Eyes to See

So, the story goes something like this… Blanca met a guy in Italy years ago.  Years before that two guys met in North Carolina.  Somehow through facebook we all got connected which led to all of you helping the orphans we visited in Zimbabwe.  I love how God connects dots that aren’t even on the same page and creates something beautiful.

Anyway, there’s a launch party this weekend for H.E.L.P. a non-profit started by Chris (one of the N.C. guys).  They have big dreams of helping alleviate global poverty.  If you haven’t made it over to their website yet, click on the link on our sidebar to find out more about them.  And please click here for details about the launch party in Austin this weekend.  Who knows what other dots God might be planning to connect…

Update from PLC:

Ahmed is smiling big! He gets to see his mom again on Wednesday…back home in Iraq!

I so badly wish I could be there to see his smiling face and give him a BIG HUG!!!!  He will still need additional surgeries over the next few years in order to live a fully functional adult life, so keep Ahmad in your prayers!   And we’ll, of course, keep you updated. 

As I’ve spent time with friends over the last couple days, they have all asked how we are adjusting to life back in the plenty and comfort of America after all we’ve seen and experienced.  So far I have told everyone that this has actually been the easiest adjustment back for me ever.  The usual follow-up question is, “And why do you think that is?”  Thus far my answer has been that maybe it has something to do with being more prepared after having made the jump back to this country of uninterrupted electricity, dryers, and supercenters multiple times (three in fact in 2008 alone).  I also mention that I believe some of it may be that we were transitioning in and out of cultures so frequently (literally every 4-6 days) that we never had the chance to really settle in anywhere.

Today I’d have to add that I think I am avoiding completely re-entering my life just yet.  Sure I’ve already made a trip to Wal-mart for coffee and half-n-half and I’ve caught up on episodes of Heroes, but I’ve also stayed up until at least 3 every night and slept in until 11, 12 or even 2pm, holding on to the waking hours of the other side of the world.  And honestly I have refused to begin seriously thinking about what I will do over the next months or years with what God has revealed on this journey.  I would rather pitch a tent at the crossroads than dare the hike down a particular path hoping my short steps will make a lasting difference in our world.  I’ve always hated camping.  I think I need to remember that and begin the uncertain trek toward the next cloud-covered destination in the distance.

Blanca and I are speaking at our church in Austin this Sunday.  In preparation for what we will share about Sudan, I decided to look up information on the LRA led Christmas massacres we heard about while we were in Yei.  Here’s some of what I found in a report compiled by Human Rights Watch.  The stories we heard while in Sudan were horrific enough.  These leave me shaking and force my mind to take in further depths of human depravity than I’d previously thought possible.  Please continue to pray for the safety and healing of the people of the Congo, Uganda, and Sudan and for the redemption of these soldiers along with the coming of justice to these places of unfathomable evil and tremendous suffering.

The LRA were quick at killing. It did not take them very long and they said nothing while they were doing it. They killed all 26. I was horrified. I knew all these people. They were my family, my friends, my neighbors. When they finished I slipped away and went to my home, where I sat trembling all over. — A 72-year-old man who hid in the bushes and watched as the LRA killed his family on Christmas day in Batande, near Doruma. He is one of only a handful of people still alive in his village.

I cry everyday for her. You can’t imagine what it’s like to have your daughter taken from you. It makes me ill when I think about what they [the LRA] could be doing to her in the bush. I don’t know if I’ll ever see her again, or even if she’s still alive. — A mother whose 13-year-old daughter was abducted by the LRA in September 2008

In late December 2008 and into January 2009, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) brutally killed more than 865 civilians and abducted at least 160 children in northern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). LRA combatants hacked their victims to death with machetes or axes or crushed their skulls with clubs and heavy sticks. In some of the places where they attacked, few were left alive.

The worst attacks happened in a 48-hour period over Christmas in locations some 160 miles apart in the Doruma, Duru, and Faradje areas of Haut-Uele district of northern Congo. The LRA waited until the time of Christmas festivities on December 24 and 25 to carry out their devastating attacks, apparently choosing a moment when they would find the maximum number of people all together. The killings occurred not just in Congo but also in parts of southern Sudan where similar kinds of weapons and tactics were used.

The Christmas massacres in Congo are part of a longstanding practice of horrific atrocities and abuse by the LRA. Before shifting its operations to the Congo in 2006, the LRA was based in Uganda and southern Sudan where LRA combatants also killed, raped, and abducted thousands of civilians. When the LRA moved to Congo, its combatants initially refrained from targeting Congolese people, but in September 2008 the LRA began its first wave of attacks, apparently to punish local communities who had helped LRA defectors to escape. The first wave of attacks in September, together with the Christmas massacres, has led to the deaths of over 1,033 civilians and the abduction of at least 476 children.

LRA killings have not stopped since the Christmas massacres. Human Rights Watch continues to receive regular reports of murders and abductions by the LRA, keeping civilians living in terror. According to the United Nations, over 140,000 people have fled their homes since late December 2008 to seek safety elsewhere. New attacks and the flight of civilians are reported weekly. In some areas, people are frightened to gather together believing that the LRA may choose such moments to strike, as they did with such devastating efficiency over Christmas.

Even by LRA standards, the Christmas massacres in Congo were especially brutal. LRA combatants struck quickly and quietly, surrounding their victims as they ate their Christmas meal in Batande village, or as they gathered for a Christmas day concert in Faradje. In Mabando village, the LRA sought to maximize the death toll by luring their victims to a central place, playing the radio and forcing their victims to sing songs and to call for others to come join the party. In most of the attacks they tied up their victims, stripped them of their clothes, raped the women and girls, and then killed their victims by crushing their skulls. In two cases the attackers tried to kill three-year-old toddlers by twisting off their heads. The few villagers who survived often did so because their assailants thought they were dead.

The widespread, virtually simultaneous nature of the attacks as well as the similar means used to kill the victims points to a coordinated operation carried out under orders from a single command structure. Captured LRA combatants, interviewed by Human Rights Watch, said that LRA leader Joseph Kony himself ordered attacks on civilians beginning in September 2008, at a time when Kony was still promising to sign the peace accords. An LRA spokesman contacted by Human Rights Watch denied all responsibility for the attacks, saying they had been carried out by Ugandan soldiers pretending to be LRA combatants. Human Rights Watch found no evidence to support this assertion.

from yesterday:

Ahmad is out of surgery!  O2 levels already up 25%.  His future is hopefully less blue and more healthy pink.  His dad is crying tears of joy!

and 8 hours ago:

is awake in ICU and doing well.  He is pink pink pink (yea oxygen!) and alert.  Such a wonderful change is this little guy.

Thanks again for your prayers.  Please pray for the other 8 children that are/will be in surgery over the next week.

If you would like to read more from Scott, a member of the PLC staff, please click here.

Incredible…  we got an update from PLC that Ahmad will have his first surgery in just two days!  I was touched by some of the Twitter updates that have been posted by PLC…

From a couple of weeks ago:

“ahmad’s dad committed today to do anything to save his son’s life.  He is in the process of selling anything he can to raise his portion of $$$.”

From last week:

“just came to the PLC office looking worse than he even does in these pictures. This kid is racing against the clock.”

And from today:

“landed in Turkey, received his diagnostic test, & had everyone at the hospital celebrating & cheering upon news that the Dr. will operate!”

WOW…  Praise God!!!  What an amazing blessing for PLC to be partnered with doctors like the one in Turkey with the skill and knowledge to perform these life-saving surgeries…

Please keep little Ahmad in your prayers as he has his first surgery.   Pray that the Lord would keep his little body strong, and that the surgeries would go smoothly and heal his little heart.

Also, you can still click here to give towards Ahmad’s surgery and travel costs.

-B

We’re in New Zealand!!  Crazy!!  The above photo is of me and my awesome friend, Hannah!

Ever since we left back in December, I’ve always looked at this New Zealand portion of our trip as “hanging out with Hannah and Richard time.”  So even though I knew we’d be in this beautiful country, I was much more excited about getting to see my dear friends than doing any sort of sight-seeing.

So, even though Hannah would send me all these emails with cool ideas about what we could do or see during our stay, I always thought to myself – 1) We’ll probably be ridiculously poor by the time we get there, and 2) We could just sit around at a coffee shop and just talk and catch up the whole time and I’d be totally fine with that.

But Tuesday night, after settling in and having a nice dinner with some of their friends, we began talking about plans for the rest of the week.  And even though I still felt like we could sit around the house the whole time, the more Hannah talked about all these cool places, the more excited I got about possibly doing them!

All that to say, I figured I’d regret not doing these fun things with Hannah and Richard, and even though I’m already poor, what’s another $50 gonna hurt?    When else will I be able to do these cool things with my awesome friends in this beautiful city??

So today, we ventured off to Rangitoto, an island that was formed by a volcano.  We spent the entire day hiking around the island, up to the top of the volcano, stopped for lunch, then hiked back down to catch the last ferry back home.

On our walk back to the ferry, this random German  guy somehow tagged along with us and walked the last 1 1/2 hours back with us.  He and Richard began talking together, and Hannah and I finished catching up on things, talking about the trip, etc.  I loved that Hannah and I had that time to talk!  I miss having that crazy girl around…

Well, at some point Richard mentioned to Ten (the German) about my trip with Liz, and so he and I started talking about it.  He asked some really great questions, like “How do you expect people to take action as a result of your trip?”  “The US has poor people as well…why don’t you just stay in the US and help with all the problems there?”  “Isn’t it difficult to just go visit these places when it won’t really do anything to solve the problem – ending poverty, etc.?”

I loved that he was challenging me with all these questions…and we talked about that last question for a while.  He mentioned that even though it’s good to go and visit all these poor third world countries, it will take more effort and more change within the government to REALLY make a difference.  I told him I agreed, that a lot of these countries are suffering as a result of their corrupt governments…but I shared that I also have a heart and a passion to see the world, and to use the gifts I have been given to do what I can to raise awareness…knowing that my small part is just one of many little parts of a bigger plan.  I shared that I felt God led me on this trip, and all I can do is follow where I’m being led, and do what I feel I am called to do.

He seemed to understand my thoughts, and said that it reminded him of a saying they have in Germany.  “It’s like a Swiss watch…”  He explained that in the watch, you have all these little wheels that turn bigger wheels.  And you need both the little and big wheels to work together to make the watch work.  He turned to me and said, “You’re like a little wheel.”  And I smiled and said, “Yes…”

I know Liz and I have probably blogged about this idea before…  But it was good to be reminded of it today.  Especially since I’ve started trying to really process through things, and think through all that Liz and I have seen and done.

It’s tempting at times to believe that nothing will come of this trip…that we will have gotten ourselves into thousands of dollars in debt, not having made much of a dent…  These countries will still battle these issues, the people we’ve met and grown to love will still wake up fearing that their villages will be attacked, or wonder how they will have food to feed all the children under their roof…

But I must keep doing what I can…keep going where I’m led.  I know I’m only playing a small part.  But my small part is important (essential, even!)  in carrying out a much bigger Plan…

If we are called, we must go.  If we are being led, we must follow.

The little wheels are just as important as the bigger wheels.

I’m sitting on the Venable’s wrap around porch in New Zealand right now, not far from the ocean, trying to process all we’ve seen and heard over the last six weeks and asking the Lord how He wants my life to be different as a result.  Please do pray with us that we would hear His voice clearly and respond in obedience and joy.

So many faces surface as I think about our trip.  Ahmad is surely among them.  We got an encouraging update from PLC the other day and I wanted to pass it along.  They are now only $5000 short of the $90000 needed to not only send Ahmad to surgery but all the children that were screened that day we just happened to be Iraq!  Thank you for giving and if you haven’t yet but have a desire to, please consider helping finish up this last $5000.

As we have moved from one country to the next previously unknown city, there’s inevitably the clash with the culture, the visa scam or overpriced taxi ride, and the ache as we hold one more abandoned baby or watch one more elderly woman carry her heavy load.  But then there’s the beauty…

The beauty of a young nurse visiting a leprous woman at a hospital in Southern Sudan, healing hands touching her, praying with her in words she cannot understand but in actions that speak.

The beauty of a teenage orphan in Zimbabwe tossing his “little brother” up in the air, working in one of the gardens that provides for the near 100 person family, having been transformed from the hardened boy he once was.

The beauty of a university student in Vietnam volunteering weekly at a center for disabled children, feeding those who cannot bring spoons to their own lips with their twisted limbs, joking with one who can understand as she also listens and ruffles his hair, studying bio-something-or-another in hopes of helping further.

The beauty of four girls from the UK, three of which just graduated from high school, moving to the armpit of Cambodia to teach English, the Bible, and then to work in construction three sweaty days a week, all while laughing with no hint of fear or dread of the days to come.

The beauty of stories like this one that I will continue to read about but that these devoted ones called by God to walk in these dark places will continue to live out long after our eyes to see journey has faded into the lost pages of cyberspace.

At first glance, she looked like a character out of a movie. I know it is not good to judge a book by its cover, but if I were casting for a movie and needed someone to play a “tough gangster prostitute”, she would have the part…

I could see that though this might not be the most ideal of living situations for Lee, at least someone showed interest in him and care for him, and he seemed to be eating it up. Besides, it is definitely a step up from living alone in a broken down car, at the age of twelve….

He told me about a case that he now has against him for stabbing another youngster. As he spoke I could see the fear, hurt, pain, and heart ache in his eyes; not just about the court case, but about everything: his entire life. Before I left, I put my hand on his shoulder and looked him deep in the eyes and said, “I know it is not easy! But you have to understand, whatever your mother and grandmother have done or are doing, really and truly has nothing to do with you! No matter what they say! You are just a kid and you should not have to live through the things that you have and they are supposed to look after and care for you no matter what! It is not your fault, and I understand why you act out in school the way you do, but it also doesn’t excuse it. You have the choice to use these things that you have been through as an excuse to go on in the way you are now, or you can decide to walk a different path, and prove everybody wrong! I believe in you and I think you are a great kid, and I want to try and support you in whatever way I can. Do you understand?”

And the beauty of your heart affected by these simple stories and pictures, deciding to support a Compassion child, pay for a part of Ahmad’s heart surgery, or plan a prayer time.

The beauty of your life choosing to see and love in your Calcutta.

Calcuttas are everywhere if only we have eyes to see.  Find your Calcutta.
Mother Teresa

We arrived at the Handicap Center in Vietnam, with Jill and Tabitha, and I wasn’t sure what to expect…  We followed the girls to one of the rooms, and before I had a chance to say or do anything, a little boy quickly came over to me since I was in front, grabbed my arm, and led me across the room to a lady standing next to a cart.

Before I could even say hello, she handed me bowl of what looked like oatmeal, then said, “Number Three.  One, two, three,”  pointing to the cribs as she counted.   I walked to “number three” with the bowl in my hand, and without even looking back to see if the other girls had followed me into the room, I began feeding the little boy.  As he lay there in his crib, so many things ran through my mind…   The crib looked like it was fit for a child no older than 3 or 4…  but I was certain this boy was much older.   His arms and legs were folded in ways that made me feel uncomfortable for him… and I wondered how long he’d lived in this room, in this crib…

He ate the entire bowl of food.  I told him “good job!” for eating so well, and wiped his face with the towel the woman had given me.  Then I touched his sweet face and hands and wondered again what this boy’s story was…

I was told I could only take a few photos in that room, so I did just that, then went to meet the other girls who were waiting for me outside the room.

We later found out that most of the kids in that room were about 18 years old.  And live their lives, day in and day out, in their small cribs…

While outside, we met some of the kids with less severe disabilities.  I recognized the boy walking towards us – he was the one who had pulled my arm to help feed the kids.  I asked the girls what his name was – “Gung,” they told me.

Gung motioned for me to give him something to write with, so I asked Liz for a pen and paper.  He took the little note pad and pen and proceeded to draw me a little picture.  I thanked him for his sweet gift, and told him I wanted to take his picture.  He smiled, lifted his hand and held up two fingers…and I smiled back, remembering my friend Yenipher back home who had taught me the “Asian pose.”

A girl nearby saw that Gung was drawing, so she came over and took the pen and pad from my hands.  She sat down on the bench and motioned for me sit next to her.  I watched as she carefully wrote her name on the paper – “Phoung Onh.”

While I sat with Phoung on the bench, watching her snack on her Mentos candies, Jill and Tabitha were having a fun little conversation with a few boys sitting on another bench.  Although the boys all looked no older than 10, Jill told us one was 15 and the other two were 13.  The 15-year-old, Mun I believe was his name, had a bag in his hand.  The girls said he keeps little “gifts” inside it, and then gives them to people he meets.  He had given the two girls little finger puppets.

We spent a little more time there before heading back towards our hotel.  As I rode on the back of Jill’s motor bike, I tried to take in what I had just seen…  Then Jill asked, “What did you think?”

Whoa…gotta process all that already?  I told her it was hard to picture many of those kids living their entire lives in a room full of cribs.  And it makes me appreciate the life I have, and all that I’m able to do and see.  And I wished those kids could have that…   And I was sad to think that the parents of these precious children had left them…  I  could only speculate their reasons why… and trust that the Lord knows what’s best for His children..  I’m thankful we got to smile and play with some of the kids outside.  Those sweet children are just as capable of love as you and I…

Later that afternoon we met another friend who took us to another children’s center.   We only spent about 45 minutes there, and saw quite a bit in that short amount of time…

Several thoughts and feelings ran through me…  A part of me just wanted to spend hours with these kids, playing with them and holding them.  After seeing the ratio of workers to children, I wondered how often they are paid attention to… how often they are carried when they cry, how often they are touched or tickled… And I wished that I didn’t have a camera with me, so I could just devote my energy to loving these kids for the short time I was there…

I cannot tell you how precious these little children were!  It was so sweet to see their little smiles, and hear the little newborns “coo”…  And the older ones we first saw were very outgoing!  They loved having their pictures taken, and opened up to Liz and I really quickly.

But since I was told upon arrival that I was allowed to photograph the kids, I sort of made that my top priority.  It was hard to not spend more time playing with them…  But I reminded myself that the Lord led me on this trip so that He could open my eyes.  And in turn, I knew that I had to do what I could to share this experience with all of you.

I am so thankful for the little time we DID spend there, and for God opening up our eyes to something we’ve never experienced before…  I know the Lord loves these beautiful children much more than anyone ever could…

Liz and I attended a Vietnamese church service this morning, and this verse stuck out to me during the “call and response” time…

“Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”  1 Cornthians 15:58

The Lord is indeed at work….  from the tukuls of South Sudan to the slums of India.  From the growing townships of Cape Town to the orphanages of Ho Chi Minh City.  And I know He is at work back home, too.

I pray that as I return to Austin next week, I will continue devoting my life FULLY to the work of the Lord…