Ordinary People -- Extraordinary God » Poverty

CARA– A Broken Heart for the Local Community

atxanna — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:47:39 +0000

A few weeks ago, our church made this video-testimony of a girl who is a partner at Austin Stone. I actually found it on YouTube the week before it was suppose to “air” at church and I cried almost all the way through. Since then, I keep going back to it. I get goosebumps and wells of tears in my eyes each time I watch it. I barely know Cara, personally, but this story moves me and stirs my heart to love people more with the love Christ shows me. Cara is an ordinary woman who lives out her faith everyday in her job, right here in Austin. I want to share her story with you… may she touch your heart as she’s touched mine!

CAROLINE- India’s Orphan Ambassador

atxanna — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 01:05:10 +0000

: Caroline with the kids in India

In 2005, Andy and I had the privilege of traveling to India to serve alongside a young Austin visionary, Caroline Boudreaux. I met Caroline through a women’s group at her church in 2002 and was drawn to her from day one. But the story of God fleshed out in her life has been one of the most inspiring tales I’ve ever watched unfold. Every time I see her, or read about her, or visit The Miracle Foundation’s website (www.miraclefoundation.org), I get all giddy inside-because Caroline is a bold reminder to me that God can do amazing things through His children when they yield, unexplainably and whole-heartedly, to His call to be His hands and feet in this broken world.

Having done time in the cut throat sales industry for years, making a name and a hefty bank account for herself, Caroline found herself discontent with living out her “expected” climb of the corporate ladder. In 1999, when she heard that a friend planned on leaving the working world to travel the globe for a year, Caroline knew in her gut that she was to go too. Quitting her job and sticking to a pretty loose agenda, Caroline spent time in Egypt, Israel, Nepal, Indonesia, Bali, Thailand (to name a few)… but it was India that touched her heart in an unexpected way.

It was in India that her friend arranged to meet a child that she had been sponsoring through the Christian Children’s Fund (CCF) for several years. They half joked that he may not even exist and that her friend’s money had been sent in vain. But then they met him, Manus, and Caroline’s journey began. The Indian man in charge of distributing the CCF funds in this region invited Caroline and her friend to his home for dinner that night. When they walked in to his gated compound, they learned that his home doubled as an orphanage and there were 100 little Indian faces eager to greet and hug these two American ladies who’d come for supper.

Caroline was taken aback at the conditions in which the kids were living. She could see first-hand that the children were not only dirty and poor, but also underfed, undereducated, and in need of medical care too (all of which their caretaker was hard pressed to be able to provide). As if that weren’t enough, at the close of their night, a young girl named Sheebani came and curled in Caroline’s lap looking for nurture and love. Caroline rocked her and sang her to sleep, then carried her back to her room. The rooms were overcrowded and lined with rickety beds-two children sleeping back-to-back-no mattresses, no pillows, just wooden slats (similar to a picnic table). As she gently placed this child in her bed she heard the clank of the girl’s bones hitting the hard wood and her heart broke. In that moment she had found what she wanted to do with her life, care for these orphans and the 25 million like her that live in India.

That’s right. India has over 25 million orphans, the grave majority of which are not eligible for adoption. Not internationally. Not nationally. They are just stuck in a failing system of often-times corrupt orphanages, living in deplorable conditions, receiving little hope to raise themselves out of their lot in life. Orphans are among an “untouchable” population in India, and opportunity is a foreign word to them. Caroline remembers, “I had never thought about orphans before that night, much less held them, but soon we were singing with them, praying with them, rocking them, tickling, them… they were truly precious!” That day, The Miracle Foundation, Caroline’s non-profit, was conceived. ”I decided if I couldn’t fix what I saw, I would die trying.” And so it began.

: The kids greet Caroline on our 2005 trip

Returning to the states, God’s vision for Caroline’s service to Him in India was honed and focused in on “saving” one orphan at a time. As we shared dinner with her one night in India, we asked with overwhelm, “How do you not get discouraged? 25 million orphans? Even the 100 we just met is enough to paralyze us in thinking: how can we change anything?” But Caroline responded, “When I think of 25 million, I freak out too. I want to cry and throw up my arms and curl up in the Father’s. It’s too much to handle. But when I just think-one orphan at a time, as many times as I can-then I can press on.”

And press on she has. In just 8 short years, Caroline has impacted the lives of orphans in India in ways she never would have asked or imagined from her Lord. In 2007, her organization raised more than one million dollars and now has six orphanages in their network. Today, they are one of a handful of American organizations allowed to organized domestic adoptions in India. And they are reaching their goal of breaking the cycle of poverty by ensuring the children get the education, food, healthcare and the other basic rights guaranteed to all children by the United Nations. But that just scratches the surface. She is also giving these kids the love of Christ, and many, many prayers, and a whole host of other saints that now come to visit and love on, in person, the many orphans in her care.

One afternoon when I was hanging out with Caroline at her home, she received a note of encouragement from a church friend, who wrote this passage from Scripture in a card: “For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me… when you did this to one of the least of these, you were doing it to Jesus” (Matt 25:35-40 paraphrased). The friend then wrote that she saw these very things in Caroline’s ministry to the orphans and she wanted her to know that she thought Jesus was pleased with her service to Him.

This month, actually, Caroline is featured on the cover of “Austin Woman Magazine” (check out the article at http://www.austinwomanmagazine.com/). I laughed out loud at the last line of the article as the writer tries to sum up all that Caroline has accomplished because it is exactly why her story goes here on this blog, too. Caroline says, “I’m not special. Anyone can do what I’m doing. Just sponsor a child.” Caroline is simply tuned into God and giving Him all she’s got. And she’s also just a girl, like you and me. It is crazy how God can use a willing woman. I am challenged and stretched every time I think about Caroline because she is an example to me of what God just might do with my potential if I surrendered more of myself to Him.

To watch a short film recently made by Turk Pipkin, called “One Child at a Time”, about The Miracle Foundation, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvDttkl46jI

ROBIN- Answering His Call One Day at a Time

atxanna — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 00:24:17 +0000

Robin, answering His call one day at a time

I say this with all affection (and a bit of an inside joke), but Robin is one of the whitest white-girls I know. But she love, love, loves the Spanish-speaking culture. Virtually from day one of college, she was determined to become fluent Spanish, despite the odds of her gringo-ness. She was one of only 3 non-native Spanish-speaking student in her program, but that never deterred her. She did all that she could to learn the language and press on to fulfill her dream of a job (any job) where she would get to speak Spanish. That is her passion.

At 23, a college grad, Robin got her first job as a 1st grade teacher to little 6 year old Spanish speakers on the east side of Austin in a poor neighborhood… she was thrilled. But during spring break that year, she went with her church (Austin Stone Community Church) as a team leader with a group of college kids to the Dominican Republic. Unbeknownst to her—this trip was the initial crack to a wide-opening door from God… an invitation to live among and serve the least of these in the DR.

The DR is a 3^rd world nation with lots of Haitian immigrants. The Dominicans speak Spanish, the Haitians speak Creole. The Haitians live in utter poverty there and desperately seek out work every day in the cane fields in order to provide even the most minimal necessities for their families. The Haitians are degraded by the Dominicans who are very prejudice against the outsiders in their country. Life for Haitians is a forgotten life. They are overlooked by the government, used by the locals for labor, and left behind in education and the economy.

The organization that Robin’s church partnered with for this trip was Makarios, a ministry that serves the Haitian population of the DR—promoting educational development. During the trip, God placed a call on Robin’s heart. By the time she got home, she knew it was only a matter of time before she would be moving to the DR full time. Not 3 months later, she was packed and headed to the airport for a year-long contract with Makarios. She’s worn many hats as a Makarios staffer, but bottom line: she’s speaking Spanish, she loving on kiddos, and she’s trying her best to make a difference for the Kingdom.

So what is it that Robin gets to see and do every day while living in the DR? Officially, Robin is the principal for the Makarios school which serves 140 kids four days a week—providing them with one square meal a day (sometimes the only decent meal the kids get), teaching basic hygiene and life skills, giving them an education in Spanish (the language one must have to get a decent job in the DR), and teaching them about Jesus. But there are many things not listed in Robin’s job description, yet they are just part of everyday life when you are working with these precious children… she acts as the disciplinarian of the rowdy children (her least favorite part because she just wants to love them, but they need structure), she treats their many, many illnesses and injuries (ranging from lice to burns, funguses to open wounds riddled with infection, rotting teeth to parasites), she makes home visits to check in on the families (also often sick with disease or starving for daily food), she clothes the naked (many of which show up to school as such even though they were sent home with clothes the day before), and she prays… a LOT. To be faced with the never-ending needs of deprivation, crumbling home lives, and a country that provides few opportunities to succeed, mark all the Makarios staff with a burden for the least of these.

I have known Robin for 4 years now and she is one of my closest friends. But she would be the first to tell you, there is nothing extra-special about her call to ministry. She is just a girl who loves Jesus, period. She is still growing, still messing up, and still trying. She is following His call on her life one day at a time. She knows she won’t be in the DR forever, but she also knows He is yet not done using her there—so she stays on. Until this season is complete.

During Christmas break last year, while back in Austin for the first time in almost 6 months, a staffer from her church asked, “So Robin, did you always want to be a missionary?” To which Robin replied, “I don’t consider myself a missionary. I have a job. And I am trying to live every day for Jesus. The fact that it’s in another country doesn’t classify me a ‘missionary,’ in my mind. Living missionally is what we’re all supposed to do—everyday. That’s all I’m doing, to the best of my ability.”

One of my favorite posts from Robin’s blog is a post she wrote about understanding pain and hunger for the first time in her life—it is really impactful… check it out: http://robininks.blogspot.com/2008/02/pain-and-hunger.html

Also, if you are interested in hearing more about Makarios and their work in the DR, check out their website: http://www.makariosinternational.org/

: Students on a field trip to the beach

: A student showing Robin his rotting tooth (subsequently removed)

: The Makarios School where Robin works

ABRAR*—Inspiring Me to Expand My Ministry

atxanna — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:42:05 +0000

Recently, I have been struggling with this question: “Is my ministry enough or does God want even more from me?” I am sure this is a universal question that believers ask themselves because our ultimate hope is that our lives are a pleasing sacrifice to the Lord. Here is specifically what I’m stressed about: God has birthed in me a deep burden and passion to see His name proclaimed among the women of the Muslim world. This is not something I stumbled into of my own power or interest, but the one way to explain it is simply that GOD DID THIS WORK IN ME! Two years ago, I was intimidated by, uneducated about, and even spiritually complacent in regards to the Muslim population of the world. I knew little about them and certainly had no personal relationships with any of them. BUT GOD began a work in me to change my hard heart and create in me a compassion, a love, and a concern for Muslim women. I desperately want them to know Jesus as their Savior, not just a prophet.

I believe this particular heart and desire within me is pleasing to the Lord. But the catch is, lately, I have been confronted with the many, many, many Scriptures in the Bible that talk about ministry to the poor. And although there are poor Muslim women in the world, my ministry to and passion for outreach to Muslims is based on their estrangement from Jesus, not on their poverty. So, the question arose in my mind… should God’s love for the poor trump the heart He’s given me for Muslim ministry? I wrestled with this question, thinking to myself, “Do I have the time and energy to devote my life to both?” I wondered: is this single focus sufficiently reconciled with His Scriptures? I am terrified of getting the answer wrong… What if God truly wants both from me? I am still praying for discernment and clarity on this… it is not an issue I am taking lightly. I have been reverently, fearfully talking to God about this over and over. And I believe He will one day reveal a definitive answer for me.

Last week, I was praying about this matter once again when He brought Abrar* to mind. I met Abrar in 2007 and had the chance to spend more time with her again this past spring. She is an Arab woman in her late fifties who lives and serves the Lord in her home country in North Africa. I first knew Abrar as an inspiring evangelist to the Muslim population. She has a weekly television program that is designed to reach the Arabic speaking Muslim population throughout the world to tell them about Christ. She has told Jesus’ story to hundreds of thousands of Muslims through this venue and I am in awe of the reach that God has given her. But during my visit with her this spring, I learned she does far more for the Kingdom than make a TV show.

Here is a snapshot of a regular week for her:

· MONDAYS she travels to a slum area in her city where she ministers to poor women. In 2000, she began meeting with just a small group of 10 women. Now each week 150 women come to learn about simple life skills like hygiene and they also learn spiritual things about the Bible and the Good News. In this area the homes have no facilities or running water, even the streets are filthy and the city does not service them, the people are poor and unemployed and the city government does nothing to better their situation. Domestic abuse and marital conflict are prevalent, recurring themes in her counseling to the women there.

· TUESDAYS she travels to a different slum area in another part of the city where she teaches a women’s Bible study to 100 women each week, after which she does home visits. She sits in these ladies rat-infested homes with garbage all around, and listens to their stories, praying with them and counseling them and tending to their very real, physical needs. She describes the poverty of this area as devastating and incredible, even more so than her Monday neighborhood.

· WEDNESDAYS she spends time preparing for and recording her satellite television program called “God Loves All People.” The show is aired in 77 countries worldwide and the premise is a weekly interview with a different Arab Muslim Background Believer… they share their testimony, talk about the Bible, and pray together. Because in her country, as well as many other Arab nations, it is illegal to speak to a Muslim about Christ, she has found that satellite ministry opens the door for evangelism and sharing Christ with others. She says that every day, those who work in satellite ministry hear stories of many Muslims coming to saving faith in Jesus.

· THURSDAYS Abrar meets with two groups of “rich” women in her city (her words, not mine) and together they pray for the women she ministers to (through Abrar’s poverty and satellite ministries) and try to collaborate on ways they can tangibly meet the ongoing physical needs of the women she serves in the poor areas. Abrar says that these women, although not living in poverty, need Jesus just as much as the poor women in her life do.

· FRIDAYS and SATURDAYS she spends time serving alongside her husband, who works in drama ministry. They organize plays throughout their city hoping to tell the stories from the Bible through drama. It is a tool for outreach into the Muslim population. His ministry also writes and produces movies and short films about spiritual topics geared towards the Arab population.

· Finally, SUNDAYS she attends church and worships the Lord with her husband. This is her day of rest.

Needless to say, as I contemplated the diversity of her service to the Lord, I felt schooled. This woman—who I once was inspired by simply for her outreach to Muslims—is far more complex and far more dedicated to serving the Lord than just one area of ministry allows. As I prayed about her life, I landed on the simple fact that I want to be more like her as I grow up. She has a huge heart for Muslims, she is burdened deeply with the desire to share Christ with those who do not know Him as Savior, she loves the poor in her own city (and she spends time with them seeking to help with their physical and spiritual needs), she loves her husband and serves alongside him in his ministry, and she also ministers to the “regular rich folk” that run in her upper class circle. All of that, plus she still manages a day of rest and worship. Can you believe it?! Now that is a life worth modeling.

Lord, would you one day use me the way you use Abrar? She is one faithful woman. Although she is a great warrior for the Lord, You remind me that there is nothing more special about Abrar than the next woman. You have chosen to multiply her influence, bless her ministry with fruit, and continue to break her heart for what breaks Your’s. She is beautiful because she is madly, passionately in love with You and she desires to live her life as a sacrifice to You! Abrar’s life is a testimony of Your power at work in a faithful child of God.

*Abrar’s name has changed to protect her identity. I chose the feminine Arabic name “Abrar” to represent her because it means “devoted to God.”