Wind of change

So, yes, i don't like change. But sometimes change is good. Change of perspective, change of priority--change of horizon... So be prepared. I'm changing as you read this. I just came back from the Domincan Republic.. and there, well, they need change.

I went to the DR with my church to work with an organization called Kids Alive International. We worked with them building some bathrooms onto a school, and we played a lot of wiffle ball with some beautiful kids. These children live in such poverty, with barely enough food to stay alive each day, the bare minimum of everything--and yet...they give their love freely. They grab your hand as you walk through their village. They walk up and hug you for no reason at all except that you're there and you smiled at them. They play just like any other kids and it breaks your heart because you know where they're going to go home to after they leave you playing in a field...and there's nothing it seems we can do.

But Kids Alive gives them hope. They run care centers, which gives the kids a full meal each day and Bible classes and a good education. They also run orphanages to take kids out of the most desperate of circumstances---children left to fend for themselves, children abused, children locked away from the world. They take them out of those nightmares and place them into loving Christian homes--where they have Christian parents and an environment that encourages them to grow up to serve Christ.

It's an amazing idea. They're amazing kids, and there are amazing opportunities to serve in this small Caribbean country. I'll write more later, but be prepared.. I am not the same as I once was. These kids...they followed me home.