Extreme Poverty

So, I have finally finished the book, Red Letters: Living a Faith that Bleeds. It took me about a month to get it read. I read mostly at the gym on the treadmill or the bike. First let me start off by saying, my heart is breaking! God is convicting me on a VERY INTENSE level.

Most of you know that I am pretty big TV addict. Whenever the commercials came on talking about the poor children in Africa, I turned the channel. I couldn't bare to see those poor little children with flies around them, with their stomachs poking out, and sitting in the dirt with trash all around them. I chose to ignore the problem!!

Something changes in you though, when you become a parent. I have always been one who loves children. I loved to babysit, I loved teaching, I love those problem children that no one else wants to deal with, I love children. So, why has it been that I couldn't watch the commercials or do something about those children before now?

I don't know is the answer to that question. I have NO excuses, I honestly don't know why I have chosen up until now to ignore those poor, starving, and dying children.

We have some friends who have started the Red Letters Campaign. It was in them sending out the word about this that I began to really look and investigate what they were doing. I am not going to deny that God has been really TUGGING on my heart in regards to international missions for a little while. I was just beginning to get 'comfortable' about the idea of wanting to go on a mission trip to China with our church, before we moved to Round Rock. Since we have been here, we have begun to reach out in our neighborhood with helping with the Pregnancy Resource Center, as well as going to Giddings to help with their Food pantry once a month.

As I began to see what my friends were beginning over at RLC, God began that whispering thing again. My instincts as a mother began to kick in in the fact that I couldn't ignore this 'thing' anymore. Perryn and I followed Angel on her adoption journey to get Kaiya from China, and I really began to want and desire international adoption as a choice for us, not just domestic. I am beginning to have my eyes opened to what extreme poverty is and my heart is broken to know that I can't bring EVERY ONE OF THOSE CHILDREN home to love them, feed them, care for them.

As I read Red Letters, I would find my heart breaking and crying on whatever machine I was on at the gym. I found myself crying out to God, to send me, to forgive me, to show me what HE wants me to do. I don't have my answers yet, and Gabe and I are still praying about what God wants us to do with our family. Adoption is close to our hearts since Gabe is adopted. The book has opened up so much information and has challenged me in such a way that I want to do more than just give 30% of the sales from my business to RLC and Children's Hope Chest. I WANT to go to Africa, I want to love on those children, I want to adopt a child from Africa and/or China, I want to teach my children to do more than I have done before now, but I don't always get what I want. I have to be patient. I have to learn and teach myself and my children what it is that needs to be done to end extreme poverty. I need to show my children by my example, that I am going to be patient and follow God's plan in this area of my life. I have to get over the 'sheltering' part of this and show my children and explain to my children, it's more than just rescuing one child by adopting them. We have to find a way to help as many children as we can.

Please watch the following videos to see what it is that I am talking about, and what we ALL can do to help end extreme poverty.



Red Letters Campaign