Stamped on my hand, stamped in my heart

World Vision did something called Step into Africa and I will never forget the experience.It was held at a nearby chruch I got to go along with my church's youth group. World Vision made the gym look like a little African village. Each person had headphones and a voice recorder and became a child. As we went through each of the rooms the voice on the recorder would narrate. This was an event to raise awareness about children in Africa orphaned and affected by AIDS. I was a little girl named Babirye. The whole set up was impressive, but one I remember most. As Babyire, I went to a clinic because I was not growing and having health problems. My mother also is often sick. My father has died of a strange diesease. Do I have this strange disease? That was why I was at the clinic, to find the results of my blood test. As I went in I was told to wait on a wooden bench with others until my name was called. When my name was called I went up to the window. My hand was stamped with a big red +. As Babyire, a little nine year old girl, I was HIV positive. As I saw other people receiving a black -, showing their blood test came back negative, I was told to go to the other side of the clinic to sit on another bench, where the other infected people were. As I watched other people, who tested negative leave the clinic and looked at my bright red +, I almost really felt as if I was Babyire. Can you imagine? Can you imagine, you are now fatherless? And now, as a little child you find out you have AIDS. Your mother is dying from AIDS; will you have to suffer with this diesease alone? I cannot imagine having AIDS, much less being an orphan with AIDS, having no one to hug you, no one to comfort you when you are in pain.

The thing is, this is reality for so many children. Babyire is a real girl, her story is real. All the children's stories at Step into Africa are real. And there are many more like them. World Vision's website says that
Approximately 2.5 million children worldwide have HIV.
Right now, there are more than 15 million children who have lost one or both parents because of AIDS.
Every day, another 6,000 children are orphaned due to AIDS.

This is real. When I washed my hands the stamped washed off my hand, but not off my heart. I will never forget Babyire. I will not forget about the children orphaned by AIDS. How can you know and forget? And how can you know and do nothing?
I ask you, please do this one simple thing. Please visit this website and urge your senators and representative to keep fighting global AIDS. This only takes a few seconds; World Vision has already written the email, you just have to fill in your information. Please do this simple thing; please take some time to make a difference in the lives of others. And please keep the AIDS orphans in your prayers, and in your heart.

In Need of Rescue

So much injustice. I am a part of Eastern's chapter of International Justice Mission, and I cannot stop thinking about our meeting Monday night. We watched an IJM dvd about slavery. Some people are not aware that slaverly still exists today. But, it does. Slavery and human trafficking are very real. Just ask the little boy forced to make bricks with his hands all day, everyday. Ask the little girl who is forced to be a prostitute. It is real. Orphans are especially at risk. One article on IJM's website tells about human trafficking among orphans in Haiti. Before the earthquake 380,000 Haitian children were living in group homes or orphanages. A quarter million Haitian children are trafficked each year. Not only are orphans around the world not having a family they are being exploited. Many girls instead of a home, have a brothel. Precious, vulnerable orphans are being forced to be slaves, are being used for sex trafficking. How can this not break anyone's heart? They need rescuing.

I thank God for IJM. Quoted from their website, "International Justice Mission is a human rights agency that secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression. IJM lawyers, investigators and aftercare professionals work with local officials to ensure immediate victim rescue and aftercare, to prosecute perpetrators and to promote functioning public justice systems." They are working to bring rescue. Please do whatever you can to help save these children. Do not forget about these orphans being trafficked. Visit IJM's website, sign the petitions. And pray. Pray for workers who are saving lives. Pray for the perpetrators. Pray for the children. Pray for this to end. How can you not?

Hope

What a wonderful word, and one that I think God has been using to speak to me lately. I see all the suffering in this world and at times it just seems so much. I think especially of the orphans. So many orphans, so much suffering. It breaks my heart that these orphans suffer, but I cannot just focus on the suffering. Because there is also so much good. God is calling people to love orphans and they are responding to His call. Wonderful organizations like Shohannah's Hope are serving orphans. Youth are going on mission trips and helping to build orphanages and love on the orphans. Couples are becoming foster parents, families are adopting. He is calling people. There is hope.

God has not forgotten the orphans. He sees them, He hears their cries. He is always with them, He will not abandon them. I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the causef the needy. -Psalm 140:12 God is there, He is working on their behalf, even when I cannot see it. There is hope.

Because of Jesus there is always hope. Better days are coming. My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes in undisturbed places of rest. -Is. 32:11 A day is coming! And while they are here they do not have to suffer alone. Jesus is with them. God is calling people to care for them, and He has a future for them. They are not alone, and they are not forgotten by the Father in Heaven. I can no longer be with the orphans in Nepal. but God is and He is working.
There is hope. I see it in their smiles.

Why?

This is a question I have been asking God lately these days. I know we live in a fallen world, but why are there orphans? Why do the innocent have to suffer so much? Why so much injustice? I have been wrestling with these questions and my desire to go to the nations and help orphans right now. Now that I am back at school I want to be mentally present here but at times it is difficult when I know of the suffering and my heart longs to go. I have a lot of questions but not a lot of answers right now. All I know is that I need to trust God, and I think His heart breaks too. It is true that we live in a broken world, and I think God wants to use us to help bring healing to this world. I know there will be a day when God will wipe every tear away and the orphans will have a home, a day when everything will be made right. There is a song I keep listening to over and over called "This Too Shall Be Made Right." I have a feeling I'll be listening to this song a lot these next few days. In the meantime, I guess I just need to keep talking with God about what I'm feeling, and do what I can and pray and trust God, have hope, have faith. Another song I've been listening to a lot lately is called "Hope Now" and as one line of the song says,

Everything rides on hope now
Everything rides on faith somehow