The New Addition

Meet: Dagodol


Any bible scholars wish to venture a guess as to the origin of his name?

A Win-Win Situation

I'd always wondered what happened to the championship gear that was made up in advance for the team that ended up losing. It turns out, World Vision has a program set up to deliver the unsellable clothing to families in need around the world. You can see their full article here, or check out the snippets below:

Super Bowl: Children in need benefit from brand-new clothing printed for losing team

Even though they didn't win the Super Bowl, the New England Patriots will still be champions in several countries around the world. Before major NFL events, like the Super Bowl, participating teams often pre-print victory apparel. The winning team sells its items right away, but the losing team is left with large quantities of merchandise that cannot be sold.

In this case, World Vision is partnering with the NFL and Reebok to help children in need receive the treasure of new clothing. Instead of throwing it away, the losing team's pre-printed victory apparel will bring joy to children in need around the world. For many of the recipients, these will be the first new articles of clothing they have ever owned.

After the 2007 Super Bowl game, a significant portion of the apparel for the Chicago Bears — last year's losing team — was distributed in Zambia, and the rest went to areas of Chad, Chile, Bolivia, Democratic Republic of Congo, El Salvador, Zimbabwe, and Romania.

Read an article here about a similar partnership between World Vision and Major League Baseball, which provided excess postseason apparel to flood survivors in the African nation of Ghana.

Thank God for the gift of brand-new clothing that Mihaela, Paula, and Gabita received through World Vision's partnership with the NFL and Reebok. Pray that this partnership and others like it would continue to benefit children and families around the world who are in need of basic necessities like warm clothing for the winter months.

Donate now by clicking here to help World Vision ship and distribute the donations of clothing and shoes we have received from generous American manufacturers. Your gift will multiply 14 times in impact to help keep children warm in 20 countries around the world.

Down and Out

Ack. I hate being sick. I've been fighting a cold since last Saturday, and every time I start feeling better, a wave of new symptoms knocks me back down. I am grateful for the luxury to be able to stay home and take care of myself, but I am frustrated by the fact that I have been MIA for various events / friends this past week, and most especially that I just don't feel like myself.

Additionally, after hitting our one year anniversary here at the church, it's time for some evaluation and some decisions... I feel like I am in some kind of a transitionary phase of my life, and I want to get some clarity on what God would have me DO from here... but being so run down I don't feel like DOING anything. I am trying to hold on to the story of Abraham (who we are looking at in our women's bible study), who knew not where he was going, but had to proceed in faith.

So, for those of you who have been hoping I would write or call you back, hang in there, and keep me in your prayers... I hope to be back on my feet as soon as I can. Thanks.

"This Should Shock and Outrage Us"

The latest post on Seth Barnes' blog:

We have a team in Swaziland, that nation in Africa where nearly half the adult population has the AIDS virus. I received this email from Gary Black in Swaziland today and it wrecked me:

"The team found a four week-old laying on its dead mother yesterday, they kept it - we are getting it to the abandoned baby hospital Friday."

What do we do with this? That's my son's team down there. I don't know about you, but I'm outraged by a world that produces situations like this. And while that may seem like a world away to many, for my son, it's as immediate as it is heart-wrenching.

The only thing that appalls me more is that so many of us Americans who can do something about this are more interested in stuff that will only ultimately burn up in the big fire. God help us. God, help us to wake up. Help us to see how much you love the widow and the orphan. God help us to break as you are broken up over this four week-old.

God, help me to lose this tortoise shell religion that sheds these kinds of tragic situations like water. Forgive me God for not praying more. Forgive me for not emptying my bank account for your little ones. God, we have lost true religion. We have sought finer sanctuaries and better parking lots.

We have tried to fill our church pews with seekers, but we have not sought your children dying on their mother's chests. We need to see a way out of this mess that we've got ourselves in. God, help us in this 21st century mindset that we've acquired. I don't even know what else to pray.

Dancing Doggy

For animal lovers: this is a video of 'canine freestyle', a woman and leashless dog 'dancing' to music together. It looks fairly basic at first, but keep watching, because they get to some pretty incredible choreography.



ht: mom

Youth Trip to 'Africa'

Last Sunday evening, we headed back to Cornerstone Fellowship Church in Livermore, this time with ten of our high schoolers in tow. We wanted them to hear for themselves the powerful stories of Princess Kasune Zulu and Dr. Sam Huddleston, and to be challenged to personalize the AIDS crisis by walking through the World Vision 'Step into Africa' experience.

As part of the outing, we purchased and assembled three AIDS caregiver kits. These will go to provide supplies for those in Africa caring for others with AIDS. (I can't began to tell you how proud I am that our high school small group had a higher turnout for an event about caring for people with AIDS than we did for either our theme park trip last year or our Christmas party... what does that tell you about our young people today?)







If any of you are interested in participating, the experience runs through tonight at Cornerstone in Livermore. In two weeks, they will be set up at a church in Lodi.

Coffee Art

To continue the theme of my previous post, I wanted to share some impressive pics of coffee art my mom sent my way. I hope these lattes are as tasty as they look!













Anybody know if you can find these in the Bay Area?

Ode to Coffee

It used to be that the world was divided into cat-people and dog-people, but that seems to have faded away, and culture has shifted to distinguishing between coffee-people and non-coffee-people. (Among my coffee-loving friends here, we've broken that down even further to "Starbucks" vs "Peets Coffee")

When I was a little girl, I couldn't understand how on earth people could drink the stuff. That was before "frappucino" was a part of our vocabulary. My experience with 'coffee' was limited to my dad's morning routine black-instant-decaf cup of joe (blech - my tongue hurts just remembering!).


I'm so glad those early memories did not permanently taint my opinion of what is now my favorite beverage. Because coffee is not just a drink, it's a way of life. A morning routine. A place to meet friends. And the coffee that we drink, and the ways we take it, in some small ways define us.

For me, coffee signals hope - the fresh start of a new day. It means hospitality - there's little I enjoy more than an after-dinner cup of decaf at a friend's. It even helps me connect with God - I never crack my bible in the morning until a warm cup is in my hand.

So, when I saw this video of current world racers making their own coffee from scratch in the Andes, I couldn't help but smile, then determine, I'll never again travel to coffee-country without a hand-grinder and a french press:

World Vision Experience

Yesterday morning, Gary and I had the privilege of walking through the World Vision "Step Into Africa" experience at Cornerstone Church in Livermore.

The experience (totally free, by the way) is a tour of sorts through the life of a real child affected by AIDS in Africa. As you put on the headphones and step through the curtain, you take on their identity and walk in their footsteps. You see pictures of them with their family. You sit in their bed. You consider what you would do if you were faced with the same decisions, if you were treated the same way by others, if you found yourself in a similar situation. My child was Emmanuel, a young boy in Uganda, orphaned by that deadly disease.

It was interesting for me to walk through this experience after having spent time in Africa in 2006, to feel a sort of familiarity with what I saw. But for red earth under my feet, and the heavy smoke of burning trash heaps in the air, I could have actually been in a hut in East Africa.

The idea of this experience is to break past the overwhelming statistics and make the reality more personal. 1 million orphans in Kenya alone - these kind of numbers can paralyze you. But to understand Emmanuel's life, to walk in his shoes for half an hour, reminds me that even sponsoring one child will make a positive difference in the world. While there is much to be sad about, there is encouragement to see that something can be done.

Sunday evening, Gary and I will be going back, this time with a few high schoolers from our church. We are going to hear from Princess Kasune Zulu, Dr. Sam Huddleston, and a special choir. Following the service, we will walk through the experience together, then as a group purchase and assemble a few AIDS caregiver kits.

I invite you to join us for the event Sunday evening, or to check out the experience on your own any time through Wednesday.

Led by Children

Kenyan children pray for their country

1/23/2008
By Sue Sprenkle

NAIROBI, Kenya (BP)--A group of children runs up a muddy path, drenched from an unexpected downpour. A 5-year-old boy speeds in front of the pack when he suddenly spies the perfect puddle.

He waits until his older sister and friends are almost parallel with him and then practically "cannon balls" to get the biggest splash. He giggles and dashes in the church's front door as the 8-year-olds squeal and chase after him.

I laugh at the scene and follow the kids inside the small, tin shack of a Baptist church. After three weeks of post-election violence, it's good to hear the sounds of children laughing and playing - especially in the hard-hit slums of Nairobi.

Inside the church, it's wall-to-wall children. My heart overflows with emotion as I hear a sound even more precious than laughter - a child's sweet, innocent prayer.

"Father, our country is in trouble. We pray for peace to come," an 11-year-old boy prays. "Protect us, Father. Teach people to love one another and not to fight anymore."


For the last two weeks, children in this small slum area have gathered to pray for their country. The church's pastor says the children started gathering on their own, so he let them in the church. The daily prayer meeting now attracts more than 200 children ranging in age from 3 to 17.

Ever since the children started praying together, the pastor says there have been no deaths, houses burned or even violence in their section of this slum. Adults recite this fact in amazement. The children, however, don't even mention it because it's exactly what they expected to happen.

"Pastor told us that there is power in prayer. He said we can change the country through prayer," 12-year-old Boniface explains. "So that is what we are doing, changing the country.

I'm amazed at the depth of understanding these children have of the issues surrounding the Kenya post-election chaos.

The 12-year-old prays for President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga to sit at one table and talk peacefully. Votes cast in the election for these two candidates are under contention. The two leaders have yet to talk to each other in an effort to bring the strife in Kenya to a peaceful resolution.


Caroline, 16, shows her concern for the 250,000 internally displaced people around the country. She prays they will be able to go to school somewhere and that they feel safe. UNICEF estimates that more than 40 percent of the displaced are children. Parents put their children on trucks headed to the camps for displaced people but stayed behind to protect their houses and belongings. Many sit in camps, unable to attend schools that just opened mid-January.

Another young boy prays for the people hurting others who are not from the same tribe, referring to reports of ethnic animosity throughout the country. He asks God to help them all be brothers and sisters and one people.

The pastor smiles and whispers to me, "A few days ago that one asked if I knew what tribe he was. I told him no. He didn't know, either. So he told me, ‘I think I belong to the tribe of Kenya.'"

When it's time for the "babies" to pray, a fearless 4-year-old clasps his hands and closes his eyes so tight that his entire face scrunches up. "God, people die," he says in prayer. "Please do not let anyone die in front of my house."

More than 600 people have died since elections Dec. 27. The number increases daily as violence and protests continue.

It's now my turn to pray and close the meeting. There's not much left to say, so I thank God for the innocent prayers of children and their faith in His answers.

As soon as I say "Amen," the church buzzes with little voices and bottled-up energy spurts out freely. Laughing and holding hands, the children rush into the rain and head home.

Even though it's dry season and the rains are not supposed to come for another month, no one complains about getting wet or muddy. The rain is an answered prayer.

The children had prayed about a three-day countrywide protest called by the opposition party. They had asked God to take control and keep people from dying.

Because of the rains, turnout for the protest was much smaller than expected. While there was still a lot of property damage, it was much less than predicted. Death tolls for the week were the lowest since the incidents started.

"See," 7-year-old Natasha whistles through her missing two front teeth. "God answers prayers."

Sue Sprenkle, an overseas correspondent for the International Mission Board, has been reporting from Africa for 10 years.

ht: Kayla Phillips

Spew

Though my ultimate blogging goal is to put up a post every day, I've barely been online this past week because I've been either too tired to blog, or had no access to a computer. So, instead of giving up, I'm compiling some mini-updates, of which I may (or may not) elaborate on in subsequent posts... no promises!

Community: Adjusting to the Bay Area way of life (busy, busy, busy!) continues to weigh on me, as the building of relationships seems to be such a slooooooow process. I've got some really great people in my life, but it feels so laborious to do the "phone-tag-compare-calendars-reschedule-for-three-weeks-later" dance, that the fear of that kind of hassle keeps me from being the spontaneous intiative-taking friend I could be! Anyways, I am encouraged because this week actually went very well - not only did I have several fun dinners out with various friends from church, but I also got down with my domestic self and baked fresh bread to share with the neighbors!

Burnout: I wasn't quite there, but I could smell the smoke and have been doing what it takes to get off the fiery path of ministry-workaholism I'd found myself on... It's hard for me: I love God, and I love the church, and I love the kids in our ministry. I don't want to waste a minute of my life! I'm trying to teach myself though, to accept the reality that resting & restoring is not wasting time, but a necessary part of a godly life (ooh, it feels so unspiritual though!).

Conflict: Ah yes, I am continuing to learn about myself. Though I am willing and desirous to acknowledge disagreements and broach topics that need to be addressed in a healthy way, I can't say that those interactions don't still keep me up at night. Interesting, because our Retool Kit group is studying conflict management right now... and wouldn't you know that this month has brought some very clear examples my way. I pray that my responses have been appropriate and will bear good fruit.

Oscar Movie Tradition: Saw the movie Atonement. Regretted it. 'Nuff said.

Foster Care License: We've officially submitted our application and will be attending a three-Saturday training series for potential foster / adoptive parents. Coincidentally, (mm-hmm!) I'm in a bible study group that includes a great-grandma who had six kids, adopted three, and fostered over thirty! You ever get the feeling that God has something up His sleeve?

Guatemala Mission Trip: God continues to confirm our plans to return to Pastor Antonio's church in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala this coming summer. G-Dub and I had a sweet prayer time for the trip with some of our HS students last week, and were particularly blessed to hear that our Guatemalan brothers and sisters were joining us in prayer that same day. I am humbled and blessed by the way God is directing us at this time.

Well, that should do it for now. That's what's going on in my life... how bout you?

Milestones on my Journey

We have all had certain experiences or encounters that, though seemingly inconsequential at the time, have had a profound effect on the rest of our lives. A few of those major experiences for me have been spiritual in nature, and have shaped the core of my identity.

My mission trip to Ireland when I was 13, for example. I simply knew I was supposed to go on that trip (my first encounter with that still small voice, I think). I wasn't conscious at the time that my concept of the missionary - evangelist - "superchristian" was to be eroded away. After all, if God can work through a self-conscious 13 year old girl, He can surely use anyone!

Another profound experience for me was leading our junior high youth group through the 30 Hour Famine for the first time. Newly married, I had all kind of concepts about what I "needed" to furnish our apartment home. After going through the studies and videos provided by World Vision for the youth event, I was completely floored by how badly I'd confused my wants with my needs. God was starting to break my heart for the poor, though I didn't know yet what that meant for me.

The next 'breakthrough' moment for me came during a general seminar at the National Youth Workers Convention in 2004. These seminars are always encouraging and thought provoking, but one in particular cut right through to my heart. The speaker was Princess Kasune Zulu, a Zambian woman who spoke about the effects of AIDS in her country, and her dramatic story of how she has been affected personally.

After the seminar concluded, our group headed to lunch at the nearest Del Taco, but I was so overwhelmed I wasn't able to get out of the car. I just sat back and sobbed. God was piercing my heart, taking me to a new level of brokenness: so painful, but so undescribably right.

What I most remember Princess specifically saying was how other governments had begun to provide assistance to those in need in Africa, money for food and HIV tests and treatments. And that was all good. But, despite all of that, the church should have already been there.


The church - God's chosen means to demonstrate His love, His care, to pray for the sick, to provide for orphans and widows, the church - had missed it's call. It had fallen down. And in that moment, I cried, not just for the sick babies and widows forced into prostitution and all the horror that goes with poverty, but at the realization that when we as a church, we as individuals, do not live out the purpose God has designed us for, the world suffers. There are horrible consequences to our resistance to 'get involved'. And I was just as much a part of that as anyone.


It's funny to me, that at the time I had no overwhelming call to go to Africa, or sponsor an AIDS baby, or anything that specific. Some people are called to do those things. Others are made for a different purpose. But at that moment, a veil was lifted from my eyes, and I received a glimpse of what could be possible - what God might accomplish through His people if we were only willing. What suffering might be alleviated. What lonely people could experience love for the first time. What freedom might ring if we chose to stand up for the oppressed. What joy might resound if we loved the Lord with ALL of our might.

All that to say, I made a decision that day: I don't want to miss an opportunity; I want to fulfill my purpose. Have there been other milestones in my life, in my journey of faith? Sure. And I pray that there will be many more.

I suppose I share all this with you now, because I just learned that Princess Kasune Zulu will be sharing in a local church this Friday, and I am elated to go and see her again. God has brought me oh so far since that afternoon in the Del Taco parking lot, and I know He ain't done with me yet.

Praise God.

Little Bear

My first knitted teddy bear! (I'm so proud!) It took me just over a week to knit up the yarn and put him all together. He is one of the smaller bears from the book, just about 5 inches tall. It has been quite delightful to take an uninteresting ball of yarn and turn it into a little friend with such personality.

I have a feeling I won't be able to stop at just one...

What are we waiting for?

A passionate, convicting plea from a Children's Cup worker in Swaziland (with my response at the bottom):

What Will it Take in 2008?

A buoyant great joy and an unspeakable sorrow both sweep through my soul as I remember 2007.

Children’s Cup grew to double the number of CarePoints and the number of children we care for (about 7000 now) whose lives we have seen Jesus change.

But how quickly other scenes ambush my heart as I look at the ones still waiting for our help.

I can tell you how it feels to watch a sobbing child’s body shut down with AIDS.

I have heard dying mothers plead for someone to care for the children she will leave behind.

I have watched orphaned children—in one case a 6 year-old girl—become the sole protector and breadwinner for her younger siblings.

I know of dozens of unwanted and unnamed toddlers who were handed off to village men to be sold for sex. If the children wanted even a morsel of food they would have to do whatever the man wanted.

I can tell you the problem is growing faster than we have the funds to respond.

I can tell you that the twin destroyers named AIDS and Hunger are measuring and defining the church—the Body of Christ—as they gallop in unrestrained apocalypse destroying families and nations.

But I can not tell you why or how so many of my fellow believers who call upon the name of Jesus for their own needs refuse to respond to the needs of a dying generation.

What can be said or done in 2008 to reach past indifference and ignite the hearts of God’s church?

The power of geography is unfathomable to me. I happened to be born here in America, with every resource available for me to grow up healthy and strong. Too many children are not so lucky.

The thing is, I know that if a child knocked at my door, if their parents had died and they needed a safe place to stay, I wouldn't hesitate to take them in. But when our doors are too far away for their little hands to reach, what then, shall we do?

What will I do? Go take care of orphans myself? Stay and send them money? Look for American children in need to take in? I don't have THE answer yet, but I believe it's coming, and as I wait, I do what I can.



Me & my little friend at the ABC ministry orphanage in Swaziland