Sanctity of Life

"Speak up for those you cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute." -Prov. 31:8

January is National Sanctity of Life month and upon reflection, has stirred up several studies regarding issues very, very close to my heart. The following are some notes from my ongoing studies and from sermons at my church this month in honor of the millions of babies that are now in heaven and trying to advocate for the sanctity of life in the future.

"But Jesus called for them, saying, 'Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." -Luke 18:16



"Since when does anyone's right to live depend upon someone else wanting them? Killing the unwanted, is a monstrous evil . . ." "The pivotal question is, should any civilized nation give to one citizen the absolute right to kill another to solve the first person's personal problem?" -John Wilke, National Right to Life

"For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be." -Psalm 139:13-16

$11 every second are spent by tax payers to fund abortions in the US. Since 1973, over 50,000,000 babies have been killed in America. It's a staggering epidemic in a country that could legalize and sanction the killing of babies. People often argue "when does life begin?" The problem with that question is ignoring the bigger questions of "when does/doesn't life have value?" and "when does life no longer have meaning?" This happens when we choose that what we want is more important than what God has engineered.

"Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” -Jer. 1:4-5

"What then could I do when God arises? And when He calls me to account, what will I answer Him? Did not He who made me in the womb make him, And the same one fashion us in the womb?" -Job 31:14-15

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men." -John 1:1-4

"God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” -Gen. 1:27-28

"That child... is a gift from God...Don't ever allow even one child, born or unborn to be unwanted... An incredible poverty exists today. Unborn children are aborted because they are unwanted. Children die in their mother's wombs because they are unwanted. A nation that allows abortion is a very poor one." -Mother Teresa

Thankfully, we read in Scripture that even if a mother should forsake her child, God will not forsake them. He has them in the palm of His hand (that is a very safe place to be)!!! Similarly, we also read that if we admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Those are beautiful promises to hold on to- it's never too late to do the right thing or to repent and ask for forgiveness!!

Recently I read about the story of a woman named Pam, who knows the pain of considering abortion. More than 24 years ago, she and her husband Bob were serving as Christian missionaries to the Philippines and praying for a fifth child. Pam contracted amoebic dysentery, an infection of the intestine caused by a parasite found in contaminated food or drink. She went into a coma and was treated with strong antibiotics before they discovered she was pregnant. Doctors urged her to abort the baby for her own safety (even though abortions were illegal in the Philippines) and told her that the medicines had caused irreversible damage to her baby. She refused the abortion and cited her Christian faith as the reason for her hope that her son would be born without the devastating disabilities the physicians predicted. Pam said the doctors didn't think of it as a life, they thought of it as a mass of fetal tissue.

While pregnant, Pam nearly lost their baby four times but refused to consider abortion. She recalled making a pledge to God with her husband: If you will give us a son, we’ll name him Timothy and we’ll make him a preacher.

Pam ultimately spent the last two months of her pregnancy in bed and eventually gave birth to a healthy baby boy August 14, 1987. Pam’s youngest son is indeed a preacher. He preaches in prisons, makes hospital visits, and serves with his father’s ministry in the Philippines. He also plays football. Pam’s son is Tim Tebow.

The University of Florida’s star quarterback became the first sophomore in history to win college football’s highest award, the Heisman Trophy. His current role as quarterback of the Denver Broncos has provided an incredible platform for Christian witness. As a result, he is being called The Mile-High Messiah. Just this Monday after Tim Tebow wins against the Steelers in OT with 316 passing yards with the reference John 3:16 written on his eye-black, John 3:16 was the #1 Google search of the day.

Tim’s notoriety and the family’s inspiring story have given Pam numerous opportunities to speak on behalf of women’s centers across the country. Pam Tebow believes that every little baby you save matters. I pray her tribe will increase!!

These are some amazing videos shown several times at our church, yet they never cease to make me say, "WOW":




For resources:
Alternate Avenues 24 hr helpline 888-395-HELP; http://www.alternateavenues.net/
A Woman's Care Center 24 hr helpline(909) 544-2723; http://awomenscarecenter.org/
Choices Helpline: (909) 258-9272; http://optionminded.com/default.aspx

Waiting and Trusting

"Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him" Ps. 37:7a

One of my favorite things to do is read missionary bios and quotes. These are some very random thoughts, that are also some of my favorites quotes that give a picture of the things that are weighing heavy on my heart lately. As this year comes to a close and thoughts of plans for next year begin to surface, even as worry and fear attempt to rear their ugly heads, I find so much comfort knowing that fellow Christian missionaries have struggled through some of the same thoughts and passions. As I prepare my heart for the mission opportunities coming next year, I'm so thankful to serve a God that is so compassionate, strong, and my true Refuge. My love for Him stirs me to worship and service. In this life, no matter where we're placed in this world, we're definitely never alone- we always carry the love of God in our hearts. He blesses us, so that we can be a blessing to others. Missions will continue to be necessary until God's name has been preached to the ends of the earth. Missions, as is any service to God, is a free act of the will, in servitude to God, to bring glory and honor to His name. Until every tribe, tongue, and nation can worship the LORD, missions is a necessary vehicle to bring and proclaim the Gospel and make disciples. Lately this has been a huge tug on my heart. There are those who refuse the Gospel and that Jesus died for their sins and don't want Him as their Lord and Savior... but what about those who have never heard and have never been given that choice? Who's Jesus to them? Who's interceding for them? Who's showing them the true God of Love? For that matter, who's loving them?

"Cast your burden on the LORD,And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved." -Ps. 55:22

"What would I do with starry crowns except to cast them at His feet?"- Mary Slessor

"God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supplies." -J. Hudson Taylor

"Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell." -C.T. Studd

"We talk of the second coming, half the world has never heard of the first." -Oswald J. Smith

"We must be global Christians, with a global mission, because our God is a global God." - John Stott

"If God has fit you to be a missionary, I would not have you shrivel down to be a king." -Charles H. Spurgeon

"Brother, if you would enter that Province, you must go forward on your knees." -J. Hudson Taylor

"Why do we insist on building the largest and most impressive structures in our city when people on the other side of town are hungry, jobless and worshipping in storefronts?" -K.P. Yohannan

"I wasn't God's first choice for what I've done for China…I don't know who it was…It must have been a man…a well-educated man. I don't know what happened. Perhaps he died. Perhaps he wasn't willing…and God looked down…and saw Gladys Aylward…And God said - "Well, she's willing."
- Gladys Aylward

"He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it." -1 Thess. 5:24

God is love

Some things that are heavy on my heart this month...

God does not have to come and tell me what I must do for Him, He brings me into a relationship with Himself where I hear His call and understand what He wants me to do, and I do it out of sheer love to Him... When people say they have had a call to foreign service, or to any particular sphere of work, they mean that their relationship to God has enabled them to realize what they "can do for God."
- Oswald Chambers

'Not called!' did you say? 'Not heard the call,' I think you should say. Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father's house and bid their brothers and sisters, and servants and masters not to come there. And then look Christ in the face, whose mercy you have professed to obey, and tell him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish his mercy to the world.
-William Booth

Some interesting thoughts from an article I read today...

"There is the command, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." We say,"That means other people." There is the promise, "Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." We say, "That means me." We must have a special divine indication that we fall under the command; we do not ask any special divine indication that we fall under the blessing. By what right do we draw this line of distinction between the obligations of Christianity and its privileges? By what right do we accept the privileges as applying to every Christian and relegate its obligations to the conscience of the few?


If I were standing by the bank of a stream, and some little children were drowning, I would not need any officer of the law to come along and serve on me some legal paper commanding me under such and such a penalty to rescue those children. I should despise myself if I should stand there with the possibility of saving those little lives, waiting until, by some legal proceeding, I was personally designated to rescue them!

Seeing a need and realizing God has prepared you to meet that need. “Every one of us rests under a sort of general obligation to give life and time and possession to the evangelization of the souls everywhere that have never heard of Jesus Christ. And we are bound to go, unless we can offer some sure ground of exemption which we could with a clear conscience present to Jesus Christ and be sure of His approval upon it.

"We have taken our lives in our own hands and proposed to go our own way unless God compels us to go some other way. What I ask is that, until God reveals to us some special, individual path on either side, we should give our lives over into Jesus' hands to go in that path which He has clearly marked out before His church."

"I think love will hear calls where the loveless heart will not know that they are sounding. If there were a hundred little children crying, a mother would be able to pick out the voices of her own - especially if they were voices of pain and suffering.

There is a mighty keenness in the ears of love, and I wonder, after all, whether that may not explain a great deal that one is perplexed over in this matter of a special missionary call. Is it possible that, in many cases, it is just a matter of a callused heart, a reluctant will, or a sealed mind?

God so loved the world that He gave. It was need in the world plus love in God that constituted a call for Jesus. Do we need more than what sufficed for Him? If they were our own, would we hesitate and hold back?"

"While vast continents are shrouded in darkness... the burden of proof lies upon you to show that the circumstances in which God has placed you were meant by God to keep you out of the foreign mission field."- Ion Keith-Falconer

Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn't.
John Piper

And thus I aspire to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named so that I would not build on another man's foundation.
Paul

Answering a student's question, 'Will the heathen who have not heard the Gospel be saved?' thus, 'It is more a question with me whether we, who have the Gospel and fail to give it to those who have not, can be saved.'
C.H. Spurgeon.

If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.
C.T. Studd

25th birthday, Kenya style!

I could not of asked for a more blessed birthday than to spend my "quarter of a century" birthday on the continent I love, in Africa where my heart is, on a safari I've only ever dreamed about, feeding giraffes (one of my biggest dreams come true) and serving the Lord on a missions trip which is the greatest privilege of all.

Finding Thomas

A day in the clinic...

During most days, I was thoroughly blessed to be in the clinic seeing patients who normally have little to no access to healthcare at all. Talking with many of the medical staff and assessing the patients who travel from far to seek medical attention for their ailments, I was gently reminded of the many treasures we take for granted on a daily basis. While healthcare costs may rise, there is access to quality healthcare nonetheless. Standing in a clinic within a community that, before it's existence, the community had no access to healthcare was a reality I could not ignore. Individuals walked (hiked) miles upon miles to reach the clinic that was their only access to medical personnel and supplies. The importance of meeting these patients and thoroughly assessing their complications was of the utmost importance.

Being called into the waiting room, I saw some faces I recognized: one of the teachers and a child from the public school. I followed the clinician into an exam room with the student. I learned he was a student at the public school, an orphan and border (he lived at the school as no family member would take care of him). Today he was brought to the clinic by his teacher for an assessment of the "pains" he was feeling. He had no shoes, clothes were very torn, and he was undeniably hungry. His teacher who had been observant and caring enough to notice the boy not feeling well, brought him to the clinic for further evaluation- his teacher was this young teenager's only caregiver and "guardian". After assessments, he was in need of medications and I watched as the clinic staff tried calling relatives of the boy to come and assist in caring for him and paying the bill. I was deeply saddened when I learned that no one was willing to come. I looked in his eyes during this situation as he humbly sat there knowing no one would come to help him, and I was broken. Knowing that this was one of God’s children and feeling that children deserve to grow up with love, and care, and toys… yet he had none of these.

Through support and donations the clinic is able to offer services at a very low cost, treatment and medications added to way less than $5… yet no one would pay it. I saw something wonderful and beautiful in that teacher as he stood up and offered to pay what he could, knowing that that teacher has sick and hurting children of his own at home, whom we had seen on previous days.
I can't explain what struck me most that day... that no family member was willing to step up and intercede for this young boy... to pay the less than $5 hospital bill, or that his teacher was empathetic and aware enough to the fact that something was wrong with this boy (Kenyans don't often "show" pain) and was determined to do something about it- to bring him to help and willing to cover the bill while he had his own hurt and sick children at home. Sure I could have easily paid the bill, the clinic could have easily waved it, but that was not the important lesson here, for me or for this orphan child, Thomas.

I was reminded of Jesus’ words in Matthew 25 as I saw the teacher care for God’s child as his own and interceded for him. I saw the love and hand of God in this situation as I watched this teacher choose to not ignore pain and suffering and yet give and love, without hesitation, out of the very little he had. It also reminded me of the story of the widow's mite when Jesus said, "for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on" (Mark 12:44). It was a blessing to watch and see the beauty in that brokenness. Just like the widow's mite, this was a lesson in love and sacrificial giving I will not soon forget.

The sense of community and love in Kenya never ceases to amaze and inspire me. To love as He loves- it is the second greatest commandment: LOVE your neighbor. Jesus said "whatever you did for the least of these, you did for ME". This was pure religion in action indeed.

"Pure and undefiled religion is this: to care after orphans and widows in their time of need and to keep oneself unspotted from the world" -James 1:27.

Amazing Grace

I hear your prayer Africa, through no words... I hear your voice and cries; I see your tears.

Monday August 29th

Through unexpected events (rain and illnesses), some members of our team were asked to go on a home visit to visit with a dear friend. I wish I had better words to capture the feelings, emotions, tears, and blessings of that day. I pray God would speak through me, that I would be a vessel, a bridge to others of her words, her cries.

Ps. 31:8- "Speak up for all those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all those who are desolate."

The day we met Grace. Hiking from the clinic up a hill, down the railroad tracks, then down a slippery, muddy, steep terrain, around the cow grazing, we arrived at Grace's hut. The aftermath of the recent day's rain still left a deep impact of flooding to this home made of mud. Some of the youngest of the eight children were sitting in the mud, no clothes, eating dirty maize (corn) for lunch with dirty hands. Her home, with the walls half beaten away by the recent rainfall, had to be no bigger than my own bedroom back in America. However, hers housed a family of 11 (eight children, parents, and a mother-in-law). Homes like this are very common in Kenya, I'm not sure where the outdoor "toilet" was, but there was only a small little grill for all the cooking. Dishes were done outside and the clean ones piled there on a piece of wood next to dirty ones and the grill. The sightings of a typical Kenyan property is not what struck me that day, nor what brought the individuals of the team to tears, it was the stories and those broken faces.

As we stood on her property (railroad property that could be taken by the government whenever they wanted), we listened to her story and that of her children. Grace, a recovered alcoholic, gave up brewing when she gave her life to the Lord. Unfortunately, her husband did not make the same decision and continues in their previous lifestyle. Gone for periods of time without explanation, she is left to feed her children from the maize they pick and milk from the cow she takes care of for her friend, that is not hers. Her oldest son, who tried to make extra money for his family (which was stolen from the father when he learned of the events), tried to commit suicide and was brought to the clinic for urgent medical attention, further breaking his mother's heart.

"True and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." -James 1:27

It is often overwhelming when you look around you and all you see is true pain, suffering, and poverty. I looked into those children's eyes and into Grace's and my heart was struck and ached when I saw the face of Jesus on hers, and in the eyes of her children. I felt at peace knowing that the God who takes care of me, will take care of her as well if we take it to Him in prayer. I stood there praying, searching what words of encouragement could I give to such brokenness? As I listened to the other women on the team tell her their stories of alcoholic husbands, my heart beat with peace and hope, remembering how we are each His children, and He loves us all the same. He has not forgotten Grace or her family; He is right there in their midst and suffering.

"There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be open-handed toward those of your people who are poor and needy in your land" -Deut. 15:11

Seeing the pain in her eyes, in her children's eyes, could almost suffocate the words from your throat, until we remember how big God is and that He is the only source of hope in such a situation. So I prayed for her and her family... knowing that it was the best thing for her and the only thing I could do to help. Watching the tears flow from her eyes, listening as she humbly tried to offer us something to eat or drink with her hospitality, I was heartbroken for what more we could do.

Psalm 140:12- "I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy".

Grace has filled my prayers so often as we've met with others and talked with pastors in what would be a blessing to her, something we could do to empower her out of her situation- to break her from the vicious cycle of poverty that takes so many captive prisoners. I urge anyone who reads her story, though I can not do her story justice with my words, to lift her up in your prayers as well. My heart breaks for Grace as I pray about how to bless her in her committed walk with the Lord. The LORD will watch over Grace, just as He protects all of us as His children. I do not know why God had our paths cross with Grace that day, but I feel extremely blessed and privileged to be able to share in her life... to look into her eyes, to hear her voice, and experience her tears.

Mbarikiwe Grace, Mungu Akubariki

Is. 61:1- "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has appointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners."

"If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him." -C.T. Studd

Karibu Nyumbani

"He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it." -1 Thes. 5:24

Finally arriving in the village of Ilula late Sunday night, we were welcomed by the children after breakfast Monday morning. I have seen their welcome ceremonies before, yet I am moved to tears each time I'm welcomed back home. All the children stand in a circle, sing and give you a bouquet of roses. You walk around the circle, shaking everyone's hand as they say "Karibu" to you. When it was my turn to be offered the roses, the beautiful child said words I've longed to hear in 4 long years... "Karibu Nyumbani" (Welcome home). I looked into those beautiful eyes, as I heard those words and peace flooded my heart... I was finally home again. I gladly responded with a big, traditional "Asante Sana" with a smile on my face and watery eyes I could not deny. At the end of the circle our team stood in line, joining in on the song and dance... I felt at that moment that if my heart could smile, it was smiling then. I prayed to the Lord with thanksgiving, "thank you Lord for bringing me back home". In those moments I treasured the blessings of a calm heart and His peace which surpasses all understanding. In those moments it didn't matter what we had just gone through, it didn't even matter that I'd barely slept in over a week now. In those moments, I felt the Lord say, "I brought you here, this is for you... enjoy it and welcome home".

Karibu Nyumbani!!!

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." -Jer. 29:11

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." -Prov. 3:5-6