They called him The Jackal. He was only 12 years old, but his exploits took him far beyond his years. A field commander in one of Africa’s many civil wars, he was known for his fearlessness and, ultimately, for his brutality. He stood before the NBC cameras with an intense stare as a reporter posed the question: “What will you do when this war is over?” “I want to be a child.” I want to be a child. An extreme example? Yes. But the yearning to be a child, to have someone provide, to be loved, to …
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Valentine’s 2012
Last February I introduced our readers to Hope’s annual Valentine’s Project. We transform Brazil’s Day of Love to make it a special affirmation and learning time for our girls, and we inviting you to participating with us. Because many of you are new to “The Least of These,” I am reposting last year’s blog. It is an appalling truth that many of the girls at Hope have been sexually abused and exploited. Thanks to the grace of God, that is forever in the past as soon as they reach our campus. Unfortunately, it’s a more difficult and much slower …
Sovereignty
Reading Psalm 90 this week: Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, From everlasting to everlasting, you are God. (Psalm 90:1-2) Okay, God, we understand; all of this is yours. You are in charge; it’s your work, not ours. But You have told us to care for your children, for the least of these. So what is our role? And even more, where are You when our best efforts to touch their lives seem thwarted? I have to admit that I get a bit frustrated …
Beginnings
New Years, 2012. Already? A friend and I were talking a few days ago about getting older, and how time seems to accelerate with age. He told me that his elderly dad had recently remarked, “This has been the quickest life.” I am finding that to be more and more true myself. Fortunately, throughout our lives we have chances to press the reset button, and the beginning of a new year is a natural time to do that. I don’t make New Year’s resolutions per se, but I do find myself deciding that some part of my life—usually …
A Christmas Wish
I have never done this before in this blog, and I promise I will not do it very often, but I need to say this. Give. Now. As we make final preparations for Christmas, there is a world around that is hurting; there are millions of people in need. Millions of children on the streets. Tens of millions living in poverty. Hundreds of thousands of girls forced into prostitution. These numbers are so huge we want to throw our hands up in despair. But we must never forget: Every one of those millions is a child. …
Advent (again)
I have to admit that I often find myself conflicted at this time of year. (Perhaps even conflicted about using the word “conflicted”; it seems far too trite, too trendy a word to approach a serious subject.) There is so much right about Christmas: celebrating the coming of our Savior, hearing the wonderful music of the season, the lights, the smiles of anticipation and then realization on the faces of children. But there is also much to give us pause: conspicuous consumerism, embarrassing scenes of adults fighting over the must-have toy of the year, excess. These things leave me wanting …
Why not the best?
We received really exciting news from Brazil last week. Just as in the U.S., Brazilian states put great emphasis on standardized testing to measure the effectiveness of their schools. The state of Espirito Santo, where our Hope Mountain campus is located, just released statewide standardized test scores, and Hope Mountain had the highest average scores of any school in the state. The average student score statewide was 418; the second highest school’s students averaged 516. The scores of the students at our Hope Mountain school averaged 620. As you read those numbers, remember where our kids come from: Our residential …
Advent 2011
Advent. Coming. The celebration of the incarnation. Why? Not why celebrate; if any event in the course of human history called for celebration, it is this one. But why did God choose to “become flesh and dwell among us”? Why leave the glory of heaven for the travails and rejection of this world? Why face the pain of the cross? The answer is actually quite simple in its profoundness, “for God so loved the world . . .” Wasn’t there an easier way? In a word, “No.” For you see, love is not remote; it requires engagement, involvement. …
The least of these . . . Really?
If we are to be completely honest, I think most of us will admit to having a bit of a problem with this verse. Not the stranger or sick part, and certainly not the hungry and thirsty part, or perhaps even the naked part. We get those. But there is one more thing in that passage that may make most of us pretty uncomfortable. I was in prison and you visited me. I don’t think so. I can look at the others that Jesus called the least of these, and understand and sympathize with their plights. If …
Wading in the political pool
I have watched with considerable interest the “Occupy” movement these last few weeks, just as I did the Tea Party last year. Anyone watching, whatever their political persuasion, has to be impressed with the passion and the intensity of both groups—which sometimes erupt even to the point of crossing the bounds of civil engagement. But, if you will allow me to offer an observation . . . Even though these two manifestations are generally from the opposite sides of the political spectrum, both are essentially self-focused and self-promoting in nature. Perhaps over-simplified, one group wants the government to leave …
Salvageable
My friend, Barry, has a very interesting business, and it strikes me that his model is a really good metaphor for how we might view the orphans of our world. I’m going to tell you about that, but first let me give you some background on his business. Barry buys and sells steel. As you may know, steel usually comes in thin sheets – 48 or maybe 60 inches wide – and often over 100 feet long. The long sheets are then coiled and sold to manufacturers as “cold rolls.” With standard cuts, there is often significant waste. If, for …
VIEWING the Story of Hope
A different kind of post today… As regular readers know, last weekend Hope Unlimited for Children celebrated 20 years of work with street children in Brazil. My wife posted about the event on her blog, My Place to Yours, and she’s given me permission to share an excerpt here with you – so you can celebrate with us! Hope’s 20th Anniversary Celebration was held in the 8,000 square foot multi-level Redwood Hall at CuriOdyssey in San Mateo, California. These photos are “broad stroke” overviews. I’ll take you on a close-up tour in a minute … Upon entering the lowest level, …
Twenty Years of HOPE
Two decades ago, two men boarded a Pan Am flight for Brazil. They had heard of the plight of street children there; international attention had turned its focus on Brazil after reports that these children were being systematically murdered by police vigilante squads. Jack Smith, his son Philip, and David Swoap had felt God’s call to do something, anything, for these kids, and so Jack and Philip had cashed in their airline miles to make the trip south. Not much of a plan, but a heartfelt conviction that every Christian had an absolute obligation to care for those Jesus called …
The Way Church Should Be (And Sometimes Is, But Too Often is Not)
Our daughter and son-in-law began encouraging us to attend with them several months ago. They had been going for awhile and were experiencing a real difference in their lives; we saw it, too. But it is really different from what we are used to (not our kind of music!), so it took gentle persuasion from them for several months before finally convincing my wife to give it a try. A week later, at her encouragement, I showed up, too. It did not take but a trip or two for both of us, as well as a friend she invited, to …
Changing a culture
I get very excited when I think about our numbers at Hope: over 200 children in full residential care, 450 teenagers in day vocational and academic programs, 470 children in our preschool — and these numbers don’t even touch the families of our students or the graduates that we minister to every day. Feel-good numbers. But then the other numbers hit me: millions of children still call the streets home, 400,000 girls forced into prostitution every year. And that’s just Brazil. No matter how much money we raise, no matter how many sponsors we enlist, no matter many …
Are you serious?
Last Sunday Philip and I both spoke at The Moody Church Fall Missions Conference. The church got its very start as a ministry to homeless children and orphans, and thankfully, they haven’t forgotten their roots. Dwight L. Moody was a traveling shoe salesman in the mid-19th century, but his passion was for the children living on the streets of Chicago. Just a few years after his conversion in 1855, he and two ministry partners turned an abandoned saloon into a Sunday school mission for children. The church quickly grew and, although it left the saloon behind many, many years ago, …
Dirty Faith
You may not like what I have to say, but I have thought about it — and I think I am right. I know I am Biblical. As I write this post, I am in Brazil, a pilgrimage made a few times a year. This trip includes my wife, Susan, and Jerry and Gail Edmonson. Jerry is lead pastor at The Fellowship At Cinco Ranch, a thriving church in the Houston metropolitan area. We call it a vision trip. Part of my job as President of Hope Unlimited for Children is to engage people about the cause of mortal-risk children, …
Into the Affairs of Men
I begin this week’s post with a disclaimer, or perhaps, a confession. Although I have long had a passion for mission work and have participated in or led many mission trips in my life, as far back as I can remember, my least favorite Sunday of the year was the day the church hosted a visiting missionary. I’ve always found their presentations to be self-serving, and quite frankly, the stories they tell are usually a bit “over the top” and hard to believe. I’ve been that guy — sitting at the back of the church trying not to roll my …
Prayers and Pray-ers
Reading 1 John again this evening… “But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” Must walk as Jesus did.” That’s a tough one; one I’m not sure I have completely worked out. But I do know that it starts with relationships — both with God and with others. And I think John’s point is that we cannot claim that our walk with God is good if all the other parts of our lives don’t reflect that …
School time
It’s that time of year. I saw this year’s first flashing school zone light last Friday. For those of us living in the relative affluence of the US, the end of summer and the start of school is axiomatic; going back to school is what children do every fall. We understand that education is one of the foundation stones of society, so we place great importance on the rituals that signal the start of the school year — shopping for school supplies, back-to school parties, and the first visit to see the new classroom and meet the new teacher. …