God celebrates me!

It's only 9am and already I've had such a great birthday experience. That's right, another year older today. Guess I need to change my profile:( As I had time with God this morning I recited Psalm 139. I was moved in a new way that the glorious, holy, majestic, righteous, infinitely loving, timeless and sovereign God that created all things was celebrating with me the day that marks the beginning of my existence on earth. I'm in awe of that reality today. What a beautiful thing. I hope I can continue to make this thought more of a reality in the lives of those God brings across my path for however long I'm here!

I'll let the Word do all the talking...

If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard hearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: "The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near", so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.

Deuteronomy 15:7-11

Opposites

The Amber of Africa is living in a totally opposite world from the Amber in the USA. Let's start with how I wake up and go to sleep. That would be with 7 other girls in a bunk packed room. Stark contrast from my rather large bedroom back home that sleeps just me. Here, immediately hit with people interaction. Home, well I'll just let my co-workers tell you what it's like to encounter me at the very beginning of the day (my profuse apologies and gratitude for your patience Wiz rehab department). Here, most of the time I leave here only if someone is leaving as well (though this is improving). Home, I leave whenever I want. Here, I love running on hills! Home, avoid hills at all cost. Here, dependent on others for going out and getting around, to go for a run and for what I eat. Home, eat and run whenever I want. Here, I must hide to have my quiet time. Home, I can go just about anywhere and find a place to get uninterrupted quiet (or alone time). I HAVE FALLEN IN LOVE WITH A CAT! Enough said.

Am I the problem or the solution?

A few weeks ago I visited a children's village (or orphanage) in a more rural part of where I'm staying. The building is rather small and has a total of 4 rooms: 2 bedrooms, a livingroom, and a kitchen. The kitchen has broken down cabinets and large bags of bread sit on the floor since there's no storage space. There's no bathroom or bathing area--the one toilet in the house is actually in the middle of the kitchen. There's one bedroom for girls where 8 girls sleep in 4 beds. The boys bedroom is even more cramped with 4 sets of bunks stacked 3 high, 2 boys to a bunk for a total of 24 boys in one tiny room. 32 kids (plus adults) squished into one tiny house. Some of the windows in the house have holes in the glass which is problematic for the coming winter and the cold nights it will bring. The roof leaks in multiple places, rats run freely, and there's no running water. My encounter with this place left my heart broken and quite convicted. The greatest conviction came in the knowledge that each of the needs I saw in this house could be easily met with the great deal of resources available in the USA. A larger house with more room and the proper utilities could be built with little to no sacrifice on the part of any one person. These kids could get clean water daily as well as all the food they need without most people I know (including myself) even feeling much of a change in their lifestyle. Yet what happens? We get caught up in buying a bigger this or more up to date that, we HAVE to try out that new restaurant up the street at $15+ a person, and don't even get me started on what we shell out to see a movie in the theater. All the while these 32 kids are living in below acceptable conditions. If one of these children were one of our own or if it was a grandchild, niece or nephew or little cousin, would we consider this an acceptable way for them to live? Would we not sacrifice or rethink where our money went? So why should it be different just because it's a child whose face we've never seen with a name we've never heard? I realize I'm asking harsh questions and implying some bold things. I'm feeling the full weight of how what I've seen is going to affect how I live my life (and since I'm proclaiming it to the world I'm openning myself to some accountability...whether I want it or not:) ). I'm inviting you to explore your wallet as I explore mine. I'm asking you to ask questions with me: Do I really need _________? Is it worth my money to eat out again this week (or month) when I could be investing it in a place of extreme need? How can I be reinvesting what I have to make a longer term impact instead of using it for the temporary pleasure of dinner and a movie? I by no means have this figured out when it comes to what's ok for me to spend my money on and what's extraneous. I just know that a majority of the time I spend my money on temporary things while others suffer. I know that I can't think back to what I've seen since I've been here and not consider I need to change and seek to be part of the solution. I welcome your thoughts, suggestions, comments and/or criticism on this topic!

No More Excuses

When we think of extraordinary people our minds usually turn to people like Mother Theresa, Ghandi, and Nelson Mandela. As we think of these people we tend to focus on the sacrifical lives they lived or their profound words of wisdom, and how gifted they were in touching the lives of many people. I don't know about you, but the next thought that usually follows for me is something on the line of, "Wow. I'm glad they had (or have) the gifts and abilities to serve people in this way because I don't have what it takes to do that." That last thought is pretty much a cop-out and excuse to keep living my same comfortable life. It's also an excuse that has been completely killed with an introduction to the life of a man named Sifiso. Sifiso lives in a rural area of a township called KwaNyuswa (about 15 minutes from where I'm staying). He lives in 1 room of an unfinished house that has dirt floors and glassless windows. He's been working on it since the 1990s. Is he lazy? What's he doing with his time anyway? (yes, those questions were a set-up:) ). Glad you asked. Seems his days are actually quite busy and focused on feeding the children in his community. He estimates that he feeds 300 children a day. For many of these kids the meal they get from him will be the only one that day. Some days he is unsure if he or the children will eat anything at all. By the way, did I mention that Sifiso is only 23 years old? I don't know about you but this fact both astonished and touched me deeply. This young man has the potential to further his education, work a good job and live a more comfortable life. Yet he forgoes finishing his own house to make sure the children in his community get a meal. He would rather make plans on how to expand his outreach and empower the small businesses of the women in his community than figure out how to buy the latest technology or trendy clothes. When asked why he's chosen this way of living his answer is clear: "When I feed these children I'm serving Jesus. It's the only way to live and I'll do it for the rest of my life." After meeting this man and seeing how he's chosen to live his life I had a realization. If such a young man can sacrifice his own desires to serve thouse around him in such a simple yet vital way, then I have no excuse. I don't have to aspire to the level of Mother Theresa or Ghandi. I just have to be willing to sacrifice my desire for extreme and usually unnecessary comfort to allow others around me to have their most basic of daily needs met. I can only encourage you to examine your lives with me and be willing to ask the painful question, "Am I willing to continue allowing others around me to suffer so I can live the life I want?".