Remember

There are times when I need to be reminded of why I am here. On nights like tonight when the challenge of living and working in a country that is not my own weighs on me and when the reality of what I am doing and where I am weighs on me, I have to remember…the promises of God—not that He won't give me more than I can handle but He will walk beside, in front, and behind me all the time! When I fail He's there, when I am need He is ready to answer….the experiences of the past—all these things that have brought me to this point and prepared me for what I face today…and the calling/purpose on my life—to love God and love others; and today for this time I am called to love these children well; to fight for justice, education, protection, and their hearts and souls. So I'm going to type this blog for my own reminder.

This week I said goodbye to a young mother who will leave the hospital with her malnourished 2 year old to live in conditions beyond imagination. We think the children's hospital is horrible…I can hardly think about how much better that place is then where she is going. Regina and Baby Esther are why I am here.

I participated in a slumber party for 17 preteens who just need the chance to be little girls--to giggle and dance and love on each other and eat junk food until they pop! Girls who wanted to make sure that their friends and siblings that got left behind get the same food and treats that they did so they begged Aunty Marie to bring take their extra to their brothers and sisters. These young girls are why I am here.

I was asked by my new friends here for simple things…clothesline and pants that fit, for bandaids and school fees. And I know that these simple things bring so much gratitude and joy! I am here to give as much of those little things away that I possibly can.

I listened to officials talk about children who were being sold or tricked into slavery. Stories of adults who willingly use children for their own gain or pleasure or whatever and I remember some of the anger that drives me here as well; not anger that is unholy but it is the type that can declare there is right and wrong, good and evil, justice and injustice in this world and I cannot look the other way. That is why I am here.

I sat and listened to a man who is giving everything that he has to serve these children say he did not need to be reimbursed for the fuel he uses while taking the children places they need to go. For him, it's not about the salary or the prestige, it's about the kids and doing whatever it takes to see them cared for. This man is the parable of the widow in action…he gives ALL of what little He has and trusts that God will be his provider. He is why I am here and when I look at him I remember that God has called me to give both out of my abundance—love, relational support, education, finances, health—and my little.

And I got an email at a very timely point this week, after visiting a group of children that we fought so hard for last year and it ended with a quote that sums it all up for me right now…

"Love is one of the pinnacle parts of the Christian faith. There is another side called justice, and justice is really love in calculation. The Christian gospel is a two-way road. On the one hand, it seeks to change the souls of men, and thereby unite them with God; on the other hand, it seeks to change the environmental conditions of men so the soul will have a chance after it is changed."  ~ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.