"Take the emotional risk and build deep relationships with friends who care. There is no physician like a true friend." - Lecrae
From Jeff Bethke...
I seriously love it here. Yesterday we played soccer with the kids
while a group of them practiced a performance for the first lady of
Uganda. The kids here are insane–they play all day, never get sweaty,
and don’t get tired. They put me to shame.
For dinner all the guys I’m with split up and we all eat with a
different orphan home. The mom in the one I went to was named Beatrice.
It was such a special moment. Here the girls prepare the food and then
come kneel before the guys as they give it to them. Then the girl who
served me my food said “let us pray” in one of the cutest voices ever.
For dinner we have beans and this mashed up corn type stuff called
“porsha” I think. It was good! The serving size here is ridiculous
though. They all made fun of me for eating like a “muzungu” and not
eating a lot. When mama Beatrice brought me my food I thought it was for
the whole table haha.
Today we are going to do lots of work around the property to get it
ready for the First Lady. There’s a special buzz around here because
everyone is really looking forward to it. Excited to do a small part in
maintaining this awesome property. Also hope it’ll be a good time of
conversation with the workers who live here.
Lastly, I’m just so reminded here of where true joy comes from. All
the kids here have such joy and such a beautiful spirit among them
despite their circumstances. Frankly sometimes it’s embarrassing to me.
Here you can’t help but realize what’s really important in life. There
is such a heavy emphasis on relationships here. Joy comes from
friendship, conversation, and loving each other. Because of Dollar For The Poor
they’ve been blessed here to have their basics needs met like durable
shelter, 3 hot meals a day, water, and education. And all that happens
from people giving a dollar a month. It’s crazy that it’s such a small
amount I never even notice it coming out of my bank, yet it provides so
much for the kids. I mean what would it look like if the each person in
the Body gave a dollar? It could be from a CEO’s salary or a 12 year
old’s allowance. It’s a level playing field and we all can have a part.
What’s holding you back? It took me awhile to sign up but once I did
I’ve never regretted it. Especially after seeing the faces and schools
that it’s helping.
Seriously if you have a chance checkout Dollar For The Poor.
Humbled by their work and seeing it first hand I can vouch they have a
kingdom mindset. Their main priority is to restore and invest in
relationships, and seeing the fruit of that here is beautiful. I have so
much to learn and thankful for God’s grace in teaching me so much while
over here.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I posted this because it harkens back to why we are here. Do you know why you were created? The Bible teaches we were made to love, worship and glorify God. We were made to have a relationship with Him. From that flows relationships with others. But many have missed the point. Even those who have gotten the point often approach it with a take-it-or-leave-it attitude. Why? Because it takes time to get to know someone. It takes effort to share life with another. It takes courage to be vulnerable, to love, to give oneself to another. Even our pride gets in the way as it tells us we are capable of going through this life on our own. Others will just let us down anyway.
So why does anyone do it at all? Because the reward is so much greater than the risk. It is so much sweeter than the potential heartbreak of the investment. The destination makes the journey, no matter how treacherous, completely worthwhile.
Sadly, many only see the risks and not only rob themselves of the blessings of community in this life but put themselves in jeopardy of missing the blessings of eternity with God. Relationship matters...much more than most of us know or are willing to admit...
No comments:
Post a Comment