The Power or Ability to Invent

That's the definition of creativity. It originates from the very attributes of God, God the Father, God the Creator. It's inherent in who He is. Something that He's always been, something that will never change. And as the good word says that we are made in His likeness, creativity has become one of mankinds attributes. Lets start with the discovery of fire. Since the dawn of time we should mention the wheel, that has forever changed the movement of people. We have the airplane and the boat, which moves us across limitless possibilities of once impassable terrain on this plant. Lets give it up to Henry Ford for the discovery of the Assembly Line that revolutionized mass production. We also have the fruits of creativity that's bent towards evil. Little Boy, the Atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. 70,000 people killed instantly, 110,000 injured in the blast, and 340,000 people killed from disease resulting from the blast. That's not including the 110,000 people killed in Nagasaki. That's half a millions people from a result of two fruits of mankinds creativity.

Though evil is a constant issue we must encounter on this side of glory. Make no mistake, creativity is from the Father and it's purposes are for love and good. From breathe-taking paintings, to songs that make your body dance, to the artwork of nature's landscapes that supersede any of man's attempts to capture, to systems that even out the scales of wealth to the most needy, to inventions that help spur on life and dreams...this was God's intent, everyone was meant to create and to create for the highest good in all the universe, love. So to all you creators, here's an inspiring video to help along the creative journey....

Hopeland

One of the locations on outreach was the YWAM base in Uganda called Hopeland.

We specifically worked with a project of theirs called Orphans Know More. It's a ministry that birthed early on in the pioneering of YWAM Hopeland in the early 80's.


Basically the the staff reached out to the local communities which they found many dying from HIV/Aids. In caring a befriending the sick, many of the dying asked these YWAMers to care for the children left behind. As these YWAMers heard the call to care for the orphans, the numbers grew. Orphans Know More birthed and the model they decided to care for the orphans was not the Orphange model nor the Care Center model which we use. They believe in the family model.


As we visited each family daily, we discovered each family to have at least 15 children. 15 children. Each family trusts God for the finances for food, school fees and everything else under sun needed to care for the family.

We saw miracle after miracle. The more children the families had, the greater the joy flowed from every single child. The greater the needs, the greater the faith. "Blessed are the poor in spirit for they will inherit the kingdom of God."

To visit the Orphans Know More website it's www.orphansknowmore.com. They also have a video ....



Lets continue to engage.

Much has happened. I'm sitting here, in a internet cafe, in South Africa with a cup of lemon tea (a bit sick from all the travel) reminiscing all that's happened, all the folks that I've met, friends I've said goodbye to, new things experienced (swimming in the Indian Ocean), old cities revisited (Hong Kong is beautiful), and deciding what to write in this post.

Ok, I've decided. I'm alive! Just wanted to let you all know that and that the posts will be coming daily, in the next few weeks. Lots have happened and lots more is on the way. To sum up the last few months, from the lush green hills of White River, South Africa to the Latino spiced city of Maputo, Mozambique. From the bora bora filled streets of Jinja Uganda to the market-filled streets of Hong Kong. All that I've done in the last months touches on a moment I experienced while co-leading our Compassion DTS outreach in Uganada.

My friend and I were in Jinja, running some errands. My friend was waiting on line for the ATM machine. I waited outside the bank, on the street corner. As the bora boras (motorcycle taxis) zipped on by among the mass of people moving in every which direction, I noticed a sister and a brother that had just made it across to the street median. They hesitated a bit, with all the mess of motorcycles and cars. The only traffic law here in Jinja seems to not get hit. Their hesitation was understandable. After a few brief moments, they both lunged forward, to cross. Despite the waved of on-coming vehicles, the sister pushed on through and made it to the sidewalk.

Unfortunately, her younger brother did not brave so well. As I looked on to the face of a scared little boy, stuck on the traffic median, an annoyed older sister giving looks of embarrassment and on-lookers heckling this little boy in Lugandan, my friend walked out of the bank, ready to tackle some errands. We crossed the street, stepping onto the traffic median. As I neared the boy, I thought to help him. Immediately my mind went to our errands and how much of a hassle it would be add 20 seconds onto the hour needed to complete the errands. As I passed the boy, I made a decision. I turned around and stood beside him. I grabbed his hand and he looked up at me. I looked at him, gave a reassuring smile and we both looked onto the street with renewed hope.

My friends, the orphan crisis is growing and lives, stories, hearts...are being crushed and getting lost in the background noise of the traffic of our lives. We cannot forget them. This story has a happy ending, but I have tons more, where I looked the other way. Please, lets not look the other way anymore. Even if just reading my blogs is what equates to not looking away.

Love you all.