Lebron who?

Honestly I use to be a sports junkie! I remember in high school, even college, I really enjoyed watching sports and was really into the NBA. Okay, so I loved Michael Jordan and dreamed of watching him play someday.. never happened. What a tragedy I thought.... but then I changed. Sports totally fell off the radar. You know what else took a dive off the radar.... materialism. Just to be quite honest, I spent less than $1000 on my wedding, dress and all! I was dead set to not throw money away. Our wedding was beautiful, my dress was gorgeous. Everything was just what I had always dreamed of. So what brought about the change? The summer of 2001, I prayed a prayer that God would forever change me and never allow my heart to forget where He led me. That summer I taught in Rwanda. I went all by myself, carried only by His strength b/c it was not an easy trip. I was the only America but met a dear sister in Christ named Kim. God completely broke my heart for the things that breaks His. I can't pinpoint what moment changed me exactly. I think back... was it the women with their children? Looking at these women with these babies and knowing their hearts longed for a future for their children. You know, like we do. What school should they go to? Will they make friends? How much tv is too much? Only their concerns embarrass me for ours. What will they eat? How will they survive without an education that we can't afford? Will they have a future?

Maybe the change started because of the children I saw. Words can never describe how my heart broke over and over again for the children of this beautiful land. These were HIS children and so many had no parents, no homes, no food. They were breathtakingly beautiful, you know like our American babies. They were created in His image but there was no one there to care or provide for them.

I know one thing that for sure changed me, it was meeting this man..

His name is Emmanuel. His job to lead people through the Rwandan Genocide Memorial. To this day, I cannot think of that place without having a huge lump in my throat and tears well up in my eyes. It was a building intended to be used as a technical college. They were almost finished building it but when the genocide began hundreds of thousands took refuge here and died here. Emmanuel was one of the "lucky" ones. He survived a bullet wound in the head but lost all of his family. There were dozens and dozens of classrooms full of skulls, dozens full of children. Emmanuel wept while sharing the story of where he and his family hid and were murdered. Around 800,000 people were killed in just 100 days.
These next images changed me deep down in my soul. They poured lime over the bodies so they would stay the same way they were when they died, hands clenched. Mothers holding tightly to babies, etc. I remember feeling like I couldn't breath going through each room but they deserved for me to look at them all. They deserved to be remembered. They were HIS children.


I long to go back to Africa! I ask God constantly to break my heart for the things that break His. I desire to be in His work and love His children. So why are we adopting from Africa? Because if our lives can change the outcome for just ONE child, praise the Lord! If our lives inspire someone to change the outcome for one child, Praise the Lord!! My prayer for you my sweet friends is that your heart will be BROKEN for the things that breaks His AND that you will respond. We are RICH!!! The divide between us and the poor is astounding. It is not our fault they are poor, but it is our responsibility to meet their needs. That's why He's blessed us so much. Not to live comfortably, not to buy a nice new car, or a big huge house. Do we realize we are using what He's blessed us with not to meet our needs but to meet our WANTS when HIS children are dying b/c we refuse to meet their NEEDS. Cameron and I were talking the other night and he said, "I hope Ethiopia changes me" I have no doubt that it will.