Helping Make a Brighter Future

“The Hole in the Gospel,” by Richard Stearns is a book which is deeply moving and which cannot be read without a feeling of conviction and a sense of urgency to do something to make a difference in the lives of people who lack the basic necessities to survive.

       

 Last week I shared about the beginning of the World Vision Organization, as told by Stearns, the current director of the organization. As I reviewed the pictures in the center of the book for this week’s column, one was especially touching— that of a tiny woman dressed in a bright red skirt and matching bandana, hugging Stearns around the waist. He and his family had personally sponsored two little boys from Zambia, Jackson and Morgan, whose parents had died of AIDS. When he traveled to Zambia two years later, the boys’ grandmother wanted to meet and personally thank him

      

 Jackson was the oldest of four children who was thirteen when his parents died. He had to drop out of school to support his siblings by begging and scavenging for food. Sometimes they wouldn’t eat for a whole week. When their grandmother was finally contacted, she traveled several hundred miles to get the four kids and took them back to live with her. However she had no way to support them and cried out to God for help.

     

 Stearns first agreed to sponsor Jackson at his wife’s urging, after a fund raising dinner in the States. All he did was write out the support checks each month. His son ended up sponsoring Morgan to impress his girlfriend at the time. Little did they know that God was using them as an answer to a grandmother’s desperate prayers.

       

What a contrast this story is with the news headlines about the royal baby born to William and Kate on July 22^nd whose birth was looked forward to around the world with great anticipation. Millions of dollars were spent on souvenirs, champagne, media events and parties in his honor. The future of the young prince is bright and full of promise, whereas for Jackson and his siblings, the future looked dim until help came from a family in America.

         

 If we can become more aware of the plight of people in developing countries and reach out to help, we can make a difference. Does the thought of twelve million children orphaned from AIDS in Africa scare you? It scares me, truthfully. Yet it seems within my reach to help one child get an education, adequate food and medical treatment. Multiply that by hundreds of thousands of people and then we can make an impact.

      

 This response came back from our friend, Art Reese, after he read last week’s article:

“Thanks for sharing. This was the second nudge I have had today. Driving to a bone scan appointment, I was prompted by ‘Focus on The Family’ radio to look over my  income and expenses again as a retired person to see if  there was any room for additional giving. Ellie and I have supported a World Vision child in Africa for number of years (she is now a teenager) but I am sure we could do more both thru WV and at home on a monthly basis.”  

        

Mahatma Gandhi said, “Live simply so that others may simply live.”  Now that is something we can all do!

“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7 NIV