1. I saw a need. When I was in Zimbabwe I met a Pastor. His name was John, he had an amazing wife. He leads a church and two orphanages in a country that has collapsed. He treated us like we were royalty. He kept telling me how blessed he was to have us visit his home and share his vision. That night I slept under a mosquito net for the first time in my life. Over 1 million kids will die this year in Africa because they don’t have a $10 net to sleep. That is just not right.

The next day P. John gave us a tour of the orphanages. The hugs, smiles and conversations were contagious. Then P. John told me a story; he pointed to a field and reminded me that hundreds of kids sleep in that field. They have no parents, eighth-year-olds care for their younger siblings, no shelter, no food and no hope.

Needless to say my heart was crushed. How could I ignore such a tragedy? What was I thinking?

2. Here is what I learned in Zimbabwe. The heart of God is angry at the injustice of the world. Something is simply not right. The church can do something amazing, we can bring life, hope, clothing, shelter, food and drink. We can laugh, hug, smile and encourage. We can feed an orphan, love a family and bring joy to God.

When Christians love, serve, give and go…In the name of Jesus, it brings joy to the heart of God.

My prayer this past year…”God make me angry and in my anger cause me to act.”

This is not about me…it’s about an orphan in Zimbabwe and a God in heaven.

* Malaria kills more than a million people per year; 90 percent of those who die are African children.
* Every 30 seconds in Africa a child dies of malaria.
* Malaria incapacitates people, keeping countries poor. In addition to the health burden, malaria illness and death cost Africa about $12 billion per year.

Info from Nothing But Nets.

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Last November I slept under a bed-net while in Zimbabwe. It felt so good to know I was protected under this net as mosquito’s swarmed around me.

Today many children in Africa do not have this luxury. It take $10 to purchase a net that could save lives. If you look at the stats above…You will understand the importance of spreading the news.

You can get involved by clicking the link below:

But somehow along the way I missed the gospel. I got caught up into my life and what I deserved. I was OK with spending money however and whenever I wanted. Even though the gospel requires me to live differently; as long as I tithed and occasionally gave to a certain needs, I thought I was good. However I was selfish on many levels. I would consistently ask God to forgive me for my pride or anger…which of course are big and in-need of repentance. But my consumerism had gone unchecked for many years.

No doubt there is a hard tension between consumerism and normal American living, which is simply hard to define. But I think we need to consider how we spend our resources, not with guilt or self-righteousness, rather love and service.

Shaun Groves pretty much nailed it with this blog post. When you pick up a child that may or may not eat for days, everything changes. Life shifts in a heartbeat. You become crushed by your own personal selfishness. You become aware of how blessed you are and how much others have to over-come.

One of my passions in life is pretty simple…I desire to get every man, woman and child to spend 10-days in a third-world country.  I’m convinced this will cause a dramatic shift in how we think about life and priorities. I can preach, take pictures, tell stories, create a website etc. But none of this captures the reality like going and seeing the harsh realities of third-world situations.

Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates announced a new direction Friday as he pledged $306 million in grants to develop farming in poor countries, leading the charge for corporate responsibility at a major meeting of business chiefs.

I told her that she could help a family in need. We researched Kiva and I helped educate her in the reality of world poverty. She was moved to action and she gave $25 to a local African entrepreneur. Last week that loan was paid-in-full. Now we get to do another loan.

It’s a small way to help shape our kids to be generous and to really practically help someone who is motivated and has dreams but they need some initial help.

Rick McKinley was quoted in the article called The Advent Conspiracy in the current issue of Relevant Magazine. Rick started a anti-consumerism x-mas movement called Advent Conspiracy. If you are not familiar please check out the link and get involved to stop the silly consumerism in America.

I could not find a link to the article, but you can read the article under the “current issue” tab on Relevant Mag’s site.

Below are list of org’s that are tackling the water issue’s that our world is facing.

charity: water

Living Water International

Water 1st International

HT: Creation Project

Here’s what Mary’s parents need to rebuild their lives in Kenya:

* 2 young cows – $714 total ($357 each)
* 200 chicks – $285 total ($1.83 each)
* Feed for animals – $174 total for 6 months ($29 per month)
* Financial support before animals produce income – $426 total for 6 months ($71 per month)