Drawn from Water from Drawn From Water on Vimeo.
The people of the Karo tribe in rural south-western Ethiopia have a culture rich in tradition. However, the tribe lives in fear of evil spirits who they believe bring ill fortune to their villages. They use the word “Mingi” to describe persons they consider cursed or otherwise imperfect. Those deemed Mingi face severe consequences, as the Karo believe the presence of these children on their land curses the tribe. Their solution to this perceived threat is to drown Mingi in the river. Last year, 7 percent of Karo children were associated with Mingi, resulting in the deaths of 77 children. If the two other nearby tribes practice the Mingi tradition at the same rate as the Karo tribe, then the Hamer, Mursi and Karo populations may have a combined 3,000 children whose lives are at risk.
Go and visit, Drawn from Water, today.
Tags: Drawn from Water, Ethiopia
This month at Inspired to Action, the focus is on the ministry of Compassion, and today we focus on the children specifically.
There are many great organizations helping to serve the poor, and feed the hungry, and Compassion is one of these, whose main focus is the children of impoverished countries.
If you sponsor Compassion children, and have been corresponding with them, by now you know them by name, know what they want to be when they grow up, and what their specific prayer requests are. Today is the day to fast from a meal, and to pray specifically for your Compassion sponsored child, and all the children for that matter.
Some prayer requests that my sponsored children have requested are:
- Health for them, and their families
- To do well in school
It’s simple and basic, but these children covet your prayers gratefully.
In the comments, let’s talk about your Compassion child, and what their specific prayer requests are. We can all lift them up in prayer today.
Join us in prayer today, and have a wonderful Monday.
Tags: Compassion International
Today I’m pleased to share an interview with Jennifer Bacak. Jennifer and her husband Rusty are passionate about Compassion International’s work rescuing children from poverty and sharing the good news of Christ’s love with families all over the world. To raise money for Compassion’s Child Survival Program, they have organized the Run for Compassion, an event taking place this month in Bryan, Texas. Jennifer recently took time out from her busy life to answer a few questions about the run, how her family became supporters of Compassion’s work, how supporting Compassion relates to their faith, and teaching children to care for those in need.
1. Tell us about the Run for Compassion.
Run For Compassion is a 5K/10K/ and Kids Fun Run on April 18th starting at Tiffany Park in Bryan, TX. It is a fundraiser for Compassion’s Child Survival Project in the capitol city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. Sign-up will start at 8am. Registration is online at www.runforcompassion The cost is $20 for the 5K and $25 for the 10K. The Kids’ Fun Run is $5/ child.
2. What inspired you to organize the run?
My family. I have a brother who works for Compassion. Two years ago, my parents challenged us to raise money for the Child Survival Program. They gave each of us kids (there are five of us) $50, and told us to multiply it. My husband and I did a fundraiser last year, but it was more or less a flop. I think we earned less than $200. We collected more money in change in our home, from piggy banks, and from a small jar in my husband’s office during the year. My parents collected the money at the end of the year and we sponsor Child Survival Programs together as a large family. This year we got our $50 and my parents’ goal is to sponsor 6 CSPs this year. I really wanted to multiply our money this year in a very profitable way for the CSP.
3. How did you become passionate about supporting Compassion International?
Again, my brother works for Compassion, and he and his wife have recently adopted two beautiful kids from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. This has obviously awakened us to what is happening there, and after reading a book called There is No Me Without You by Melissa Fay Greene, we are honestly broken for the desperate needs that are not being met there, and other parts of the world. AIDS is rampant. There’s a world hunger crisis. Millions of people are living without clean water, and are subsequently dying from preventable diseases. And worst of all, they need a Savior in Jesus Christ. As my brothers have become involved with organizations like Compassion and Living Water, it has made our whole family more mindful and aware. My brothers are traveling to these places and seeing it firsthand. I am at home, looking at the pictures, following their progress from our home, as I am a wife and mother of four little ones. But I can play an important role with what Compassion is doing. There are people working for Compassion, being the hands and feet of Christ, sharing the Gospel and meeting needs. They just need our sponsorship to do it.
4. Why did you choose the Child Survival Program as the beneficiary of the run? Why did you choose Ethiopia specifically?
My parents chose the Child Survival Program. I believe the CSP echoes the heartbeat of what my Mom is already doing here in the U.S. For over twenty years, she has worked for a pregnancy crisis center and adoption agency in Houston called New Life. She works to save the lives of babies, counseling women, doing ultra-sounds, and assisting them in every way imaginable as they give life. Compassion sponsorship is vital to the lives of children ages five and up. But these children have to make it to five first. The statistics on the Compassion website say that 27,000 children under the age of five die daily from preventable causes. The CSP is intervening, starting with the womb. They are giving babies and mothers/caregivers what they need to survive, and sharing the Gospel with them and connecting them to local churches. They need food, education, shelter, and medical care. The CSP is working to do that. Mothers get job training so they can provide food for their babies. Babies who are HIV+ are getting the meds they need so they never get AIDS. These kids get a shot at making it to five, and then are eligible for sponsorship.
5. Does your family sponsor children through Compassion? If so, where do they live?
We do. My oldest, Emma, is the correspondent with Tsadle in Ethiopia. My son corresponds with Derrick in Uganda. Our younger sons will get a Compassion child as a gift when they get a little older. And my husband and I sponsor a child through a different organization in Colombia that we have had for years, before our involvement with Compassion. We are by far the most impressed with Compassion’s work.
6. How does your faith impact your view of helping those in need?
It’s the Great Commission! And it’s obviously who Jesus was and the example he was for us. Without Jesus, it would be so easy to get wrapped up in ourselves and forget everyone else. But Jesus said if we helped the least of these, we are helping Him. His heart for the hurting, the fatherless, the orphans, the widows, the poor is written on practically everything He did and says in His Word. We can’t ignore or neglect that and say we’re followers or disciples of Christ.
7. How do you and your husband teach your children about God’s call to help those in need?
A verse that has meant a lot to us is James 1:27. It says “Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God our Father means that we must care for orphans and widows in their troubles, and refuse to let the world corrupt us.” My husband and I are learning how to do this with each passing year. One way that this has been fleshed out in our lives is adoption. We have adopted two of our precious kids, fostering one of them prior to his adoption, and will adopt again if we feel God wants us to. Our hearts must be broken for the fatherless. Also, we have a real love for the widows of today. We visit a nursing home frequently and have made amazing friends with the residents there. They have become so very dear to us. My kids love to visit there and are so amazing in how they love on those old folks. We have had the opportunity to share the Gospel there and make a real difference in some of their lives. Though I think they have impacted me more than I have them. I wish I had all day to sit and listen to their life stories. We have a lot to learn from the elderly! I’m afraid they have been in large part forgotten in these residential facilities.
Also, my husband does great ministry through his medical practice in treating people in need. He does medical mission work through his own practice day-to-day, and in yearly mission trips to Mexico and near the border of Mexico.
Lastly, I would say we are teaching them by making them globally minded for the purpose of missions from a young age. I homeschool my kids and teach them to label the continents starting in Kindergarten. This makes it much easier for us to talk about our missionaries we pray for as a family and about the persecuted church at home. I want my kids to think outside of our comfortable bubble and see those in need, whether right here at home or all around the world. That means we parents have to do that first.
We do not have this all figured out, but we are being intentional as we learn in teaching our children these things, and how we are commanded in scripture to love those in need and be like Christ in our actions toward them.
8. Are there any special scriptures that inspired your family in this area of life?
Yes, many! I already mentioned Matthew 25:35-40, James 1:27, and another good one is Psalm 146:5-9:
5 But happy are those who have the God of Israel as their helper,
whose hope is in the LORD their God.
6 He is the one who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them.
He is the one who keeps every promise forever,
7 who gives justice to the oppressed
and food to the hungry.
The LORD frees the prisoners.
8 The LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
The LORD lifts the burdens of those bent beneath their loads.
The LORD loves the righteous.
9 The LORD protects the foreigners among us.
He cares for the orphans and widows,
but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.
Jennifer Bacak is a wife and mother of four. She blogs about raising children, mentoring young women, and how God is working in her family’s life at The Bacak Nation. If you’re in Texas, be sure to sign up for the Run for Compassion today!
The month of April here at I2A will be focused on the work of Compassion International. Compassion is a great group, and they work they do in changing the lives of children is phenomenal.
Next Monday, April 6th is our regular First Monday Fast. I encourage everyone to come prepared to spend a part of their day next Monday in fasting, devotion, and prayer for the work of Compassion and the lives they touch. I’ll have up some specific areas that we can all be praying for them in. I’m really looking forward to this coming month – be here to experience it with us!
This weekend (starting this afternoon and running through Sunday), International Justice Mission is have a Global Prayer Gathering in the Washington D.C. area. There are people coming in from all their global offices, plus many people who have been supporters of IJM’s work, with worship being lead by Ten Shekel Shirt and Sara Groves.
I mention this because you can take part virtually in the GPG as they will be live blogging through the weekend. Be sure to check it out and keep their ministry in your prayers.
If you’re not familiar with IJM and their work, then you probably have not been reading many of my posts here at I2A. I’m a big believer in what they do – bringing hope and justice to those who have none, rescuing those trapped in modern slavery, and working to not only bring freedom from chains but recovery and hope for a new life after. One of the things about then that has made the biggest impression on me is their dedication to prayer. This GPG is merely and outgrowth of their daily practice. I understand that if you arrive at their office any morning between 8:30 and 9 you might as well leave and get some coffee; you’ll find the door locked and the whole office in prayer during that time. And this is not simple lip service – they truly believe that God hears and answers their prayer. Beautiful.
Keep IJM and their ministry in your prayers this weekend, and if you have a chance go over and check out what’s going on at the GPG.
Oh, and by the way, speaking of Sara Groves – she has just entered into the realm of blogging. They’re baby steps, thus far, but she really wants to share her experiences with the community in Gisanga, Rwanda with as many people as will read. Check out her new blog here and tell her you want to read more. Maybe that will encourage her to keep writing, eh?
Tags: IJM, International Justice Mission
Today we have a guest post from singer/songwriter(/funnyman) Jason Gray. I’ve been trying to showcase the steps – the moment or process – that brought us from sitting on the sidelines to actively trying to do something. I had a chance to ask this of Jason, and he graciously took some time out of his schedule to write this story for us. You can check out his music and some of his writing at his website. You can also read more of his writing at The Rabbit Room and the occasional devotional he writes for CMCenral.
P.S. Mucho kudos to Jason to take time to write this while in the studio starting recording for his new album. Thanks!
I remember driving home from school once as a young believer when I was 16 years old. I was living in an abusive situation at home, and since things at home were bad, things in school were bad, too. To top it off, my girlfriend had just broken up with me (and at that time, I of course thought that this break up was signaling the end of the world). So I’m driving home and crying my heart out to God when it occurs to me to wonder who God goes to when he’s heartbroken. I mean everybody goes to him, but who’s there for God?
So in a moment of grand youthful naiveté and maybe even presumptuous innocence, I told God that if he ever needed someone to talk to or a shoulder to cry on, I wanted to be there for him. And as cheesy as that may sound, I think he honored that prayer and began to break my heart with the things that break his. I believe that this prayer is why I’m in the ministry since nearly everything I’ve done since then has flowed from that broken heart. This is especially true of my work on behalf of the poorest of the poor.
It seems inevitable then that I should end up working with World Vision whose work began with a similar prayer by it’s founder, Bob Pierce, who prayed: “Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God”. I think God does some of his best work through broken-hearted people, and I sing about this everywhere I go.
Over the years I’ve come to understand service to the poor as perhaps our most significant expression of worship. I remember feeling a deep sense of wonder on a recent trip to Africa as I spent time with vulnerable children impacted by the AIDs virus. It was unsettling to realize that when I made them laugh with the goofy little songs I would play, or when I would share my water, or in some way give them comfort, that it was Jesus himself who I was making laugh, sharing water with, and giving comfort to. He says that what we do to the least of these, we do unto him, and that day under the hot African sun I was overcome by a compelling sense of his presence. It occurred to me that serving the poor might be as close as we’re likely to come to giving anything in return for Christ’s sacrifice for us.
I hope you can imagine how humbling it was for my wife and I then as we arrived at the village of little Otillia – the first girl we ever sponsored – and were surrounded by the whole community there who greeted us by singing the words, “well done, well done,” over and over again, “well done.” These are the words we hope to hear at the end of our lives as we stand before Christ: “Well done thou good and faithful servant!” And to be honest with you, hearing these words from the poorest of the poor was nearly as good as hearing them from Jesus himself. It is a cherished memory. Of course we know that they sang those words not only for us, but in gratitude for all the sponsors whose love and investment had transformed their community. We were just the fortunate ones who were there for them to sing it to.
Tags: Jason gray, World Vision
I’m beyond thrilled to welcome Justin McRoberts to Inspired to Action today. Be sure to go visit his blog when you’re done here.
Driving long drives makes for some really interesting radio. Particularly as stations fade in and out.. It’s like listening to a very slow DJ with confused musical taste mix hit songs. Just the other day, Aerosmith faded out into static and then into Pink. Later in the day, Pink (whose voice I love and could listen to if she sung the microwave directions on a Pop-Tarts box) faded out and into almost immediately into Pink Floyd; that was weird. At one point, as I passed through Columbus, OH I caught the tail end of an interview with a young woman who was working with low income families in the Columbus area. Apparently, she had organized a group of friends (sounded like most of them were in college) to run a program to provide for folks having difficulty with day to day things like rent and food.
After she had explained that what they needed most were donations of money and food, the host asked her…
“Times are tough, as we all know; so, what can our listeners do if they cannot give money or food or clothes?”
She replied with the kind of silence that radio people fear more than anything else, except maybe thoughtful music. The host combatted the silence by re-wording the question:
“What I mean is, um… does your organization have any other needs that we could help fill if we cannot make donations?”
She finally replied with “Well.. No.. Not really. I mean, we need money and food mainly.”
Now, I think I get where the host was coming from; that with the rate of job loss in Ohio, the chances are that some of his listeners were among those needing help rather than those who could provide it. In fact, I met a few folks during my recent trip to OH who had lost their primary source of income in the last month. That said, I’m struck the thinking I suspect underlies his reluctance to ask his listeners to give.
I wonder if there isn’t some part of the host’s question “is there anything else we can do?” that is really a re-packaging of the question “Is there a way I can contribute without sacrifice?” After all, it’s the mantra of our market culture.
-“Lose weight while eating nothing but Doritos and ranch all day.”
-“Make big money while sitting on your couch (or your roommate’s couch… or your mom’s) eating Doritos and ranch all day.”
-“Buy the house and car of your dreams with no money down and no payments for as long as it takes you to emotionally prepare yourself for not actually being able to pay for these things. (Doritos and ranch not included)”
I suspect that the allure of the “something for nothing” sales pitch has wedged itself into the space between our abundance and our perceived lack; and that it has done so because of a deep misunderstanding in us regarding our Source.
Here’s what I mean: The host began his question with the qualifying notation that “times are tough.” Agreed, they are. But from a christian perspective, should this fundamentally change my giving? It sounds to me as if he were suggesting that christian charity, generosity or compassion is moved by the activity of the Market rather than moved by a foundational trust in of the goodness of God.
“Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. ‘I tell you the truth,’ He said, ‘this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty, put in all she had to live on.” (Luke 21:1-3 NIV)
This widow had very little when weighed on the scales the Market uses. But Jesus says she gave “more” than the rich… So, do I believe this is simply a sentimental use of imagery on his part? Or do I believe that there is a deeper reality than the Market Value of the coins she gave? Do I believe that her gift was, on the scales used in the Kingdom, of greater value than the wads of cash the rich offered? Put in more contemporary terms: Do I believe in the power of the dollar as determined by the strength of the US Market and its standing in the Global Economy or do I believe in the Goodness and Resurrection of Jesus? That becomes the question we answer with our generosity in these “tough times.” In the former way of thinking, I give out of my surplus, thus proclaiming the health and dependency of the Market; in the better way of thinking, I give out of my heart and hope, proclaiming the Goodness and Resurrection of Jesus; not that I believe I have enough, but instead that I believe that HE does and HE is my source.
During a recent seminar on the connection between Art, Worship and Social Justice I was brainstorming hunger relief ideas with a room full of college students when one student noted “Almost all these ideas have to do with giving money. Why does it seem like that’s the answer so often?”
Well, on the one hand, money is a consistent theme when dealing with the poor because, as Bill Strickland (http://www.bill-strickland.org/) is fond of saying “the main problem with the poor is that they are poor.” The difference between those who have enough and those who do not is primarily financial. While financial well-being is not the only issue related to poverty, it’s pretty key to long-term restoration and development. But that’s not all of why it is important that money remains a theme when we engage with the issue of poverty. It is also important for our own souls. It is our attachement to our money that keeps us at arms length from the “least of these.” Our cultural insulation is constructed primarily of money and the things it buys us. Let’s keep in mind that Jesus spoke about money with a particular emphasis on the spirit he called “Mammon” which competes with the Spirit of God for the worship of God’s children. To worship Mammon is to believe that it can provide for us and protect us; that our happiness, safety and security are found therein. Christian generosity and charity break the spirit of Mammon in us so that when that spirit fails (and it does), we do not fall with it.
You see, I believe that we need to re-root our hope in the Goodness of God; to actively believe that we are sustained and blessed because God is Good and has chosen us, not because we’ve worked hard or been lucky or made wise investments. Our charity and generosity should reflect this. We need to be a people who proclaim the Resurrection of Jesus with our checkbooks and wallets as well as our mouths.
Justin McRoberts is a highly respected singer, songwriter and speaker who, over the past nine years, has carved out a niche for himself in the independent music scene. He is one of those rare artists who blends artistry, honesty, and humor almost seamlessly. You can read more of Justin’s musings at his blog.
Tags: Giving
We are in the middle of a month at Inspired to Action where we have been focusing on drawing back a little, finding rest in God and rejoicing in Him. We also happen to be in the middle of another significant period on the Christian calendar – the Lenten season. Lent is a time where, for 40 days, a person dedicate themself to God and to a renewed relationship with Him through some personal sacrifice. This, too, is something that can bring rest and rejoicing.
Personally, I don’t come from a background that observed Lent. In fact, I was probably in college before I really ever understood what Lent was. I can’t say that I’m observant now, but I do have a deep respect for the tradition. I’m sure that a number of the people reading I2A are observing Lent right now, though. Maybe you could share a little with the rest of us – how are you observing Lent, and what differences have you seen in your life over the last few weeks?
Tags: Lent
Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord – for we walk by faith, not by sight – we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.
2 Corinthians 5:6-9 (NASB)
What an amazing promise Paul conveys to us with this verse. We may not see the end, we may not know peace, we have little clue as to what awaits us after we shuffle off this mortal coil. But this we do know, and can hope: we have an eternal home in Jehovah’s presence. Kind of puts everything else in place, doesn’t it?
(FYI, the title for this post comes from a beautiful Sara Groves’ song, “What Do I Know” from her album Conversations. The whole song hinges on this verse.)
Tags: Hope, Rest, Sara Groves
Meet Chala. He is a man who had fought to keep the Burmese army from killing and enslaving these minority ethnic groups, and now he is fighting to care for 40 children who have been orphaned from these attacks. Families flee to Thailand, to escape these attacks by the Burmese, but not all make it, and many children are being orphaned along the way.
These children are subject to the elements without parental care, and many fall victim to the sex traffickers.
“But Chala has taken in 40 of them. He makes sure they go to school, he does his best to make sure they have food and clothing.
Chala is a very resourceful, and energetic guy. Somehow he has managed to provide for these 40 children who are not his own. It can’t be easy.” Their needs are great, yet hope is alive because they have a roof over their head, and someone who cares.
~The Charis Project is a non profit organization, built by a family, with the help of a church. They say, “We are a family. We are regular people who saw a chance to fill a need, to do some good where it could be of the most benefit, and we took it. We also happened to have some useful connections, and know some stuff that can help. We believe that evil can be overcome if people who trust in good will work to oppose it.”
The Charis project is working to build an orphanage “that will model self sustainability, and intercept and protect refugee kids as they cross the border.”
Visit and explore their website, for more information and for ways you can help.
Tags: Chala, orphans, The Charis Project