Monday, March 24, 2014

STILL WISHING...

 
 
"God is in the slums,
in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house.
God is in the silence of a mother
who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives.
God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war.
God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives,
and God is with us if we are with them."
Bono, lead singer of U2       

Sometimes I wish...you ever do that?  Okay, I know...I know...wishing does not make it so!  But, I still wish...used to wish on a star; you know...like...wishing on the first star I'd see at night.  Silly, I suppose but hey...it's okay.  Wished a lot of things then; wish a lot of things now.

You may be wishing you knew where I'm heading and why  these pictures of children.  Keep reading and you'll connect the dots.

This picture touched my heart...M and I have four sons who were stair-steps...so sweet.  Only these four are South Sudanese war orphans and homeless.

I have an amazing neighbor, Shay.  Several years ago God touched Shay and planted a seed in her heart that took root and grew into something quite wonderful. 

The story began with orphans,  rapidly evolved and she's working with the South Sudanese and the U.S. governments to allow the estimated one million orphans of the war in South Sudan to be adopted.  


I wish?  I wish I could go help...I can't so?  I pray and help with what I can...and that's important.

Here's a beautiful little Chinese orphan;  a 2005 report cited 75 to 80% of the orphanage population is female w/the male orphanage population made up mostly of males with health problems.  
Males are preferable to girl babies in China.

Something fairly new in China are the 'baby stations'.  A baby station is a safe place where people can anonymously bring infants, leave them to be found and cared for.
The first was founded in June, 2011.
 
Twenty-five baby stations have been established in 10 provinces in China, and more will be set up in another 18 regions.  A new station that opened just this year received 51 babies in its first 13 days of operation.  Babies from 2 days old to 5 years old. All had some kind of disability, including heart disease...cerebral palsy... or down syndrome. 

Ken and Debbie are working with one of God's family groups in China...the group is working with some of the  orphanages...they also visit hospitals to help with the infant patients...way to go people! 

I wish?   I wish I could go help...I can't, so?  I pray and help with what I can...and that's important. 

This picture is our oldest son, Steve, with a little Honduran child.

Steve is a shepherd at Cross Point Church in Grand Prairie, Texas. 
They have a group that's been going to Honduras for three years; they're going again this summer. They do some building...
help improve living conditions...help feed people...many things. 

This summer we have a group going to Honduras from South Main.  Only to a different location and doing whatever is needed to help improve life for the people there.

I wish?  I wish I could go...I can't, so?
I pray and help with what I can...and that's important.

In the past Michael and I have been able to go...we were called and
we went.  Trust me, the calling was always a surprise!

In 1991 M retired as Director of the children's school/hospital in Norman and we made a change...we left our comfort zone to be a couple of warm bodies for a mission effort our home congregation had helped establish in Wisconsin.  Many of our friends said we were doing what they wouldn't do. 
It was a growing experience...another new world. 

In 2002 God tapped us on the shoulder...oh my, did He ever tap, tap, tap!  First thing we knew we were making a monumental change!  We really left our comfort zone and moved to mainland China...to teach English to Chinese university students.  "You gotta' be kidding me"...was not only in my mind a few times but also in the minds of others!  People said we were doing what they wouldn't do. 

That experience changed our lives...it actually transformed our lives.  The two of us are in no way special...we're a couple of ordinary people that God chose to do something for Him...He furnished all the tools, we were simply His vessels and He continues blessing the operation.

Recently I read this quote by Karen Armstrong...to me, it's relevant...see what you think.

Jesus did not spend a great deal of time discoursing about the trinity
or original sin or the incarnation which have preoccupied later Christians. 
He went around doing good and being compassionate.


Okay...I never 'wished' I could go to China; but God said I could so I did...and that's important.
Now I wish I could go back and I cannot...and that's important for a different reason.  I can help in other ways!
 
You see, God enables me to remain functional; using the abilities He gave me to go around doing good and being compassionate.  If not in Honduras, Africa, China or Wisconsin...wherever I happen to be going around.  And believe me, I 'go around' quite a lot.
 
After all, that's what His Son did and I believe I should follow His example, don't you?
 
From my heart...to yours,
Vasca
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