punching injustice in the face

During the past weekend, middle schoolers and highschoolers from across West Virginia came together to connect with each other, connect with God, and fight injustice. Why?

The 58conference was a weekend dedicated to learning about God as our defender and provider, and learning how to stand up for others around us who can't stand up for themselves. It was pretty cool to see all these tweens and teens learning about "punching injustice in the face" from Johnny Justice, our resident injustice fighting superhero.

The kids did a 30 hour fast to understand what it is like to go hungry. And trust me, that is a long time with no food, especially for kids in those ages. And they had a really profound time breaking their fast together (more to come on that one).

The participants had an opportunity to connect together and learn about God in large and small group settings. They had the chance to perform a service project in the local area. The had the chance to collect food for a state wide food drive to help those who can't afford food in our state. They had a chance to learn about many different kinds of injustice in our world that they may have never heard about before, from groups like Invisible Children, Dry Tears, and Nuru.

It was amazing getting a chance to interact with the kids, especially since some of them are dancers for KidSTUFF that I know pretty well. There are countless stories of how they were impacted, but I want to share one.

One of the girls was really affected by the fast. But, she was also affected by hearing about the young children in Africa who are so dehydrated that they can't cry when the two guys from Dry Tears spoke. And hearing about the AIDS crisis from a breakout session with the group Acting on Aids. On her way home, she told her mom that the next time she asked to get a toy or something for her, for her mom to remind her of this weekend. She wants to start saving her money in a jar that she would spend on herself and send it to kids around the world in need. Did I mention she is only 11?

How amazing that even kids and teens are seeing injustice in our world and doing something about it. What about the rest of us? There are so many ways to fight injustice locally and internationally. What are you doing in the fight?

Why care?

Her name is Josephine.

She lives in rural Kenya in a tiny hut made of straw, mud and dung. She has 5 children; 3 are sick with malaria. The youngest died last year on Josephine’s back as she frantically travelled 30 kilometers to the nearest clinic for medicine that would have saved his life.

Josephine spends 3 hours each day fetching water, and the water sometimes makes her and her children sick. She doesn’t have access to fertilizer and good seed to grow crops to feed her family, so she must hire herself out to provide them their daily meal of porridge. There’s no school for her children to attend, and she wouldn’t be able to afford the small fees for books and uniforms even if there was. Her husband died last year of AIDS and she is most likely infected, however, she doesn’t want to be tested because there’s no medicine available, and the uninformed superstitions of the community regarding HIV/AIDS would label her and her children as outcasts.

Josephine is trapped in the cycle of extreme poverty. She has no choices. It’s not her fault. Neither she nor her children did anything to deserve this. Yet one in six people in our world today are like Josephine, living without hope.

Insert Nuru.

Fast-forward 5 years.

Josephine lives just a few minutes from a deep well that provides clean drinking water for her entire family. There is a simple medical clinic down the road with basic supplies and competent staff who educate the community about the causes of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and typhoid, and provide antiretroviral medication (ARVs) to keep Josephine well. She and her neighbors have access to high quality seed, fertilizer, and agricultural know-how that enable them to increase their crop yields by 100%. This bounty allows them to not only feed themselves but also earn a small income to pay school fees for their children and invest in next year’s crop.

Josephine’s children attend the primary and secondary school where they receive a sound education from qualified teachers. As the community continues to prosper, a village bank is established to provide micro-loans and training to promising entrepreneurs, helping them develop a business plan and learn fundamental skills. The small fees the community pays for its basic services are re-invested to spur further development and create sustainable growth, allowing the community to lift itself out of extreme poverty.

This is innovation in action.
This is holistic and sustainable development.
This is a dozen NGOs and thousands of grassroots volunteers working alongside the poor to break the cycle of extreme poverty.
This is Nuru.

Will YOU join in the fight against extreme poverty?

http://www.nuruinternational.org

Be hope. Be light. Be NURU.

How BIG is your God?

So do you ever stop to think about how BIG a God we serve?

I know sometimes I forget what it means to have such a big God on my side. I get into the habit of knowing He's there for me, and just taking it for granted and not trusting Him. Even the name of God becomes second hand. Have you thought about even what that name means?

Here are some definitions:
the one Supreme Being, the creator and ruler of the universe.

A being conceived as the perfect, omnipotent, omniscient originator and ruler of the universe, the principal object of faith and worship in monotheistic religions.
The force, effect, or a manifestation or aspect of this being.
A being of supernatural powers or attributes, believed in and worshiped by a people, especially a male deity thought to control some part of nature or reality.
One that is worshiped, idealized, or followed
A being conceived of as possessing supernatural power, and to be propitiated by sacrifice, worship, etc.; a divinity; a deity; an object of worship; an idol.
The Supreme Being; the eternal and infinite Spirit, the Creator, and the Sovereign of the universe; Jehovah

OK, so out of that, I have to think that "God" means a whole stinking lot more than just some guy upstairs. He is ALL POWERFUL. He is PERFECT. He is Originator of the Universe. He is WORSHIPED. He is SUPERNATURAL. He is DIVINITY. He is ETERNAL and INFINITE. He is SOVEREIGN OF THE UNIVERSE. JEHOVAH.

And that is just form our dictionaries. Think abut what the Bible says about Him. As you think about it, does it just blow your mind? I know mine is going nuts thinking about it.

I have been thinking about this the past 24 hours or so. And the conclusion I have come to? God is bigger than anything I can even understand. Even so, with my limited knowledge and understanding, I am starting to understand the feelings behind the Psalm:

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above he heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? (Psalm 8:1-4)

Do you limit God in His greatness? I know I do. How often I think that God isn't big enough to take care of me, or caring enough to worry about the little things. And how wrong I am.