Places Revisited, Hope Burns Anew
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 so great, we begin to doubt that we could ever make a difference. Or just maybe, it's the type of thing that's better left to well known speakers, famous actors, politicians, people with money and influence. The "real" change is better left to the people with "real" power.
Given the heartbreaking sadness that I wrote in my previous post, I felt it time we revisit the past. Last year, on October 24, 2013, I wrote a blog regarding my first trip to Haiti. To read that post, click here. At the time, I was trying to explain the reality of life in an orphanage. There's a difference between reading about the possibilities, and coming face to face with where they live:
So, now you find bedrooms that look like this...
And while it may not be perfect, change has come for these children, and life is better than when I first visited.
After leaving the Box behind the day before, I needed to see that it is possible to make a difference. I needed to witness that there is still hope. Even when you find yourself sitting in the midst of the rubble, lost and wondering how can it ever get better? What can I do?
But here's the thing, you have to do something. Small, big, a tiny change, or an 'I'm selling all my stuff and moving to a foreign country' type of life renovation. Nothing will happen if we all wait for someone else to do it. If we all rely on the person with a bigger pocketbook and more prestige to step up to the plate, then we fail these kids.
Those lives weren't changed by fame and fortune, they were changed by willing, obedient children of God like you and me. Everday, ordinary people.
I can do it. You can too. But, we have to decide to take action. Do something.
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 so great, we begin to doubt that we could ever make a difference. Or just maybe, it's the type of thing that's better left to well known speakers, famous actors, politicians, people with money and influence. The "real" change is better left to the people with "real" power.
Given the heartbreaking sadness that I wrote in my previous post, I felt it time we revisit the past. Last year, on October 24, 2013, I wrote a blog regarding my first trip to Haiti. To read that post, click here. At the time, I was trying to explain the reality of life in an orphanage. There's a difference between reading about the possibilities, and coming face to face with where they live:
But during my trip to Haiti a few weeks ago, I found myself at this very same orphanage. And I need you to know, I need you to see, I need you to understand the impact you can have on a child's life when you choose to defend the fatherless.
In one year, six churches stepped forward and decided to help that very orphanage, and in one year, just 12 months, just 365 days:
- There is a pantry of food for them to eat
- There are new sturdy wooden beds, with mattresses and sheets, and there are enough places for them to sleep
- The orphanage has a new paint job and they are adding on another room
- There's a working water pump, that supplies water for showers and three working toilets!
And children that look like this...
After leaving the Box behind the day before, I needed to see that it is possible to make a difference. I needed to witness that there is still hope. Even when you find yourself sitting in the midst of the rubble, lost and wondering how can it ever get better? What can I do?
But here's the thing, you have to do something. Small, big, a tiny change, or an 'I'm selling all my stuff and moving to a foreign country' type of life renovation. Nothing will happen if we all wait for someone else to do it. If we all rely on the person with a bigger pocketbook and more prestige to step up to the plate, then we fail these kids.
Those lives weren't changed by fame and fortune, they were changed by willing, obedient children of God like you and me. Everday, ordinary people.
I can do it. You can too. But, we have to decide to take action. Do something.
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