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.
Showing posts with label Houston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Houston. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Church Partnerships
One of the things I love about working at a faith-based non-profit is that we can work with all different churches, and they can work together with us and with one another.
On Saturday we had a big work day at our facility. Four different churches came together to serve us and others. They met new people as they served alongside one another. We had people sorting medical supplies to be shipped to Dominican Republic and Houston, people painting some rooms under construction and people doing yard work on our campus. Wow, what a day!
And as we gear up for our big Gala event on October 10th, we hope all kinds of people from the community, from different churches, and different service groups will attend and network with one another around a cause. We’re excited to have our amazing partners from Houston be the featured guest speakers at our event. If we had tried to plan the program we couldn’t have planned to have them speak right after such amazing events as what they have done in Hurricane Ike. It’s a good thing God was in charge of the program. So we are hopeful for a full room with lots of great people to have fun and find new ways to collaborate together.
If you have a church or service group that would like to collaborate, please call our office. And if you haven’t made your reservations for Voyage of Hope, please register on-line or call our office to book your seat today!
On Saturday we had a big work day at our facility. Four different churches came together to serve us and others. They met new people as they served alongside one another. We had people sorting medical supplies to be shipped to Dominican Republic and Houston, people painting some rooms under construction and people doing yard work on our campus. Wow, what a day!
And as we gear up for our big Gala event on October 10th, we hope all kinds of people from the community, from different churches, and different service groups will attend and network with one another around a cause. We’re excited to have our amazing partners from Houston be the featured guest speakers at our event. If we had tried to plan the program we couldn’t have planned to have them speak right after such amazing events as what they have done in Hurricane Ike. It’s a good thing God was in charge of the program. So we are hopeful for a full room with lots of great people to have fun and find new ways to collaborate together.
If you have a church or service group that would like to collaborate, please call our office. And if you haven’t made your reservations for Voyage of Hope, please register on-line or call our office to book your seat today!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Being Used in Spite of Ourselves
I’m always humbled by how product that leaves our facility is used. And I’m always humbled by the hard work of our partners on the other end. Every shipment has a story. When you do large and small shipments, you become an organization filled with stories. More than you could ever tell.
This week was no different.
I have to admit though; I’m pretty stressed right now. We have a lot of things going on in our offices. We work on development projects, but re-focus in times of relief. This week when Ike hit, I admit, I thought, “I just can’t handle another disaster.” Here I am, at my office in Orange County, safe and sound, and I’M thinking, “God, there is just too much going on to deal with this!”
Truth be told, events are stressful. We have our big event in just 3 weeks now, October 10th. And Randy and Jana from Houston are the scheduled guest speakers. Here I am worrying about our event for weeks with logistics and promotions. I haven’t been able to focus enough on promotions because of all of the activities. Disasters take away from event promotion time as you focus on press releases, media, volunteer efforts, and everything else that goes along with raising funds to cover the costs of relief that you immediately respond to.
Today God flattened me. Who I am to be worrying about an event that God is in charge of? How could I be so concerned over the details of linens while doing the Lord’s work in the face of the real needs in front of me? It’s the Mary and Martha story. Finding the balance between the two isn’t always easy. You need both, my heart is more Mary, but my actions and nature are more Martha. This week the Martha in me had really taken over.
So when I received Jana and Randy’s email today I was struck by Jana’s comment that said, “O, I forgot, the Lord directs your steps”. Wow, that’s right! How could I have forgotten! This is God’s event and He is absolutely going to bring the right people to it and he will use me in spite of myself!
Don’t worry, I’ll keep promoting the event; it’s going to be wonderful! And with guest speakers like these, how could it not! But I’m also going to do a better job at focusing on what God would have me do instead of focusing on all of the things yet to be done. With all of the distractions I was humbled that God would use me in a tiny way to minister to others in spite of my wrong attitude.
Now I must share with you the email I received. Jana reminded me today of why I choose to do what I do:
J, Just in the nick of time!!! The truck came and I did the happy dance! Every pallet contained some kind of answer to prayer. We are so overwhelmed with gratitude for the thoughtfulness of what you sent, Beans, spaghetti, cake mixes, stuffing, cans of vegetables, etc.......I can do so much with these presents. The shampoo was so needed as were the sanitary products and shoes. We had NO blankets....just sheets and not enough of them. And pillows!!!!! How did you know? O, I forgot, the Lord directs your steps. For the first time in days, I feel a huge relief from the constant burden of producing meals from nothing. Tomorrow I will go thru the boxes and make gift boxes for each shelter resident and then we will begin the process of distributing some of the shipment to our neighbors who are still without power. We will probably take some to a couple of other local shelters if they actually get up and running. Right now, Red Cross tells us we are the only church shelter in the city. Surely more will come when they get power. Houston has taken a very hard hit, but we have much to be grateful for. We are not destroyed, just bruised and battered. We are blessed to have people like GIVING CHILDREN HOPE and all of your awesome partners to turn to in our time of crisis. You are truly hands of God. Thank you, from the depth of our hearts. With Sincere Gratitude, Randy and Jana Meeks
This week was no different.
I have to admit though; I’m pretty stressed right now. We have a lot of things going on in our offices. We work on development projects, but re-focus in times of relief. This week when Ike hit, I admit, I thought, “I just can’t handle another disaster.” Here I am, at my office in Orange County, safe and sound, and I’M thinking, “God, there is just too much going on to deal with this!”
Truth be told, events are stressful. We have our big event in just 3 weeks now, October 10th. And Randy and Jana from Houston are the scheduled guest speakers. Here I am worrying about our event for weeks with logistics and promotions. I haven’t been able to focus enough on promotions because of all of the activities. Disasters take away from event promotion time as you focus on press releases, media, volunteer efforts, and everything else that goes along with raising funds to cover the costs of relief that you immediately respond to.
Today God flattened me. Who I am to be worrying about an event that God is in charge of? How could I be so concerned over the details of linens while doing the Lord’s work in the face of the real needs in front of me? It’s the Mary and Martha story. Finding the balance between the two isn’t always easy. You need both, my heart is more Mary, but my actions and nature are more Martha. This week the Martha in me had really taken over.
So when I received Jana and Randy’s email today I was struck by Jana’s comment that said, “O, I forgot, the Lord directs your steps”. Wow, that’s right! How could I have forgotten! This is God’s event and He is absolutely going to bring the right people to it and he will use me in spite of myself!
Don’t worry, I’ll keep promoting the event; it’s going to be wonderful! And with guest speakers like these, how could it not! But I’m also going to do a better job at focusing on what God would have me do instead of focusing on all of the things yet to be done. With all of the distractions I was humbled that God would use me in a tiny way to minister to others in spite of my wrong attitude.
Now I must share with you the email I received. Jana reminded me today of why I choose to do what I do:
J, Just in the nick of time!!! The truck came and I did the happy dance! Every pallet contained some kind of answer to prayer. We are so overwhelmed with gratitude for the thoughtfulness of what you sent, Beans, spaghetti, cake mixes, stuffing, cans of vegetables, etc.......I can do so much with these presents. The shampoo was so needed as were the sanitary products and shoes. We had NO blankets....just sheets and not enough of them. And pillows!!!!! How did you know? O, I forgot, the Lord directs your steps. For the first time in days, I feel a huge relief from the constant burden of producing meals from nothing. Tomorrow I will go thru the boxes and make gift boxes for each shelter resident and then we will begin the process of distributing some of the shipment to our neighbors who are still without power. We will probably take some to a couple of other local shelters if they actually get up and running. Right now, Red Cross tells us we are the only church shelter in the city. Surely more will come when they get power. Houston has taken a very hard hit, but we have much to be grateful for. We are not destroyed, just bruised and battered. We are blessed to have people like GIVING CHILDREN HOPE and all of your awesome partners to turn to in our time of crisis. You are truly hands of God. Thank you, from the depth of our hearts. With Sincere Gratitude, Randy and Jana Meeks
Monday, September 15, 2008
Partnering in Relief
Working in my field, often you have to switch gears between relief and development. This summer we’ve had to switch more often then I’d like.
Relief work means that you have to quickly adapt and rearrange your schedule to respond to the immediate need. Today we switched gears to Houston. Randy and Jana Meeks are pastors at Lindale Assembly God Church in Houston and have been our partners for over 3 years now distributing aid to victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Jana and I have had many conversations on the phone over the months. As a matter of fact, they are flying out soon to be the guest speakers at our Voyage of Hope event on October 10th. I have been really looking forward to meeting Jana. I don’t think you’ll find anyone with a bigger heart. They have been amazing distribution partners!
Today Jana and I spoke for the first time since Ike hit. While she had hope, she sounded tired. But the thing about Jana is she never complained. She said God won’t give her more than she can handle and she loves these people so much she looks forward to caring for them.
My heart breaks so often talking to our partners knowing the hard work they have in the field. Jana is an amazing leader. She and the entire staff at Lindale are giving 24/7 right now as they minister to people who have lost everything and have no where else to turn. The city is in desperate need. They are one of only 4 shelters currently open in Houston.
Sometimes devastation like this is so big it’s paralyzing. Fortunately there are things we can physically do to assist Randy and Jana. This afternoon the first truck of aid rolled from our facility providing them the items they need to care for the displaced. That truck will arrive on Wednesday. In this way we are providing hope to Jana and Randy. They can focus on ministering to the people knowing that food, water and hygiene items are on their way.
I realize that to work at an organization like Giving Children Hope it is going to require many tears. I don’t ever want to be so used to dealing with disasters that I am calloused and do not feel emotion at such loss. However, instead of focusing on the devastation, I will continue to focus on giving hope. Today I prayed on the phone with Jana, so often there aren’t many words that could be said in these situations and the most I can do is to simply turn to Jesus. Yet I know that this is truly the most powerful thing we can do.
So today, with all that goes on in our office anyways, we switched gears into relief mode. And it isn’t just sending aid to Houston; it’s sending aid to our friends and neighbors Randy and Jana. We’re trusting God for all that is ahead and we lift up Randy, Jana, Houston and the entire region as it begins to move on the slow road to recovery.
Relief work means that you have to quickly adapt and rearrange your schedule to respond to the immediate need. Today we switched gears to Houston. Randy and Jana Meeks are pastors at Lindale Assembly God Church in Houston and have been our partners for over 3 years now distributing aid to victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Jana and I have had many conversations on the phone over the months. As a matter of fact, they are flying out soon to be the guest speakers at our Voyage of Hope event on October 10th. I have been really looking forward to meeting Jana. I don’t think you’ll find anyone with a bigger heart. They have been amazing distribution partners!
Today Jana and I spoke for the first time since Ike hit. While she had hope, she sounded tired. But the thing about Jana is she never complained. She said God won’t give her more than she can handle and she loves these people so much she looks forward to caring for them.
My heart breaks so often talking to our partners knowing the hard work they have in the field. Jana is an amazing leader. She and the entire staff at Lindale are giving 24/7 right now as they minister to people who have lost everything and have no where else to turn. The city is in desperate need. They are one of only 4 shelters currently open in Houston.
Sometimes devastation like this is so big it’s paralyzing. Fortunately there are things we can physically do to assist Randy and Jana. This afternoon the first truck of aid rolled from our facility providing them the items they need to care for the displaced. That truck will arrive on Wednesday. In this way we are providing hope to Jana and Randy. They can focus on ministering to the people knowing that food, water and hygiene items are on their way.
I realize that to work at an organization like Giving Children Hope it is going to require many tears. I don’t ever want to be so used to dealing with disasters that I am calloused and do not feel emotion at such loss. However, instead of focusing on the devastation, I will continue to focus on giving hope. Today I prayed on the phone with Jana, so often there aren’t many words that could be said in these situations and the most I can do is to simply turn to Jesus. Yet I know that this is truly the most powerful thing we can do.
So today, with all that goes on in our office anyways, we switched gears into relief mode. And it isn’t just sending aid to Houston; it’s sending aid to our friends and neighbors Randy and Jana. We’re trusting God for all that is ahead and we lift up Randy, Jana, Houston and the entire region as it begins to move on the slow road to recovery.
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