The Disconnect & My Voice

The building where many students from the Point of Hope Development Center live.

I've done my fair share of traveling around the world. Honestly, I have been blessed and had the opportunity to do more than my fair share. I have met amazing people and the Lord has given me sweet relationships that continue to this day. With every touch down of airplane wheels to foreign tarmac, I am so excited to see what I can do to love on and bless those that I come in contact with, but often times I am so overwhelmed by the love that I receive that it's a mutual offering given from both sides. I have shared before about how I will never be the same after these experiences. It is impossible for me to return to U.S. soil and pretend that I didn't see the things that I saw or experience the things that I experienced. I can't pretend that people are not living all around the world without the vital necessities of life. I have found that there is a huge disconnect between the way I am able to live here and the life that many are subjected to around the world. How can I go on living as if this isn't true? And the answer is that I cannot. It is impossible.

I could easily go in to how life isn't fair. We all learned that lesson when we were small children and someone else took our toy or a piece of candy away from us. In this life we are no longer talking about such petty things, we are talking about big things- life altering things. It isn't fair that I was born in the United States. It isn't fair that my parents are both still alive and active in my life. It isn't fair that I know that every time I am hungry, I will be able to eat. So many people are not guaranteed these luxuries. With these unfair advantages, I am also given a voice and I have a choice about how I will use it.

When God brought me to each of the amazing places that I have been, it wasn't just so I could meet the people, see the sights and experience the culture. He wanted to do a work in me. He wanted to open my eyes to the unimaginable. He wanted to show me people groups who have love and joy despite their lack of material possessions. He wanted me to learn from these people and from Him. I am so thankful for His teaching and His constant working in my soul. I am thankful for the uncomfortable reminders of the disconnect between our lives. He keeps me accountable for the life that I lead and the steps that I take to make that disconnect a little smaller. Step by step, I will do what I can through His leading to make changes in the lives of those who are struggling. After all, He stirs my spirit and I will not look away. I will not stand in silence. I will follow His lead and use my voice to bring about change.

What do you use your voice for?

Embodying the Gospel

Another Child Foundation is committed to "embodying" the Gospel in everything we do. Our mission statement of reaching, teaching, and transforming indicates to others who we are and what we do. The definition of embody is..."be an expression of or give a tangible or visible form to (an idea, quality, or feeling)." So, for ACF to "embody" the Gospel this means that we are required to be God's expression of God's love in a tangible way. Ultimately it is God who does the transformational work of ACF in Romania but God calls on us to habitually plant seeds, water the seeds, and cultivate the soil so that a good harvest can be had.

ACF is committed to "embodying" the Gospel through the building of relationships with the people we partner with. This means our supporters, our ministry partner Buckner Romania, and the people we provide programs to in Romania. The building of a person's faith rarely happens in a moment's notice. For me it has been a long process of gaining wisdom, making mistakes and repeating that cycle over and over again. Luckily for me God is faithful in his commitment to me. Because I question the depth of my faith all the time. When struggles come up within my life I routinely depend on my strength and ability to overcome instead of laying those issues at His feet immediately. Without relationships with my family, friends, and Lord I would quickly spiral into the depths of sadness and depression. If that is true with me then I am others deal with the same issue. So, God lead relationships are vitally important for all people.

ACF and Buckner Romania have worked tirelessly in building relationships. It takes a lot of hard work to build relationships with the Gypsy community in Tarneveni, Romania. We live in a world of instant gratification and want things quickly and without hassle. This developing a relationships with the Gypsy community will be the hardest thing we will ever do. But, when you truly understand what "embodying" the Gospel means and how God will work within this mission I am convinced it will happen in His time and not ours. At times long-term missionaries will work for years without seeing the "fruit" of their labor only to find that years later a great harvest was produced. Jesus calls us to do the same things for others as He did for us. Jesus first cared about a persons health followed by family, work, their values, their relationships, and finally their behavior and we need to do the same.

In my last blog I wrote about the mission statement of Jesus. In my opinion it was 3 items. Proclaiming the Gospel, show compassion, and commitment to justice. Proclaiming the Gospel does not necessarily mean using words. I have seen mission teams make great strides in proclaiming the Gospel when not one word was spoken; this is "embodying" the Gospel. ACF teams and representatives always have a compassionate heart and are committed to providing justice to all people. I will write more about providing justice in future posts because to provide justice to a community of people who have been living in oppression for such a long time is not a "snap of the fingers" plan. However, the holy scriptures are very clear on what is expected of ACF if we are truly going to be the hands and feet of Jesus. This means that ACF has to be a tangible expression of God's love to ALL people!

The Hole in Our Gospel reflections

Tim & Theresa Oloffson in 2007

About a year ago my world and perceptions were rocked when I read the book "The Hole in Our Gospel" by Richard Stearns. Mr. Stearns is the President of World Vision US and tells his life-altering encounter with God and how he responded to this "calling" God put on his life. I had a similar experience when I first traveled to Romania 6 years ago this month. Before my trip my life was a pretty hum-drum life that consisted of playing golf, watching sports on TV, involvement in my church, and other family activities. Unfortunately, that list might have been in the order of my priorities. However, God touched my heart in way I could never imagine. Through the smiles of beautiful orphan children my life was forever changed on a day in October 6 years ago. Thank goodness for God's faithfulness to me. Without his continuous grace in my life I would have not ever been able to see life through his eyes. My eyes were clouded with selfishness, greed, and many other of those deadly sins.

But the Hole in Our Gospel book made me realize even more how other people in our lives wear that same pair of glasses that I once wore (and still do at times). I look at these people as good people with solid Christian behaviors but am amazed on how they don't see what others who have traveled overseas on mission trips on into the underdeveloped places in their communities the overwhelming needs that people have. The injustice issues that strangle the life out of families who try to shrug off that yoke on injustice so they can provide a better life for their families.

2007 Mission team

ACF's role in "doing" ministry work here in the U.S. is to WAKE people up to the true meaning of faith and how we are to respond to God's love in which he gave to us through his crucified son. A son who gave up everything so that we can live with Him in peace and harmony. For years I thought being a Christian was going to church on Sunday's and by being a good guy the rest of the week. Unfortunately, I probably meet MY goal of being a Christian. But our gracious God demands so much more of us than the Sunday morning experience. Living the Gospel message means more than salvation and forgiveness of sin. The Gospel also means to prepare His kingdom here on earth for his return. The Beatitudes tell us of a world where the order will be turned upside down. I believe this might be God's mission statement.

Matthew 5:3-10

New Living Translation (NLT)

The Beatitudes

³ “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,
    for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
⁴ God blesses those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
⁵ God blesses those who are humble,
for they will inherit the whole earth.
⁶ God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice
    for they will be satisfied.
⁷ God blesses those who are merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ God blesses those whose hearts are pure,
for they will see God.
⁹ God blesses those who work for peace,
for they will be called the children of God.
¹⁰ God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

 

I hope you will come back often to the ACF Blog as I continued to share how God has altered my life in amazing ways and how ACF is positioned to alter the lives of children in Romania as well as people throughout the U.S. as we learn what it is to be a follower of Jesus.

Did you know?

Did you know that 44% of Roma children ages 7-11 and 65% of children ages 12-16 are currently not going to school?

Did you know that the Roma people have their origins in India? It is unclear when and why they began to migrate.

Did you know that the 10 countries with the highest Roma populations are Turkey, Romania, Russia, Bulgaria, Spain, Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia, France and Greece?

Did you know that beginning in the 14th century and continuing for over 500 years, the Roma people were slaves in areas of Eastern Europe? They were used for agricultural labor and treated as property.

Did you know that the Roma people lack access to government services and health care, good-quality housing and schools, and suffer from high rates of unemployment and discrimination on the labor market?

These statements are all true.

When I went to Romania and began learning about the Roma people there was so much about them that I didn't know and didn't understand. I learned some about the people I was serving while I was in Romania, but since I've been back, I've been doing a lot of searching. Oddly enough, there is not a lot of solid information. It is clear though that the Roma people seem to be kept in a cycle of poverty. 

After meeting so many precious children in Romania, it's tough to sit back and see that cycle continue without doing anything to change it. The children that grow up in Roma communities do not deserve the low expectations set before them just because they are Roma. No child, no human should be discriminated against because of their culture. They had no option to choose Roma or any other culture. It is who they are. As in any country, the first step towards change and success for these children is to get an education. Another Child Foundation is doing great things in Tarnaveni to step in the gap for Roma children in that community by offering many children just that-- an education. For us to bring change to anything, there has to be an awareness of what is going on. Check out the sources listed below and do your own research to learn more about the Roma people and their plight.

Sources:

Who The Roma People Are

Unicef- Romania

The Roma of Eastern Europe: Still Searching for Inclusion

Articles & Opinions on Roma History