I want to ask you to do something with me in the coming months. I’d like us to think deeply, critically, prayerfully, about this whole “caring for the least of these” thing. If you didn’t already care for orphans, for mortal-risk children, for peripheral people, you almost certainly would not be reading this, so we start with that assumption. However, I am convinced that much of what we do for people in need amounts to little more than conscience-salving, and has little or no impact on those we are “serving”. Let’s spend some time over the next few months talking …

I’m back. Again. After sitting out most of 2013 (more on the “why” in a moment), I am re-engaged to start this new year–and planning to be here every Monday for the next twelve months. I have spent significant time these last few weeks listening to the experts explain (pontificate?) what a blog ought to look like and accomplish. It is really surprising how self-focused these experts assume we all are. It is too often about building your brand, your platform, and your tribe, with, seemingly, very little concern, if any, of us actually having anything to say. Even so, …

Read:Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Every day, young lives are transformed in Brazil, but we know children are suffering in many other ways and locations around the world. In Mozambique, 1.6 million children were orphaned by the AIDS pandemic. In Thailand, hundreds of thousands of children are enslaved in the sex trade. In Moldova, thousands upon thousands of orphans live in subhuman conditions enslaved by poverty. Every one of these …

Read:Deuteronomy 15:10-11 Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land. “When I realized how bad the problem is, God would not let me sit on the sidelines,” said one Hope Unlimited supporter. Friends of Hope Unlimited come from all walks of life and from all over …

Read:Psalms 142:5-7 I cry to you, Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me. Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me. As Hope Unlimited begins work to develop new juvenile justice programs in Brazil, read Board member Dr. Burt McDowell’s account of his visit to the prison in Cariacica. I tried …

Read:Joshua 24:15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. Our mission: Transforming the lives of children at mortal risk, providing them and their future generations a productive future and eternal hope. It’s thrilling to sit in our graduate church and look around the room at our Hope Unlimited “grandchildren”—the children whose parents are a part …

Read:Proverbs 12:14 From the fruit of their lips people are filled with good things, and the work of their hands brings them reward. When young people graduate from Hope Unlimited, they have received some of the best vocational training available, served an internship, and are well-prepared to start a career. Hope Unlimited graduates are guaranteed job placement in their fields, thanks to our long-standing connections in the community. Finding jobs for every student means developing good relationships with local businesses and, most important, providing them an employee worthy of hire. With God’s help, Hope Unlimited is successfully equipping children so …

Read:Psalms 121:1-6 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. Caring for God’s children begins at home. Philip Smith, co-founder and CEO of Hope Unlimited for Children, and his wife, Corenne, sometimes …

Read:John 17:15-18 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. It is Saturday night at Net Fellowship, a church comprised of young Hope Unlimited graduates and their families. A mother and father listen intently; a 4-year-old balanced on her lap and an open Bible on his. A few minutes later, three …

Read:Isaiah 28:16 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic.” Two years ago, Estephania stood in the doorway of her new apartment with tears streaming down her face. What should have been tears of joy were tears of fear. She completed her year in our girls’ graduate transition home and was moving out on her own—for the first time in over a decade. For many Hope Unlimited kids, being launched into …

Read:1 Corinthians 2:6-10 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”—the things God …

Read:Luke 6:32-36 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be …

Read:Psalms 68:5-6 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. Hours after the children who call Hope Unlimited home scuttle off to bed, the houseparents gather for a late night cookout. Soon, conversation turns from local politics and soccer to the real passion of every person there: the hearts of the children in their care. As dinner winds down, the randomly-placed folding chairs are pushed to one side, the houseparents form a …

Read:Psalms 119:9-11 How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Food, clothing, and a safe place to sleep are not enough. If that is all we can offer, children will leave our care and eventually return to old destructive patterns. Even more troublesome, generational cycles of poverty and despair will not be broken, and the same situations that trap our kids …

Read:1 Thessalonians 1:3 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. When we speak of the Hope Unlimited staff, our thoughts usually go to those on the front lines with the kids or the visible spokesmen for the program. But there are a lot of behind-the-scenes folks who make a difference in the lives of our children: accounting staff, the ladies who wash the kids’ clothes, the thrift store team, and the maintenance crew. While they do not have day-to-day …

Read:Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. When children come to Hope Unlimited, they bring short lifetimes of destructive behaviors with them. Sexual promiscuity, drug abuse, violent acting-out, theft, and dishonesty are all part of a street kid’s life. Hope Unlimited’s staff and, importantly, children whose lives have already been transformed, work diligently to help newcomers put harmful life choices behind them. Fortunately, through God’s power, we know new …

Read:Psalms 118:26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you. “Pastor! Pastor!” Young voices ring out as he walks across campus. One child shows him a high academic mark. A teenage boy hurdles a fence and claims a handshake. A younger girl reaches for an affirming hug. Over a decade ago, Derli Barbosa became Senior Pastor to the children at Hope Unlimited. “God confirmed in my heart I should be here,” says Pastor Derli. “I have a calling from God. Seeing transformation in their lives and watching them …

Read:Psalms 10:11-18 He says to himself, “God will never notice; he covers his face and never sees.” Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless. Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, “He won’t call me to account”? But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. Break the arm of the wicked man; call the evildoer to account for his wickedness that would not otherwise be …

Read:Hebrews 12:7-13 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems …

Read:Psalms 22:3-11 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises. In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. “He trusts in the Lord,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.” Yet you brought me …

Read:Jeremiah 29:12-13 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Sex trafficking brings images of young girls kidnapped, transported, and forced to sell their bodies. But reality is much more complex. According to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, trafficking occurs any time “a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age.” Basically speaking, anytime someone …

Read:John 10:27-30 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” Is “father” really a dangerous word? Unfortunately, for many of the children who come to Hope Unlimited, especially our girls, danger is exactly what that word connotes. Their fathers (or often stepfathers) are the ones who beat, sexually …

Read:Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Before coming to Hope Unlimited, the children we serve are often swept into destructive lifestyles by a cultural current pulling them towards drugs, crime, sexual exploitation, and poverty. A central part of our philosophy is maintaining a campus culture that, instead, directs the children in a positive trajectory. We count on older children, whose lives have already been transformed at Hope Unlimited, to help us establish a positive, productive …

Read:Matthew 18:5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. Children often arrive at Hope Unlimited in the back of a police squad car. They have been taken from their homes or the street by armed police with no idea why—and no idea where they are going. To help them make the transition to their new home at Hope Unlimited, new residents are met by a welcoming committee of their peers, instead of adult staff members. A small group of kids, once anxious and afraid themselves, provide a campus tour, introductions to the Hope Unlimited family, and …

Read:Deuteronomy 10:12-18 And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. Yet the Lord set his affection on your ancestors and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above …

Read:Proverbs 22:6 Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. Walking in a favela, I asked a little boy and girl, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Without hesitation, the boy said, “Advogado (lawyer).” More shyly, the girl said, “Professora (teacher).” I asked, “Do you do well in school?” The little girl turned away and the boy shook his head. “I have never been, but Mom says maybe I can go next year,” he said. The public elementary school was nearby, but the …

Read:Psalms 10:14-15 But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. Break the arm of the wicked man; call the evildoer to account for his wickedness that would not otherwise be found out. When we walked into their shack, the 13-year-old quickly stepped behind her mother, physically separating us. “She is afraid of men,” said the mother. “Her stepfather abuses her.” Answering the question in our eyes, she continued, “I am afraid to report him, because he will …

Read:Psalms 10:17-18 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror. During the 400 years of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, 40% of slaves taken from Africa came to Brazil, making it a trading hub. Brazil was the last country in the Western Hemisphere to abolish the despicable practice, and its culture is still affected today. Brazil remains a country strongly divided by classes, where whole groups of people are viewed as sub-human or simply objectified. Even …

Read:Psalms 139:8-18 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost …

Read:Matthew 25:31-46 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I …

…And now to the other writing project I mentioned in the last post–but first a bit of background. On November 3, churches around the world will observe Orphan Sunday. A few years ago, an African pastor, seeing the overwhelming need of AIDS orphans in his community, challenged his church to become the hands and feet of Christ to these children. The church gave, not out of their abundance, but out of their poverty, to care for the orphans, one woman literally giving the shoes off her feet. Just a few years later, churches all over the world are responding to …

It’s been awhile since I’ve been here, but there has been cause for my absence from the blog world. For the last several months, two writing projects have consumed my time. In March, conversations with Bethany House Publishing led to a book proposal and, eventually, a book contract. Over the next week or two, I will finish the manuscript, and Bethany House will start the process that will lead to the book release next June 14th. The writing process has made for an interesting journey. I have spent a lot of time thinking about what we do at Hope, and, …

There’s not a lot of humor in the Bible. I’m not talking about the fifth-grade boys’ Sunday School kind of humor. (You remember: Who was the shortest man in the Bible? Bildad the Shuhite. Please don’t send me your best example.) No, I’m talking about real humor. I guess people were too busy in the serious business of living, avoiding the marauding hordes, and finding ways not to render unto Caesar to have much time for laughter. But there is one story that gets me. It’s not roll-in-the-floor, slap-your-knee kind of humor, but it does have more than its share …

I’m back. About November, I completely ran out of gas. Perhaps my muse died. I would sit down in front of the keyboard, expecting the words to flow out of fingertips. Ten, fifteen, thirty minutes later I would find myself looking for that right word to get started. The There, I found it. But then another ten minutes would pass as I looked for the second word. And the same for the third, fourth — you get the picture. Multiply it out by the three hundred or so words in a typical post, and you can see why I had …

It’s hard to believe it was over a quarter of a century ago. Probably harder still to believe that the memory is as clear as yesterday. I was a graduate student in theology and my friend was a senior in college. We were on one of those “summer abroad” trips that are now ubiquitous but were just then becoming popular. Making our way back from London’s West End, I literally stepped over a drunk or addict or mentally-ill (take your pick) man lying in the subway passage. My friend stopped, “We’ve got to help.”“No.”“But, we’ve got to.”“No.”“But . . . …

Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart. Psalms 27:14 It’s God’s work, this caring for orphans, but it seems we often forget that. We want to take things on our shoulders, figure out the answers, and get it done. Fix the problem. Save the children. Now. But it’s God’s work, and that means God’s timing. Let me tell you a bit of our story of the last few years. We actually have been fortunate on the income side as God has miraculously provided, time and time again, through the faithfulness of His people. …

It was over a pleasant cup of coffee at a pie shop just down the street from our southern California office. The 40-something entrepreneur and I were talking about his kids—two teenage daughters, another daughter a year or two behind, and now, two adopted sons, ages four and six. He and his wife are successful by any standards: she is an MD, and he owns a chain of franchises in several states. But he was concerned with the legacy he would leave their children. “I want them to understand how they have been blessed, to live with a sense of …

Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.   (1 John 2:6) Last week I met Lucia. My first view of her was as she sprinted toward a soccer goal, leaped into the air, caught the crossbar, spun her body above the bar and then let go and balanced on the bar, spread eagle, eight feet off the ground.  Wow. And then I heard her story. Both parents were dead by the time she was seven.  She moved into an aunt’s home; an aunt who worked in a circus.  Lucia was apprenticed to the circus, where she was …

Last Saturday night: worship service at the City of Youth. One hundred and fifty or so children who call this place home fill the chapel. Throw-away kids, abandoned, exploited. They all have scars of abuse on the inside; some wear them on the outside. And then Gleice walks forward from the back row, takes the microphone from Pastor Derli, bows her head. “God, thank you that I am perfect in Your eyes.” Yeah. God, make her perfect in my eyes, too.

Today we pause to reflect on the value of work and honor those who labor and produce. Here in the United States, we are singularly blessed to have the opportunity to work, to be productive, to provide for those who depend upon us. Many of us were fortunate to learn early in our lives the value of work; from helping parents around or homes, to having after-school paper routes, to summer jobs as teenagers. Productive work is part of our identity. But what about the children who have never known what it is to work, or who have no role …

Jardelio never knew what it meant to have a family. He was abandoned by his mother at a young age and spent much of his life living in shelters and orphanages. When Jardelio came to the City of Youth as a teenager, we could see that he was both a hard worker and a dreamer. Determined to provide him a bright future, the staff of Hope not only watched and prayed for his transformation, but they walked alongside him, supporting him as a caring mother encourages her little boy’s first steps. After he graduated from the City of Youth with …

We often talk about the positive peer culture at Hope. One of the keys to transformation for our kids is that on our campuses they are immersed in a culture that wants the best for them and expects the best of them. Our children are figuratively swept up in a current that guides (propels?) them in a healthy and productive direction. The right culture is at the very heart of all we do. But what happens when the culture is unhealthy, if it is counterproductive in helping youth channel their lives in the right directions? What happens when a culture …

Her picture haunts me every time I think of it. I had gotten to know Caroline as a beautiful, outgoing teenager, full of life and joy. Then one day I made the (perhaps) mistake of asking a staff member for her intake story and picture. I wasn’t prepared for what I saw. It is one thing to meet a child in despair and then watch the transformation when she is placed in a loving home, given the kind of support she needs to thrive. It is an altogether different situation when you come to know and love someone and then …

I’d like to share a story — and then a point. Wheldon’s story is his own, but typical of a child of the favela. Unique but not exceptional, we sometimes say. His mother was a prostitute; the man who fathered him could have been any of her clients. By the time Wheldon was three, he and his seven-year-old sister were essentially abandoned to the streets to fend for themselves. He learned early the survival skills of a street child: begging, stealing, manipulating, doing whatever it took to keep himself alive. Wheldon, as street children go, was one of the fortunate, …

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. 1 Corinthians 13:13 (King James Version) I like the way the KJV team translated this one — and I really like the original English intent of the word. Charity does not mean a give-away. Rather, it is activity based on intimacy, on love. The word really captures what the church must be about. I like it, but it’s a real challenge for me. I am a fixer. When I see a problem, I don’t want to talk about it, I don’t want to be empathetic. …

We want the easy cases. The beautiful, innocent little girl who has been exploited. The teenage boy with the winsome smile who just needs a chance. The family of four siblings who long to stay together. Let’s save the kids that look most like us — or at least who try to act like we do. The ones that make us feel good about ourselves, and, perhaps more important, don’t push us beyond our comfort zone. We do not want the kids who are beyond redemption. The hard-as-nails kid from the streets. The gang-member with the tattoos and the scars. …

A few years ago, while facing some significant challenges in my professional life, I called my brother, trying to get a bit of perspective. His words to me: “Looks like you just got thrown overboard; I guess we’ll find out if you can walk on water.” I was actually hoping for something a bit more sympathetic. He had been reading John Ortberg’s book, If You Want to Walk On Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat. My wife recently gave me a copy, and I’ve started working my way through it. Good writer, that Ortberg. Ortberg notes that, …

“It’s too hard here; why don’t we go someplace where people actually care about the kids?”  Easy answer. If they care about the kids, they probably don’t need us. But there’s another reason to stay and minister in a place that’s “too hard.” Sometimes we can actually change the context, providing a point of focus for those who DO a have heart for the least of these, and teaching others in the culture to care. In almost any place, there are those who truly do care about the children. But they are often overwhelmed by a cultural context that rejects …

Amidst the national uproar over the conduct of those entrusted with protecting our President, I have heard a lot of talk about prostitution being a “victimless” crime. Colombian prostitute Dania Londono Suarez has made the rounds of interviews. She comes across really well — attractive, sense of humor, intelligent. Enjoying the spotlight. An adult who made a lifestyle choice. The poster girl for legalized prostitution. Let’s look closer. She is 24 years old. She talks about providing for her nine-year-old son. He was born when she was 15; likely pregnant at 14. If her story is like that of most …

As I write this, it is almost-to-the-minute exactly one year since the we first met with the vice-governor of the state of Espirito Santo. On April 15, 2011, he not only promised support for our Hope Mountain program, but also asked us to engage with his staff in developing a new paradigm for caring for the children in the juvenile justice system. In other words, to help them “find a solution for the children’s prisons.” The answer. Case closed. Our struggles to keep Hope Mountain open resolved. But it hasn’t worked out that way. I remember turning to the story …

In my years of involvement with international orphan work, one of the facts that has become most evident to me is that those who come to bless end up being the ones most blessed. The last week, members of Princeton Alliance Church traveled to our campus in Vitoria to minister to our kids there, and perhaps complete a work project or two.   The real questions for me are “Who ministered?” and “Who was blessed?” Hear from a couple of the PAC members and judge for yourself: They Don’t Call it Hope Mountain for Nothing Yesterday we arrived in Vitoria to …

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 …

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 …

The stock market is down 10%. S & P downgrades our credit rating. In 24 months, the US-Brazil exchange rate drops from 2.35 to 1.55, eroding our purchase power there by almost 40%. Nobody will give in this climate.   And then this morning, I saw the really frightening figure: it is estimated that the global economic collapse has pushed orphan numbers to 163,000,000.   163 million children without homes or family.   Time to throw in the towel? Time to surrender these children to a destiny of despair and death? Can’t we admit when we have lost?   No. …