"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.

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


Monday, July 29, 2013

~warm

I will never cease to be amazed at the gratitude expressed when families receive their new homes.  This year, this expression of gratitude came in 5 words from a young boy: We will be warm tonight.  Can you even imagine!?  No child should ever have to go to bed cold. But sadly, we met a hundred or more who do.

On our first day in Pampay, there was an incredible down pour. I am not sure I have ever seen rain like that before. It was chilly. But our team all had sweatshirts and rain gear, so we stayed warm and dry. But as we looked around us, we saw that we were surrounded by little shivering bodies. Bodies of precious children who came in close to draw off of our warm bodies.

As we sat and waited for the rain to pass, a dear friend turned to me and asked a question that we already knew the answer to. "Will they be warm in their houses?" The answer was one I didn't want to give and one that neither of us wanted to hear: No. No, they will not be warm in their houses. And if they are, it is because they are sleeping beside an open fire, breathing in soot and smoke. In that moment, it was easier to just not talk about it. Our hearts just could not handle it.

It leaves you feeling pretty helpless. It left me asking... why is it that I am so blessed?
~cr
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