"When a poor person dies of hunger, it has not happened because God did not take care of him or her. It has happened because neither you nor I wanted to give that person what he or she needed. " Mother Theresa
“There's no way we can look at what’s happening in Africa and, if we're honest, conclude that deep down, we would let it happen anywhere else -- if we really accepted that Africans are equal to us….Look what happened in South East Asia with the Tsunami. 150, 000 lives lost to the misnomer of all misnomers, “mother nature”. Well, in Africa, 150,000 lives are lost every month -- a tsunami every month. And it’s a completely avoidable catastrophe.” Bono (http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/bononationalprayerbreakfast.htm)
I am challenging myself and friends around me to process these thoughts. If I believe any truth to be found in these quotes, I know I must do something!! (And I do believe in this quote…1 John 3:18 “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”) Mother Theresa’s and Bono’s words are echoes of the Lord’s calling to us all. So I have been asking myself (like many I hear in the adoption world), what else should we be doing? And honestly, asking why haven't we done more in the past to help Africa's issues with AIDS and poverty? Why have we heard the news accounts and virtually ignored the issues....Why haven't I loved my neighbors in Africa as I love myself?
We are thrilled about adding to our family through adoption, but we know there is more that the Lord would have us do. We also know that we can be lured by the love of comfort, greed, materialism, apathy, laziness, self-centeredness, etc… I want to use my time, money and gifts to love others well during this lifetime!!! Knowing we can’t do everything for everyone…and we definitely can’t do nothing…so we take to the big task of seeking the Lord’s wisdom and following where He leads…We’ll keep you posted??!!?!
And here are two more pictures from today. The kids had a great time making "African Jewelry"---that was the label for the craft table. I guess they are "African" because of the colors???...not because of the yarn and plastic beads:)
2 comments:
Good thoughts Beau. I'm challenged, especially by Mother Theresa's quote.
I've been reading "Terrify No More" by Gary Haugen (founder of International Justice Mission). To paraphrase his thoughts - He writes that one of the reasons we fail to get involved is because we do not realize the value of a single life. We are overwhelmed by the scope of the problems and the sheer amount of suffering & become paralyzed. We fail to fully grasp that in "saving" one life we make an eternal difference. We fail to appreciate that while Christ came to be the Savior of the world (1 Timothy 3:16) he is also the Savior of each individual heart. His calling for us is the same - impact individuals no matter how great the suffering, no matter how great the cost.
Missy & I have been feeling some of the same things - yes, we adopted one little girl from China, but the Lord would have us do more....more now & more until the day we die.
Let's keep pressing on my friend!
- David
Love the jewelry. Those are two of my favorite quotes- have them written down. Have you seen Bono's book "On the Move"?
Can you make one exception for your Dallas area dinner for ET families?? I saw your post on Jana's blog-- we love Gladney, it just isn't where the Lord led us.
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