It's a lie...

I recently read this quote and just had to share. This is from Dr. Wess Stafford, former Compassion President:

 At its very core, poverty is a mindset that goes far beyond the tragic circumstances. 

It is the cruel,  destructive message that gets whispered into the ears of millions

 by the enemy Satan himself: "Give up! You don't matter. Nobody cares about you.

 Look around you: Things are terrible. Always have been, always will be. Think back.

 Your grandfather was a failure. Your parents couldn't protect or take care of you

. Now it's your turn. You, too, will fail. So just give up!"

Please don't allow this lie to continue to be told to these beautiful children who by no fault of their own find themselves in the grips of the destructive force of extreme poverty.  

PLEASE SPONSOR A CHILD TODAY!

These children no longer are listening to the lie that poverty tells them.  They are worthy. Someone does care for them.

Don't Mess With the Shoes!

I know this is going to step on a few toes but I just wanted to share this as something to consider.  A quick search online and a little math reveals that between shoes, hair, and cosmetics the average woman will spend around $112 a month.  Now sure hair, makeup, and shoes are important but just consider that for less than half of that amount ($38 a month) the life of a child can be rescued from the grips of extreme poverty.

Just something to think about...

       While you're thinking head on over to Compassion to see the children you give hope to.

This is amazing:

You can find out more about this amazing program from Compassion International right here: Water of Life.

Do We Need Another Story about Starving Children and Poverty?

I must admit that as important as I believe it is for all of us to be involved in the fight against poverty there are times where I just don't want to see another story, magazine, blog post, facebook status, or tweet dealing with this issue.  I admit that constantly hearing about it is a drag.  I mean I get it.  Poverty is a huge problem.  To that end I sponsor a child with Compassion International (compassion.com) and serve as a Compassion Advocate.  I've adopted 3 children from Ethiopia.  I serve as an associate for America World Adoption (awaa.org) and regularly speak on adoption and orphan care.  I regularly address the issue in sermons. I work to constantly remind people that this issue is not going away and yet it is important for us to continue to work to end it.  Nevertheless, there are times when I simply want to say that enough is enough and I'd like to hear some good news for a change.  Really, I just want to get lost for a while in mind-numbing nothingness.  I want to pretend for a minute that all is right with the world and whatever is not right is simply not my responsibility.

Then my 9 year old son who lived the first 7 years of his life in Ethiopia reminded me why we have to continue to tell the stories and to continue to inform ourselves on the issue of poverty and the many evils that accompany it.  The other night at dinner he mentioned that he "needed" an ipod.  When asked why he "needed" an ipod he said because "everyone has one."  Fortunately, I had just received in the mail Compassion International's kids' magazine Explore in the mail.  In this month's issue there was a page that had pictures of 4 different "houses" from around the world.  3 of these houses were what we Americans may consider to be shacks made of mud, cardboard, and scraps of metal and plywood.  Then there was one traditional American home.  I used this too illustrate to Feromsa, who has apparently forgotten his life in Ethiopia, that not everyone had such an American home and that they certainly did not have an ipod.  Many of them did not even have food.

Now then, if someone who lived in the struggles of poverty can after just a couple of years in America forget those struggles, then how much more are we who have been blessed to always live here likely to forget unless we are constantly reminded?

To Be Human

I recently saw a documentary titled Kicking It about a soccer tournament in which all of the participants were homeless men.  The organizers of the tournament called the Homeless World Cup had an idea to use the game of soccer to change the lives of the men.  To be honest as I watched the film I kept thinking to myself, "Sure, the men seem to enjoy the game but come on, they are homeless.  What they need is what anyone in such a situation needs: food, shelter, clothing, etc."  I thought this because this is what one who is in poverty need.  Someone in the grips of poverty needs food, not a game.

As the film progress it followed several men who were playing in the tournament.  There were men from Ireland, Afghanistan, Kenya, America, Russian, and some 40 other countries.  One of the men from the Russia team would routinely say, "We must win."  His demeanor was of great determination.  His, "We must win" was always said not so much with a drive for the glory of victory but with the voice of a man in desperation to save his life.  It was as if his life literally depended upon his team winning a simple soccer tournament that most of the world knew nothing about.

So what exactly was it?  Why was it so important to win this soccer tournament?  In the words of the man, "If we win, then we will be human."  You see poverty isn't just about the lack of food, clothing, or shelter.  What poverty ultimately does is strip someone of their belief that they are human.  They are stripped of that because that is how they are most often treated by others.  They are treated, viewed, and often ignored as something less than worthy of our attention; something less than human.

    The poor is disliked even by his neighbor,
        but the rich has many friends.
     Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner,
        but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.
                                                 (Proverbs 14:20-21 ESV)