saving Moses

So here’s the deal – I’m really excited about the possibilities that I have to help moms in life impacting ways.  When i went to Cambodia last month, I was able to visit a community that lives off of one of the trash dumps where Phnom Penh dumps its garbage.  There are easily over a thousand people who live as scavengers, by using what others consider to be trash.  Unfortunately, the families who live off of the trash of others are the most vulnerable to drugs, sex trafficking, slavery etc, because they’re survival is a day to day struggle.  While i was visiting this community, I ran into a mom who was 8 months pregnant & I asked her some basic baby delivery questions. 

From our conversation, I discovered that she was planning to deliver her baby there at the trash dump (no medical facilities, no health clinic, no running water & maybe with the help of a midwife).  She had made this decision because she didn’t have the money ($50) to  deliver at a hospital.  From that conversation, I began to explore what some of the needs are to help families like my friend & this is what I’ve learned. 

• I can provide baby formula for 3 months for $20 (the moms work in the dump approx 10 hrs a day & often feed their kids rice water, since they can’t afford formula)
• I can de-worm 100 people for an entire year for $50
• I can provide emergency medical care for pregnant women & their infants for about $100 / month

So here’s my deal:  this is my grassroots request to ask you to help these families who literally live on the edge of existence.  I totally understand that there are bigger societal issues that need to be addressed, but I don’t want to neglect giving help that is immediately necessary for survival on a day to day basis.  If you’re open to helping w some finances, pls click & go to the donate page:

www.savingmoses.org

If its not convenient timing, i totally understand & appreciate you taking the time to read this

direction not perfection

Here’s something I’ve been thinking about – my Hebrew teacher says this us:  direction & not perfection.  He wants us to try, even though we may make a mistake.  I’ve been thinking about this because I know that there are alot of times when I don’t try something because I know I’ll be bad at it, or I’ll look stupid, or I know that I’ll fail, or . . . . .  I think we are all like this to varying degrees.  Maybe you shy away from sports because you’re not athletically “inclined”.  Maybe you avoid musical instruments because you don’t have “that knack.”  Maybe you avoid certain things because in the past, you’ve had failures in those areas.  While I think there’s some wisdom about how & where we spend our time, efforts, talents, etc;  I also think that we need to be careful about how we potentially limit ourselves and even possibly God.  I think that sometimes our “no” could be an indirect way of telling God that He won’t be able to use us in a particular circumstance or situation.  Let’s be careful that we don’t justify our “no” to God based upon our past, our comfort or our talents & abilities. 

Remember, God doesn’t call the qualified, but He qualifies the call.  God doesn’t use the perfect, but rather the broken.  God doesn’t depend on your ability as much as you availability.  Perfection is for heaven & practice is for earth – don’t quit practicing

Abandoned

When I was in my early 20s, I went through an experience that made me think that God had abandoned me. The short-term result was a deeply personal search for truth that I could own. The long-term result was a certainty in my faith in God that’s now virtually unshakable. But the beginning of that journey started w the sense of being abandoned by God.
Have you felt a time(s) when it seemed like God abandoned you? If you’ve come out of that struggle, do you still believe today that God abandoned you??? If you don’t believe that He abandoned you, what changed???
I’d seriously like your feedback as I’m doing some exploring w God on this topic. Pls leave a comment

Jesus & Halloween

Personally, I’ve never been a halloween fan.  Its a creepy holiday & I never liked being scared, nor celebrating things for their ability to frighten me.  I have enough struggles w fear without having a holiday to capitalize on scarey.  That being said, the part of halloween that i did like was dressing up in various costumes & pretending to be someone else.  It was fun trying to be creative – probably my favorite character that i dressed up as was Charlie Chaplain bc he was the easiest to look like. 

So what does Jesus have to do w halloween & wearing costumes???  At various times in Jesus’ life, people didn’t recognize him.  Mary thought He was a gardener, some disciples thought He was a fellow traveller, religious leaders thought He was a rebel, etc.  Peter saw beyond the “costumes” when he said that Jesus is the Son of God.  So i guess my question to you is, what “costumes” might Jesus be wearing in your life?  Could He be a neighbor in need?  Could He be the co-worker waiting for some of your time to give you some encouragement?  Could He be found in the simple answers of a child?  I think that Jesus is more present in our lives than we realize

Flying home Thanking God for His goodness

Well, saving Moses is now working in Asia & I can’t say how cool that is to me. Looking back over the last week has been simply astounding. I’ve experienced poverty that is nothing less than sub-human. I’ve experienced cold realities & warm delusions. I’ve seen God do the miraculous & questioned His seeming lack of involvement. As I come home today I find myself deeply fulfilled & equally unsettled – an interesting paradox. Lots to do for Jesus & to express my live to Him by helping others.
Thx heaps for praying!!

China is simply spectacular

Well, my love for China has not diminished, nor did I think it would. I find myself loving the people as much, if not more, than I ever have. They capture your heart in so many different ways.
Yesterday, we had the privilege if launching Saving Moses in China by partnering w an orphanage to supply 3mnths worth of baby formula & 100 blankets to help them stay warm. The orphanage we visited oversees & cares for approximately 300 children under 5 yrs old, so it was fabulous getting to visit such a nice place
Last nite, we had a public healing mtg in downtown Kunming. I can’t even begin to tell you how meaningful this privilege is to me. We got to pray for people w back & eye problems & then our team of abt 100 people was able to pray for anyone who requested prayer. We were pleasantly mobbed
So, my heart is full of Asia, praise Jesus!
Tomorrow I get to come home & I’m TOTALLY looking forward to being w my family. I’ve missed them very much. I gotta figure out how I can bring 1 with me on these trips.
Thx heaps for your prayers, support & encouragement!!

Travel

I’m sitting in the Phnom Penh airport (Cambodia) waiting for my flt to China. I totally love this country & the people here. They are simply amazing. I love getting to see what God is doing here & exploring the opportunities to minister w God’s tangible love. I’m pretty excited about saving Moses getting launched here & how God will continue to expand our abilities. Whenever I leave Cambodia, I’m always overflowing in my heart w Gods love for the people here. It makes it difficult to leave.
But soon, I’ll get on the plane to China, another place I love. Today, I’ll join mom & our team to explore Gods power & love in this great country. Appreciate all of your thoughts & prayers!

Village life

So today we visited a village in the countryside & I got to meet some completely beautiful & strong women. I met a grandma who survived the Khmer rouge regime by hiding in the jungle for 2 yrs. Her husband was the only person to survive in his family during the Khmer Rouge. I met a mom who is 5mnths pregnant, but very scared to deliver bc of the complications from her preceding deliveries & no resources to get medical help w her delivery. I met lots of little people who need toothbrushes bc their teeth are rotting out of their heads from eating the sweet syrup from the palm trees. Finally, I met a single mom of 5 kids whose husband abandoned his family 3 yrs ago. Her sole means to provide for her kids is to sell desserts to her village & surrounding areas. This is an amazing country & the people here never fail to grab my heart

Pictures of saving Moses in Cambodia

So I’m attempting to get some pictures up to show you some really cool people & things here in Cambodia from today:

Diving in a dump – not quite

Well, yesterday was interesting, to put it mildly & I’m still trying to process it this morning. I’m very intent to find ways here that saving Moses can help infants & moms w really young kids (the 5 & under crowd). Yesterday we went to visit a trash dump & it was a pretty strong experience for me. To begin, we walked through alot of the dump to find the homes where everyone lives. While we were walking, I thought I was stepping on solid trash, but actually fell through into some like sewage & was stuck there for a little while. It made me think of the trash compactor scene in star wars & I was hoping nothing was alive under the surface. I got myself out of that stuff & we kept walking, paying better attention to where we were stepping.
We finally came to the “home area” where hundreds of people were using whatever trash they could find from the dump to make “homes.”. We came up to one of the homes & there were about 10 people, including lots of kids, living in this one rice bag kind of hut. A mom came out & started talking w us. She explained that she has 3 kids & I saw that she was prego & asked when she thought she would deliver – next month. She’s planning to give birth at the dump bc it costs about $50 to deliver at a hospital & they only make $1 / day from their recycling work.
As we continued to walk around I could see from the extreme poverty how vulnerable the people are – many of them doing absolutely anything to stay alive (prostitution, trafficking, drugs, anything). They are literally in the edge, the fringes of survival w virtually no help available. So I find myself asking Jesus what He would have me do. I’ll keep you posted on this.
Today, we have gone out into the countryside to explore more opportunities for saving Moses. It’s extremely important to go into the countryside in Cambodia bc 80% of the population in this nation is rural. So we’ll see what God has for us today. Thanks loads for praying!! I find myself trying to process this trip & kind of struggling w this right now.