An Ode to MLK

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." -Martin Luther King, Jr.

Back in early December, I had the opportunity to go out to the streets of Eugene with a small group of students from my university, and hand out Christmas gifts to the homeless. One spot we went to is locally referred to as "Whoville." I don't know how it got this name, but it is essentially a group of people who live in tents and protest for the right to sleep. Whoville has changed locations at least once, and to be honest, I am not even sure where they are now, or if there still is a Whoville. But on the day we went, I was deeply inspired to meet a man named Wayne who is a former pastor, and now spends a good amount of time with the homeless. He goes to them without an agenda, and shows them love. Wayne encouraged us to educate ourselves about homelessness and see what we can do to really help. He said that coming one time and giving out food or supplies is a good start, but will not be a long-term solution, and the more we educate ourselves as individuals, and as a student body, the more effective we can be.

On this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I sit here and reflect on Wayne's message toward us on that cold afternoon in Whoville. Dr. King saw so much darkness and injustice in his world. And he did something about it. He familiarized himself with the problem, thought deeply about what the solution could be, and then went to action. I believe we should look to the example that Dr. King set, and that Wayne set, and that people all around us set every day, even when they do not get the fame and the glory for seeking justice. Because, "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." And guess what? We have the ability to do things and to bring light to the darkness. We don't have to sit idly by wishing that things could change. So let's do something.

Kid President said it better than I ever could, so check out his latest super adorable and uplifting video:

Sponsorship Works

In the summer of 2013, I began the journey of child sponsorship in Malawi, Africa with Mirriam, the beautiful girl pictured above. I chose to sponsor a child because I believe that sponsorship works. The way that Children of the Nations (COTN) does it, they not only support the children, but the whole community through their village partnership programs, and the hope is that through empowering local people, these people will gain the skills and resources to give back to their own community, and it will become a self-sustaining process. Just this morning I read an awesome sponsorship success story from COTN's website, and I encourage you to check it out and see what a difference sponsorship can make in a person's life.

https://cotni.org/news/malawi/2014/11/04/passing-education-how-former-sponsored-child-gives-back

If you are interested in sponsoring through COTN, visit their website here for more information.

Compassion: Feeling it in Your Gut

Last Friday, a group of students who ventured to Cambodia on a three week mission trip in May came and spoke in my school's chapel service. They all had amazing testimonies of the horrific evil that had been witnessed, and the powerful love that is healing lives of broken people. One of the most impactful testimonies came from a friend and work supervisor of mine. She described the anger that she felt at the beginning of the trip toward the traffickers/pedophiles who buy and sell young girls with no regard to human value. It's easy to see why she felt that way. But as the trip went on, she prayed that God would soften her heart, and by the end, she actually felt compassion towards these men who do such horrific acts to the most vulnerable members of society. Clearly they must have been deeply traumatized in order to think that what they do is okay. This compassion has led her to complete her counseling internship with clients who are sex offenders.

The Greek word for Compassion can be transliterated as splagchnizomai, and is actually a verb. While we may think of compassion as something to be felt, this understanding gives it more of a call to action. Another interesting facet of this word is that it is related to the word "splanchna," literally meaning "the inward parts." Compassion is not the same as pity or even sympathy. Compassion is when you see something so unjust that you feel it deep in your gut, and you cannot rest until something is done.

The first time that splagchnizomai occurs in the New Testament is in Matthew 9, when Jesus is traveling among the towns and villages, teaching and healing. He sees how many people are so deeply hurt, and he has compassion on them, "because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (9:36). And then he did something about it. Of course, he had already been acting to heal these lost people, but he knew that he would not always physically be there, so he turned to his disciples, saying, "the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest" (9:37).

I am praying for greater compassion towards the ones God loves, and for a revelation of how I can be a laborer in His harvest. Will you also pray that prayer?

Why not?

I wrote the following post in July of 2012, but for some reason which I fail to remember, never actually published it and never kept up with my plan to blog about Social Justice. A few days ago, I remembered that idea I once had and thought, why don't I do it? Start a blog about what Justice looks like to me. Why not? So, here goes something that may last years, weeks, or only a day. I hope you get something from my ramblings, whoever you are.


July 8, 2012:

"Then the Lord will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' [...] '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: 34-36, 40 (New International Version)

On June 15, 2011, I woke up at 2 am, drove for two hours, said goodbye to my family, got on a plane, and met 9 strangers in Houston, Texas. The next day, those new friends and I boarded yet another plane, this time headed for Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Fast-forward two weeks, and I was saying goodbye to a beautiful country and good friends, and pondering what I wanted my life to look like. Those two weeks of service and sacrifice had made a deeply profound impact on my life. Not only had they provided me with new memories, but they opened up my heart to the idea of social justice. I had my eyes opened to just a few of the tragic difficulties of this world, and the desire to help was so strong.

This blog will be a place for me to share my ideas, experiences, and hopes related to justice, poverty, and loving others. I hope you will join me on this journey as I seek to let God love through me.