I Hope I Never Forget

"I don't want to remember...but I hope I never forget!"  I read this quote the other day, and it summed up my feelings/struggles as I acclimate to the United States after a life changing trip.

I don't want to remember because if I do...I MUST CHANGE!  Unfortunately, I am perfectly content in my American life...with my excess of stuff...with everything I need and almost everything I want! Change may require me to give up some of those comforts...

But, I hope I never forget!  I hope I never forget the smiling faces of the children....

I hope I never forget the babies that were dying for lack of proper nutrition....

I hope I never forget the way I felt when holding or surrounded by these beautiful children...

Since I returned I have been reading the book Interrupted  by Jenn Hatmaker.  In the book, she makes a clear case for how ALL Christians are called to care for the poor...so I will share some of her convicting quotes...

~24,000 of my sheep will die today because no one fed their bellies; 18,000 of them are my youngest lambs, starving today in a world with plenty of food to go around.  If you truly love Me, you will feed my lambs. My people are crumbling and dying and starving, and you're blessing blessed people and dreaming about your next house.

~The world knows about our Jesus.  They know about His poverty and love of the underdog.  They know He told His followers to care for the poor and to share.  So Americans living in excess beyond imagination while the world cries out for intervention is an unbearable tension and utterly misrepresents God's kingdom.  While the richest people in the world pray to get richer, the rest of the world endures unimaginable suffering...As Ghandi once famoulsy said "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians.  Your Christians are so unlike your Christ".

~If the kingdom of God belongs to the poor, the bottom dwellers, then rich American Christians are going to have the hardest time finding it.  Perhaps this is why the church is gaining ground in impoverished and oppressed regions but declining in the United States and affluent continents like Europe and Australia.  The needy world isn't interested in God because He might secure their promotion or deliver an offer on their house in a wilting market.  By the millions, they are running to the cross because the love of a redeeming Saviour is too intoxicating to resist.  

~He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.  Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me"...."I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:32-40.  It will matter only if you're a sheep or a goat.  The blessed and the lost will be separated based on one principle;  the care of the forsaken.  The End!

So, here is sit...unsure of what is next for me...knowing I must do more, give up more!  I feel lonely here!  I feel great fear here!  I feel myself clinging to what is comfortable!  But, I truly hope I never forget and I let my life be forever changed!

Smell the Separation

It was a GREAT day!   Sometimes, when you visit a third world country you see so much need that you forget to stop and see the beauty of the country.  Today, we got to see so much beauty!  My African brothers, Ety and Serge, took us to see the Congo River.  It was amazing!

We put our feet in the water.

A couple of men who we're bringing in sand on a boat let us climb aboard.

We enjoyed a beautiful lunch together.  The most exciting part was when we got to ride around in Ety's "baby car".

At the end of the day, we were heading towards the airport and the car got very quiet.  I asked Ety about it and he responded he was feeling the "smell of separation."  It is so weird how you can be in a country totally different than yours....where you look different than everyone....where you speak a different language than everyone....but yet it feels like home.  I love the children there.  My African brothers live there.  I am even getting accustomed to the crazy driving there.

When we finally said our goodbyes and hugged tight....there was a sense of sadness.  We don't know when we will see each other again.  I felt a great heaviness to leave!

A Little Piece of Heaven

Today, we saw a little piece of Heaven.  We traveled about an hour outside of the city to a town where GOF hopes to build a wholistic village.  It was beautiful!  I saw so much potential.

Potential for the children in the orphanage to run, swing, slide, grow a garden, and breathe in fresh air.

Potential for great ways to reach out and impact the surrounding community.

Oh the ride home, I was riding with Ety in the "VIP lounge" (which in English is the back of a SUV in jump seats) and we were speaking about our faith.

He was reminding me that I have been blessed to be a blessing to these children.  I have seen so that I will do.  In Ety's words, "I have the power inside of me".  Now, I must chose how I will use that power...how I will allow what I have seen to change me...how I will use my countless blessing to bless these children.

African Time

Today, we were on Africa time!  There was a lot of waiting, unexpected stops, and crazy driving.  It is hard for me, an uptight, schedule-driven, American to relax and enjoy the unplanned.

Check out this beautiful view of the city of Kinshasa...

  

A familiar street on the way to revisit the orphanage where we weighed and measured the children on Monday...

 

 

The beautiful faces that lit up when the "monde'le'" (white person) returned to visit and bring mattresses and underwear...

And, of course, my personal favorite, the time to hold, kiss, and love on these children who are begging for human touch.

Today, I was asked what gives me hope when I see such dire circumstances.  Hope is defined as an optimistic attitude of mind based on an expectation of positive outcomes related to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large.  I have hope when I see the difference that the GOF is making here in the lives of the orphans...in many cases saving them from starvation and death.  I have hope when my family and friends donate their money to a cause I believe in...for children they have never met.  I have hope because I know that my Heavenly Father knows each of these children by name...and He alone is their true Hope.  I.HAVE.HOPE!

Close to Home

Today hit very close to home!  We visited the orphanage where my Isaac lived.  As I looked around, I could only envision his life there. Isaac lived at the orphanage for a very short time, but it is still part of his story.  People at the orphanage remembered him...enjoyed looking at how big he is now!

When we first arrived, the children sang and danced for us....again, I was taken back to when I stood there with Isaac in his Snugli listening to the children sing.  My life has changed.  Isaac's life has changed drastically.  Have their lives changed? 

It is so easy to look and be overwhelmed....there are so many children!  There is so much need!   But, YES, these children's lives have changed.  The GOF (Global Orphan Foundation) is doing amazing things here...feeding malnourished children, providing vitamins and medicine, and funding some extra therapies for children with disabilities.  The GOF is meeting a real need for these children who are without food, without medicine, and without access to outside physical therapy.

 
Here are some images from this emotional day...
My favorite was this beautiful moment...a little baby girl was crying all alone on the steps, I finally got her to hold one of my hands, then both hands, and THEN. SHE. LET. ME. HOLD. HER!!!

There were so many smiles and beautiful children....

We delivered over 300 pairs of much needed underwear to the children today! 

I walked away from the orphanage wanting to do more...needing to do more!  However, I walked away encouraged that the GOF is making progress...that the GOF is changing the lives of these orphans!

Preparing Yourself

Tonight, as we debriefed over the first day at the orphanages, the videographer stated "You try to mentally prepare yourself for what you are going to see, but you just can't."  That about sums up my day!  I have been to orphanages here before, but I still wasn't prepared....

prepared for the streets during rainy season

prepared for the babies..laying in cribs and on the floor, no stimulation, severely malnourished, wheezing, crying for love

prepared for beautiful Davinia speaking and singing in English....
 

prepared for the smiling faces despite the circumstances...

or, prepared for the mob that would descend on me for a sticker :)