Follow Up on Our Fair Trade Expo Excursion- Lawrenceburg, Indiana

After about 45 minutes, I was able to thaw out our vehicle enough for us to drive over to southeastern Indiana today for a great event. I already have the date saved for next year too...it was that good. 

Community Fellowship Church hosts the annual event the first weekend in December. Much of their items come from a Festival Sales organization called Ten Thousand Villages. My new Bengal Nativity from Peru, the two bars of soap from India and my favorite purchase, the self-watering snail from Bangladesh (pictured in the pot in the photo above) are all from this organization that began in 1946.

But there were other ministries represented as well and one, Recyclo Craftz took time to tell us how she got started ministering to at-risk women in Zambia and how she barters with local tailors there for scraps of cloth for use in the projects. 

My favorite table was run by Pezulu Arts. Although I didn't buy anything from them at this time, I hope to in the future. If I'd been shopping just for myself, I would have picked up either one of their hand painted spoon rests or salt and pepper shakers. The artistry was amazing.

Divine Chocolate was also available. I've purchased this brand from It's Only Fair before and it is delicious. Finding out they have a mail order website is probably a dangerous thing!

I found this hand sewn bookmark for a gift from Amani Ya Juu, which means "higher peace" in Swahili. It was made by women in Nairobi, Kenya. I also found another gift, that I can't picture here from Trade as One.

Now that I've been to the Expo, I wish I would have organized a shopping trip with some of my friends. I think that's a good goal for next year. If you want to know why buying Fair Trade is becoming so important to me, watch the video at the Expo's website http://fightinghopelessness.org/

If what I buy for myself or as gifts for others can make a difference in someone's life, why wouldn't I choose to do that? If buying less so that I can spend more, and in turn support an individual, helping them to live self-sufficiently, instead of lining the pockets of corporate greed and devastation...isn't it not only ethically right...but also morally imperative to do so when I have the option? Knowing that my $18 for an adorable Nativity helps an artisan in Peru eat and have a warm place to sleep, is a good thing. I can't say that about every purchase I make, especially one's made at large discount stores like Wal-Mart, Target and other chains...so I'm thankful for Community Fellowship Church making an opportunity like this one available and introducing me to organizations from whom I can now purchase throughout the year.

Christian Missionary Fellowship

In my continued desire to Publicize What God is Doing, today's highlighted ministry is Christian Missionary Fellowship International. I am not familiar with this organization, but a quick perusal of their website indicates that they are active all over the world, sponsoring children, planting churches, advocating for the urban poor and providing basic necessities combined with teaching God's Love for each and every human being they encounter.

Brian Houser, one of CMFI's missionaries to Burkina Faso, was one of the speakers at our Missions' Day "round table" a few weeks ago. (Click here for link to video access to view the service) Brian talked of God's provision and encouragement even as his wife, Tabitha, battled meningitis while in Africa. But they are just one family out of what appears from the website, to be dozens all over the world serving through CMFI.

I counted 14 countries where CMFI is active, but the first one I clicked on is the place that is growing in my heart, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. CMFI is involved in serving the urban poor, including the disproportionate number of lepers that live in this capital city of Ethiopia. One thing I noticed quickly from the website is the large number of missionaries that appeared to be twenty- to thirty-somethings...yet again, confirming that the Millennials are a generation that will fight for a cause...no matter the cost. Praise God...His Spirit is alive and active and His children are obeying His call!

Once again, I will repeat...do your own research and if this is a place you feel the Holy Spirit leading you to give or to serve...don't question the feeling...or the wisdom...or even the practicality of it...just do it, and you will be blessed!

Why Doesn't the Simple Thing Work Anymore?

When I started reading Captive in Iran and have heard testimonies recently from missionaries in hostile environments, like Mid-India Christian Services, I keep having this question ringing through my head: Why don't the "old" ways of reaching the lost for Jesus work in the U.S. anymore?

Now, I'm sure there are dozens of people that would love to educate me about living in a post-modern or post-Christian culture. You could even debate how intellectual we are or dare I say, how we've "evolved"...but I already know a lot about these subjects and they just don't seem to be the answer to my question.

Are you telling me that Iranians or Indians are not as smart? That somehow people in other parts of the world have lesser mental capabilities than we do? No...I'm pretty sure we all have the same God-given mental capacities.

So why? Why can two women being held in a cesspool of human waste, hopelessness and pain walk up to a complete stranger and say essentially, "You are lost. We know the God who loves you. We would like to introduce you to His Son, Jesus. And He will be your hope and shield." And often the response they get is, "You know what...I think you're right. I believe."

Okay...so I've streamlined the conversations a little for dramatic affect...but the basic premise reigns true: Why does it take so much more here in the U.S. to convince...beg...someone to believe they are loved by the Creator and need Him more than anything else in this life?

I was asking this throughout the entire reading of the book. Here's what I think the Holy Spirit whispered to my heart as the answer...it's nothing complicated...in fact, it's only one word...but the implications are more than I think we would really like to grasp. The word?

Suffering!

There it is. In places where to be a Christian is to automatically expect persecution, suffering and even death...the Love and Hope of Jesus is spreading like a desert wildfire. Why? Because just like the early Christians going to their deaths in a coliseum singing...we innately know there is nothing rational about joy in the midst of pain. When it is witnessed by the unbeliever...God's unfathomable Love cannot be denied.

We in the U.S. for the most part have never suffered. When we grasp that the poorest person in the U.S. is still 90% richer than over half of the world...we will understand what a tremendous blessing we have been given. But the blessing has in fact, become a curse.

No longer is the love of Jesus needed for salvation here. We can self-help, self-medicate, self-esteem and self-ishly get our way out of almost anything. And if someone can't...then we can blame the government, schools, deterioration of the family, gun laws, entitlements, video games, climate change, the media or a plethora of other things for why someone fails to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps" and get better. When will come the day that we must admit...the bootstraps are not ours to pull?

I'm not a doomsday prophet...nor do I want to be. I wish the good times would just keep rolling in...but do we really worship a God that came to our Earth and said, 'Take up your cross and follow me." (see Matthew 16:24) ?? Do we worship the suffering Savior that for our own sins was beaten beyond recognition, hung on a cross in the town dump, while being mocked by strangers and denied by his friends and not really expect some of the same treatment? (See Matthew 27)

I also don't believe that God ever loses hope of drawing people to Him. We are told that God isn't slow in keeping His promises (to return). He tarries so that everyone has a chance to repent. (see 2 Peter 3:9) So I don't think God will ever just "abandon" the U.S....even though it may seem like people are abandoning Him for their own comfort, pleasure and indulgences.

What will it take to draw people to Him? If history is accurate...it takes suffering. When we have nothing left...we find that the only thing we ever needed was Him. That has proved true in my own life as well. So when the rocks are tumbling and the light is dwindling and the hope seems to be fading...do not despair...

He's on His way!

Mid-India Christian Services

Sunday, I shared that I would love to start publicizing what God is doing. Today's ministry to share is Mid-India Christian Services.

Jay Henry of MICS spoke in our worship services this weekend. He told an amazing story of how a disillusioned Hindu temple guard had come to know, worship and proclaim the love of Jesus Christ in a land where baptism of Hindus and Muslims into the Christian faith requires a court order.

MICS has a college (Bethlehem Bible College) that educates young men to become village preachers. The village churches are too poor to support these pastors, so donations to MICS financially support the men as well.

MICS also has programs to aid in Village Economic Development and help Poor Christian Widows and Children. By teaching simple skills like sewing and furnishing a family with a goat or chickens, a family can provide their own food and even sell some milk, cheese or eggs for a profit.

So again, do your own research and if this is a place you feel the Holy Spirit leading you to give or to serve...don't question the feeling...or the wisdom...or even the practicality of it...just do it, and you will be blessed!

Website available at http://midindiachristianservices.com/

Publicizing What God is Doing

Today at First Church of Christ, we had our annual Missions Fair. This was the first one I've attended and from now on...I do not want to miss any. My kids just shook their heads and smiled when I leaned over during the pre-service video of a multi-lingual rendition of "How Great is Our God" and said, "I'm already teary!" That was just the start!

Then, instead of a sermon, six people who serve all over the world were interviewed about the different lessons we learn for John 3:16, "For God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him would not die but would have eternal life."

• God's Love is incarnational
• God's Love is sacrificial
• God's Love is missional
• God's Love is personal

The six speakers represented the mission fields of Northern Kentucky; Papua New Guinea; Burkina Faso, Africa; a worldwide church planter; Niger, Africa and mid-India. To say I was blessed to listen to what they had to share was an understatement. But the best part of the day was going to the actual "fair" after the worship service. There, in our gymnasium, were dozens of organizations and representatives from around the world. I picked up lots of literature and as I read through it, I plan to share with you any websites, Facebook pages, etc. that can promote the wonderful work that is being done all over the globe in the name of God's Love.

Two quick stories about people I spoke with: 

1.  It was fun to introduce myself to two people from Mountain Mission School in Grundy, Virginia, where our oldest, Abbey, is currently staying with the Mayer family that live and work there. 
2. And, literally getting goosebumps when one of the men told me that his organization may soon be planting churches in North Korea! I am teary at just the thought. You could tell he was busting at the seams to share this with me. I have watched several documentaries and follow the news of North Korea often (link to my previous blogpost here) and have been amazed at the black hole (for lack of a better phrase) that is North Korea. I'm not naming the organization just now out of respect for what seemed to be a discreet conversation.

Our God is alive, active and moving and I hope over the next few weeks to share with you what I learn about the people who are at the forefront of increasing His Kingdom one toehold at a time.

No More Listening to the Rogue

"1 Behold, a king will reign righteously

And princes will rule justly.

2 Each will be like a refuge from the wind

And a shelter from the storm,

Like streams of water in a dry country,

Like the shade of a huge rock in a parched land.

3 Then the eyes of those who see will not be blinded,

And the ears of those who hear will listen.

4 The mind of the hasty will discern the truth,

And the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak clearly.

5 No longer will the fool be called noble,

Or the rogue be spoken of as generous.

6 For a fool speaks nonsense,

And his heart inclines toward wickedness:

To practice ungodliness and to speak error against the LORD,

To keep the hungry person unsatisfied

And to withhold drink from the thirsty.

7 As for a rogue, his weapons are evil;

He devises wicked schemes

To destroy the afflicted with slander,

Even though the needy one speaks what is right.

8 But the noble man devises noble plans;

And by noble plans he stands." (Isaiah 32:1-8)

Like me, are you tired of listening to the rogue and the fool? Are you exhausted...like the parched land of verse 2...from listening to all the rhetoric that is telling us what's wrong with the world?

From where I'm sitting, it seems like a lot of the people that are getting blamed happen to be unable to speak for themselves. We're told that sending aid to impoverished countries or supporting policies and programs that aid and assist the destitute are what are causing all of the economic ills of our society. 

Mostly what I hear the fools saying is "nonsense" and "wickedness" (verse 6). And if their remedy for the economic crisis has anything to do with hording our own wealth and spending it only on ourselves so it can "trickle down" then my prayer is that as the Body of Christ...we choose not to "practice ungodliness and to speak error against the LORD." These will only keep the "hungry person unsatisfied" and will "withhold drink from the thirsty." (verse 6)

How else can we explain ourselves when our nation throws away copious amounts of food and we buy bottled water by the boatload...yet just a short plane ride away (or maybe even in our own backyard), there are people who have no food and have to literally drink from a cesspool? Can we even come up with a reasonable excuse anymore?

There are times that I absolutely abhor media and technology. Yet, it has made our world so much smaller that I can no longer neglect the outcry of the poor. 

When people in Manilla must make a city in the midst of a cemetery and lepers are forced to live in a garbage dump, how can we stand before our Messiah, who left us with the command of loving and serving "the least of these" in His Name, and explain away our apathy?

Are you ready for something more than being told that the rogue is "generous" (verse 5) while behind our backs he is enslaving generations of impoverished families? I pray that you are. But where do we start? How can one person make a difference?

First of all, remember that you are not one person. The Spirit of the Almighty, the Creator of the universe lives inside of you if you recognize Him as Lord of your life. And when that happens, there is no limit to what you can do. (Ephesians 3:20)

And when we allow Him to "reign righteously" (verse 1) in our hearts and let His 'just rule' (verse 1) be our plumb line by which we measure all things and through which we filter all the noise of this world... 

"Then the eyes of those who see will not be blinded, 

And the ears of those who hear will listen.

The mind of the hasty will discern the truth,

And the stammerers will hasten to speak clearly." (verses 3-4)

To me that sounds better than any "noble plan" that I could devise, but by HIS 'noble plans...I will stand!' (verse 8)

The Joy of Unfulfilled Dreams

No...I've not gone off the deep end. Rather, God is giving me peace about the things I've always longed to do, the places I've always wanted to visit, the hobbies and projects I've always wanted to finish and yes...even the dreams I've always dreamed but never seen fulfilled.

We all have them don't we? Whether as kids we dreamed of being a fireman, a cowboy, a princess or a movie star...we all have at least one dream...and probably many, many more that we gave up on too long ago to recall. But what if you didn't have to give it up? What if you knew that someday, somewhere, somehow...the hopes, dreams, plans, goals that you'd long ago set aside could amazingly be dusted off and actually see the light of day? Wouldn't that be worth every single sacrifice or abandoned hope you'd made along the way? Maybe the more appropriate question is: Doesn't that sound like Heaven?

Randy Alcorn thinks so...and his book, entitled just that, Heaven, is a scripturally supported work that challenges us to hope for the day (or rather, the eternity) on which we'll see our God-given dreams fulfilled. After all, we're told that every "good and perfect thing" is a gift from the Father, (see James 1:17) so isn't it safe to assume that these hopes and dreams came from Him? I mean, is there truly anything wrong with dreaming of travel to Africa, Australia or Asia? Isn't it good to want to run a marathon? Isn't there good to be found in the dream of singing praise, glory and honor to our Savior? Isn't it more than just good to want to have perfect relationships where there is no bias, no angst, no miscommunication, no doubt, no guilt and no pain? So if God is the giver of all good things, why would those dreams end just because this life under the Curse ends? Thanks to Alcorn, I'm realizing for the first time that they won't!

So yes, I am finding "The Joy of Unfulfilled Dreams". God is releasing me from the regret of missed opportunities. He's weeding out the bitterness that results from lost hopes. He's healing the hurt and insecurity of not having the resources to do all that I want to do for Him. He's helping me get beyond the questioning of "Where did I go wrong?" and "At what turn did I miss His leading?" He's showing me that someday there will be a New Earth and the sights, sounds, cultures and pleasures I've longed to enjoy now...are just being delayed for 40 or so (or fewer!) years...and I'm becoming okay with that.

But He's also opening my heart and mind wider to another realization: There is ONE thing I'll never again be able to do once I've shed this decaying form that is just a shadow of the perfected me yet to come...I'll never again have the opportunity to bring more people into His Kingdom along with me. Maybe that's why Jesus said over and over again that the "time is now" and that "the Kingdom of God is at hand". (see Mark 1:15 and (Matthew 4:17) He knew better than anyone that short-term sacrifice is long-term gain...like eternity-type long-term!

Do I still long to see the Australian Outback, the Great Wall of China, and just to step foot on Africa...anywhere in Africa? Absolutely! But knowing that someday I will not only see them...but I'll see the renewed, perfected, non-decaying versions of them, makes it a less bitter pill to swallow. The cool thing? Because I'm willing to make the sacrifices in the here and now of giving to the needy when we don't have enough, spending time with single moms and their kids when no one else wants to or doing without the fancy vacations, fancy food, fancy clothes, fancy cars, fancy "whatever" so that even more people I know (or have yet to meet) will be able to go see all of those things with me...THAT, my Friend...is "The Joy of Fulfilled Dreams!"

Mentioned in this post:

No Longer a Slumdog

Recently, I found an ad next to my Facebook home page about a free book that Francis Chan recommended. If you've been reading this blog for a while or have explored some of my pages on the right-hand side, you know I like what Francis Chan has to say.
So I clicked on the link and discovered that the name of the book was entitled No Longer a Slumdog. You might have read a few months ago, that Slumdog Millionaire is one of my favorite movies...ever. Of course, I ordered the free book right away.

When it arrived, I was hooked from the first page. I not only learned the background of how Gospel for Asia's Bridge of Hope program began, but why. Providing free education to the deeply impoverished of Asia breaks the chains of ignorance, poverty and has side effects that we don't often consider. Care for the environment increases and troublesome statistics like fertility rates are reversed when people become more educated. This is also the only way out of poverty for those in the lowest castes of India.

The author, K.P. Yohannan, explains the caste system in a way that I understood for the very first time. I knew it was bad...I just didn't know how bad. I cannot imagine going through my entire life believing that I deserved to be treated worse than even some animals are...all because of the caste into which I was born. It's the whole "karma" thing...you get what you deserve.

But praise God...we don't get what we deserve! God's mercy and grace gives us far more than we could ever deserve by our own merit. You can now begin to understand why the "good news" of Jesus Love is transforming lives radically wherever Bridge of Hope centers are located.

This link will take you to Gospel for Asia's webpage to order a copy of the book for $5.00. But watch on Facebook for the free offer. Also, my copy came with a postcard to request another free copy if I just give away the first one. If you'd like to have my copy, I'll gladly request another.

Probably the best recommendation I can give for the book is not from me, but from my daughter, Abbey. After having recently watched Slumdog Millionaire, I encouraged her to read No Longer a Slumdog. It took her only a few days to complete it. What encouraged me even more was that when her co-op book group recently compiled a list of books they would recommend to the rest of the co-op for reading...No Longer a Slumdog was one of the three she recommended. High praise from a 16-year old.

Get a copy and allow God to open your eyes (and your heart!) to another part of the world that desperately needs hope.

Mentioned in this post:

Today We Prayed for China

As part of the Radical challenge by David Platt, we have been praying for a different country each day when we sit down to do school. Today was The People's Republic of China. I have always loved learning, reading, watching movies or documentaries, anything about China. I know several people who have adopted from China and I enjoy hearing their stories  about visiting there. I've even been blessed to follow the progress of two different friends as they have adopted and one of them currently adopting for a second time (see The Miller Family Chronicle) I know one family that lives in China because of a desire laid upon their hearts many years ago to serve God in this country.

One of my favorite movies as a child was "The Inn of the Sixth Happiness" and later as an adult I enjoyed reading the biography of Gladys Aylward whom Ingrid Bergman plays in this 1958 movie. Now as a parent I was thrilled when I watched it recently to have Leah watch with me and later have her ask to watch it again. [By the way...I'm convinced someday Leah will serve God overseas somewhere!]

Something within me just beats a little faster when I hear stories of house churches, smuggling Bibles and the persecution that believers in China face. We are blessed to live in a time of unprecedented growth in God's church...mostly because of the rapid, explosive growth in China. In 1975, there were about 2.7 million evangelical Christians in China. In 2010, there are reportedly well over 75 million (potentially a conservative estimate)...all in a country where to be a radical Christian runs a huge risk of imprisonment, torture or even death.

Francis Chan recently, intentionally travelled to parts of the world where Christians are persecuted for their faith. While in China, the believers just assumed that every Christian in the world suffers for Jesus...because of their experience and the precedent for this set in the Bible. He said they laughed when he explained that 'no...some Christians in my country will even leave a church just because they don't like the music.' He said they could not comprehend this at all.

Suffice it to say, I love China. God has given me the desire to see the country and her people someday and I pray it comes to fruition! In the meantime...we were blessed today to have an opportunity to pray for them. Here's a prayer video to watch if you'd like to share in this blessing.

Also mentioned in the post:
Operation World pray for China

Three North Korean Documentaries

Actually, it's four North Korean documentaries, but one of them I watched a long time ago. Yet each of them opened my eyes to the plight of a people that are so secluded from the world, that we really know very little about them. One nickname for this place dubbed as the "largest prison in the world" is "The Hermit Kingdom",

The North Korean version of life (whether spoken out of fear or brainwashing or both) would be very contradictory to what our observations would be. But one thing is true, everything about their lives is controlled...where they work, where they can travel, what class they are in (working, intellectual or peasant), what is on TV, government radio piped into their kitchens that cannot be turned off and the absolutely forbidden possibility of leaving the country...even when over 3 million people died from famine in the 1990s and many are still starving today.

If you attempt escape, which is the subject of Seoul Train, and are caught, you are either sent to a concentration camp and worked to death, tortured or killed on the spot. But if you escape and leave family behind, this is the fate you have left them to. Also, China is violating human rights treaties that they have signed, repatriating refugees back to this fate that awaits them in North Korea. China will not simply let them pass through to Mongolia or South Korea where the refugees would be welcomed...no, they return them with full knowledge of what the refugees will receive...thus, they are not economic refugees, but rather political. By denying asylum China is violating their basic human rights. Seoul Train even captures video of the "MoFA 7" attempting to follow the legal procedure with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by filing paperwork to begin the process of being granted asylum. The seven people show the guards their paperwork at the gate, are forcibly and brutally arrested and later sent back to North Korea never to be heard from again.

Another documentary is National Geographic: Inside North Korea


I've liked Lisa Ling's work in the past, and this is a well done segment from the National Geographic Channel program. They did have to do most of their filming undercover though. And even while taking photos of The Great Leader's (Kim Jong-Il) statue, the photographer is chastised by the government "handler" for lying down on the ground to get the whole statue in the photo. Let's just say, the fanaticism for the dictator shown in these films is very disturbing. Ling points out that while watching this in person it hits her that for about 60 years this is the life these people have known and the utter godlike devotion to Kim Jong-Il may not come from just fear or praise...but having never known another way of life...it may be both. When Ling asks if The Great Leader ever does anything wrong, the family she is visiting genuinely look like they don't understand the question.


A State of Mind is the one I watched last night, and once again the sheer, unquestioning devotion to Kim Jong-Il is unnerving at best. This documentary follows two girls who perform in The Mass Games. I don't quite understand the purpose of these other than to stamp out individualism and celebrate the work of a collective group (thousands of people actually) performing together. Also, they commemorate great wars won, historical holidays, etc. If there is one misstep...it is obvious...so these performers (mostly gymnasts) spend hours everyday perfecting their routines. Again, all to the worship of Kim Jong-Il.

I intentionally don't watch the news very often, because I don't agree with the philosophy "If it bleeds, it leads". That's why I prefer to watch documentaries. [Also, they are not selective news stories controlled by ratings, government agendas , politics or advertising!] There are valiant people all over the world who are the unsung heroes that sacrificially lay down their lives for the hope and rescue of complete strangers.  Seoul Train and Inside North Korea follow the work of a few.Would I be willing to pick up and go to China to help a brutalized people escape through an Underground Railroad? Would I risk my life and possible my family's in order to work against such an injustice? Seems like these people are closer to living out the call of Jesus better than I ever will. Pray for people such as these. One soldier escapee described an "Unseen Hand" that helped him escape even though his fellow escapee died. Pray that the "Unseen Hand" will continue to give courage, hope and protection to those who seek what we take for granted...freedom!

Another documentary about North Korea: