Tag Archives: Samaritan’s Purse

One dollar – Day Eight

One dollar – Day eight: (The last day?)
If you have made it this far, you might be thinking, “I see my one dollar – and even see people – differently, but what can I do to help? The need is so great, and I am only one person!”

There is no one answer to this question. We all have heard about food rotting on docks, supplies stolen by corrupt governments, and money squandered. If big organizations cannot end the poverty problem can one individual really change the world for one other person?

You CAN greatly impact another person’s life…for one dollar a day. What is impossible for us is more than possible for God in us.

You see, I’ve watched a $200 loan from Go Light Our World help desperate moms to generate income for their families. I’ve seen a $50 GLOW gift pay for the school tuition and supplies for a twelve-year-old girl who was otherwise destined to the streets. I’ve seen $25 buy medicine so a mom could keep working. I’ve seen $12 buy a child’s first pair of new leather shoes that fit. I’ve seen $50 buy hot nutritious meals for FORTY children.

Don’t worry, this isn’t a pitch for you to donate money to Go Light Our World. I’m not going to ask you for a dime. Maybe it is enough for now for you to keep that one dollar posted where you can think about it each day for another week, or more. I’m keeping mine in place. Talk with God about your one dollar. Likely, you will come up with more questions and ideas to discuss with Him. Write them down. Pray about them!

Maybe God will nudge you to join the GLOW team as a monthly supporter of one dollar a day. Or maybe He will move your heart to sponsor a child through Compassion International, or to buy a water filtration system through Samaritan’s Purse. Maybe He will convince you that it’s worth the effort to become a Big Brother or Big Sister. Who knows how God will move your heart when you ask Him to see other people through His eyes?!

Share your experience with others. Ask them to join you on a one dollar journey. Discuss it with your children and grandchildren. See how many ways you can discover to generate one dollar a day that could change someone’s life.

People living on one dollar a day are not just fighting for a better life. They are fighting for their life. Imagine what happens when we “live more simply so others may simply live” and how that could change the world for one other person.

You CAN impact another life with one dollar. But really, it’s not just about one dollar. It’s about your legacy. It’s about how important it is to you to actually change the world – one person at a time. Ask God for wisdom, courage, and strength of heart to see others as He sees them and to respond in His name.

Today is the last day of this adventure …

– or is it just the beginning?

Softening hardened hearts – Bolivia

Samaritan’s Purse tells the story of Luis, a young boy living in Bolivia. His mother left him with his aunt when he was only three years old. After that, he was passed around from one relative to another, often being left alone while the adults worked, or looked for work. He ended up living on the streets when he was 12 where he found trouble with disreputable friends. His seemed to be a hopeless life, hardened by tough circumstances.

We saw this story played out a hundred fold when we were in Bolivia. Young children were left in the care of barely older siblings or left all alone while the mother worked and the father, if there was one around, was off for weeks at a time working in the coca fields.

We had joined the CMA church’s outreach program in rural Las Lomas (Ushpa Ushpa). It was a place of dirt and rocks, adobe houses with tin roofs and straw stuck in rafters to keep out the wind. Clothes were set on the few bushes to dry. Water drums set outside the homes as the only source of water, and an outside adobe artisan oven, the source for cooking. Many homes had only curtains for doors. But through the darkness of hopelessness and despair, shines the light of hope, Jesus.

The children we worked with were eager to practice their math, reading and writing skills in their outdoor ‘school.’ We communicated in our broken Spanish, but for many, the presence of a caring adult who cared for them communicated a special language of its own.

In addition to their academic work, the children sang bible songs, listened attentively to the bible stories.

And they prayed so fervently in their own words when we invited them to pray for their families and their future.

Luis was one of the fortunate ones whose life was touched by those who poured themselves into his life. He says, “I didn’t have a relationship very near with God. Now I feel very close to God. I feel he lives in my heart.”

Will you take a moment to pray that Luis and the GLOW ministries with the other lost children of Bolivia will continue to pursue lives that honor Jesus, and not be hardened by harsh circumstances? And will you pray also for our return to the Bolivian mission field this year? Your prayers matter!

Are you LIVING thanks?

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A friend sent a card with a note encouraging us to keep giving thanks, something we’ve often mentioned here as absolutely essential for living victoriously.

So with that in mind, and today’s news fresh in mind, I’m thankful:

My platelet transfusion went through successfully rafter a bad reaction Monday.
My amazing wife remains always faithful and devoted to me.
I have clean safe drinking water direct from my tap.
I didn’t have to choose between food and medicine.
Nobody I know was shot, raped, tortured, or mutilated today.
No one bombed my town or house.
I don’t have to worry about doping or other secrets coming out.
My financial budget is strained like so many others, but it is in better shape than the Government’s because I don’t spend seven times what I make.
Leukemia isn’t in charge of my life; Jesus is.

GIVE thanks

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If you want to actually put this to action, then LIVE thanks. That is, DO something with it. Consider giving up a daily or weekly habit you don’t need and sponsor a child who needs your guidance and love. Invest in a family’s future by providing a clean drinking water filtration kit. Buy a milk goat to help a single mom support her family. The ideas are endless. Here are some companies with VERY high integrity that make such grants available as they reach out to those in deepest need to help them become more self sufficient:
CAMA Services www.camaservices.org
Compassion www.compassion.com
World Vision www.worldvision.org
Samaritan’s Purse www.samaritanspurse.org

LIVE SIMPLY SO OTHERS MAY SIMPLY LIVE.

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”
Matthew 25:40