Dear friends, as some of you know, May 16 was my last day at Hope Church which closes this chapter of the book Wendy, the family and me have been working on. The chapter ended differently that the way that I saw the story unfolding – working as a pastor until whenever. But that happens as well we know. God writes the chapters without asking permission many times! While I was “writing”, He took the pen and scribed the last words – they said GO. We are working on completing the 501c3 non-profit status so that we can receive funds (tax deductible) and operate as a non-profit, under a new para-church ministry called, A Child's Hope International (www.achildshopeintl.org). It is all about providing compassion and care for the children of the world. A huge mission field – in many cases an un-reached people group.
A Child's Hope International addresses four channels of care: adoption, orphan care, foster care and humanitarian relief. There are 143 million orphans in the world today, nearly 600,000 in the US. Over 30,000 children around the world die each day from basic food and water. These are crazy numbers. The problems are so immense some ask us what can we, as a new, tiny and unknown ministry do? We look like a mime you see on TV acting out a pantomime "feeling" our way along an invisible wall trying to find a way to go. Can you visualize that? But God said GO.
Everywhere we look in the news these days, starvation and rampant hunger is everywhere. Children are suffering and we all know that – the media is doing a good job of keeping it before us all the time. The attached photo is of a little orphan girl that I met in Swaziland just 3 months ago - her eyes were so large and yet filled with loneliness. Her kinky black hair was turning blond near her scalp because of malnutrition. These kids look healthy in some ways but they are all malnourished. Very little protein or vitamins. Mostly starch and "belly fillers" made up of corn maize. While there, we cooked the Kids Against Hunger food in the fields in black kettle pots and fed many children each day. Each child also got a cup of warm water – in some cases walked in many km away. The missionaries there and the people we worked with were so excited about getting Kids Against Hunger shipped in from Hope Church. And now it is greatly disappointing to tell them that our church would not to be involved as there are other priorities at the moment of concern to them. But I am eager to tell them that A Child's Hope International will be there, Lord willing and soon. And God said GO.
I have been to China, to Russia, to Swaziland and the children look the same – perhaps wrapped in a different garment – but beautiful and with a soul that the Lord breathed life into. I cannot do church as normal anymore.
For the children. For His glory.
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