A Week In Paradise

Last week I had the privilege of working with some of the greatest people in the world! OK, one of those people was my wife, but we were able to minister along side of those who work with Lemonade International.
My wife and I, along with three others form our Aftershock group, we're in Guatemala City. More specifically in the La Limonada slum. We spent the week in two schools that are operated by Lemonade International. We had time to meet and talk with the staff, through a translator, teach and minister to the children of the slum and go on home visits within La Limonada.
There were many highlights to the week, and I'll post my thoughts on those in the weeks to come, but there was one highlight that stood out.

For the last 7 months our family has been sponsoring a boy in La Limonada. It has been a great joy to write letters back and forth, send him gifts and really just spoil him. I say our family has been sponsoring because, yes, our kids get involved too. They write him little notes and color him pictures, they consider him their older Guatemalan brother. Anyway, we were able to take him, his mom and little sister out to pizza, and spoil he and his family a little more. It was truly a blessing for us.

I'm writing this post first because it is the most important one. There is a huge need in the La Limonada slum of Guatemala City, HUGE. You don't know if you're not made aware, so I'm making you aware. If you go to the Lemonade International website, you'll find many ways that you can help support the ministry. Please choose one and get involved. I titled this post "A Week In Paradise" because, really, that's what it was. God is doing a great work in that slum and the people there have beautiful hearts and beautiful stories.

God bless!!

Bless Others As You've Been

I saw this news story out of the U.K. the other day and to be honest, I really felt sorry for the guy. In the story it calls the guy a "compulsive hoarder" but I think the problem ran much deeper. I think his demise was a result of where his heart was at.

We all like to have stuff, ipods, cell phones, laptops, etc. Whatever the latest gadget is, it seems like many of us run out to get it without ever thinking,"do I really need this?" Maybe it's not some new gadget, it could be a new pair of shoes or jacket, both of which you didn't need, it's just that you want this years popular brand or style.

A lot of us in this country have a lot of stuff that we don't need, and the are a lot of people that don't have stuff that they do need. When was the last time that you went out and bought something of need for someone you know that is lacking? In these hard economic times there are plenty of people in that boat. This is a question I've been asking myself lately too and I have to say it's been to long, sadly.

Really you don't even have to go out and buy something, try just giving something away that you already have. As I said before, we all have more that what we really need. Instead of just adding more clutter to your life, purge a little. One of the reasons God blesses us is so that we can be a blessing to others. So how about it? When is the last time you blessed someone in need? It's better than getting lost and dieing in your own pile of stuff.