This Is Kristin

Hunger- Thirst-Malnourishment-Depression-Disease-Alcholism-Hopelessness-Tears-Bankruptcy-Sorrow-Loneliness-Destruction-War-Orphans-Abuse-Widows-Pain-Death…..

…This is our world. This is reality. This is now. It is everywhere. It’s in the countries far away. It’s in our neighborhoods. Maybe even in our own homes. Need is all around us. When you begin to open your eyes, and more importantly, your heart, you can not look away from need.
The wall that we put up around our hearts, to protect ourselves, has to come down. This is hard. Very hard to watch people dying of hunger when we have plenty. It’s hard to recognize the pain of your brother, your friend, your neighbor, it’s inconvienent. Hard to know that we can’t fix it all right now, right quick.

Knowing is the first step, and the breaking of heart must come before change can begin.

The definition of compassion is: “a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.” This pain we feel, when we begin to see all the ugly realities of the world, is the moment when we decide to look to the heavens and blame God for this mess, to disregard their pain, to look away, or we choose to take His hand and his hope, and become his hand and his hope. This is when beauty evolves from the pain. One by one, a child Sponsored, a child loved, a person fed, the AIDS patient cared for, a soul saved, evolves into a man feeding, a woman saving…..

……..-Healing-Nourished-Loved-Peace-Hope-Friendship-Restoration-Laughter-Salvation-Quenched-Happiness-Relationship-Purpose-……

…..Love has a ripple effect. Jesus multiplies our offerings.

~Real change takes time, and takes a lot of people. Our world changes with each generation, and for this reason I believe that we need to raise our children to be compassionate children. They need to grow up caring about others around them. They need to be giving, they need to be loving, and kind. They are the unfolding pages and the continued story of our lives. What will they say, what will they do, and what are we teaching them?

~ “What most inspires a child to grow up caring about others is the caring that the child receives. That nurturing is itself a perfect role model for children.” (read all here)

~Here are some practical ways to teach our children here in America to become compassionate adults:

*Read them the bible. Tell them how God wants them to love and help others.

*Be a model to them. Be kind to others, talk well about others, and let them see you routinely helping others.

*Read them books about different cultures, and treating others kindly.

*Teach them that it is important to eat a healthy, and well rounded diet in order to grow well, and stay healthy. This way they will understand why not having enough of good food and water is a need.

*Encourage a friendship with a child from another country.

*Involve them in giving. Give to your local needs, give to your church, have them pick out fabric for quilts for orphans, and buy presents for under priveldged children at Christmas time.

*Help them learn about other areas of the world.

*Show them this map:

The colors represent the areas of hunger.
Red = greater than 35% of population
Orange= 25-30% of the population
Light orange= 5-20%
Yellow= less than 5%

~There are so many needs of this world, but there are also so many of us.

Another great organization that our church in CA works through is called H.E.A.R.T. (Health Education Africa Resource Team) They do many projects, including

HOST SEMINARS THROUGHOUT KENYA
HIV/AIDS Prevention Education (primary focus)
Empowering Local Leaders to become Trainers
Training (prevention & treatment) of Opportunistic Diseases: TB, Malaria, Typhoid & Hepatitis B.

WORK IN THE SLUMS
WEEP Projects
Serving the poorest of the poor

HOME BASED CARE
Visit the homes those who suffer from AIDS
Deliver medication, food, and hope

WORK IN ORPHANAGES
Minister to children and staff
Taking supplies and gifts for the children
Providing sports equipment for play times for the children
Support some orphanages monthly
Come along side various groups to offer support and hope

ASSIST CLINICS WITH MEDICAL SUPPLIES/EDUCATION
We donate medical supplies
HEART has donated $720,000 worth of medical supplies by Project Cure.
We need to raise $10,000 to ship another container of supplies.
Medical Camps during our HEALTH Seminars

WATER DEVELOPMENT (SUCH AS WATER HARVESTING)
HEART re-excavated a dam and repaired a water shed and storage tanks for a Maasai Village that did not have a water source

HEART donated 500,000 shillings to fund a pipe line project the Vice President was working on to provide a water source to many Maasai

Spearheaded providing a pipeline from Magadi to Oldonyonyokie.
Working to provide water for Karatina District and Kisii District Hospitals.

HEART has provided a well for an orphange in Nakura that has over 300 children.

HEART partnered with Rotary Clubs of Colorado to complete a water harnessing project for a Maasi village

You can adopt a family for $25.00 a month, or give a one time donation directed to which ever area you feel led to give.

….. Shaun talking about the other various projects that Compassion does.

….is SAM. I just got through reading it, and it is encouraging (as a parent) to see how her childhood influences have shaped her compassion and priorities.

~Today’s 40 day fast blogger is….. Brant.

~ So, I was reading a very funny post on Brant’s blog about his addiction to coffee, and his attempt at quitting and then returning to drinking caffine. As I was quietly cheering him on for returning to drinking coffee, I read Shaun’s comment to Brant. He said, ” … put the mug down…or risk brain damage and colon cancer…”
Ususally I am a non confrontational person, until someone disses my morning beverage.
So Shaun and anyone else who thinks coffee is bad for you, here’s a recent excerpt from the Harvard health publication in which it states that moderate consumption is not bad for you, and may reduce the risk of Colon Cancer, among other things….. Ha!

“Coffee Health Risks: For the moderate drinker, coffee is safe says Harvard Women’s Health Watch

( Boston , MA ) Despite 20 years of reassuring research, many people still avoid caffeinated coffee because they worry about its health effects. However, current research reveals that in moderation—a few cups a day—coffee is a safe beverage that may even offer some health benefits. The September issue of Harvard Women’s Health Watch weighs the pros and cons of this popular beverage and eases the concerns of moderate coffee drinkers.

The latest research has not only confirmed that moderate coffee consumption doesn’t cause harm, it’s also uncovered possible benefits. Studies show that the risk for type 2 diabetes is lower among regular coffee drinkers than among those who don’t drink it. Also, coffee may reduce the risk of developing gallstones, discourage the development of colon cancer, improve cognitive function, reduce the risk of liver damage in people at high risk for liver disease, and reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease. Coffee has also been shown to improve endurance performance in long-duration physical activities.

For those who drink coffee to stay alert, new research suggests that you’ll stay more alert, particularly if you are fighting sleep deprivation, if you spread your coffee consumption over the course of the day. For instance, if you usually drink 16 ounces in the morning, try consuming a 2-3 ounce serving every hour or so. Again, moderation is the key.

However, as the September issue notes, coffee is not completely innocent. Caffeine, coffee’s main ingredient is a mild addictive stimulant. And coffee does have modest cardiovascular effects such as increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, and occasional irregular heartbeat that should be considered. Studies have been largely inconclusive regarding coffee and its effect on women’s health issues such as breast health, cancer, and osteoporosis. But, the negative effects of coffee tend to emerge in excessive drinking so it is best to avoid heavy consumption.”

~ Today is the first day of the 40 day fast.
Kat felt compelled to bring awareness to the topic of world hunger, after seeing this photograph of a little girl starving, and crawling to a shelter for food, with a vulture waiting eagerly behind her. Kat couldn’t look away without doing something. So she came up with an idea to gather 40 willing participants to each fast for a day, and then speak on their blog about an organization that is helping the poor, the orphaned, and the hungry.
Today, she begins the fast, speaking about the wonderful organization called Compassion. Go over to her blog, read, and comment, thanking her for bringing awareness to these needs in the world.

~ Our church in California has a group of women that call themselves the “Sewers and Rippers.” All year long the sew beautiful little quilts, with “Jesus loves you” embroidered in Swahili on the back. The organization called H.E.A.R.T. takes these hundreds of quilts with them on their trips to Africa to the orphans to become one of their only cherished possessions.

Another area these quilts are used is in the “Langata Women’s Prison – In this prison, women that have children under 5 years old can have the child stay with them in the prison. HEART Teams have visited the Prison and taken quilts (hand made by the Auburn Grace “Sewers and Rippers”) for these children and clothes supplies for the new born babies. Most of these women are in prison because of stealing – often to feed their children.” (excerpt from H.E.A.R.T. website)

The Sewers and rippers are always in need of fabric, and sewing supplies.
To send them some fabric or a donation, you can mail it to:

Auburn Grace Community Church
“The Sewers and Rippers”
3126 Olympic Way
Auburn, CA. 95603

We are about to start the 40 day fast. To me this is not a fast to pray about a cause, it’s a fast to experience a day of hunger, to put things into perspective, and then to therefore talk about a way we can help.

Things I am thinking on:
~What can we do? We have grocery stores across America full of food that will spoil, while so many are starving. How do we balance things?

~ It’s hard to know there are children starving and then hear my sons complain about what they are eating. I need to raise them with awareness, I want them to understand to be great full for what they have, and I want them to have the burden to help and to share.

~What are ways that you teach or would teach your children about the realities (hungry, dying people) of this world?