True Love - Phil Wickham

Come close listen to the story:
About a love more faithful than the morning
The Father gave His only Son just to save us

The earth was shaking in the dark
All creation felt the Fathers Broken Heart
Tears were filling Heaven's Eyes
The day that True Love died, the day that True Love died
When blood and water hit the ground
Walls we couldn't move came crashing down
We were free and made alive
The day that True Love died, The day that True Love died

Search your heart you know you can't deny it
Come on, lose your life just so you can find it
The Father gave His only Son just to save us

Now, Jesus is alive
Oh, He is alive
He rose again

When blood and water hit the ground
Walls we couldn't move came crashing down
We were free and made alive
The day that True Love died, The day that True Love died

Come close listen to the story.

Adoption Is Greater Than The Universe - John Piper

Christmas Time

Christmas was beautiful.

I adore spending time with my families, even if it means just relaxing together. I'm blessed to be surrounded by amazing family.

This was our first married Christmas. It felt a little anti-climatic in that it was the same as last year. Bring married didn't change our traditions. Shaun and I both came to the conclusion that Christmas will get a lot more exciting when we have a family. We didn't do a tree this year but instead gave the money away to help get some great kids Christmas presents. It was something I felt I needed to do because for some reason I am so attached to trees. I'll admit the house didn't feel very christmasy but I knew that money was put to way better use, therefore it was worth it. I got a bread maker from the hubby, yay for homemade and healthier bread and yay for saving money!

God has been teaching me so much lately. Certain aspects of Christmas are setting in in a new way.

A baby changes everything

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

God gave us His son. God gave us salvation. God gave us the greatest gift of live. God sacrifices everything. God gave the crucifixion. God gave us forgiveness.

And it all came in a beautiful baby boy one evening in Bethlehem.

I know we know all this but how often do we actually soak that truth into our hearts.

Mary was just like you & me

You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High....I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her

Well I'll admit I don't know if I would have the willing heart that Mary possessed.

But, the mother of our Savior was an average 14 year old girl. She still had to tell her parents and her boyfriend (who she'd never touched) that she was pregnant. She could have been you or me. She didn't come from a wealthy family. She wasn't a prophet or royalty. She was just a willing servant and God chose her to carry the greatest gift to mankind.

The Shepard were outcasts

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

Mary gave birth to the Son of God and who was invited to worship him first? The Shepard. The Shepard who was hated by society, who was poor, dirty, unloved. God shared this amazing gift with them. That's how much he loves the outcast.

The thing that has become more evident to me this Christmas is that if we North American had written the script for the birth of Jesus I'm afraid it wouldn't look anything like this.

We would have chosen the prom queen to be Mary. She would have given birth to the King of Kings in the most luxurious hospital. To visit this majestic baby we would have invited the richest in society, the most influential in government and probably a few celebrities for publicity sake.

Here's where we miss the entire picture.

God uses the ordinary. God adores the poor and the needy. God protects the widows and the orphans. God turns the rich away from following him. God tells us to sacrifice everything.

So where do North Americans fit into that picture?

That thought kind of scares me.

What if He doesn't choose me because I'm too attached to my stuff, or I care too much about what others think. What if he chooses me but I don't obey because of those things.

Oh Lord, forgive us for our greed and pride. Remind us every day that you came in a manger. You the King of Kings not only became human because you love me so much you lowered yourself to the bottom of society. Let us worship this humble Savior and the ultimate act of sacrifice He made. Oh my soul Praise Him!

"Could've come like a mighty storm
With all the strength of a hurricane
You could've come like a forest fire
With the power of Heaven in Your flame

You could've swept in like a tidal wave
Or an ocean to ravish our hearts
You could have come through like a roaring flood
To wipe away the things we've scarred

But You came like a winter snow
Quiet and soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
To the earth below"

-Chris Tomlin "Winter Snow"

Francis Chan - Balance Beam

Introducing Trevor

For those of you who haven't heard me brag about my precious little boy Trevor here's the story. This little boy has truly transformed my life.

p.s.: this might turn into a bit of a brag post 

The volunteers came in and told me that there was a new boy in Baby B. That he was adorable but seemed so sad. I went to see him, and as I sat on the ground and held him, my heart went out to this precious boy. My heart broke for all my children, I prayed that each one would get a family and lived a full life. But with this boy it was so different. It took a lot of strength every day to put him down and play with the other kids. I didn't want to be unfair so I tried to spend my free time cuddling and loving my precious Trev. Trevor was soon moved down to Baby A as the nurse decided he needed the nutrients of formula and a little more attention. I was so excited that this baby boy was now part of my responsibility and that I could love on him every day!

I began to pray for this precious boy every time I held him. He truly taught me how to completely rely on God. Sometimes I look back and think it's so strange that God used this little boy to teach me that I can do absolutely nothing without His strength.

Every morning and evening I would feed Trevor. I would slowly feed him his formula, if it went down too fast, he would throw it all up. Then after I slowly got him to eat all his formula, I would try to feed him his baby food. This is when it got tough. If Trevor didn't want to eat, he didn't. (stubborn little kid!) It drove me up the wall and back again because he needed to eat so badly. I wanted him to fatten up! If you tried to make Trevor eat, he would throw up. I remember one night I had been feeding him for over an hour and he threw everything up. I didn't want the mamas to see how much this bothered me so I quickly took him and gave him a bath. Then I took him to my room and held him as I cried. I cried out to the Lord asking him what I was doing wrong that this baby wouldn't eat. In that moment Trevor grabbed my face and wiped his hand across my cheek. My precious baby Trevor had wiped away my tears. In the moment the Lord spoke to me and said that He would take care of that child but there was nothing I could do in my strength. I began to pray the entire time I fed Trevor. I slowly learned that he would eat in spurts. I would feed him his baby food over the course of an hour. I would feed him till he was done, play with him for a bit, then feed him some more. He got the hang of it and soon began to eat more than all of the other kids.

Trevor loved to dance. When he first got to Amani, Trevor never smiled. I began to pray every day that he would smile. But whenever you turned on a tune Trevor was start to rock his head to the rhythm of the beat. Even though he didn't smile you could tell he was happy, dancing away to whatever tune was on in the background.

Trevor got healthier and healthier and I fell deeper into love with him. He learned to play by himself and I continued to pray that he would smile. I prayed and prayed whether this baby boy would be mine and I kept feeling like I was supposed to be a part of his life but I was not supposed to be his mother. I didn't understand but I trusted God. I loved this precious boy with my entire heart and it would have been easy to take him as my son. But I wanted to listen to God's plan, not mine. God had proven himself by bringing this boy back to health, and God had clearly shown me that there was nothing I could do of my own will.

I remember the day Trevor first smiled! My precious boy had finally smiled! I held him and wept and wept. God had answered my prayers.

I left Trevor and came home. I got married but still felt like something was missing. I spent many nights weeping, missing my precious Trevor, wanting to hold him and kiss him. I wanted to be there with him. I would wake up in a panic that He was hurting or sick and there was no one to take care of him. God continued to remind me that He loved Trevor before I came into his life and He would take care of him after. I truly had to give it up to God. More than anything I wanted to fly back to Africa and take him into my arms. I prayed that God would open doors so that I could stay a part of Trevors life. If Trevor could not be my son, I wanted to know that he was okay and that he was loved. I had one night where I barely slept and just spent the night in prayer, giving Trevor over to God and trusting Him with his future.

The next day my friend from Africa sent me an email. Megan and Kelsey were starting a sponsorship program so that kids who had families who loved them but couldn't afford them, could be sponsered by a North American families and could go home. Meg emailed me and said that Trevor was up for sponsorship, would I be willing? Tears came to my eyes as I read this email. God had answered my prayers I would be able to be a part of Trevors life, not his mother but I would always know how he was doing and whether he was well. Whether he went to school and how he was growing up. What an answer to prayer!

Today Trevor went home with his grandmother and grandfather, he also has uncles living in the home. He will be loved and well taken care of. I will provide the funds necessary so that he can start school and eat well. I can hardly believe how God has so directly given me the desire of my heart.

(if you want to hear more about this amazing sponsership program check it out at Obukuumi Sponsorship Program)

Now here comes the brag part. Here are the beautiful pictures of my precious little Trevor who still holds a huge part of my heart!

This is Trevor when we first got him. He would always cry. But not an annoying loud cry, this sad whine that would break your heart in two. This precious boy would just whine to get any attention possible.

Needless to say that cry broke my heart in two. I couldn't help but to hold him and love him whenever possible so that he wouldn't be sad.

Every morning when I woke up early I would go grab him before me volunteer shift started and cuddle with him in our room while I ate breakfast and chatted with my family. I proudly showed off this previous boy who had stolen my heart.

One night I was so frustrated that Trev wouldn't eat that I just gave him the baby food. Sure enough he happily fed himself as I sat and laughed.

He didn't like his crib so he tended to sleep on my chest.

His feet were always cold so I dug deep and found him some socks (most kids don't wear socks in Africa) they did the job.

I really wanted him to crawl so I would set him down and set a cracker out of his reach, he never quite caught on while I was there but probably because I would still give him the cracker. I couldn't say no to that cute face!

That's the smile that I'm so thankful that I was able to witness while I was still there! Praise God for that precious little grin.

A Choice

It is easy for the numbers and statistics regarding the poor and needy to seem cold and distant. The idea of billions in poverty or twenty-six thousand children dying from salvation or preventable disease before we lay our head on our pillows tonight seems hard to imagine......

But everything changed when we made our first trip to the orphanage in Kazakhstan. We saw children playing outside. We walked past their rooms inside. Suddenly those numbers on a page came alive in our hearts.....

We learned that orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they're not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes.

So when you and I hear staggering numbers and statistics about the poor and needy around us and around the world, we have a choice. We can switch the channels on our mega-TVs and continue our comfortable, untroubled, ordinary, churchgoing lives as if the global poor don't exist. We can let there numbers remain cold, distant, and almost imaginary. Or we can open our eyes and our lives to the realities that surround us and begin considering the faces that are represented by these numbers.

As I see their faces, I realize that I have a choice. You and I both have a choice.

We can stand with the starving or with the overfed.

We can identify with poor Lazarus on his way to heaven or with the rich man on his way to hell.

We can embrace Jesus while we give away our wealth, or we can walk away from Jesus while we hoard our wealth.

Only time will tell what you and I choose to do with this blind spot of American Christinaity in our day.

(excerpt from Radical: Taking back your faith from the American Dream By: Dr.David Platt)

Uganda

In January of 2010, I left my amazing boyfriend (now husband), my friends, family and my job to travel to the unknown of Uganda.

This was the best decision I ever made.

A lady from my church asked me the other day if I went to Africa so that my now husband would get his butt in gear and ask me to marry him. She figured if I left for a bit that would convince him he wanted to keep me around. I chuckled and told her that was not the case at all. In fact if I had not gone to Africa I would have been married long before August 1^st, 2010.

Shortly after my husband and I had been dating for five months he went on a church retreat, during my time without him I spent a lot of time with the Lord seeking out him plan for our life, I guess my hubby was doing the same thing. He got home and told me he knew God wanted us to get married and asked me if there was anything I wanted to do before we settled down (seeing as I was so young and all!) I told him I felt God calling me to Uganda and that I wanted to travel there for a few months before we got married. Doesn’t God have funny timing! So off we went on the journey of waiting to get married and waiting for me to leave for Africa. We decided we wouldn’t get engaged until after I got home because I didn’t want to stress about wedding plans during my time with my babies. This also meant we had a pretty short engagement once I was home. As everyone can know see, I was not pregnant though I was asked several times if that was our reasoning. We both knew that my leaving would only strengthen our relationship

I spent two amazing months at Amani Baby Cottage. I was forever changes by the children and the women I worked with. I will forever have a part of my heart at Amani. Every day I would wake up and work with the most beautiful children I have ever seen. I was constantly surrounded by infants (that’s my comfort zone). I spent my days just loving kids and there is nothing more fulfilling for a woman who has a mother’s heart than being surrounded by children she can love. These babies have given me such a deep passion for the orphan. I want to live my days honoring my Saviour by loving orphans in every way that is possible to me. I can hardly wait to see how God uses this passion because I know he planted it there for such a specific reason!

This post is the prequel.

Coming up next is the story of my precious baby boy Trevor. And how God used him to completly change me from the inside out.

The Rich and the Kingdom of God

Mark 10:17-31

"As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” "Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’” “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!” “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

When you read this passage what are the first thoughts that enter your mind?

Mine aren't that holy, they go something like this:

Aren't we saved by grace? So why should I sell everything if I'm getting into heaven anyways, plus my possession don't have that much of a hold on me so He wouldn't call me to something so extreme.

HAHAHAH

That's the sound of God laughing at my ignorance in heaven. Well I don't know that He would laugh, maybe it would be tears that I was missing the whole point. He likely mourns that I would so blatantly ignore His Holy Word and assume that it does not apply to me.

Here are the questions that have really hit me lately?

Do I really believe the Bible?

If yes, then why do I as a Christian think it's okay to skip over the hard stuff, to take the easy way, and to live my life as comfortably as possible.

Not once in the Bible does God call us to live a comfortable life. He calls us to sacrifice IT ALL for His glory, and for His name.

So what does this verse have to teach me?

No, I'm not rich by North American standards. But compared to the rest of the world, I guess I'm rolling in it. I have access to water, I have transportation, I have education, I have a job, I have a roof over my head, I have three meals a day. The truth is that is not that case for most of the world.

In this verse Jesus commands us to total surrender, He is telling us that unless we are ready to follow Him with everything we have, and unless we are willing to sacrifice all He has given us, don't bother. He turned this man away from being a Christian by commanding Him to do the one thing he wouldn't want to do. Give it all away. Does that mean that we all need to sell everything to follow Him. No! Salvation is earned by grace alone, but the more I learn about the Bible and Jesus the more I see that if you are His follower, it shows. It is evident in your life. Our love of Jesus should flow through our words, thoughts and actions. He could be calling me to sell it all. David Platt's Radical challenges calls you to pray over every single budget item you are spending money on monthly and ask God if that is how He wants you to spend that money, or if it should be going elsewhere. We don't ask God how to spend our money because we are scared of the answer, but this leads to my second point.

Many who are last, will be first. And many who are first, will be last. This isn't it. We are called to live our lives for God on this earth where it isn't easy, but as Christians we know that our reward is much greater on the other side. God doesn't call us to sell it all to make our lives miserable (in fact most people who sell everything to serve others find great joy and fulfillment, I don't think there are very many of them who miss their nice home and cars once they have had their eyes opened to real need) He calls us to sell it all and follow Him so that our reward in Heaven will be greater! He calls us to this because He loves us!

Jesus also wants us to know that our "stuff" can kill us.

1 Timothy 6:6-10 says "A devout life does bring wealth, but it's the rich simplicity of being yourself before God. Since we entered the world penniless and will leave it penniless, if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet, that's enough. But if it's only money these leaders are after, they'll self-destruct in no time. Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble. Going down that path, some lose their footing in the faith completely and live to regret it bitterly ever after."

Wealth can cause us to lose our faith completely. Wow.

Verses 17-19 follow with, "Tell those rich in this world's wealth to quit being so full of themselves and so obsessed with money, which is here today and gone tomorrow. Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage—to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they'll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life."

Tell them to go after God. I guess that's the point loud and clear. That's our purpose, that's our focus.

So now I'm left asking God how and what. I will admit it's scary. I don't know if I want to be homeless during a Manitoba winter. I don't know if I want to sell my car and walk to work every day. So I pray. I listen. I seriously consider what I spend my money on. I pray that if or when He calls me to something hard I will be willing to listen and go through with it. I ask Him what He wants me to give up so that someone else can eat, or go to school, or drink clean water. I want to serve Him with my life and I really don't need most of the stuff that I've sacrificed. My life is still happy and full in spite of what has been sacrificed. But I'm still working, and I know there are things that I am still holding onto and that will be really hard to give up when God calls me to sacrifice them. But I pray that He will prepare my heart for that time and that I'll be ready to follow His plan.

So I urge you to pray about your budget. Find one thing you spend money on every month that you could sacrifice to give to someone in need. It's not that hard. I seriously believe if you ask God if there is something He wants you to sacrifice for someone else.... He will probably answer. After all we serve a God who loves the least of these, who commands us to help the poor, widow and the orphan. He will answer if you ask how you can help these people because He loves them, just as much as He loves us. 

And isn't His love good?

Alisa

David Platt- Religion or Devotion?

Pro-Life or Anti-Abortion

Lately a lot of thoughts have been swirling around my head about the Christian Community. All over North America we as Christians are quick to speak out against abortion. We are anti-abortion. As we should be, the Bible tells us to value life and God creates that life therefore it is good and not ours to take away. Except I feel like a lot of Christians stop there. They are anti-abortion, but isn’t there another side of the picture.

Being pro-life, now a lot of you who are reading this just thought to yourselves, of course I'm pro-life, isn’t that the same thing as being anti-abortion? Well I personally don’t think so. I’ve been asking myself some hard questions lately. We spend so much time hating abortion, hating those that love it, and hating those that have abortions (sorry sidenote: those mothers are grieving and need Christian love more than anything after an abortion and we need to be wrapping our arms around them not throwing condemnation onto them!) So ask yourselves these questions:

Would I be willing to adopt so that a birth mother can choose life?

Would you still be willing to adopt if that child was not Caucasian?

Would you still be willing to adopt if that child was given HIV from its mother?

If adoption ended tomorrow would there be enough Christian parents to fill the gap for those mothers?

Are we giving our time and money to help crisis pregnancy centers so that these mothers get the support needed when they choose life?

If we are so prolife why are there living children in orphanages all over the world barely surviving in inhumane conditions?

If we are so prolife why do we not even consider fostering and adopting?

If our friend was pregnant and considering abortion would we offer to parent her child?

Why do we allow foster children to enter abusive homes, when there are tons of Christian homes with extra room?

Why do we discourage the parents that do choose to adopt, when as a faith body we should be raising them up for listening to the call of the Father?

Why do we look upon the birth mothers that do choose life with such judgment? Thinking that she got herself into it, so she deserves having to give her child up? How is that prolife, putting down the person who choose to give her child a life she could never provide?

Why does Hollywood answer the call to adopt, and most Christians only consider adoption when they can’t have children of their own?

We as Christians live the most perfect example of adoption. The father adopted us as His own. He chose us before creation to be His children. (Ephesians 1:5) He is a Father to the Fatherless, yet we are His hands and feet, so therefore we are called to go and be a Father to the Fatherless. We are commanded to help the orphan and the widow (James 1:27) so what are you doing to help them?

So let’s choose to not just say we are pro-life but actually live as though we value life. Celebrate those who choose to give their child life through adoption and stand in the gap to make adoption possible. Pray about your role in Gods family. Pray about adoption or fostering. Pray about coming alongside a birth mother during her grief. Pray about counselling a mother who is deciding whether to choose life or abortion. Stand in the gap for families who have answered the call to adopt, financially or prayerfully. Consider giving some time of money to a pregnancy crisis centre. These are all practical ways to live out our lives being pro-life instead of anti-abortion.

What Part of the Gospel Is Optional?

Who teaches you in your life? Who challenges you in your walk with the Father?


Lately I have been listening to the teachings of a pastor from Birmingham, Alabama. He has truly transformed some of what I believed and how I thought I should be living my life. He has challenged me to live by the Bible that I believe in. If you are interested in digging deeper into scripture and walking through some challenging verses I urge you to listen to his sermons or read his book. I love nothing more than a pastor who studies entire books and doesn't skip to the nice verses. The Bible is challenging and Jesus says some intense stuff and if we truly believe it, it should completely change our lives. Listen to some of his sermons for your devotional. Yeah it takes an hour of your day to listen to a sermon, but really is that TV show that great anyways? Turn it off for one night and see what God is wanting to teach you. Listen to it as you drive to the city. Seriously I guarantee that if you listen to this with an open heart for what God wants to teach you, you will learn a lot and likely be changed. Commit to listen to the Radical Series or the Galatians Series or the James Series. This is good biblical teaching that can truly transform how you live if you allow it!

Steven Curtis Chapman - All I Really Want

Christmas Shopping - Choosing to make a difference this advent

How many of you are already done your Christmas shopping? I have been done since mid-November, I have also managed not to buy one thing in a mall. Online shopping is the way I go about it. Actually I think I've been completely converted I can buy everything I need online, not even just for Christmas. Clothes, shoes, purses, jewelery, books, hats.... The list goes on and on.

I have many reasons why I choose to shop online instead of in malls and retails stores. Malls this time of year kinda of make me sick. I don't really know what other word to use. They are packed full of every kind of person, racking up their credit card bill to buy other people useless things they don't need and likely don't even want. And all this in the name Christmas, celebrating our Saviours birth. How is He glorified in all this? I truly believe that North American Christians have completely lost track of what Christmas is about. What happened to spending the month of advent focusing on the Lord. Spending time enjoying your friends and family.

I read a beautiful blog of a family that has not given Christmas gifts in ten years. Ten years ago their five year old son asked mom what they got Jesus for Christmas? He couldn't wrap his mind around why they got presents for Jesus' birthday. He didn't get presents for his sisters birthday. After a bit of a conversation his mom asked him if he would be willing to give up his Christmas presents for Jesus this year. Of course he replied (oh the things we can learn from the willigness of children). Since then this family has given away the money they would have spent on Christmas. They choose gifts through World Vision & Compassion that help those that truly have nothing. Why do we as North American feel as though we need presents to make Christmas feel full and completely. We truly just need our Savior. We just need to focus on Him and how He humbly came to earth as an infant to save us. So choose this year to give a gift in the name of your friend and family. Some great resources for that are:
Samaritan's Purse

Compassion Internation

World Vision

So maybe you aren't ready to give all your Christmas spending money away quite yet. Then pray about where and how much God wants you to spend this year. For some reasons we as North Americans seem to believe that since God has blessed us with wealth (yes we are all wealthy by worldly standards) it is ours to spend as we want. This is not the case. We must still let the Father use that money as He wants.

Maybe you still have gatherings so you need to buy gifts. Or you still want to get your kids or spouse something. Let me introduce you to gifts that the twice. Okay I know it sounds cheesy BUT there are many amazing not for profit organizations that enable people in poverty to make amazing products and sell them for a fair price in North America. This is where I did

all my Christmas shopping this year and how I buy clothes year round as I need them. Some great resources for that are:
Tukula 

Sseko Designs

One Mango Tree

Krochet Kids

Ember Arts

147 Million Orphans

MEND Handbags

Christmas is about giving, but let's give to those in true need this Christmas! And let's choose to focus on our Saviour and His birth above all else.

Merry Christmas

Alisa

World AIDS Day - Remebering Beautiful Peace

Today is World Aids Day. A day that I choose to use to spread the truth about HIV and AIDS. I want to take action to tackle the prejudices that surround this disease. 

I live in a small Mennonite community, I don't think once in school HIV was even discussed. There is no one that I know (within my community) who is public about their positive status. Last year I traveled to Africa for two months and the biggest question I got asked was "Will you be with HIV children, aren't you scared? Won't you get AIDS?" I wish so greatly that at this time I had been more educated and had shared with these people that AIDS and HIV aren't what they think. These children are not contaminated. You will not get sick for hugging them, kissing them, or holding them. Please take a few minutes to watch this video and educate yourself on AIDS and HIV.  Truth Pandemic

On a more personal note AIDS has touched me in a deep way. When I spent time at an orphanage in Uganda I had the privilege of caring for a beautiful baby girl who was suffering from AIDS. My friend was fighting to become her foster mom and in the mean time she was staying at the orphanage. I loved this precious girl dearly. I rejoiced as she learned to take her bottle and as her fever broke while she fought off pneumonia. I remember one night clearly where I though she was going to go be with Jesus and I just held her and cried out to Him. She fought through. I watched her gain back health and the day I left, as I was saying goodbye, her foster mom and I together witnessed her first smile since being with us. Oh the tears that were shed at this moment. I left for home trusting all my children to the Lord, he had taken care of them before me and he would continue to love them and care for them after. Several months after I arrived home I heard word that this precious girl had fallen with pneumonia again, when you have AIDS your immune system cannot fight. There aren't words to describe the devastation I felt when I heard that the Lord had taken her home. She was rejoicing in heaven, painless, with her Saviour. But as humans all we see is our pain, we no longer have this beautiful baby girl in our lives anymore. Why would God take her away? She had so much life to live. We don't understand his plan and it can be so frustrating. 

As I mourned this precious girl God began to open my eyes to all the other orphans who have HIV. There are millions of orphans who lost their parents due to HIV and have had the virus since birth.  Some orphanages don't even put these precious children on adoption lists because who would even consider adopted a HIV baby. Well the truth is there are people who adopt HIV children, it is possible. When HIV is treated your life span can be up to 70 years old. That sounds similar to everyone else doesn't it. Bringing an HIV child into your home doesn't endanger your family. This child can be loved and play with this siblings without fear of transmission. The can be cuddled and adored by their parents. They can go to university, become teachers or pilots or firemen, they can get married, they can become parents.


So please join with me in spreading the word and educating people. We can't just turn a blind eye to the HIV orphan. God calls us to help the least of these so what is your role? What are you doing to help the orphan crisis. Please join me in spreading the cause of these beautiful children. Ask the Father what your role is, and how He wants you to help these beautiful babies.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’"

Matthew 25:34-40