Tag Archives: Helping Others

The Call: A Living Hope Story

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<a href="https://pixabay.com/users/OpenClipartVectors/">OpenClipartVectors</a> / Pixabay

“A dirt floor, no desks, two boxes of chalk, and four books”

This is the second in a series of miraculous true stories about Living Hope High School in Bungoma, Kenya.  Stories that share the divine inspiration and dedication to helping students of poverty, who once had no hope, reach their full potential.

“And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.” Matthew 4:19-20

“My sheep listen to My voice; I know them and they follow Me” John 10:27

Still in awe of hearing God’s voice fill her tiny kitchen, the words echoed over and over as if they were a recording stuck on repeat;  “They went to bed hungry”, “Go”, and “I will provide”. Marilyn still wasn’t sure what they meant. At the close of the school year, thinking Uganda was where God would “provide” and wanted her to “go”, Marilyn pursued a return trip.  Much to her surprise, God had other plans!  At that very time Uganda was in the midst of intense violence. Rotary International wasn’t about to put Marilyn into the middle of it. They did however, offer to send her to a more peaceful area; Bungoma, Kenya. Without hesitation, off she went once again, seeds in tow, to plant gardens and tend souls.

Once in Kenya, Marilyn and other volunteers worked together to create community gardens where once there were only hard plots of ground.  As the small sprouts grew from the now fertile soil a longing grew in Marilyn.  Her teacher’s heart was restless. As Rehema Orphanage was nearby, she went in search of fertile minds.  It didn’t take Marilyn long to know that things weren’t right at the orphanage.  The small shelters housing the children leaked, they lacked basic supplies, and she was angered to find that the wood she’d just purchased was gone but hadn’t been used to provide heat for the children. The conditions weighed on Marilyn until she realized that just as God had told her months before…these children WERE “going to bed hungry”. She knew this was where God was calling her.

As the summer wore on Marilyn learned that there were twenty-five eighth graders who had lived at Rehema their entire lives and were about to be put out on the streets, alone, with no skills to help them survive. She agonized, lying awake at night trying to come up with a plan. She couldn’t stand by and watch as these children were discarded; and everything she knew about the life of Jesus convinced her that she had to do something.

Finding an old shed on the orphanage property, Marilyn approached the Director with an idea.  She’d prayed he would agree and reluctantly he allowed the students to stay.  She quickly began cleaning out the dark, dirty lean-to. It would no longer house unwanted items but instead become a high school classroom for students who were now unwanted themselves. Marilyn had no doubt she had the skills to teach these students, after all it was what she’d been doing year after year. So with a mud floor, no desks, two boxes of chalk, and four books; school was called into session. But, too soon the time came to return home and Marilyn reluctantly hired another teacher to fill her place.

Flying home felt wrong; like swimming against the current.  Questions swirled in Marilyn’s head. She knew without a doubt that Rehema was where she was meant to be but she had responsibilities: a job, a house, a truck, and a beloved dog.  She couldn’t leave those things behind. Or could she? The turmoil quieted and a peace enveloped Marilyn.  She knew that the kind of call she’d received from God was a call that demands a response.  Mary and Joseph recognized it. The disciples recognized it.  Marilyn recognized it too.  She would answer the call and follow Him. Where He would lead her?  She had no idea.

Copyright Living Hope High School, Bungoma, Kenya

Plumbing 101

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"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-think about such things.' Philippians 4:8-9

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-think about such things.’
Philippians 4:8-9

It’s been cold, no frigid here lately! There’s been snow, wind, and ice! Our furnace has run overtime and the house still isn’t warm. It’s been so cold that we’ve had to leave the water in our faucets moving so the pipes wouldn’t freeze. The song of drip, drip, drip filled the house and it also got me thinking. My husband likes to tell me; “you’ve got to watch that thinking”, even so I do a lot of it these days. Anyway, in the midst of churning thoughts in my little mind, I wondered how we can keep our own pipes from freezing?

In today’s world it’s easy for me and I would guess for you too, to let our hearts become hardened, frozen if you will. We help others only to find it was a scam. We need help but no one comes to our rescue. We do our best yet our efforts go unnoticed. People we respect disappoint us. We disappoint others. Senseless violence and hatred fill the news and maybe our lives. Little by little our defenses go up, our enthusiasm diminishes, the flow of love and compassion slows as our heart slowly solidifies.

The Bible warns us about having a hard heart. Having a hardened heart clogs up our ears so we don’t really listen and shuts up our eyes so we don’t clearly see . Our lives lose joy and we move through our days on autopilot. Our feelings become frosty and backed up. No longer do we function as we were designed to. It is a bleak, bitter place to be.

So, back to my question. How do we keep our own pipes and hearts from becoming frozen? Believe it or not, I think the answer is the same for us as it has been for the plumbing in my kitchen sink. First, we must keep moving in the right direction. Even when everyone and everything around us tells us to stop, we must continue to drip, drip, drip:
Do right
Resist quitting
Invest in others
Pray, Praise, and find your Passion.

In addition to keeping the water dripping, I also opened the cupboards so that warm air from the furnace could surround the pipes. We too, must be open to the warmth around us. Whether it’s generated by the love of our family, caring friends, the beauty of nature to name a few, we must not close ourselves off from the glowing possibilities around us.

Finally, in my attempt to keep the water running, I closed all the blinds to put a barrier between the rooms and the threatening temperature outside. Pulling a blind is easy compared to turning a blind eye to the grim side of life, but I find when I’m focused on the cold, harsh happenings around me I tend to develop a frosty attitude, freezing me in my tracks and making it pretty much impossible to accomplish anything worthwhile. I was blessed today to hear an excellent sermon on this very thing. (I love when God does that!) The message of the sermon was to seek out the positive. Look for the good in people and situations even when they are small and hard to find. The message also included the importance of acknowledging our blessings and expressing our gratitude for each one. And maybe most importantly, sharing our positive attitude with others. The lesson isn’t an easy one. It’s something I’ll have to work at everyday but I truly believe it’s the secret to keeping our hearts on fire and being able to radiate that warmth into a chilly world that desperately needs it. And who knows? Maybe our spark will ignite a flame in those around us and before we know it, we’ll feel the hope of Spring and our plumbing problems will be solved!

Simple, Silly Things

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The Big Muskie Bucket

The Big Muskie Bucket

Not too long ago, my husband and I took a road trip in Ohio. One of the things we wanted to do was to find out what “The Big Muskie Bucket” was. We had passed the sign for it many times but didn’t have any idea where to find it. It took us a while, but when we did, it was well worth the drive. We learned that it is the largest mobile mining dragline bucket ever made and large it is! I am 5’7” but standing inside Ole Muskie made me feel tiny! Lately, watching the news, reading Face Book posts, and interacting with the world around me has also begun to make me feel small.

I’m pretty sure you’re going to think that I’m off my rocker (remember I’ve told you before that I am crazy) but there’s no better place that proves my point than on the road. I know that I’m old fashioned but when I learned to drive waaaaay back in the 70’s our instructor instilled in us a responsibility to use good manners on the road. Signaling and waiting to see the other person’s headlights in your mirror before pulling in front of them, moving over to allow others to merge, and waiting to pull into traffic until there is room enough as to not cause another driver to have to slow down are just a few examples I still believe in. Simple, silly things? Maybe, but these simple things can make the difference between a pleasant trip and high blood pressure.

The road however, isn’t the only place where we need good manners. Somewhere along our way, we as a society have become so focused on ourselves and our agendas that saying a “please”, “thank you”, or “excuse me” is all but extinct. Add on top of that the need we all have to be heard, often at the expense of listening to anyone else’s point of view. This equation creates many unpleasant interactions. I’ve witnessed several situations where the parties were saying the same thing in different ways and neither was willing to stop arguing long enough to realize they were more alike than different. It’s happening more and more every day. I also can’t figure out when it became acceptable to leave our grocery carts in parking places, throw diapers and fast food trash out our car windows, or treat service workers disrespectfully. Simple, silly things?

I’ve always tried to live my life putting others first. In whatever situation I find myself in, I aspire to treat others the way I want to be treated. I liked to think it made a difference, but recently I‘ve begun to doubt myself. How can one person make the world a better place? What makes me think that I can effect a positive impact on those around me? The happenings in the world tell me over and over that I’m a small fish in a big pond…… a simple, silly person. So, feeling dismayed, my heart has been heavy, I‘ve questioned my ability to make a difference, and I’ve felt like giving up. Thankfully that’s when God stepped in. One morning recently, when I was feeling especially discouraged the scripture for my daily devotional was “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven,” Matthew 5:16. Then soon after that I read a quote that said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness only light can do that”, Martin Luther King. Coincidence? I don’t believe in coincidence. Jesus and Martin Luther King were both men doing the right thing in the midst of a world that tried to make them feel small. Both spent their lives leading humanity on a new and better path. Both went to their deaths fearlessly and selflessly standing up for what is right. Now, let me be very clear. I am certainly not anywhere close to being a Martin Luther King or Jesus! Their words however reach across history to remind and teach me that doing right is always the right thing to do. It doesn’t matter how it makes ME feel and I don’t have to worry about the results. I just have to simply be faithful in the journey one small step at a time. Now that doesn’t seem silly at all.

Hands

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imageOur month with the Poetry Box was quickly coming to an end and I needed one more actvity for the last Friday.  My co-teacher Leslie handed me that idea and it was a fun one!  We created Watercolor Poems.  The students chose a color and brainstormed ideas about what that color looked, smelled, sounded, tasted, and felt like.  They then put their ideas together and created a poem.  Once in the cafeteria on brightly clothed tables the poets/artists went to work.  They wrote their poem on watercolor paper, drew pictures around the outside of the paper to illustrate their poem, and finally painted their pictures in their chosen color.  The room was filled with quiet chatter and the sound of brushes being swirled in cups of water.  It was beautiful!  My favorite part of these Friday get-togethers has been hearing the words, “Miss Cindy, come read my poem!”  Music to this teacher’s ears and joy for my soul!

I love how the picture above turned out.  When I sat down to go through my photos I realized I had taken several of just the children’s hands.  They resonated with me and once I put them together I knew it was the way it was supposed to be.  These are pictures of hands gently creating beauty, hands unsure at first, gaining more confidence, and hands helping and guiding other hands.  A moment captured in time with my camera that expresses what our lives should express.   When we reach out and give encouragement, support, comfort, and love with a touch of our hand, we are giving a priceless gift to those who receive it.  I’ve found though, that it is a gift that returns to the giver as well.  Using our hands to create a beautiful connection with someone, to reassure another who lacks confidence, or to gently guide a person who is feeling lost and alone toward the bright color of friendship, is when we are truly doing God’s work.  Bill Withers said it best in his song, “Lean on Me”. He sang, “You just call on me brother, when you need a hand, we all need somebody to lean on.”  Whether in the school cafeteria, our workplace, out in the community, or inside our home we have the ability to reach out and touch someone in a way no one else can.  When we do lend a hand, we create a moment where pain, sorrow, and problems are made lighter.    Is there someone who needs to lean on you today? Just reach out your hand, “tell them you understand and help them carry on,”  because lending a hand adds color where there is dark, melody where there is quiet, and verse to this poem called life.