bigger eyes, wider embrace, longer stride

transformational travel - best practices for visiting the poor

My life was changed on a trip to Kiev in 2002.  It was actually one of several events that moved me more and more toward giving my time and energy to caring for orphaned children.  Three months after we were married, Julie and I went to Kiev with Great Commission Ministries to teach English to college students.  We supported the work of two local churches, Almaz and City on a Hill.  We also visited Father's House, an orphanage outside the city that we were sponsoring through CRY.  On the flight home, I looked at my wife somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean and said, 'I don't know when or how, but I know that everything changes now.'

Short Term Mission trips do change lives - my life was changed and I know that others have been served, encouraged, and empowered.  However, there is great possibility for harm when rich Westerners come into poor setting in the East or South without the proper posture.

The Chalmers Center published an article last month that is honest and helpful.  If you are involved in short term missions, this article is a must read.  It's called 'Doing Short Term Missions Without Doing Long-Term Harm.'  For another great resource on this topic, read Serving With Eyes Wide Open by David Livermore.

A few points that really stood out to me...

*be aware of principles, culture, need, and context
*focus on the gifts, abilities, and assets of the people you are serving
*avoid perspectives and activities that highlight the inferiority of the poor and the superiority of short term mission teams
*be less on the front stage and more supportive of indigenous leadership
*understand the difference between monochronic (time) and polychronic (event) cultures
*focus less on doing and more on being

At Children's HopeChest, we seek to connect communities of faith here in the States with orphan communitites overseas.  Short term mission trips are part of this equation, but we find that it becomes part of holistic, long-term relationship when people from the same church visit children at the same orphanage year after year.  I visited Furmanov orphanage in Ivanovo, Russia in May 2004.  When I came back in March 2005, an energetic little boy named Andrey ran up to me and said, 'Daniel, you came back!.'  Those words spoke volumes to me about the need for me and for Andrey to have a long-term relationship.

adoptive parents connect in long-term orphan care

Matt and Carla Morgan are anxiously waiting to bring baby Nicholas into their home.  In the meantime they've connected with Children's HopeChest.  Check out a blog Carla wrote in February about their commitment through HopeChest.  And just a few days ago, she posted again.  She tells a brief, but moving story.  She and Andrey, the orphaned boy they sponsor in Kirov, Russia are building a healthy relationship and Carla speaks of God's timing and overwhelming joy.  There is joy in compassionate living.

the poor become poorer in Russia - do something!

Moscow is a booming metropolis.  There are beautiful buildings - ancient and modern.  There are high-end restaurants and shopping.  There are as many Bentleys, Range Rovers, and BMWs as you'll see in any city in the world.

Yesterday, President Medvedev was sworn in to replace the not-so-much departing Putin (he will become Prime Minister and remain head of the controlling political party).  All eyes are on Russia right now as has been the case for much of the last century.

Here are a few quotes from a story on NPR's Morning Edition (follow the link to read the transcript and listen to the report).

'Medvedev assumes authority over a country with a booming oil economy, a repressive, authoritarian government and rotten relations with the West... Rural Russia is dying out as jobs in the countryside disappear. Alcoholism and disease are growing. And double-digit inflation is making Russia's vast number of poor even poorer... Ties between Russia and the West have deteriorated so much, some are even talking about a new Cold War...'

Corruption, a shrinking population due to death and disease, poverty, and a crumbling infrastructure lead some to claim that Russia is a Third World country.  Those who suffer the most at times like these are children.

I remember in May 2004 driving through the Russian countryside with one Fund Nadezhda's staff (they are Children's HopeChest's Russian partner).  She said, 'In Soviet times, this factory employed 8,000 in a town of 40,000.  Now it employs only 800.  You tell me what the problem is.'  This is why families crumble.  Violence and Substance abuse move in and children are moved out and grow up alone, homeless, or institutionalized.

Yes, Russia is sitting on immense oil and gas reserves, there are more billionaires in Moscow than any other city in the world, and the Ruble is ever strong.  But at the same time, the poor become poorer and children are orphaned.  Be a part of the change needed in this big, beautiful country by giving hope and help to its most vulnerable citizens.

Children's HopeChest has contracts with the Department of Education in Vladimir, Kostroma, Kirov, and Ryazan, and with the Department of Social Services in Ivanovo.  This allows us to bring the holistic, long-term, and redemptive program of church sponsorship to children in need of the blessing of family.  This gives us access to nearly 3,000 children in 65 orphanages and boarding schools.  Of these, only 7 in kirov and Ivanovo remain in need of a church to sponsor them.  They range in size from 50 to 185 children.  A church would extend its reach by sponsoring the individual children, taking yearly mission trips, praying daily, and writing letters of encouragement and friendship monthly.  Will your church get involved?  We are also leading the way in caring for children in a family setting.  Right now, there are 5 Family Centers in Kostroma and Vladimir housing between 2 and 7 children in need of a church to sponsor them.  This would take between 10 and 35 sponsors at each of the centers.

We can reverse the curse of orphanhood.  We can rescue children from being victims of corruption and circumstance, abandonment and rejection.

Join us!

God is with us!

Today at Children's HopeChest, we kept a day of prayer and fasting.  Our staff gathered at 9am, 12noon, and 3pm for corporate times of prayer, song, devotion, and communion.

The fact of the matter is, we are in a battle.  The devil is a prowling lion seeking to devour that which is close to the heart of God... and orphans are close to the heart of God.  We experience this battle in our personal and professional lives, in our ministry programs and finances, and in our own walks with God.  As Matt Monberg has told me about a young lady dear to us who grew up in a Russian orphanage, 'the devil wants her dead.'  It is shocking, but true.  So we stand in the gap.  We wage the war by meditating on God's word, by being still before a holy God, by prayer, and by action.

Tom Davis led the devotion at 9am, Samantha Kerr at 12noon, and George Steiner at 3pm.  One theme that emerged in all of their devotions was that 'God is with us.'  They did not plan this.  This is God speaking to us.  We need to be reminded that in the midst of our busy lives, in the midst of trials, in the midst of the great joys of life, God is with us!

two experts speak about suffering

About 2 months ago we had a conversation on this blog about suffering, the presence of evil in the world, the role of faith, and the place of God in all of this.  Recently, BeliefNet has started a blogalogue between two very smart men much more qualified than I to talk about this things, Bart Ehrman and N.T. Wright.  You can follow the dialogue here.

eyes open/eyes closed (reflections on Orthodox Pasca)

Saturday night I went to the Pascha service at Holy Theophany Orthodox Church.  It began at 11:30pm.

I felt tension the entire time.  It's not because I stood reverently for 2 and 1/2 hours (and that wasn't even the whole service).  It's not because I only knew a couple people there and felt out of place.  It's not because I feel uncomfortable with Orthodox theology and practice (you may know me well enough to know that that's not true). 

I felt tension because I didn't know whether to open my eyes or close them.  If I closed my eyes, the beautiful singing and the enchanting incense captured me soul in a special and healing way.  If I opened my eyes, the devotion of the worshipers and the beauty of the iconography drew me deep into adoration and reflection.

It is not often that we encounter something so beautiful that we know not whether to open our eyes or close them in order to fully experience it.  Shouldn't our celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ be one of those things?

So going forward from Easter (a month ago in our Western Protestant practice and this past weekend in Eastern Orthodox practice) let's live with our eyes opened at times and our eyes closed at times in order to fully encounter the beauty of God.

To learn more about the service, you can check out a couple different sites: Holy Pascha from the Orthodox Church in America website, Pascha from OrthodoxWiki, and the texts for the service of Pascha.

the darkest day (reflections on Orthodox Holy Saturday)

Julie, Judah, Lucy, and I were blessed to spend Easter with my brother and his wife, Ben and Sarah, in Indianapolis.  They attend Bethelehem Lutheran.  We attended Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Resurrection Sunday services.  They were beautiful, majestic, haunting, celebratory.  On Holy Saturday, we began outside a dark church around a bonfire, the service led us inside where a moving service, complete with a piano, harp, and clarinet ensemble awaited.  We affirmed our baptism - our identification with the death of Jesus.  Holy Saturday is the darkest day in the liturgical calendar.  Jesus Christ has been crucified and darkness has fallen on all.

Today is Holy Saturday in the Eastern Orthodox Church.  The reason it is a month later than in Protestant and Catholic Churches is that the Orthodox follow the Julian calendar rather than the more modern Gregorian calendar.

Here is a short description of this day's significance.  This comes from my friends at Saints Constantine and Helen Holy Theophany Church in Colorado Springs.

We celebrate the burial of Christ and His descent into Hell.  At Matins, served Friday Evening the Lamentations, or funeral service, of Christ is sung before the Tomb.  God in the flesh now observes His Sabbath rest in the tomb, but we look forward to the moment when He will rise again, bringing new life and recreating the world.  At the end of the service a procession is made around the church - indicating Christ’s triumphal procession through the darkness of Hell, announcing to Adam  His coming Resurrection.
Vesperal Liturgy the morning of Holy Saturday has a strong baptismal character.  Three connected themes of Passover, Resurrection, and Baptismal initiation  - reflected in the prescribed fifteen OT readings  - dominate the service.  In the tomb Christ is already triumphant over the gates of Hell; thus the colors change from dark to white at this service in anticipation of His glorious Resurrection for us on earth.
Late this evening we will gather once again in the darkened church for the midnight service of Nocturns. All  wait in silence and contemplation for the moment the priest will come out from the sanctuary with a burning candle symbolizing the light of the risen Christ at the very first moment of that glorious Third Day.  Then will we cry out the eternal cry of the faithful:  Christ is Risen!  Indeed He is Risen!

an encouraging response to WHAT I HAVE

Last week, Children's HopeChest launched a creative and practical initiative called WHAT I HAVE that enables you to clear your life of the unneeded excess and turn that into resources that will aid orphaned children in Eastern Europe and Africa.  You may have heard about this through an email from HopeChest, through facebook, through this blog, or through other blogs and social networking sites.  So far there is an encouraging response.  Check it out...

'love it, good job, thanks.'

'this is great!'

'This is a great idea.  I'll be praying for much success!'

'great idea.'

'I LOVE this idea!  I'm bringing it to the dinner table tonight.  I think each person in my family is up to participating in this act of caring!'

'I have been a big fan of Children's Hopechest for awhile.  Just wanted to drop you a line and say "nice job" on the campaign/posters/etc... Everything looks great.  I've forwarded it on to several others involved in Global Outreach at my church.  Keep up the excellent work!'

'Thanks. I'm passing on the word through my blog.'

'It would be a blessing to share!'

'I love this idea.'

'It's a good idea; frankly, I was thinking about something like this for this week's message: we're talking about Christianity & Cash, and using the luke passage "sell your possesions, etc."  So I'll suggest hope chest as a call to action.'

'Love it. I wonder if what you’re talking about is similar to what we’ve done the past few years. We give our stuff to a local charity and then when tax season comes, I document every item that we gave away that year and the government gives us a deduction. This year it was 500 dollars so that money goes to seriously poor kids overseas.'

I'm sharing these comments with you because to live a life of courageous and creative compassion is not easy.  In the face of materialism and an economy that makes us want to circle the wagons instead of extend our reach, it would be easy to pass by the battered man on the road - as the priest and Levite did.  Rather, as the despicable (later to be known as 'Good') Samaritan did, let's not pass by. There is a movement in the church of people refusing to pass by.  There is a movement of people willing to give 1 tunic away if they have 2. 

Discover the joy of compassionate living.

what i have

May 11 is The Day of Pentecost.  It is 50 days after Easter Sunday and 10 days after Ascension Thursday.  It is the day when the Church around the world celebrates the Holy Spirit coming in power so that we may be witnesses to the new life of Christ.

Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. - Acts 2:45
Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. - Acts 3:6

The early church was known by their generosity. Christianity was even criticized as a "religion of widows and orphans." As we celebrate the church on the Day of Pentecost, let's seek the same criticism and live with the same life-giving generosity. There are millions of orphaned children waiting for you to give them what you have. Give what you have.

SELL

1. Choose a personal item of value (a leather coat, an electric guitar, a video game system, a canoe, jewelry, furniture, a collector's item, etc.)
2. Sell the item. You can use whatever method is most familiar to you: eBay, Craigslist, a yard sale, a consignment shop, or the classifieds.
3. Collect the money.

GIVE

1. Go to hopechest.org; choose "GIVE" and fill out the form or follow this link.
2. Write "What I Have 2008" in the Notes/Child Reference Number field.

PROMOTE

Click on the links below to download promotional materials for use in your church, small group, or school. There are several versions of the poster formatted for different sizes and usages. Feel free to re-post this information all over the Internet too (on Facebook, your blog, MySpace, or wherever your online home is.)

What I Have powerpoint slide - POWERPOINT SLIDE
What I Have 11X17 poster - Download what_i_have_poster.pdf
What I Have 8.5X5.5 bulletin insert - Download what_i_have_bulletin_insert.pdf
What I Have 8.5X11 flyer - Download what_i_have_8.5 x 11 flyer.pdf

These funds will be directed toward the most urgent and strategic programs in holistic and long-term orphan care in Eastern Europe and Africa. Some of those outreaches could include:

Feeding programs
Educational initiatives
Health care
Community development
Spiritual discipleship

If you have any questions, email me or call me at (719) 955-4009.

Children's HopeChest is a member in good standing of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

seeing is believing (thomas gets a good report and we learn where to look for Jesus)

St. Thomas said that unless he could see and touch the scars in Jesus' hands, he would not believe.

Doubting Thomas.  This is how we know him.  The disciples get a bad rap.  And at times it seems they deserve it.  We talk a lot about how they never really understood Jesus’ message, how Judas betrayed, how Peter denied, and how Thomas doubted.  Doubting Thomas.

He is incredulous.  This is part of his character.  And it’s a part that we can all identify with, but we need a broader picture of Thomas.

In John 11, Jesus has just learned that his dear friend Lazarus is dead and his sisters Mary and Martha are grieving.  Jesus decides to go the village where the grieving family is.  Thomas said to the others, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him.’ (v16)

Thomas is not only incredulous.  He is also invested and intense.  There is a reckless abandonment, a whole-hearted and courageous faith that we see in a statement like, ‘let’s go die.’

In John 14, Jesus is speaking words to his disciples that have become so familiar to the Church.  He is telling them of the Father’s house.  A question Thomas asks helps to add texture and authenticity to this conversation.  Jesus says, 'you know the way to the place where I am going.'  Thomas speaks up with desperation and honesty... 'no we don't!'  'Jesus, where are you going, how do we get there?'  Jesus replies by sharing with his followers that he is indeed the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Thomas’s honest question gives us a most memorable saying of Jesus.  He is not only incredulous.  He is not only invested and intense.  But he is also inquisitive as he investigates the faith and what Jesus is really saying.

My 2 year old son makes two requests that I almost always fulfill.  'Holgit.'  This means he wants to hug and hold the baby, 4 month old Lucy.  And 'See Mama.'  He wants to go to where she is in the house and greet her with mutliple hugs and kisses.  These simple requests from a child to his father need often to be answered - let me see!  let me touch!

And Thomas’s request is one that Jesus answers - let me see!  let me touch!  I think we can all relate to this.  We can all relate to wanting to see Jesus alive – in us, around us, through us. 

Because as much as we criticize Thomas, there is a saying we are all familiar with… ‘seeing is believing.’  It’s part of who we are.  Seeing is a really important part of our life.  It’s one of the five ways we interact with the physical world.  God gave us this gift of sight.  So, at the end of the day, I don’t want to be so down on Thomas the Doubter.  I’ve been there.  Seeing is believing.  I want to see Jesus alive.  And Jesus longs to show himself to us alive.

So where do we see Jesus alive today?