Defenders.

 

In light of this post, let me share one of the many joys I experienced in Zambia:  The kids.

 

 

I am a mom.  The more we've pressed into justice and allowed God to work it into our lives, the more practical and real it gets.  Practically speaking, I was eager to get across the ocean again, to get with young mothers, with all. those. kids. and just love them.  I wanted to hold their hands and pray for them, tell them true things, encourage them, play with them.  I'm not an emotional basket case about it, it's just something practical and hands-on that I love to do.

 

When I meet young mothers I want to fill them up with true words, tell them they are doing a wonderful job, that I can tell they love their babies very much.  When I meet children, I try to say every true thing I can think of to them; that they're beautiful, they're smart, that they are funny and strong. 

 

 

Time in Africa is short, so you need to make as much of your voice and presence as possible.  These are the things that you can leave behind.  I honestly believe God multiplies them.

 

These are images from the compound in Choma. 

 

 

We might call the compound a "ghetto" in America.  Remember, it's not the poverty itself we are fighting.   True wealth has nothing to do with money.  A man may have nothing but be incredibly rich, another may have the world and be as poor as can be. 

 

We aren't fighting to give people more money, more stuff, a life more like what we have in America.  That would be a sorrow and is a tremendous missing of the point. 

 

 

It's the effects of poverty we are defending against.  It's the ability to have a safe place to lay one's head, to have enough food to eat, to have a good, honest way to earn money for your family's daily needs.  It's the prevention of poverty-related crime, disease, ignorance, violence, slavery and trafficking.  These are the things that get us out of bed in the morning, that Poetice works to prevent every day.

 

 

 

When you sponsor a child through Poetice International as a Defender, you take hands with many other like-minded people who want to fight for the orphan, the vulnerable, with real, life-giving care and help.  It's a holistic approach that gets to know each family individually, helping that truly helps, assisting with food, resources, relationship, encouragement, education; all woven tightly with the gospel.  And it's in Jesus Christ that this work exists and holds together. 

 

This is better than Starbucks, Amen?