Being concerned about the world at large and "doing good" has become incredibly trendy in my generation. Go to any college campus and you will see plenty of 20 year olds walking around in their Toms, talking about human trafficking, and how Americans don't care enough. (Sound familiar?)
But, sadly, a lot of these people care becuase it's trendy. The Indie culture (think Hippies, only with a little less drug use) is all about caring for the environment and people in the world, breaking out of the American mindset.
And I am right there along with them, though not because it's trendy to care about these topics and do something about it.
So where did this passion of mine come from? Why am I so burdened for the needy and destitute, the down and out, the "least of these"? If you have had a conversation with me for any length of time, you will know that my heart beats this way. But I didn't just stumble into caring as a product of my generation.
So because all of you, through reading this blog, are supporting my latest venture into the wild blue yonder, I feel it my duty to share with you how God worked in my life to bring me to this point.
I shared in an earlier post about my trip to Cambodia. I don't really have the time to go back and read it, so forgive me if I repeat some things from that one. That trip was dubbed an "Exposure Trip" to open our eyes to the world of trafficking and slave labor. But for me it was sooooo much more.
Another thing you find out about me after spending only a few minutes talking is how much I LOVE my nieces and nephews. They just bring joy to my life in ways that I cannot put into words. Even this morning, Craig's smiles and Emma helping me pour creamer in my coffee has made my day SO much brighter.
Here's half! Violet, Emma, and Craig.
One of the places that we spent a lot of time at was the Safe Haven. This AMAZING facility was designed to house, counsel, school, and provide for children rescued from sex slavery. The children lived in houses with "parents" who were trained counselors to help the kids deal with their horrid past.
Some of the buidlings at the Safe Haven include dormitories, which can be seen on the right. In the back of the picture, the long blue building is the school house.
Some of the children playing at recess.
The younger kids went to school to learn basic subjects (I got to help teach English one of the days) and the older kids were taught a trade - sewing or carpentry - so when they left the program they were able to support themselves.
These are some of the girls in the sewing school.
Here are some of the kids doing their lessons during school.
The emotions and thoughts and feelings that one has to process after exposure to something like this is just impossible to put into words. But the whole time we were playing with the kids, and teaching them, and seeing their smiling faces, and receiving their hugs I kept thinking - what if this was Emma? Or Vi? or Jordan or Kody? And in that thought, God began to Fuel a passion in my life. A passion for those who are unloved, uncared for, victims...
You can read about the short and long term goals for the Safe Haven here:
http://www.cambodianhopeorganization.org/safehaven.html
Thinking back through the years and how God has brought me to this place that I'm now in, there is one other moment that sticks out as a time when God clearly called me to a passion for the least of these. And that came through my nephew, Craig.
I have had the remarkable privilege of being at the hospital for some of my neices' and nephews' birth. While each one is uniquely special and loved, holding Craig hours after his birth had a profound impact on me. Looking down at that little face poking out of his swaddling, I could clearly hear God speaking to my heart.
Do you love this baby? Well of course I do, God. He's perfect. He's a part of our family. Yes, I love him.
Does his family love him? [Why is it that God sometimes asks the most obvious questions to prove a point?] Running on less than a handful of hours of sleep, my response was, seriously God? Why are you even making me answer these questions? Yes. This baby is surrounded by a family of love. Parents who will teach him Your ways and Your truth, a big sister who will help him grow up, cousins that will play with him at family gathering, aunts and uncles that dote on him, grandparents that will try to give him the world. Yes, this baby is very loved.
Craig Robert Whitenight
And then as I sat there rocking him, God's call on my life became abundantly clear.
You know what I'm calling you to do...Yes, Lord. You want me to live my life in a way that will show this love, Your love, to those who have no family, no cousins and aunts and uncles, no grandparents...to those who have been abused, mistreated...You want me to work among the least of these and love them as I love my nieces and nephews.
And are you willing to do that, no matter where it might lead you? Even if it means giving up precious time with your family should I call you to a different place? Are you willing to surrounder to My will for your life?
Everytime I see Craiggie, I think about that moment, holding him in the hospital, and I remember the life that God has called me to live. I don't know where that calling will take me. I don't know how it will all pan out. But I do know that this trip to Romania is just another step along the path of the life that he has called me to lead. A life of showing love and compassion and hope and Him to the least of these.
In a nostalgic state of mind,
Ali
