I've Been Thinking About This…

Well, www.500Uniforms.org succeeded in raising the funds they needed for the school uniforms, so we can check that one off! In its place, I’ve bumped Oceans of Mercy’s Soup Club. I read about it this morning at one of the best sites I know – KristieApplesauce – who is a missionary in South Africa for Oceans of Mercy with her husband.

• It’s not cheap – it costs $300 to install the soup kitchen first, and $100 to run it each month.
• On the other hand, it’s not expensive, either – imagine feeding a child for $0.06 per meal!

This covers all food and equipment for feeding 50 kids for 6 days a week. Read the details here on Kristie’s blog. It’s not such an easy thing for one person to manage, but how about your church or youth group? The key here is recognizing that this is a long-term commitment – you can’t just start this and drop it after 3 months.

Whatever you do about the soup club, do check out Kristie’s blog. It’s one of the 2 blogs at the very top of my list.

There’s something about a baptism that always takes me by surprise – in a good way, of course. The imagery is so powerful – dropping down into the water – disappearing into nothingness, the water swirling and closing over the ‘old’ person – then the sudden reappearance of the ‘new’ person, back from the dead, fully connected to the Savior.

The faces, too, when they come up again – full of delight at having made this public commitment, getting soaked, standing out, a step taken in front of friends; full of joy and a bit of wonder, too, at the occasion that this has become; touched by the awe of the meaning behind the symbol.

Here’s a few videos of the moment:

From Journey Community Church, CA:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcVqUm3lKS8[/youtube]

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From Elevation Church, UT:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm9MX6gb9-0[/youtube]

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From Forefront Church, VA:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhqG7k20jWQ[/youtube]

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Finally, at the National Community Church of DC there’s a feast of 3 videos here – catch them all – National Community Church, DC

Just tremendous.

Youth group leaders – thanks for all you go through…

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/2216554[/vimeo]

RT Terrance Crawford

You know how each of us is given certain gifts? Some people are brainy, some are good looking, some are wealthy, some are good with others. You know that old saw that goes:

“Heaven is where the police are British, the cooks are Italian, the lovers are French, the mechanics are German and it’s all organized by the Swiss. Hell is where the cooks are British, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss, the police are German, and it’s all organized by the Italians.”

I’ve had some incredibly good meals in Britain, but you get the idea. It’s as if certain countries have gifts too; a gift that is so evident and specific that the country is famous for it. What’s America’s gift? Some Europeans might claim it was loud vacationers with loud clothes, but most people know that’s really only Bostonians when they travel. No, I think America has been given the gift of wealth. The question is, what are we doing with it? How are we using our ‘talent’? If we’re burying it (keeping it for ourselves), that’s not going to go down well with God (Matt 25:14-30).

Christmas is coming. It will be nice for most of us; not so nice for some. For the people in the first group, here are some opportunities to make it nicer for some folks in the second group:

Give shoes

Anne Jackson (twitter @FlowerDust) is working with Soles4Souls to provide 50,000 pairs of shoes for people who have no footwear.

Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd431iyMKVM

Nashville-based Soles4Souls(TM) facilitates the donations of both new and used shoes, which are used to aid the hurting worldwide. Since its inception, Soles4Souls has distributed more than 3.5 million pairs (or one pair every 23 seconds) to people in 61 countries, including Honduras, Romania, Thailand, and the Sudan. The charity has been featured on CNN Headline News, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, ABC News, FOX, CBS, and hundreds of regional outlets around North America. Soles4Souls is a 501(c)(3) recognized by the IRS; donating parties are eligible for tax advantages. Visit www.giveshoes.org for more information.

Give school uniforms.

Shaun King (twitter @ShaunKing), pastor of the new Courageous Church has started a site called http://500uniforms.org/ to try to help students of Bethune Elementary School in Atlanta, GA – 98% of whom live below the national poverty level – get a school uniform and a toy for Christmas.

Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e1d9atkPZA

Give water.

Living Water is a Christian organization that is trying to provide clean water to communities that can’t afford to drill their own wells. Sierra Leone, Liberia, Namibia, Brazil, India, Sudan, Ethiopia and dozens more countries currently – 6,500 projects so far.

Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NxFNlOFr9I

Give freedom from slavery.

More people are in slavery now than ever before in the World’s history. More people than were drawn from Africa over all 400 years of trans-Atlantic slave trading. 27,000,000 slaves. A number so large that it seems inconceivable today. To be “trafficked” is to be deceived or taken against your will, bought, sold and transported into slavery for sexual exploitation, sweat shops, child brides, circuses, sacrificial worship, forced begging, sale of human organs, farm labour, domestic servitude. A staggering betrayal of the innocent. Help Stop the Traffik.

Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxBcjSKD6gM