Feeling the weight

This has been a prayer for me over the past few weeks when I was running on Saturday mornings. Decided to put it in writing.

Feeling the Weight

Dear Lord,
When I change clothes today, let me feel the weight of the homeless.
When I sit down to eat, let me feel the weight of the starving.
When I celebrate the joy, the taste, and the rebuke of your Word, let me feel the weight of those who have not heard.
When I run, let me feel the weight of those suffering physically.
When I tell my family that I love them, let me feel the weight of the widow and the orphan.
When I go about my job, let me feel the weight of the unemployed.
When I sink in despair, let me feel the weight of your glorious good news.
When I wage war on my sense of entitlement and pride, let me feel the weight of your suffering in Isaiah 53.
When I am tempted to boast, let me feel the weight of the mystery that you first acted on me to hear the gospel.

Amen

Shoes, Orphans, Kenya, and the Gospel Part Three

     I believe that we are eternal.  I believe that God has called and made a way for me to travel in His name to Kenya.  I believe that God loves us because He made us.  I believe that I am declared righteous before God not because of any merit on my own but because of the shed blood of Jesus that paid the price for sin.  I believe that most often, I am my own worst enemy.  I believe that God acts according to what will bring Him the most glory and in turn be for my greatest good.

This post is going to be full of links about what has been stirring in my heart and head as I continue to pack shoes for the trip to Kenya.  I have not been sleeping well.  It seems I cannot shut off my brain at night thinking of the impact this trip will have on me and wondering how God will use it for His glory.  I know that I do not have to have His story spelled out in order to obey.  I don’t have to know how God is going to use these shoes to minister to these orphans at Fiwagoh. (www.fiwagoh.org) This past week over breakfast with a friend, we talked about the vapor that is life.  How arrogant of us to assume we know the whole story of how God is working when we have only seen a still framed snapshot?  I am often guilty of trying to figure out how God is going to work out situations in my life.

Today’s sermon was more evidence of the lesson that is being stirred in my heart.  Shoes are a secondary need around the world.  The primary need is food, water, shelter, sponsorship and the gospel.  What is the gain if all we give is only given to extend earthly life with no emphasis on the eternal?  Benevolence, compassion, and ministering to the poor are commands of Scripture.

1 John 3:16-17 NIV

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.  If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

The goal is eternity.  Changing lives whether through shoes, water, sponsorship, and prayer are all rooted in the goal of making much of Jesus with what He has entrusted to us for the sake of His great name.  Below you will find a list of ways to get involved.  I simply ask that you look at each one with an open hand and heart to allow the Lord to lead you where He would have you give and support.

www.1wayministries.org – mission trips, evangelism, and child sponsorship

www.soles4souls.org  - shoe distribution to those in need around the world

www.toms.com  - Buy a pair of shoes and they give a pair to a child in need

www.neverthirstwater.org  builds wells for the gospel and community sustainability

www.amazima.org – child sponsorship, orphan care, and school (this is who God led me to in child sponsorship, picture below!)

www.myfathershouseintl.org  - child sponsorship, education, orphan care

www.hello-somebody.com  $25 watch feeds 100 children in efforts to breaks the cycle of poverty.

www.vaporsports.org mission trips, humanitarian support and discipleship in third world countries

My prayer is that our eyes and hearts are lifted towards eternity.  Thank you for your continued prayers in preparation for Kenya.  I will post specific request and itinerary the week of October 23^rd.

Winnie, age 6, sponsored through Amazima

Shoes, Orphans, Kenya and the Gospel Part Two

Why?

For Part 1 of Shoes, Orphans, Kenya and the Gospel click here

A quick fundraising update:  The total cost of the trip is $2400.  So far by God’s grace $550 has been received. All donations are tax deductible.  There is no donation too small.  There are two ways to contribute:

Send a check to One Way Ministries 105 Silver Leaf Lane, Alabaster, AL 35007 and in the memo line write, Kenya.  2.  Online www.1wayministries.org and click the donate button.  This will allow you to donate using Paypal.  Please write Kenya in the note to sender box if donating online.  Each donation will receive tax documentation from One Way Ministries in January 2012.

Why Fiwagoh?  A friend traveled this summer to various orphanages and prisons in Uganda and Kenya ministering to orphans.  In daily prayer through her trip, I kept being drawn to stories and pictures of bare feet.  The Lord prompted my heart about coordinating shoes.  I reached out to another friend who is with Soles4Souls and she graciously agreed to take part in the project.  I first contacted one of the prison ministries about shoes and was told that shoes would end up being bartered between the children as a form of prison currency.  Through more prayer, Pastor Benson and Fiwagoh began to become a clearer picture.  I emailed Pastor Benson and asked if they had a need for shoes.  He responded that he and his wife had been praying for that very thing because it was huge undertaking for the orphanage.  We continued to talk through email and he even called about a month ago.  We both agreed to pray and seek others to pray that if this was the Lord’s will that He would make a way.  All the paperwork was turned in and approved by Soles4Souls and OneWay Ministries agreed allowing me to travel as a part of their ministry for this trip.  It was now official!  It was humbling to email Pastor Benson and share the news with him.  Here is his response:

You are most welcome here at the Fiwagoh.  This will be an exciting time with you and we look forward to blessings to each other. Yes, I have told this to my big family that we should keep praying for you that all things will go on in Godspeed. We hope to see you very soon.

May God be with you brother.

 

Reading his email, I sat in tears for a while.  It is humbling to be a part of kingdom work.  It is beyond words that the Lord chooses to use us for His glory and purpose here.  I don’t want to sit idle when there is something that He is calling me to and opening the door for in Kenya.

A convicting why:  When I lay down to sleep, I can look in my closet and see the 22 pairs of shoes that I have.  At what point do I push back from the table of me and find contentment?

Two Practical Whys:  1. It is cheaper to carry shoes and go than it is to send shoes through air or sea freight.  There is also a risk that the shoes would never arrive or be stolen. 2. A leading cause of disease in developing countries is soil-transmitted diseases, which can penetrate the skin through bare feet. Wearing shoes can help prevent these diseases, and the long-term physical and cognitive harm they cause. Wearing shoes also prevents feet from getting cuts and sores. Not only are these injuries painful, they also are dangerous when wounds become infected.

The Spiritual Why:  As believers, we are responsible for our brothers and sisters.  We are to offer hope and encouragement through the gospel in every situation.  This is an opportunity to literally wash feet, to pray for and minister to orphans, to encourage fellow brothers in faith who are advancing the gospel in Kenya, and to GO for the name of Jesus.  Matthew 14:17-19 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.  “Bring them here to me,” he said.  And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.

Jesus didn’t ask for what they didn’t have.  He asked for what they had and when they gave it, he gave thanks and blessed it.

Will you help send me to Kenya?  Thank you in advance for remembering Pastor Benson and Florence Nganga, and the 160 plus orphans at Fiwagoh Mission in Nakuru, Kenya.

***Part Three of Orphans, Shoes, and the Gospel will include specific needs and prayer request for the trip.

Learn More about:  www.1wayministries.org, www.fiwagoh.org, and www.soles4souls.org