Wheelchairs, Homes and Love

DICK RUTGERS

It all started with a week and a half misison trip to Guatemala about nine years ago. Dick Rutgers witnessed a need in this poverty-stricken country, and knew that he could not simply return to America and forget all that he had experienced. And so, instead of coming home to the U.S., he moved to Chimaltenango, Guatemala, the place he has now called home for many years.

Dick works with Hope Haven International and Bethel Ministries, distributing wheelchairs to individuals who might otherwise have very little chance of accessing these medical devices that we take for granted in America. As an extension of this wheelchair ministry, Dick also works to provide education, necessities and love to children in orphanages and local villages. Many of the children Dick lavishes with love have medical diagnoses that, in the United States, would be manageable with quality medical treatment (spina bifida, club feet, tethered cord, etc); sadly, though, in Guatemala, a lack of resources and medical care often confines these precious lives to cribs in orphanages for 23 hours a day.

One little boy on Dick's blog captured (and broke) my heart. Sam Sam was labeled autistic by the orphanage, because he rocks back and forth and consistenly bangs his head. Dick, however, believes this behavior is a direct result of spending all but one or two hours a day locked into a crib. As much as he can, Dick visits Sam Sam, removing him from the crib, and taking him out into the fresh air, where he can play and be loved.

Consider the story of another child - a young lady whose home caught fire when she was an infant. An older brother heroically rescued her, but the devastation of the fire left her without her entire right leg and arm. With only one arm, she was unable to maneuver a traditional wheelchair, so the only way for her to attend school was to be carried 4 blocks each way on a daily basis. Imagine the feeling of giving her the first chance of her life to experience independent mobility! That is precisely the gift Dick gave her by providing her a power wheelchair. Dick describes that day by saying, "Not only did we get the opportunity to give her the first opportunity of her life to move around on her own but while we were working we were able to share with her and her family about the love of Jesus. Was it a good day today? Yes! Even if my house burns down by this evening it was a perfect day."

If you are seeking motivational, faith-inspiring reading, might I encourage you to read Dick's blog in its entirety? He has journaled his experiences and thoughts on life in Guatemala, and I can guarantee that reading his blog will both inspire and convict you. Take a month at a time on his blog and read them like chapters of a book. The videos he has included will no doubt require at least one box of Kleenex, so be forewarned.

Here I sit in my comfortable home in America, during a winter storm, with warm heat, a pantry full of food, and a health insurance card which guarantees my family access to medical services for any ailment that might plague us. Meanwhile, children like Sam Sam and millions more, live life in the confines of physical and even worse, spiritual poverty ~ without even the most basic dignities of life, not to mention love.

You can help these children and families being served by Dick and his team in Guatemala. In March, my husband, Scott, and our dear friend Brad Clark, will be joining Dick for a week to build homes for local families. If you would like to send supplies, shoes, clothing, medicine, etc., please contact me and I will gladly send you a list of wanted items that Scott and Brad would love to transport when they go.

I will close this entry with a powerful quote from Dick. "Please remember if you are fully content with whom you are and what you are doing perhaps it is time to take a good look at your self. There are people physically and spiritually suffering and dying all over the world. If God has put you in a position where you can reach out to even one of them and you are not doing so something is wrong."

May God break our hearts with the things the break His, and may He reveal to us tangible ways to show others the love He has given us through His Only Son Jesus.

Same Kind of Different as Me

DENVER MOORE, RON AND DEBORAH HALL

If you are looking for an uplifting book to read, a break from teenage vampires and run-of-the-mill romance novels, I recommend a New York Times bestseller that I just finished last night - Same Kind of Different as Me. This non-fiction book tells a story of the unlikeliest of friends—Ron Hall and Denver Moore. Told in two voices, the book alternates between the perspectives of Ron and Denver.

Ron Hall is a wealthy international art dealer who travels the world buying and selling rare and expensive works of art. He has grown rich but has also grown selfish and has drifted away from his family. When Ron hesitantly volunteers at a homeless shelter (upon the insistence of his wife, Deborah) he soon meets Denver, a man Deborah believes will change the city. Denver grew up in Louisiana, picking cotton in virtual slavery that seemed little different from the life of his ancestors one hundreds years before. He eventually walked away from the cotton fields and roamed the nation before settling into a homeless lifestyle in Dallas-FortWorth. It was here, in a homeless shelter, that the two men met, one serving food and the other being a reluctant recipient of this charity.

While I often force my way through works of non-fiction, this one read like a novel that you don't want to end. It is a story of faith, friendship, and unexpected, life-changing love. Ultimately, it is about the One True Love we find when we allow Christ to wholly transform us into the people He designed us to be.

Enjoy this video, featuring photos of the authors and music by Chris Tomlin. And be sure to visit the official website to learn more about the ongoing ways Denver and Ron are changing the world!

99 Days to Live

ELIOT MOONEY
Imagine the shock of first-time parents hearing the news that their pre-born child may never even live to birth. When Matt and Ginny Mooney learned that their unborn baby had Trisomy 18 (also known as Edward's Syndrome), the odds were not in their favor. This condition results from an extra #18 chromosome, and most babies with this diagnosis die before birth, or shortly thereafter.

Rather than sinking into despair over this grim news, however, the Mooneys determined to celebrate the life God had perfectly created in their child. "We are excited to have our first baby!" the couple shared in their online journal. "We could not express how important it is for you to understand that we are not in despair. Rather, we are excited to have this baby at this time. This is our first child, and we cannot wait. Of course, we would do anything in order for this baby to be healthy, and we have cried enough to last a while; but we feel the Lord is sovereign and, therefore, this is the baby for us. And we anxiously await our gift."

On July 26th, 2006, at 4:59 p.m. Eliot Hartman Mooney was born. Matt and Ginny decided to celebrate the miracle of Eliot's life by throwing a birthday party for him every day at 4:59 p.m. Twenty days after his birth, the new family of 3 celebrated Eliot's homecoming from the hospital. In spite of multiple medical complications, Eliot Hartman Mooney defied the odds and lived for another 3 months - a total of 99 days of life. In that time, Matt and Ginny lavished their son with love, and were in turn, blessed with the gift of Eliot's life.

Never doubt that EVERY LIFE matters! This young boy's life changed the hearts and lives of all who knew him. Be sure to watch the Mooney's story.

Surrendering All

KATIE DAVIS

Ah, to be 20 again! For those of you who, like me, are rapidly approaching those middle years (ahem, 40 is looming awfully close!), it may be slightly challenging to recall the youthful vigor and enthusiam of 20: the time when life was carefree, we sported our rose-colored glasses, and we felt entitled to it all.

Last November, I had the privilege of meeting a 20-year-old young lady from Brentwood, Tennessee, who, by all worldly indications, should be obsessed with sorority functions, the latest Uggs boots, and maintaining a perfect manicure. If you are not be familiar with the Volunteer state, Brentwood is an affluent suburb south of the Nashville metropolitan area, and the home to many notable residents, including Dolly Parton, CeCe Winans, and Dave Ramsey, to name just a few.

Scott and I were attending an annual adoption fundraising event in Nashville and sat across from Katie during the main banquet. I was struck by her maturity and tenderness of heart. She was an obsessed young lady alright, but rather than being preoccupied with all of the material trappings that so readily tempt privileged young Americans (and old alike!), Katie was consumed with a passion for the people of Uganda. In particular, her heart had been won over by a group of Ugandan children.

In December of 2006, at the age of 18, Katie traveled to Uganda for the first time. Seized with an immediate love for the Ugandan people and culture, Katie knew that she would never be the same again; her heart had been captured! Katie met Pastor Isaac Wagaba, who entreated her to come teach kindergarten at his orphanage in Buziika, called Canaan Children's Transit Center.

Katie returned to Uganda in the summer of 2007, to teach kindergarten at Canaan. Walking the children home from class each day, she was shocked to observe the significant number of school-aged children sitting idly on the side of the road or working in the fields. Very few government-operated public schools exist in Uganda, and there were none in the area where Katie was working. Most schools are privately run and therefore, require fees for attendance. Because of the extreme poverty in Uganda, many children are simply unable to afford schooling.

Feeling prompted to do something about the situation, Katie initiated a child sponsorship program, matching orphaned children who cannot afford schooling with sponsors in the US (now called Amazima Ministries). For a mere $300.00 per year, sponsors send these children to school and provide school supplies, 2 hot meals each day, and all necessary minor medical care. While Katie originally hoped to match 40 children through the sponsorship program, 150 had enrolled by January 2008. By the grace of God, in December 2008, the sponsorship program had successfully sent all 150 children to school for a full year and provided them with life's essentials.

Every Friday after school, the 150 children in the program, in addition to others from the village, come to Katie's home in Uganda for fellowship, a hot meal, baths, and Bible study led by a Ugandan employee. The children sing praises to the Lord until late at night and then fall asleep covering the floor of Katie's house. In the morning, they are fed a hot breakfast and sent home re-energized.

Amazima also strives to provide the children with spiritual growth. While the children are attending school, two Ugandan Amazima employees spend time in the six villages where the children in the program live, holding Bible studies and spiritual growth activities with the families and guardians of the children. Each child in the program is also visited by a social worker once every two weeks for a home visit to ensure that they are getting proper care and thriving in their home environment.

Katie has been back in Tennessee for a few months, but will be returning to what she warmly calls her "home in Uganda" on January 19th. Her goals for 2009 include enrolling another 50 children into the school program, in addition to the 150 already participating.

You can read all about Katie's adventures in Uganda, sponsor a child, and see many more photos of her children on her blog.

Think you're too young to make a difference? Think again! Katie Davis is transforming lives, both physically and spiritually, in Buziika, Uganda. And in the process, her own life has been changed.

Paying It Forward

JENNIFER KELLER

I first met Jennifer Keller at the age of 16, when my family moved to Kansas. In typical teenage fashion, I resented my parents dragging me halfway across the country, and I was not happy about entering a new high school during my junior year. Jenni, as we affectionately called her two decades ago, was friendly, bubbly and the life of any party. Her warmth made me feel comfortable and welcome from the outset. We were typical teen girls...interested in boys, our social calendar, and boys! I never knew in those days that Jennifer's parents had adopted her out of the foster care system at the tender age of 4 months old. Adoption and how families are formed simply were not average adolescent conversation starters!

It was only after we reconnected recently via the internet that I discovered what similar interests and passions we both share as adults - namely, our faith in Christ and heart for the orphans of this world. When Jennifer married her husband, he adopted her biological daughter, who is now a teenager. They wanted to expand their family, but encountered fertility challenges that God used to re-direct their path.

The couple completed foster-to-adopt training in November of 2003, and in July of 2004, were chosen to parent a 3 and 5-year-old sibling group who had been prenatally exposed to drugs. Four months later, Jennifer received a call from their social worker, informing them that the children's birthmother was pregnant again and to obtain their foster license in the event the baby would enter the system. They began corresponding with the birthmother and planning for a voluntary placement. In the meantime, Jennifer and her husband also welcomed a one-day-old methamphetamine-addicted baby into their home. Several months later, another day-old meth positive baby was placed into their care. Next, Jennifer learned that the older children's birthmother had been incarcerated; her baby was born in prison, and then immediately welcomed into the Keller household.

Finally, they received a call from one of the other children's birthmother, who was still meth-addicted, pregnant, and due in 3 months. She asked if the Kellers were ready for child #7. "We prayed and pined over this," Jennifer shares on her family blog, "and decided there was NO WAY we would want them to grow up without one another."

The Keller children are now ages 17, 9, 7, 3, 2, 2, and 1. Jennifer homeschools and serves as an advocate for The Alliance for Drug Endangered Children, speaking at many national conferences. She and her husband have also been instrumental in initiating Kansas House Bill 2602, making illegal drug use during pregnancy a crime.

Watch an interview with the Kellers and meet their children!

As an adoptive mom, I am acutely aware of the many unique challenges inherent in parenting children who have been abandoned and neglected. When I ponder the profound impact Jennifer is having on seven precious children - 6 of them drug exposed and separated from their birthfamilies - I am reminded of God's own love for us: "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God." ~ 1 John 3:1

Don't ever think that you are powerless to change the world! Jennifer Keller is doing it one child at a time. Be sure to visit the Keller family blog to read more about their inspirational story.

Welcome to Relentless Love!

Ever tire of turning on the morning news, only to hear a string of heartbreaking, senseless reports about murder, scandal, deception, abuse, and corruption? Or do you ever grab the closest magazine while passing time in a doctor's office lobby and wonder who really cares about the Hollywood social scene, $5,000 purses, teen idol allowances, and latest celebrity purchases that will no doubt set the American standard for greed and status?

Me, too....especially because I know there is a world full of life-changers whose very lives themselves have been transformed by the One True Love they have found in Christ. There are individuals living among us - neighbors, teachers, brothers, sisters, parents, students, employers, children and friends - whose names are not recognizable to most, but who are changing lives for eternity through every day choices and sacrifices that scream to the world, "You are loved by the One who gave life to you!"

This blog will provide a positive, encouraging alternative to the steady diet of negativity and greed often paraded by the media. It will feature imperfect people who love with the perfect love of Christ and have given the most priceless gift of all - themselves.