this is where it gets interesting…

this is where it gets interesting…

elicia and all the love that goes with her.

so. today we talked about loving your enemies with the orphans.

we sang some songs about love.

we acted out and narrated the story of the good samaritan.

we did some application vignettes…

this is where it gets interesting.

you see, about a month ago we implemented a “quiet time” in treehouse, where kids are given 60-90 seconds to pray and ask God a question, and then to share if anything was put on their heart.

i thought it would be a good thing to do for the time with our orphans in Jeremie… ask them to ask God something…

but i think this got lost in translation.

when i asked them to bow their heads and ask God “who is my enemy that I should love this week?

one kid stood up and started pointing fingers and naming names. she pointed and yelled “LOUNA…. FALINE…..”

first of all HILARIOUS!!!!!

secondly, i thought, boom there it is. what if people always knew where they really stood with us?

do we communicate as clearly and efficiently as Elicia did?

no one has to wonder what she’s thinking. do they have to wonder about you?

i’m not saying go call out your enemies, i just know God used that experience to remind me how important it is to share…

and oh. man. it was so funny. i wish you could’ve been there.

you told an orphan to draw a family portrait?

how do you teach a lesson about “love your family” … to orphans. who by the very definition… don’t have families.

 

You know… i posted last night/this morning… about the lessons i was writing for our team that was going to haiti to use to teach the kids. This is HAITI: the love lesson.

(little did i know that i would decide TODAY to go on this trip. so … two painful shots and some malaria medicine later… i’m headed to haiti.)

it’s so cool because i will finally be able to tell if the lessons i’ve been writing all of these months are actually workable in the orphanage environment. and i’m most excited about this one… because i LOVE teaching about LOVE. loving kids, especially. treating them like real people and loving them hard… anyway….

I’ve been waiting for this one! Erica Ho (our missions expert) has been talking about how important it is that we teach them to love … because He loved us. that they are struggling with being loving … and sharing… and stealing… huh… doesnt sound that different than everyone, does it? but remember, these are people who have lost their parents. they are cared for and loved by the “mamas” but they do not have an immediate family per se. erica and i have been waiting for the chance to teach them this. the truths in the bible about loving one another.

so, imagine teaching LOVE YOUR FAMILY to an orphan. here’s the thing, God is so cool… that He gives me creativity when i am trying to tell His Story… that makes sense, dontcha think? Anyway… they will learn the story of Ruth and her steadfastness to Naomi.

then they will draw a family portrait. WHAT?! how does an orphan draw a family portrait?!

the directions are easy… we will have them draw a picture of themselves and one of the friends from the orphanage… after you explain this: everyone who knows Christ is part of his eternal family… and every friend you have that also knows him is part of your eternal family… so you see, LOVE YOUR FAMILY is really a lesson for all of us.

all believers are in our eternal family. all people who do not believe… are without a family for eternity. THEY are the orphans.

who will you invite into the family?

(btw… in case anyone was wondering, i’m headed to the bball tourney tomorrow… just so i can talk to someone about heaven. pray.)

there’s gonna be one less lonely orphan…

lately i have heard more about adoption than i have collectively in my entire life.

i think it started when my friend ande underwood started sharing with me about his plight to rescue orphans in the ukraine. his ministry, skills for orphans, equips unadoptable orphans that will soon be fending for themselves. it is a crucial and vital ministry.

then i came to long hollow to work with jason underhill… jason and sarah are adopting twin girls from ethiopia. they are delicious and no one can wait for them to get here. at the time we didnt know who they would be…

in our months here we have encountered people that are foster parents to kids whose parents are in jail…

people who are adopting from all over the world… these are not people that can’t have children, these are largely people who have a burden for the orphans of the world and are convinced that God is compelling them to be part of the solution.

then i went to a church service at Christ City Church in Birmingham where i heard the testimony of rudy nasser, a 14 year old boy who was adopted from guatemala at the age of 6… it was intense.

the message that day was about adoption being a vertical experience first, that leads to a horizontal relationship here. the speaker, david nasser, contended that adoption is even more crucial than salvation… for it is adoption that makes us co-heirs with Christ. this thought has pricked my heart and brain.

i’m grateful to be adopted by the God of the Universe. i’m grateful to be in a place where missions and the plight of the orphan is a legitimate budget item. i’m grateful that my church is doing a single mom’s blessing event this weekend.

i designed this graphic for a couple that are going to be selling these tshirts to raise money for their adoption fund. in the process, i’ve come up with a few other designs… and sarah challenged me to make future orphan and adoption tshirt designs available. let me know if you need a shirt design.