unite.
clay wore his
kids of the world unite shirt
yesterday and i was all:
YES. why don't the kids of the world just unite?!
i mean, they aren't the ones putting these silly boundaries,
injustices, stereotypes, American-dreams on people.
kids have it right.
the way they love freely.
worship fully.
have faith blindly.
find joy easily.
a book we read often says,
why make big problems out of little problems?
i get that this is the real world and that there are very real
problems. i get that nothing will ever be perfect on this side
of eternity. but, why on earth do i want an immersion blender
more than i care about sponsoring one more child for food?
for school? for a bag of beans to take home to their family?
for a chance for clean water? for a pair of shoes?
did you know that some places that we went in Uganda didn't want us
to hand out shoes? the shoes protect their feet for those couple months
that they last, but then they often won't have another pair of shoes
for a lifetime. their feet have then been softened by being in shoes and now
they would be more susceptible to injuries, and therefore, disease.
people are literally dying of infections and diseases because they don't have shoes, but
they don't want the children to have shoes because more shoes are not coming.
i get their point.
do you know how many freaking pairs of shoes we have in this house?
how much food?
the cabinets full of medicine?
disgusting.
i am learning a lot from this trip to a country that i love. i know i will
continue to learn. i know not everyone can pick up and go wherever,
but we have to do something. children are dying because they
don't have shoes to protect their feet. children are dying of hunger.
seriously. literally. i saw it. hop on a plane for 2 short flights and
there are children dying as we wallow in our wealth.
yes. our wealth. yes. your wealth. mine, too.
unite.
we have to unite.
Oh, Love....I have no words. I can't even imagine what you saw and how it changed your heart.
ReplyDeleteThank you for being a window to a world I can't imagine. My heart breaks for these children. We give out of the little we have and always wish it were more.(We are a missionary family that receives very, very little support ourselves, and still hasn't had any luck finding local work after a year!) And yet your post has reminded me again how blessed my family and I are and how we could still do more.Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteYES!! Lets....unite that is. :0) Reminds me of the this song, "Greater things are yet to come , greater things are still to be done in this city". God is uniting us Love. Can you feel it? I can feel it. I can see it all around. There's always more though right? Thank you for your sweet heart.
ReplyDeleteKendra
oh, love. how your heart makes me weep. and it's because your heart seems knitted to mine. i am rendered speechless, breathless...helpless any time this issue crosses my path (which is often, from posts like this to commercials on tv) and all i can do is fall to my knees. literally, i do. heart-pounding. i want to DO something, but am overwhelmed at the thought of sorting out WHAT. it seems His greatest call to me right now is prayer. prayers like i've never known, prayers drawn from my lips nearly against my will sometimes. there is something deep in there trying to break out. i only wish it would come out of hiding.
ReplyDeleteThat last photo completely melted me to tears. Thanks for giving me this window into Uganda, Love!
ReplyDeleteI'm having such a hard time lately with being disgusted by wealth and the fact that we are so content to ignore. Every time I hop on facebook I see the shallowness of the posts and I just want to scream and shake them and remind them that there are children DYING and they could've sponsored several for the cost of their new Coach purse they got today. Ugh. How do we deal with this contentment to ignore? It's driving me insane sitting in Sunday School studying Acts and talking about how the early church shared as everyone had need, but then we don't apply it to our lives. Oh, how my heart is broken and stirred for something more.
ReplyDeleteWE are UNITED with you:)
ReplyDeleteYour post makes me teary. So very true.
ReplyDeleteWhen you have the courage to go, to look and really SEE the hunger, the poverty, the injustice....all of it... you are changed forever.
ReplyDeleteI love your words....and the word unite is just so incredibly powerful.
I love your heart.
ReplyDeleteJen
Couldn't agree with you more!
ReplyDeleteThis last picture made me cry. I have been praying very hard for God to tell me what to do with my life and everytime I pray I hear the words... mission, souls, hearts and grace
ReplyDeleteI went to a tea party that was called "mission tea" and we listened to a missionary speak about where she had been and what she had seen and how she helped. She also mentioned how God showed her "souls" and not just people. I loved that!
I have enjoyed reading about your trip and getting excited about missions. Me and my friend do a homeless ministry in our town where we hand out homeless bags filled with things they can use.
I love getting excited for Jesus and seeing where He wants to go and what He wants me to do. If I can help with sending anything to these children please let me know.
~Molly P
Hi baby...sending you a big hug and a head rub! Its been too long and it always makes you feel better, so the mom in me wants to play with your hair and sooth your mind. My heart breaks when your's does....then it breaks again all on its own. Lets just remember how to be those children again....to love and laugh and truly feel joy no matter what is going on....to never see the color of someone's skin as a negative or a positive....and to just enjoy our day, our moments, our precious life that we have been blessed with. We must do better, yes, but we must also remember that everyone doesn't get it....not because they don't want to, their eyes have yet to see.
ReplyDeleteOn a lighter note....I love the picture of Clayton and Ms. Ellie, but I think Ms. Ellie is getting ready to give her personal and very animated review of Clayton....cannot imagine what she would have to say because he looks adorable, but I also know Ellie, and she has something on her mind and something to say!!!!
In the last picture...I can tell you are Sanyu, but is that Edith you are holding??
ReplyDeletekim Balts
Well said!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for posting this picture of my sweet boy, Raphael. He has my heart completely. And I spend much of my free time scouring the internet for more pictures of him. (I only get to see him every other Thursday for maybe an hour or two, because of the schedule of the organization I'm here with, but I hope to see him a lot while Linny and her team are here.) I see him again this Thursday. If you happen to have ANY other pictures of him, would you mind emailing them to me? I'm not able (at least not while I'm there with my org, hopefully I will while Linny's here) to take pictures of him myself. My email is sjfrey at cedarville dot edu. Thank you.
ReplyDelete