Wisdom from Indigenous Leaders

If you disagree at all with my last post, you will certainly have a problem with this one. My session at the Summit with indigenous leaders from around the world made me want to jump up and shout "Amen!" just as much as it made me squirm in my seat and want to crawl under the table. To say that I appreciate their honesty would say too little. We all need to hear the truth of how we are perceived when we go into other countries and we all need to know the truth about how the leaders of those countries view us and our efforts. For church and ministry leaders that have never heard any thing like this before, it's a hard pill to swallow, but if we want to help, we have to listen. There is no way to sugar coat this Q&A session.

When asked how we appear to church leaders and the local people before true relationships and partnerships are formed we were told,

"You appear arrogant and unbiblical." (This is the super short version of a rather long explanation of how awful we often appear because even though it is not usually our intent to appear as though we are trying to be saviors, we so often do when we refuse listen to the indigenous people and their ideas and instead go in with our plans to save them.)

When asked what local church leaders would want us to do and not do in their communities we were told,

"Empower us and encourage us. Do not try to fix us. Do not do things for us that we are capable of doing for ourselves if only we had a little help. Do not walk in front of us, but walk with us. Become our friends first. Build trusting relationships that will last. Work with the local churches because after you are gone we are what remains."

The question was asked, are orphans the problem or a symptom of a bigger problem?

"Orphans are a symptom of a bigger problem."

What is the problem and what should be done to solve it?

As much as my heart is in the prevention of orphans, the answers that came for this question were difficult for even me to hear and process.

"Orphans are a symptom of poverty which creates so many other symptoms as well. Sometimes you have to overlook the symptom to get to the causing factor. You cannot solve the problem until you get to the root of it. If you go to a doctor and complain of a toothache, he can give you medicine to make your pain go away for a while, but that doesn't fix the problem that caused the ache. Until the tooth is fixed, the ache will continue to return. It would be best to fix the tooth first so there will be less pain in the present and the future. We do not want to put a band-aid on this. We have to address the causing factor of the symptom."

Ouch! I would love to hear your opinions about that.

Finally, the leaders were asked what they want us to remember.

"Our children are not projects. We are not projects. We are people, human beings, created in the image of God, just as you are. We do not need to fixed, but we do need to be encouraged and supported by you as you help us help our countries."

I wish that I could type word for word every thing that was said in this session because from each leader came such wise advice on how we should and should not handle ourselves in their countries, what we should and should not do. This session will forever be one of those that remains invaluable to me.

Is Adoption Making a Dent in the Orphan Crisis?

Florence Muindi, International Director and President of Life in Abundance, spoke during the first general session of the Summit. Her message was simple and oh how I love being in a room with someone (or in this case so many) that have the same thoughts as I do about the orphan crisis and where we went wrong when we were honestly trying to help.

We had just heard that in the last decade, the number of orphans has doubled and now, depending on who you talk to, that number is somewhere between 140 million and 160 million children that are classified as orphans because they have lost one or both parents. (It really stings to give the official definition of an orphan because it means so many of our children in Pueblo Nuevo are considered to be orphans because they are fatherless.) Does that bother anyone else? That in just 10 years the number of orphans has DOUBLED? Does it make you wonder why and what can be done about so that it doesn't double again over the next decade?

Florence Muindi's message was right on. She spoke of how we must lift up the local church. We must empower and help restore the dignity that has been lost. We must work on curing the orphan crisis and the only way to do that is through preventing children from becoming orphans in the first place. She said that we must lead those we work with to a dependency on God alone, not dependency on us. "We are called to the ministry of redemption," she said, "and we must keep the local church at the center."

Mind spinning not believing what I was hearing in the opening session of this Summit and trying hard to keep my seat and my mouth closed because I was overflowing with joy and excitement about what was being said to our group of 1300+ and feeling OK about what I was thinking.

Is adoption even making a dent in the orphan crisis? No. Obviously not. If the number of orphans has doubled in the last 10 years, that proves that it is not.

Is building more orphanages a good response to the crisis? No. Again, the number continues to grow even with the building of new orphanages.

There are children that need to be adopted and should be, but let's face it, in that large number of 140 to 160 million, most of those children are not even eligible for adoption. Most of those children have not even lost both parents. Most are still living with one of their parents or other family members. There is absolutely no reason that these children should be adopted. Feel free to debate this. So many believe that is better to remove children from their poor situations by adopting them and bringing them to the U.S. than to help create better situations for them in their home countries with their families. Adoption has it's place and if a child is truly without parents, without any family, without a community and church to care for them properly, then yes, he should be adopted. But still, it doesn't make a dent in the crisis.

And orphanages. I always think of the movie Field of Dreams when I hear of a new orphanage being built. "If you build it, they will come." It doesn't matter how many orphanages are built in countries all over the world. Every one of them would fill up in a short amount of time. Whether it is with true orphans, children that have been removed from their parents due to abuse or children that are not orphans and not abused, but their parents just cannot afford to care for them, they will all fill to capacity. It's just a matter of time. Does that help slow the increase of orphans? No. Orphanages do serve an incredible purpose (if they are truly serving the orphan, not causing them more harm as some do) and there is a need for a large number of orphanages in the world.

Some are called to adopt. Some are called to build and work in orphanages. I believe that with everything in me. But while we are called to things, we must be aware that neither of those is slowing the orphan crisis and there is something that we can do about it.

Prevention. If we truly care about orphans, it is the only option. There is not just one way to go about it, but it is the only way to stop that number from doubling again.

Christian Alliance for Orphans - Summit VII

The Christian Alliance for Orphans Summit was held last week in Louisville, KY and I was blown away by it. I attended the Summit a couple of years ago and while I was also moved beyond words then, this one was much different and there will be an explosion of blog posts about it here because I just cannot keep to myself some of the things that truly shook me to the core. This year was different for me because it seemed much broader. In addition to adoption and orphan care, there was a great deal of focus on orphan prevention through poverty alleviation and you know that that thrilled me. Great connections were made, I finally met people that I've been talking to through email and by phone for years, learned a lot that will be beneficial to the ministry of AAB and was refreshed through the renewing of passion for the fatherless.

The first day of the Summit, in the opening general session, I knew it was going to be good.

"What started as pity has now become compassion," was one of the first things said during the opening prayer.

Oh how true that is and thank you, Lord, for changing our hearts so that we no longer pity the poor, the orphan, but have true compassion instead.

The Cross

Wondering what the call was about, I stepped outside during Bible study last night to find out. I have to admit that occasionally, or more often than that, when my phone rings and that familiar number reveals the caller I wonder...is this good news or bad? I listened and responded through all that needed to be said and then heard the sweetest news. With squeals of delight I said adios and hung up the phone. Barely able to contain my happiness, I ran inside and shared the awesome news.

More people in Pueblo Nuevo, some of the men that have been working on Carmen's rebuild, have accepted Jesus as their Savior.

Some may wonder if this is really a big deal or why it is such a big deal to me. It's not like some revival was taking place and thousands came to Christ in a night. You can't even compare it to December 2009 when so many children in Pueblo Nuevo made the same decision. People accept Him all the time and I do not even hear about every one in Pueblo Nuevo. But every one matters. It matters to me. More importantly, it matters to Him. And because of that I will rejoice every time I hear of one or two, a hundred or a thousand.

More than 2000 years ago as Jesus was mocked, spit on and tortured, both physically and emotionally, as the nails pierced His flesh and blood poured from His body, as the cross was lifted and He looked out to see those that had crucified Him and those that loved Him, He had something on His mind.

It wasn't meant only for the Jews and Gentiles of His day, that generation or the few that would follow.

His final breath, "It is finished..." was meant for all that had been and would come. The gift of His sacrifice was meant to be taken personally. Because it was for all of us.

It was for you.

It was for me.

It was for a couple of men that live in a small village in Guatemala.

May we all remember today that the price that was paid for us so long ago was one we never could have paid for ourselves and may we each take it so personally that we have no option but to share it with others.

Clean Water Arrives in Pueblo Nuevo

I first wrote about the water situation in Pueblo Nuevo here last year. We always knew that the situation was bad, but after finding out the facts we could not delay our water filter program any longer. Providing a water filter for every family living in Pueblo Nuevo has become our top priority in addition to children's ministry and will remain our focus until every person in Pueblo Nuevo has access to clean water.

Each filter costs $50. If you are interested in providing a family with clean water, please visit our website and donate online.

Helps International is the organization we are working with to provide families with clean water. Helps has been actively making these filters since 1984.

A Helps International representative teaching us to assemble and work the filters and giving a lesson on the importance of clean water and good hygiene. Marco teaching how to assemble filters. "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." John 7:38

Marco teaching about Living Water to those receiving filters.

Just a handful of families that received filters. Twenty families in Pueblo Nuevo now have clean water. Approximately 180 families still need filters.

Amigas

I think I've written here once or twice about how statistics, even though I am quick to use them, bother me and how important to me it is to put names with faces to personalize the plight of the poor and oppressed. I know off of the blog I talk about it often. And then I get to Guatemala again and I realize that yes, it is so very important to put names to those faces in pictures that we all see on websites and commercials, but it isn't until you put hearts with them, both ours and those in the photos, that it really all comes together. Adequately describing our developing friendships with women in Pueblo Nuevo is not something that I am able to describe. Carolyn, perhaps you should write a guest post to help me out.

The relationships that are forming and those that continue to grow are precious to me. Each trip brings about a new friendship and each ends with relationships that have been strengthened. I so love the children of Guatemala, especially the children of Pueblo Nuevo, and I always thought that it would be the children that would hold the biggest part of my heart in ministry. But their mothers now hold an equally large part of my heart. There are so many women in Pueblo Nuevo that we are blessed to be getting to know, to hug, to pray with, to love, but these three in the pictures below are so very special to me. I truly cannot express what they mean to me.

Tina and Carmen. (Wonderful cooks, by the way...the Guatemalan version of chow mein that they served to us for lunch was delicious!)

Marta. It wasn't until the last two trips that we began to form a friendship with Marta, but this sweet woman means a lot to us. Sadly, just a few days after we left, her husband died. Marta is now a widow and more children in Pueblo Nuevo are fatherless.

Tina, age 39. She is the mother of 5. She and her children were among the first to truly accept us. Tina is always smiling and full of spunk.

And of course, my friend Carmen. I will never forget this picture. She felt like she was not appropriately dressed in the picture we had taken earlier that day so she requested this one be taken. I first wrote about Carmen specifically last May here. I didn't know what it was about her that made me feel so connected to her and I still do not know what it is.

Maybe it is because we are both the same age.

Maybe it's because she shows more affection to children than most mothers in Guatemala and I love that about her.

Maybe it's because she has lost 4 children in 2 years, mostly recently just two weeks before we arrive last month.

Maybe it's because she so desperately wants another child in addition to the two she already has and has been unable to carry another, each pregnancy risking her own life. And I know what it is like to want a child and not be able to have one.

Or maybe it is all of this and so much more.

I knew when I was with Carmen in August of last year that we were certainly forming a bond that I would never have the words to explain and our time with Carmen last month was reassurance of that. This 32 year old woman that lives a very different life in a very different world than I do is so much more than a statistic. She is more than just a name to a face. She is a woman with a story. She is a woman with faith so strong that it makes mine look almost non-existent. She is perhaps the most loving, most humble person I have ever met. She makes me wish that we were neighbors. More than that, she makes me think about eternity and how incredible it will be one day when I get to spend eternity worshipping God in heaven with these people that He has used to change me.

I talk about her a lot now here on the blog and in every day life. I love my friends intensely, wherever they are. And she is one of them.

Rebuilding

The damage from Tropical Storm Agatha that hit Guatemala last year and the devastating rainy season that caused massive mudslides throughout the country still effect many in Guatemala including some families in Pueblo Nuevo. Carmen's family had the most extensive damage and her home repair was scheduled to be complete during our December trip. Unfortunately, because we had to cancel that trip, the repairs have been delayed until now. Because she, like so many in Guatemala, lives literally on the side of a mountain, repair is not really an option. A total rebuild is necessary, but before that we had to figure out how to keep this type of damage from happening again. Obviously those living in Guatemala and contractors that do this for a living know more about how to build on mountains than we do. It is expensive to try to secure a home in areas like this and most people are unable to afford the materials needed to keep their structures from sliding. Even with the best possible construction, the risk of losing homes in Pueblo Nuevo is still great so as always, we are praying that this coming rainy and hurricane season will not bring any damage, loss of homes or loss of lives in Pueblo Nuevo and the rest of Guatemala.

Marco working out the details and ordering the first supplies for Carmen's rebuild.

In order to try to keep Carmen's home safe during rainy seasons, a very strong retaining wall had to be built. The wall was built using small stones, concrete and steel. First delivery The retaining wall was finished last week. It took 3 men, a contractor and 2 helpers that live in Pueblo Nuevo, 3 weeks to complete it. We do not have photos of the finished wall, but Marco says that it is "beautiful" and was "excellently done". Men in the village are now leveling the ground to rebuild Carmen's kitchen. All of the work should be done in the next month, just in time for rainy season to begin. I can't wait to see the finished work next time we are in Guatemala.