One More Home

When reading about the fatherless, or watching a television segment about orphaned children, oftentimes statistics get thrown into the mix. The number of children in foster care, the percentage of orphans that become the victims of human trafficking, the number of children left parentless due to AIDS. Sometimes it's in the hundreds of thousands, sometimes it even reaches into the millions. It's a lot to take in. Statistics like these are meant to catch our attention, to shock our senses, or in more modern terms, "mind blown." I've used these figures myself, and I'll probably do so again because I'm trying to get whoever I'm speaking with to get the big picture of what I'm sharing. To realize the severity of the global orphan crisis. The problem with these grandiose numbers is that, while they can leave us speechless, they can also leave us feeling overwhelmed. While I want you to come alongside me in caring for the orphans, the problem appears ...

In an area outside of Port Au Prince, Haiti, there is a cluster of buildings surrounding a gravel parking area. On the outside, everything appears to be a greyish white color, as if every surface is coated with a layer of dust. This is where I came to visit the Box. The Box has four concrete walls, a roof, and a concrete floor. There are windows cut into the walls but no curtains. The Box has no running water and no toilet or bathroom to speak of. There is more than one level to the Box, but there are no beds in the sleeping area and nowhere to sit except a few wooden or concrete benches. The Box didn't have any toys or books that I could see, no bright pictures on the walls to stare at. The Box is where 40 children live. I refuse to say the Box is home to 40 children because I don't think anyone would find that it fulfills the definition of "home." It simply is a box. The barest of places. A concrete containment unit for 40 young lives. One step up from sit...

" Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity" 1 Timothy 4:12 During a road trip to South Carolina this spring, God gave me the unexpected gift of a new friend. There's more than a few years separating our ages, but by the first rest stop, we already had the start of a never-ending inside joke, had laughed so hard we cried, and determined that for now and forever more, the world will be her oyster.  We crack each other up on a regular basis, even if someone else wouldn't find us funny. We probably laugh way too loud during our regular lunch dates over buffalo chicken nachos and wings, and have a little more fun than we should with our hashtag filled texting. We scream when we see each other, and she's always an excellent go to for a good hug.   But above all else, she's a Jesus-loving, God-following young woman who has become s...