit with my family for the holiday. I wept today tears of sadness at the dire situation in a nation far away and also tears of joy to be working together with partners who are truly embracing the spirit of Christmas and giving.

Three years ago I spent Christmas in Italy. It was the first time I was away from the States at Christmas and was pleasantly refreshed by the lack of consumerism that surrounded the holiday in this country. Small gifts were given to family members, but there wasn’t a need to go into debt and give everyone that you know a gift. What a concept. Instead the focus was on family; attending church together and family dinners. I stayed with the Celletti family who took me into their home and gave me a very special Christmas.

This Christmas Eve I am humbled to work for Giving Children Hope. Today we sent a shipment to Zimbabwe to treat 40,000 people for the cholera outbreak. On Monday we have another shipment leaving to serve 80,000. This is in addition to what has already been sent. The hospitals there have been empty with no help in sight. And the great thing is churches have come together to serve the need in the real meaning of Christmas. After all, what was Jesus all about? How should be celebrating the birth of Christ and honoring the Father? Is giving expensive gifts to family members who have everything honoring Jesus?

I’m not saying we should not give gifts at all. I have wonderful family memories that come from giving gifts at Christmas. But somewhere along the way the American consumerism robbed us of what Christmas really means and what we should really be giving. So when churches and other organizations come together and on Christmas Eve we are able to ship medicines to treat over 40,000 I think we are delivering the kind of Christmas gift that honors the birth of Jesus.

As I was on the phone with a pastor today, he recounted horrific stories of doctors and nurses working by candlelight and literally dragging dead children to the morgue in darkness. What a dark picture to think about at Christmas. But that dark picture painted gets replaced with great light when medicines arrive to save lives. After all, Jesus came to save life.

So this Christmas I finally feel like I am partaking in the holiday in the way that is honoring. Giving Children Hope isn’t doing this alone by any means. It takes a village to make a project happen. But when we work together to serve peoples basic needs then I think we get what Christmas is all about. This Christmas I hope that you too are enjoying the real reason for the season!

Cholera in Zimbabwe

Today I talked to a few different people about the crisis in Zimbabwe. As it turns out, we broke down our costs and we are working to fundraise just 22 cents per person to treat for the cholera outbreak. Wow, just 22 cents! That means that if you skipped a grande latte at Starbucks for $4.50 you could send medicines to treat 20 people! Wow!

When I look at the numbers I find it all to be so staggering. It’s hard to not feel guilty when you spend money other ways. I don’t think the point is to feel guilty, or the point is to never drink a coffee at Starbucks. But it certainly puts into perspective how you spend your money when you put things side by side.

I’ve had people ask me how much you should give. I have a hard time answering that question. I guess we should give everything in a way. From a Christian perspective, everything is the Lord’s, I own nothing because I can’t take it with me when I die. So if I’m just a steward of resources then I guess I’ve really giving it all.

Now, that isn’t such a great answer to give people. So I usually say that I think a good level of giving is one where you are making a sacrifice. Meaning, if you are buying yourself everything you want, and you are only giving from your leftovers of disposable income, I don’t think you are giving enough. I think a good sense is tempering your spending, waiting on the iPhone or not going out to dinner some night so that you can give, then I think that’s a good level of giving and gets the focus off of our self and onto others.

Today as I think about my people I know from Zimbabwe, my heart aches. If you have not had a chance to assist in the outbreak but would like to partner together to ship medicines, please visit our website at http://www.gchope.org/cholera-outbreak-in-zimbabwe.html

Is there anything good about more stuff?

The Christmas season is filled with stuff. And the Christian community more and more is focusing not only on the fact that Christmas has become less about Christ, but what could we do for the Kingdom with all of that money! Today in church my pastor went through a message of how much Americans spend on Christmas each year, and how much it would cost to educate every child in the world or deliver clean water. Pretty staggering numbers and pretty sad about the choices we make as a culture.

So today my mind has been thinking about a few things….because I work around needs….and because I work to ship stuff. What do I think about stuff?

When I look at the life of Jesus I see that He did some stuff with stuff too. Now, in church we would likely hear that Jesus was not about stuff. And that’s true, because Jesus was about relationship. But see, Jesus used stuff to build relationship and we ought to too.

When Jesus was on earth he met people’s physical needs before he met their spiritual needs. It wasn’t that He didn’t care for their spiritual needs, but he listened first. When the people were hungry and the disciples said to send them away, Jesus said, “You feed them”. He didn’t try to preach to the people, he simply cared for their physical needs with stuff: 5,000 loaves and fishes. And because He cared for their physical needs the people were open to have their spiritual needs cared for.

So, amidst all of the bad things out there about stuff, I focus on the good we can do with stuff because we give it away. And when we give it away because we care about others it’s amazing what happens.

I hope that this Christmas you’ll find ways to not only give away your stuff that can hold you hostage, but you can help non-profits give away there stuff too.

Sharing Burdens

At Giving Children Hope I truly get great get joy from our partners. They are passionate people who are dedicated to helping others and advancing the cause to bring hope!

Yesterday we had back in our office Brian from Won Generation. We are working together to assist the country of Zimbabwe. Their country director in Zimbabwe is attending a funeral a day with the recent cholera outbreak and food shortage. We’re working together to send medicines, dried fruit, and medical supplies. This family is making great sacrifices so they can get aid to people that are in desperate need. So often I am saddened by circumstances, but inspired by those we work with and together hope is delivered to communities and Brian is an inspiring partner.

Today however, I learned of a tragedy of favorite partners in Houston. This couple is amazing and gives so much to their community as pastors of a church. Just last week their son was killed in a car accident. When I heard the news I cried, because our partners become such dear people in our lives here that together we share each others burdens. I’m not always sure why God has me in the role that He does. Often I am just so inadequate. But for some reason here I am, doing the best that I can, and trusting that God has infinite wisdom to deal with all of the pain in the world.

Sad news often brings me to one of my favorite prayer books by Ted Loder entitled Guerrillas of Grace: Prayers for the Battle. A prayer that seems fitting in such hard to understand circumstances:

How Shall I pray?
Are tears prayers, Lord?
Are screams prayers?
or groans
or sighs
or curses?
Can trembling hands be lifted to you?
or clenched fists
or the cold sweat that trickles down my back
or the cramps that knot my stomach?
Will you accept my prayers Lord,
my real prayers,
rooted in the muck and mud and rock of my life,
and not just my pretty, cut-flower, gracefully arranged
bouquet of words?
Will you accept me Lord,
as I really am,
messed up mixture of glory and grime?
Lord help me!
Help me to trust that you do accept me as I am,
that I may be done with self-condemnation
and self-pit,
and accept myself.
Help me to accept you as you are Lord:
mysterious,
hidden,
strange,
unknowable;
and yet to trust
that your madness is wiser
than my timid, self-seeking sanities,
and that nothing you've ever done
has really been possible,
so that I may dare to be a little mad too.


So today, we lift up our friends in Houston, we lift up our friends in Zimbabwe, and we shed tears in solidarity and listen for direction on how to respond. The only thing we often know is that we are indeed called to respond.

The Journey Towards Hope

I guess it’s fitting that my last blog about death be followed by a blog about hope and certainly thanks as this is Thanksgiving.

This morning at 4:44 AM my grandfather closed his eyes and entered the presence of Jesus. What a joy and a blessing that after almost 91 years he is free from the tent that has been holding him back and is finally rejoicing with the angels. My family was so thankful this morning to see the suffering end and the joy begin.

We were also filled with thanks to be in a home that could have burned to the ground like so many around us, but instead it was filled with love and family…and food. We were so thankful that friends and even strangers came together to give us a home-cooked meal on such a different Thanksgiving. What a blessing to feel the love of Jesus in such a tangible way, through physical provision.

As I also blogged about the situation in Zimbabwe last, and they are still in dire straights with many dying, yesterday I was corresponding with our partners from World Vision. Just a couple weeks ago we did a project together where Giving Children Hope sent medicines to their project in Zimbabwe. Jennifer reported to me on Wednesday that not only did all go well in arrival, but that the medicines literally kept the hospitals doors open. So while we can’t fix the whole country, we find hope in the fact that we CAN do something. And I hope that those that received treatment in Zimbabwe felt the love of Jesus through physical provision the same as my family did today through our physical provision.

Yes indeed, we have much to give thanks for this season as we wait in hopeful expectation for the birth of our Savior.

The Journey through Death

It isn’t often one wants to write, or even think about death. But it’s been a little hard for me to escape from these last weeks.

My almost 91 year old grandfather is currently on his death bed. He’s in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s and any day now he will pass from this life to one with Jesus. On one hand, it’s an exciting time. But the process of death is difficult to watch, especially if it is a loved one. Watching his body turn frailer and become less of the man I knew pains me.

I am also plagued to think about death with the conversations I’ve been having regarding Zimbabwe. If you don’t know what has been going on in recent years in Zimbabwe just google it. You can read about the land redistribution, the AIDS epidemic, the hyper-inflation, the ruling of Mugabe and the all-out humanitarian crisis happening with a food shortage and lack of any basic medical supplies and medicines.

God has recently been bringing together partners into our facility to talk about Zimbabwe. The requests we have are heart-breaking. When you know that millions of people are suffering and dying because there isn’t any food available to eat, all you can do is cry You try to get your mind around 200 million percent inflation, but you can’t. And well, you can end up feeling a little paralyzed. What can I do?

So I struggle as a person. I’m obviously consumed with my family feeling the pain of losing the only grand-father I ever knew. Watching him forget how to swallow and now gasp for air is a traumatic experience. But I remind myself that my grandfather lived a long and full life and will now enter eternity with Jesus. And as I mourn this death process, I find myself in solidarity with the millions of people around the world who deal with death on a daily basis, only they didn’t have the opportunity to live such long lives. Mothers who are losing their children because of the lack of medicines to treat their children from simple diseases or the inability to gather food pains me greatly. Those in Zimbabwe who have the lowest life expectancy in the world, it is only in the 30’s. When I remind myself of these realities, I feel so grateful to have had so many wonderful years with my Popi.

Knowing of the pain around the world doesn’t lessen the pain of watching my grandfather’s body fail and fade. But it does remind me that I am not alone in my pain. And it does inspire me to continue my work on behalf of the poor. And it inspires me to trust in God’s mysterious wisdom because sometimes you just don’t understand why things are as they are. And in this season of life, I just don’t understand, but I do trust.

Top 5 Things to Ensure a Successful Partnership

1) Focus on the cause. When it makes sense for the cause to work together, but necessarily for your own organization, you should still partner (within reason). As others see that you are more committed to the cause above yourself and your organization, it makes you more attractive.

2) Communicate, communicate, communicate. Clearly put in writing the details of the partnership that is equitable to all parties. Outline what responsibilities each of you has, how you will message it, and how it supports the community you serve together. Almost every project we do has an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) which details our responsibilities to one another. When there are no surprises going in, and the outline is fair to everyone, it cuts down on problems.

3) Be ok with sharing the credit. Look, you are partnering for a reason, because each organization has a particular strong suit you want to play to. That’s great, talk about that because it was important to the project. But when your partner has a strong suit, speak to that too. The project is successful because you each did your part. You should be willing to share the credit.

4) Write grant proposals together. Just think about it. What if you wrote grant proposals with another organization. You each talked about what part you would do and outlined each cost but put forward one large budget with who gets what and why. I bet the project would have a greater chance of success and the foundation officer would be more likely to fund. Just a thought.

5) Get over your differences. Too often I see organizations working on the same cause, maybe on the same college campus, but unwilling to work together. They have some fundamental differences that make them different organizations. But to the outsider, it looks like you are more concerned with your own organization than contributing to bringing attention and action to the cause. My advice, get over it. Find out the things you do agree on and do events together around those things. That doesn’t mean you merge into one organization or throw away those differences you find important, but when you focus on the similarities you’ll just get a lot more done.

Basically, if you go into non-profit and you’re doing a good job it means you’re trying to work yourself out of a job. And if you’re not trying to work yourself out of a job, trying to create an environment where the cause you are advocating is no longer a problem, well then I think you need to check your motives. I’m not saying Giving Children Hope is perfect, we are far from it. But as we continue to partner with numerous organizations to make sure joint-projects are successful we’ve learned something about why some partnership work and some that are more challenging. We just want your partnership to be successful too!

Top 5 Reasons Non-profits don’t partner together

1) Fear of losing donors to the partner organization. The truth is, people donate on average to 7 organizations. When you promote your partner rather than fear them, chances are that you won’t lose a donor but your partner might gain a donor. And vice versa.

2) Control: who gets the final say when you partner. Too often non-profits don’t work together because it comes down to who gets the final say on things. But if you make things equitable for all, this shouldn’t be an issue.

3) Messaging: how do you communicate the partnership to those outside the organization and who’s name goes first. I propose you mix it up a little.

4) Lack of awareness: not all organizations know who is working on the same issue as them. This is no ones fault, but if you are doing work in just has to do with a little bit of research to find out who is doing what in the community you are serving.

5) Credit: who gets the credit for doing the work? The answer should be that you both do. When you get to the point that you don’t care about credit, it might just be that credit ends up coming to you.

At Giving Children Hope we only work on partnerships. That means that every project is in partnership with another organization and in partnership with those who are helping to fund the project. Bottom line, we’re all in it together. Not every organization wants to partner though and we do run into those that only want to fly solo.

The non-profit community is waking up to the fact that we have to partner because people are holding us accountable to partner together. Hopefully we also realize we’re more effective in our work that way. So, here’s to seeing more non-profits realize that everyone wins when you work together…especially those that you are serving.

Fire Update

Giving Children Hope is determining the best way to help our neighbors. On a personal note, I am happy to report that my parent’s home is standing – as is their street thanks in part to police officers and two brave neighbors who put out small fires in back yards while the firemen battled the large flames.

I went into the neighborhood about 3 PM and counted between 20 to 30 of their neighbor’s homes that were completely destroyed. I talked with their neighbors and every recounts the fear of how quickly the flames crossed the hills and all of a sudden 20 foot flames were at their house and everyone was evacuating at the same time. Embers were literally falling upon them as they escaped into their cars to gridlock. One neighbor on our street left his car in the middle of the street fearing his life and fleeing on foot. Most of my parents street left when their yards were on fire – the flames were so high they didn’t dare to battle them but tried to ensure they could get out with their lives…never expecting to come home to a house still standing.

A short time after most people left, one of our neighbors returned, after the large flames were out. He and another neighbor stayed through the night, putting out the small yard fires and protecting the neighborhood from looters. Had it not been for them, likely houses on the street would not have survived.

It’s not often that such a tragedy strikes so close to home. And while you are thankful it didn’t happen to you, or your family, it’s heart-breaking to see it happen to others. Fire has no mercy. Two houses burn to the ground and the next one stands unscathed, with no rhyme or reason.

If you’d like to help families affected by the fires, please visit our website at http://www.gchope.org/.

Thanks for your prayers for Southern California. The fires continue and resources are limited. Your prayers are greatly appreciated!

Wildfires

Normally I write about partnering with others, and it’s a little bit more removed. Today as I write about fires, it strikes a cord close to home….my own family.

This afternoon I helped my family to evacuate from the Southern California wildfires. My grandmother is staying with me and my parents are with others, having helped evacuate my grandfather’s assisted living facility, they are across town and can’t get through with road closures.

It’s pretty scary being on the other end. Flames were feet away from my parents home as they drove away in their cars, with what little they could take, and we pray that their house and others are spared.

Giving Children Hope is mounting our response to see how we can help in the crisis. If you’d like to help, please check our website at http://www.gchope.org/. When we have any information about how we can help and how YOU can help, we’ll post it.

Thanks for your prayers for Southern California!

Could building medical clinics be the rebuilding of the Temple?

Today’s message in the church that I attend was on the temple and the fact that Christ dwells among us IN the temple. Meaning that WE are the temple and Christ is dwelling inside of us and the radicalness of this concept. He talked through the Old Testament where people could not catch simply a glimpse of the Presence of God and yet now Christ dwells inside of us.

As I contemplated this message some things about the Church and the rebuilding of the Temple came to mind. Now, I’m not a theologian or a scholar. But in the time of Jesus He talked about how the Temple would be raised in 3 days and the scholars of the day were very focused on the literal infrastructure and missed that Jesus was talking about Himself. Here they were in the very Presence of Christ and yet they missed the mark altogether because they failed to see how God was moving right in front of them.

I hear of many churches that are focused on end time scenarios and they spend much time studying the Words of the scripture and speculating about the physical rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. Many even spend great amounts of money to tour their congregation through the land (which is an amazing experience). They watch the political scene between Israel and Palestine and are awaiting the literal rebuilding of the Temple.

So I had this radical idea that perhaps the Church leaders of our day might be missing it too. If indeed WE are the Temple then perhaps it’s really about God building up His people as the Temple as opposed to the literal structure in Israel. Again, I’m not a scholar, but what I am is a quiet observer of watching how the Holy Spirit moves.

In my job as a Distribution Center of aid, we don’t dictate what projects need to be done next, we ask for people from communities to apply to us and we listen to how God is moving in their community. Because of this I meet with people on a regular basis from all over the world. While God does move different in different cultures, I’m actually amazed by some of the similarities. Many of the missionaries and non-profits come to us with stories from their communities about the poor and the meek. I hear stories of children dying at the age of two because they contracted a parasite and there were no medicines available. I hear stories of ten year old girls tricked into sex slavery and later rescued but not having the means to become healthy physically, spiritually and emotionally. I hear stories of twelve year old boys kidnapped at night and forced to kill in rebel armies. And then I hear the stories of the advocates on the front lines, quietly fighting to make things just a little bit better in the place where they live. So while each story is unique, the lack of access to the needed resources is consistent, and the steadfast people working behind the scenes where God has called them is consistent.

So I wonder, is God already building the Temple right now through these people and communities? Is THIS the Temple? Maybe instead of a physical brick being laid that brick is representative of a new school, shelter, or medical clinic that is erected? Maybe God is building His Temple right now with a bunch of ordinary people and the scholars of today are looking and waiting for that physical manifestation that may never be?

I’m not saying this is what is. But I wonder, if this were true, would we live our lives any different? What if instead of being spectators waiting for the Temple, we had an active part in building it? What if going into hard places and spending time in physical labor was an active part of building the Temple? What if every dollar that we spent providing life-saving medicines or every student that we sponsored to have an education meant that the Temple was a little bit further along? Would we live our lives any different as Christians? Would we see that we have a greater responsibility to rebuild the Temple then one of spectator simply awaiting someone else to do the work? I wonder.

Just so I’m clear, I’m not advocating any kind of works-based theology. But what I do try to do is to challenge Christians to take their Bible seriously. Faith without works is dead. So if you are a Christian, as you listen to God and watch the Holy Spirit move, let me know if you see what I see. Is God doing something unique in our time? What is He doing? And what is the part you play? Are we working together towards building the Temple? Or are we simply waiting for the Temple to be built?

More on Human Trafficking

The last two days I’ve had conversations about the issue of human trafficking. If you are not familiar with this issue you will certainly be hearing more and more about it with the different advocacy efforts taking place.

Today I visited with my friend and non-profit partner David Batstone. I’ve known David for about 13 years now I think. Wow, I’m feeling old. I’ve long admired his commitment to teaching ethics and the passion and energy that David brings to solving global problems. David is the ED for the Not For Sale Campaign that is teaching advocacy efforts on the issue of human slavery. But NFS is also carrying out projects around the world. One such project is in partnership with Giving Children Hope to establish a new medical clinic in Northern Thailand to care for children that have been rescued out of slavery.

Yesterday I met with Peter from the Asia Innovative University that is located in Cambodia. Peter came to me looking for medicines for orphans and he’s now in search of funding for this project. When I asked Peter why there were so many orphans in Cambodia he explained to me that because there is a lack of economic opportunities so many of the adults are being tricked into slavery outside of the country. Others are willfully going to Thailand to be sex workers because they have no other choice. Unfortunately this is leaving a large orphaned community in Cambodia. The children are at their most vulnerable as they are picked up by gangsters and forced to work for no wages. Often times these children have no other choices. So AIU is creating safe houses with medical care for these vulnerable children.

An organization like Giving Children Hope can be a hard sell for people. Distribution of product isn’t a sexy thing to fund. But David said it best to me today as he toured our center “It’s amazing that you guys exist. Organizations on the ground need exactly what you do. You are really helping to address global problems in a practical way.” And as we say here at Giving Children Hope, we are only as strong as those who we partner with. We’re in it together. And together we can fight global issues like those of human slavery.