More and more news is coming out of Sudan and the unrest happening in this new country! I long to go to the town of Mundri, Sudan and see the place where my sweet global children were raised. I have heard so many stories and have this picture in my brain of what it is suppose to look and be like. Pray for these persecuted Christians as they build their country. Pray for Bullen and Andrew and their families as they prepare to return to a new nation. Pray for how you and I can help them across the ocean. Pray that they can Show, Share, Teach and Serve each widow and orphan in their path. Thank you Jesus for allowing me to be their mom in America! Thank you for the blessing of their lives. Show us Your plan Lord and let us be obedient to follow.
wall of crosses
This wall is a collection of crosses from all over the world. Instead of selecting a picture or magnet, I try to find a cross from all the places we travel. All of them are different materials; such as glass, wood, carved slate, beads, ceramic, iron, bottle caps, calligraphy, aluminum, cookie cutters, clay bisque, resin, etc. Some of the different places include Greece, Uganda, Brazil, Guatemala and Haiti - some are from antique stores, some were precious gifts for special occasions and each of them are a constant reminder of Jesus, who died for my salvation!
How can I say thanks....
Thank You Andrea Couch for your great testimony and worship of our Great God and Creator! I love this song!
How can I say thanks for the things
You have done for me?
Things so undeserved yet You gave
To prove Your love for me
The voices of a million angels
Could not express my gratitude
All that I am, and ever hope to be
I owe it all to Thee
To God be the glory, to God be the glory
To God be the glory for the things He has done
With His blood He has saved me
With His power He has raised me
To God be the glory for the things He has done
Just let me live my life and
Let it be pleasing Lord to Thee
And if I gain any praise, let it go to Calvary
With His blood He has saved me
With His power He has rasied me
To God be the glory for the things He has done
walsh writing for six seeds
Posted on March 4, 2012 by Tom Walsh writing for Six Seeds
I recently returned from a work trip to Africa. It was an excellent trip and one that provided me a great deal of food for thought. I’ve also been in discussions with friends about projects they are undertaking in developing countries in Latin America. I’m using the trip and conversations as a launching pad for a series of posts here, on topics both heavy and light.
To start: I’ve been confronted quite a bit lately by the challenges faced by people in developing countries,and the role we as outsiders – and Americans in particular — have in supporting them.
Part of our American birthright is a baseline expectation of things working, people trying hard, corruption being a rarity. Certainly, things fail, but we see those cases as exceptions, and expect them to be fixed – in fact, we often take it on ourselves (as individuals or communities) to rectify perceived failures.
If you spend your whole life learning the opposite lessons, you see the world in a very different way. In many countries, even if they know competence/honesty exists, people have also internalized that ‘these are qualities we don’t have.’ It is, tragically, part of their birthright. It’s easy to underestimate the gulf between these two perspectives, and thus to be surprised when they come into conflict.
So when we go in and ‘fix things,’ the good news is that people are benefiting – which in the case of HIV/AIDS, for example, means they are staying alive rather than dying. Staying alive is rather fundamental for any success in development! Yet our efforts can reinforce the deeply-held understanding in the recipient population that outsiders are capable, while they themselves are helpless.
One expression of the difference between the outsider perspective and that of people inside a community is the following: as outsiders, we have the ability to define the scope of our engagement. We can choose to focus in our ‘can do’ way on this development issue or disease, and define metrics of success in terms of that alone, and describe other concerns as ‘not our issue.’ And finally, we outsiders always have the ability to leave, perhaps when we feel we’ve met our goals, or have despaired of meeting them, or simply because things changed at home and we lost our funding.
Defining the scope of engagement is a luxury that a recipient community (or country, or person) doesn’t have. They have to deal with the entire range of issues at play in the place – they don’t have a choice. It’s their world.
Every society has its dysfunctions. But when the context is a place where most people are living in poverty, disease, and despair, we can’t simply shrug off incompetence and corruption that preserve the status quo. But going in and ‘fixing it’ American-style can do little to change the unhappy dynamics in a lasting way.
Friends from one of these countries described the pervasive corruption of public life there, the expectation that anyone who obtains a government job will steal for the benefit of their family, home village, tribe, etc. This theft from public health programs literally costs lives. Yet the norm of corruption is so widely accepted that my friends said that for the foreseeable future, they believe that only programs run by outsiders should be funded. What a tragic commentary.
In our engagement with such situations – as individuals or communities who want to help, or even as a nation – it is so difficult to truly understand the dynamics at play. Deep relationships are part of the solution, as is a commitment to build capacity and an understanding that it will take a lot longer than we think it
should. But even with a lot of experience, strong relationships, and every other advantage, it will never be easy to overcome norms and perceptions that are often held at a subconscious level. It took a long time for things to get this way, and it will take a long time to reverse the situation.
A good starting point for engagement is a spirit of humility. That starts with admitting that we don’t even know how much we don’t know.
messy
A man recently mentioned that ministry is most difficult when it is up close and personal. It is messy. It is diffucult. But ultimately, we must be thankful that Jesus Himself did ministry up close. He did messy ministry. As His followers, we are called to do the same.
Thank you for partnering with us to minister the the "least of these"!
Scattering Christ together!
TT a man of many missions
A Maze of Grace by Trish Ryan
Before last week, all I knew was that Tebow is a Christian who’s exceptionally open about sharing his faith. I was surprised by how much attention this received here in Boston because in this town, it takes a move of God to divert the sports media’s attention away from Tom Brady. So if Tebow was getting all the press it was clear something BIG was happening. As I witnessed the hoopla, it opened my eyes to some cool aspects of how Tebow lives, and how he illustrates what is possible with God. Not just in football, but in any life of faith.
Three things in particular stood out:
1. Tebow works really hard to make the most of his talents. He is diligent.
2. He responds to the unique opportunities God makes possible via his talents to love people, share what he knows about God, and bring encouragement and inspiration to those around him. He’s alert and resourceful. (Not to mention bold!)
3. He stays in his lane. He doesn’t seem to talk much about other peoples’ choices, or whether he agrees with them. He’s busy doing his own thing. Which appears to give him a rather happy experience of life, whether his team wins or loses. He’s reverent.
In this, I saw things could be possible in my life: not pro-football, obviously, but a way of living where I’m working at full capacity to make the most of the talents and abilities God has given me, sensitive to the unique opportunities He provides to use those gifts to love people, happily staying in my lane rather than swerving in reaction to the cars around me. That sounds like a fun way to live. - Trish
What if we were all as bold as Tim about our faith? -- How many people would turn their heads or at least contemplate the possibility of a relationship with our Creator? Think about it!
messed up world
welcome to 2012
2011 was a blessed year for us, with many changes! We started the year with our 26 yr old, 2 Sudanese, and an Ethiopian living with us and ended with none. Wesley got married in March, our Sudanese sons moved to Troy University for college and our Ethiopian son moved to a neighboring city. A young family friend was found dead from a drug overdose and three days later our youngest son was in the F5 Tornado in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, but he ended the semester accepted into the UA ATEP Program for the fall. Spencer was home for four months due to the tornado damage and school schedules, which made his departure back to school even harder. August brought an empty and filthy house. We began a marathon painting season and have completed all but the kitchen. Rick started a new job and loves it. If any of my readers need anything printed or any promotional items, please let us know, we would love to serve you. Thanksgiving was spent at Orange beach with our children - what fun memories. Christmas and the Holidays brought the kids home from school and the flu! Thank you Jesus for a wonderful 2011. Welcome 2012!
KArthur
IS AMERICA LOST FOREVER?…
"People are lost—and don't know it. Not knowing TRUTH (Jesus) for themselves, they are deceived. They seek relief and answers from the lusts of the flesh and the idols of the heart. They exalt man and his accomplishments instead of God—and think it is man who saves us!
Countless Americans have turned their back on God! Far too many are choosing the broad path that leads to destruction. Our country desperately needs a great awakening: an awakening to our sin; an awakening to righteousness; and an awakening to the unfathomable Word of God. Kay writes:
Beloved, until the Lord returns, it is never too late to turn to God! And, unless we do, the America we know is gone. Think about Nineveh—when the people repented, the Lord relented (Jonah 3:10).
There has never been a greater need for God and His Word in our nation and world! Kay shares her burden for America."
