Action

I have an assignment for you all.  Take a look at this video,  Missions in Action. Then maybe view the additional videos made.  And finally, take action.  We are called to action.  We were created for action.  My friends, it is our honor, our purpose if you will to be the hands and feet.  For the least of these, for the most and all the inbetween.  Every opportunity taken with gusto.  Proclaiming the glory.  Not ours, His.
Sound lofty and idealistic?  Maybe it is.  Really though it is a challenge.  Daily within myself to fight the flesh and open my eyes.  I am not saying it is necessary to support each and every cause.  Nor am I saying to feel guilty that you don't have a "cause".  Jesus is the cause.  Plain and simple.  And when we allow Him to speak to our heart we really aren't the ones doing anything.  Sound upside down?  Well that's because it is.  Yet, when we allow this to happen we are filled with the Spirit and His power.  Flowing from that will be immeasurable goodness.  Just imagine for a moment.  Please. 

There is a missons in action team that travels the world to release children from poverty in Jesus' name and that team is with Compassion International.  All over the world children are in need.  Through Compassion and their sponsorship program these children's basic needs are being met.  Not only are they fed physically but spiritually as well.  By loving them and teaching them their lives are changed.  Dramatically.  If the video above doesn't prove that I don't know what would.  It is all about the heart with this organization.  Truly.  Funny thing about sponsorship is that it wound up changing my heart too.  And not just mine but my family's. 

Our child, Oswaldo, recently sent us a letter and a photograph.  We exchange letters rather frequently with him but I could sense that this one was different.  Included with a note in his handwriting was an 8x10 photograph of him standing behind a bench filled with "stuff".  I say stuff because to you and I the items on the bench are things I take for granted on a daily basis.  In all his fourteen year old cuteness he had lined up what he purchased at the store with the birthday money we sent to him via Compassion.  Meat for his family, three pairs of shoes, one for church, one for play and one for football, hair gel (he is a fourteen year old boy afterall) snacks and drinks for his family and two shirts.  The amount we sent was insignificant to us, a frozen yogurt out or a few cups of overpriced coffee for me.  It wasn't about the size of the gift.  He shared in his letter how he was able to shop with someone from his Compassion center.  How happy and proud he was to provide for his family.  The joy he experienced in learning  how to manage his money and make his own purchases.  And for us, seeing that photograph of him and reading  his letter was a reminder of how blessed we are to be a part of his life.  The Things pray for Oswaldo, he is one of ours.  Through this relationship they have learned about Oswaldo's country and stared slackjawed at Husband Jared and I when they were able to see first hand what he chose to spend his very own birthday money on.



I share that story with you not for a pat on the back but for you to see that Compassion is the real deal.  We don't compare our giving with anyone else's, Jesus is the standard, (words taken from Ann Voskamp, A Holy Experience).  There are countless children waiting on their website for someone like you to invest in their life.  Waiting to hear about a man named Jesus.  Waiting to be prayed for.  Waiting for a letter to arrive.  Waiting for someone to take action.