Does God use Email? Yes!

I love the scene in the movie, Bruce Almighty where Jim Carrey’s character gets to be God. He opens his email and there are thousands of prayer requests. He decides to hit “reply to all” and answers yes to every single one. Of course, very soon utter chaos ensues. We cannot always have what we want. Thankfully, the real God knows how to say no or answers differently than we expect.

So does Hollywood have it right? Does God use email? I’ve decided that God does because I’ve seen it happen.

My local Christian radio station has a ministry called “Prayer Works.” It’s simple. You post your prayer request and then decide if you want to be notified if someone prays for you. The options are text message or email notification. When the prayer is listed it has a button below that says “I prayed for this person,” and when someone clicks it, you get a notification.

I’ve used Prayer Works several times. The first few weeks after posting a prayer request I will get several notifications. I like to select the email notification so that my phone isn’t buzzing in the middle of the night. Those prayer warriors tend to pray when they cannot sleep.

In April 2014 I posted this prayer request:

“I need prayer that I could focus and really pray more. There’s so many things I could ask you to pray about, but I know I need to be on my knees praying more and talking to God. I don’t know why prayer is such a struggle for me but I desire to talk to God about everything. Please pray that I can do that.”

Prayer has always been a mystery to me. The Bible is clear that we are to talk to God. However, I’ve heard so many takes on prayer, like:

Prayer must be formal and follow the guideline of The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew.

God won’t hear your prayers if you have unconfessed sin.

Pray like a child speaking to his daddy.

Our prayers impact a spiritual battle we cannot see.

So many different ideas. I’ve come to the conclusion that for me a simple prayer is best. Also, prayer is about my relationship with God. He longs to hear from me.

Two years ago I posted that request. I wanted to be reminded that prayer is important. The first few weeks I got several email notifications. Then they stopped. However, 14 months after I posted that prayer request I got an email notification out of the blue. It said “Someone just prayed for you!” I was shocked. Why after a year was someone praying for my request? Certainly it was buried in the archives of hundreds of thousands of prayer requests, right? How could someone have found it? I took it simply as God’s reminder for me to pray.

Over the course of this past year, I have gotten emails a few times each month saying, “Someone just prayed for you!” and it’s that same prayer request. It’s been a gentle reminder to me that prayer is the key.

This past year has been really rough and I have lacked peace in my heart. I will spare you the details, but I have definitely wrestled with God. The other day I took my daily walk and tried so hard to pray. However, I was cranky, frustrated, and longing to feel peace. Toward the end of the walk I sat down on a bench feeling so angry. I thought about praying but decided to distract myself with email and Facebook.

As soon as I opened my email on my phone a brand new email popped up. Can you guess what it was? Yep, “Someone just prayed for you,” and it showed that simple request from April 2014. I just laughed out loud. I then proceeded to pray a short, simple prayer and the most amazing peace came over me.

I do believe that God is email savvy. I’ve seen it, and I am thankful!

How full is your refrigerator?

I have teenage boys. They are always hungry. I often hear, "Mom, there is nothing to eat." The truth is there is plenty to eat but it requires preparation. I've taught them how to make simple things like eggs, mac-n-cheese, soup, they even know how to cook chicken and fish but by the time they think about food they want it now.

I do stock up on snacks, frozen microwavable items, easy things they can grab but I buy a limited amount per week and once it is gone, preparation is required. I've been wrestling these past few years as a mom, trying to balance doing things for them and letting them fend for themselves. It's crazy to think that in five years my oldest two could be gone and living elsewhere. I want to make sure they are prepared.

I've also been wrestling with other things besides my role as a mom. I wrestle with the fact that my refrigerator is never empty despite the fact that my kids think it is. We always have food and have never gone without.

Five years ago today I was riding through the countryside of Ethiopia for the first time. Since I was eighteen years old I had immersed myself in issues of poverty in the United States. My focus had been first and foremost loving my neighbor and sharing Jesus but also hoping to see people rise closer to a middle class American standard of living. That is what we focus on here in America when fighting poverty.

It's been a struggle to shift that focus toward thinking about widows having livestock and small scale farms. Also, thinking about shortening the walk women make with their 40 lb. water cans and ensuring a child actually goes to school. Seeing a developing country for the first time messed with my head and I am still trying to straighten my thoughts and perspective out.

It's so hard to explain. I sit here with a full refrigerator, we never go without food. Yet millions of people, children, go without. I know I am doing something about it. I have a non-profit, I fund raise, the funds are helping almost 200 children receive a daily meal but it doesn't feel like enough. I am in the midst of year-end fundraising and it is so hard to get donations even with matching funds. I just want to cry. I am so thankful for the donations that have come in. It's this crazy balancing act of being thankful for what we have received, letting donors know they are helping, yet knowing how much more needs to be raised. The truth is my partner in Ethiopia, FOVC, has future plans for seven project sites, schools, development projects, helping over 1500 children, and hundreds of widows. I could seriously use $1,000,000 a year in funding. I want to help so much, I want to be an obedient follower of Jesus caring for orphans and widows in their distress. I constantly struggle to know if what I am doing is God's plan or mine.

I am so thankful for my full refrigerator. I hope you, dear reader, are to. Don't ever take food, water, education, medical care, or housing for granted. It's so easy in this American culture of abundance to not remember what a blessings those things are.

God, please continue to bless these efforts. In Jesus, Amen! 

A $30,000 Recess Consultant?

The Kamfourd School of Excellence in Shanto, Ethiopia
March 2013
Photo credit: Ingrid Olson

My son’s elementary school has a lot of involved and concerned parents. We have a parent Facebook group that is a great place to share information, ask questions, and sometimes vent. Today, another parent posted a news article that shocked me.

I pay attention to what is posted and occasionally comment because I love to challenge people’s perspectives, especially when the issues are often first world problems or hint at helicopter parenting. The truth is, we live in a first world country and I fully acknowledge that our problems are real. I also think that parents need to care and advocate for their children. However, without perspective, it’s easy to harp on things that really aren’t that big of a deal.

The article posted was about how the Edina School District recently spent $30,000 on a recess consultant.

I’ll write that again so you all can digest it.

The article posted was about how the Edina School District recently spend $30,000 on a RECESS CONSULTANT. Yes, all caps means I am YELLING!

Now, I am trying to be nice here because I fully realize that there may be some information I don’t have but what in the world is a recess consultant, why are they needed, and why do they cost $30,000?

Oh goodness, there are so many articles floating around about how our kids need free play, more exercise, and that helicoptering them whether it be parents or other adults, is harmful. Yet, recess consultants exist in this country? Worrying about how our children are doing at recess is most definitely an annoying first world problem!

As you can imagine, I did comment on that post and here is what I said, “Ok, this makes me want to cry. I am working my butt off to raise $24,000 to support AN ENTIRE SCHOOL in southern Ethiopia for 12 months. $2,000 a month to pay 19 staff members and cover some other admin expenses and I live in a freaking country where $30,000 is spent on a recess consultant.”

It’s true, I am volunteering my time to run a non-profit. Also, I am currently working my butt off to raise $24,000 which will support a school in southern Ethiopia for 12 months, a whole year! So you can understand my disgust that $30,000 of tax payer money is being spent on a recess consultant (insert eye roll)!

If I had know about this ahead of time I could have contacted the Edina School District, encouraged them to donate the $30,000 to The Kamfourd School of Excellence in Shanto, Ethiopia which is impacting over three hundred children living in poverty. In Ethiopia, an education is not a guarantee. Today, there are over five million Ethiopian children who do not attend school. Talk about keeping a healthy perspective so you don’t harp on things that really don’t matter, like how our children are playing at recess.

In exchange for the $30,000 donation I would have offered my services to the Edina School District for free to be their recess consultant. I would have advised the following.

1. Give the children two, forty-five minute recesses per day.
2. Make sure they have access to open areas to run, trees to climb, and large rocks to jump off.
3. Allow all children, especially boys, to defeat the imaginary bad guys, even if it involves running around with sticks.
4. If there is snow on the ground let them make and throw snowballs.
5. Limit adult intervention.
6. Keep the perspective that dealing with disappointment and working through conflict will help them become healthier adults. Also, a scrap here and there helps build the immune system.

The bottom line of the article stated that the recess consultant was hired to make sure that children felt safe on the playground, that visits would decrease to the school nurse for injuries, and the school principal for dealing with playground conflicts. They also wanted to help children focus more in the classroom. I don’t necessarily think that all my suggestions would help accomplish their goals other than the classroom focus. I think more exercise would help with that. Overall, I think my suggestions would help the well being of the children, not necessarily make the school staff have an easier job.

The news article made me cringe. $30,000 is a great deal of money. I know what I would do with it, it would go to Ethiopia to support an amazing school!

Just Pray...

I keep trying. I try to write about my daily life, my faith, my parenting, but the words just don't flow. However, writing about Ethiopia seems to be no problem at all. I just hope and pray that each time I write it impacts somebody -- encourages them to get involved.

In May, I expanded my efforts to help my little friends in Shanto and Dale, Ethiopia, by taking over a non-profit called Partners With Ethiopia. I love the concept behind the name. We are partnering with an already established ministry and school in southern Ethiopia. Unfortunately, I have witnessed some very unhealthy efforts to support work in Ethiopia. It was hard to watch and makes me very determined to "partner" in a healthy way as I work to expand Partners With Ethiopia's support base.

To learn more about my expanded effort, check out the Partner With Ethiopia’s website where I have written with passion!

Two years ago, I read a book about the life of George Mueller. He cared for over 10,000 orphans in his lifetime. His main way to raise the funding needed was to simply pray. He believed that God was the one moving in people's hearts to give and he wanted God to get all the glory in his ministry. The book brought me to tears and has inspired me to trust God on a much deeper level. I have so many stories to share of seeing how God has provided these past few years as my involvement has increased.

I will fully admit that I am very nervous about the commitments I have made by taking over Partners With Ethiopia. We need thousands of dollars each month to help this work in Ethiopia continue. I have been praying and trusting God. Funding has come in each month; just days before we have needed to wire the money. September is no different. I am praying, trusting that God knows the need and will provide. Month to month support is hard. I would love to have a large amount in the bank, but if this makes me trust God even more, so be it!

What I have deeply grasped, because of my Ethiopian adventure, is that Jesus is all I need. If I am stripped of everything in this world but I have Jesus, I have enough. God has promised to provide for us and He gave the ultimate provision when He sent His son, Jesus, to die on the cross for us. I am clinging to that truth as I work to raise the funding to impact over 200 children, dozens of widows, and two communities in rural Ethiopia.

Just One

I'm a mess.

I've been a mess for several days. It's one of those things I don't want to talk about because I feel pathetic so I hide it from everyone. However, it spills over enough that my husband knows and my kids ask me if I am OK.

Why am I a mess? Well, hormones are definitely to blame and the fact that I fell a week and a half ago while doing the hokey pokey at the roller skating rink and broke my right wrist, my dominate hand. It is a funny story but the truth is I hate being down for the count. I like to be busy and active. If I am not on the go I get so tired, discouraged, and everything gets messy. My house is a mess, my emotions are a mess, one of my kids is a mess because he reacts strongly to my emotions. It hasn't been pretty around here. And I didn't even mention that fact that parenting teenagers is SO hard. I read a great blog post today, it really explains it, it made me cry. This stage of parenting has definitely made me a mess.

Today I saw a beautiful website, a beautiful effort to raise money to help those in need and guess what, I cried. Yes, I cried because I'm currently a mess but I also cried because I was jealous. I am not proud of that fact at all. You see, I should be happy that money is being raised, people are getting involved, lives are being changed, it is all a good thing. But still, I cried for all the wrong reasons.

Why did I cry? Because I am a sinful, selfish mess who deeply cares about 172 precious little children in Ethiopia and I so desperately want to raise more money and awareness to impact their lives. Not just their lives but the lives of hundreds of other children. You see, the ministry I partner with in Ethiopia has over 200 children on a waiting list. On top of that they have 5 more future project sites they hope to launch. If I could raise enough awareness, enough money, I could fund 7 Christian schools, 7 Centers of H.O.P.E., help over 1,000 children, and hundreds of widows. I cried because I really want to do all that. However, I feel like I can't, I am scared to try, I feel helpless, and I feel messy.

I have people in Ethiopia relying on me. I recently took over a non-profit and my plan is to fundraise like crazy as soon as I get my website done. I have been working so hard on getting it ready. I don't have money to pay a fancy web developer, or hire a marketing consultant, or make this all my job. I have volunteered thousands of hours in the past 4 years and I am OK with that but man I wish I could dedicate myself full-time to this effort but I just can't. I am struggling to find time to get the basics done, to figure out how to be a leader, and to delegate to the precious people who have offered to help me, I am so thankful for their help.

I clean houses part-time and I really enjoy the work. I got home today around noon, I had just finished cleaning a house. I walked in and my house was a mess. My kids were rotting their brains playing video games and I just felt like the worst mother in the world. Oh, if I could just come to peace with a messy house and imperfect kids...

Anyway, I made some lunch, sat down at the computer, and then I saw that beautiful website. I cried. I ended up in my bedroom, collapsed on the floor, and crying out to God. I was angry. That is one thing I appreciate about God, He allows us to come to Him messy, angry, crying, and He listens. It was several hours later that this thought popped in my mind. It was, if I help change one life, that is enough. I thought about the parable Jesus told about the one lost sheep and how the Shepherd left the 99 others to search and came back rejoicing over the one lost sheep he found.

Luke 15:3-7

Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

My house is still a mess, I did cry tonight, but I took comfort in the fact that God listened to me, He is in the many wonderful efforts to help those in need. He is guiding me, and I am striving to be faithful. I rejoice at the one life I am bound to help change. However, I certainly hope it will be many lives.

I hope to have my new website ready in a few days. I hope to have lots of continued support from past donors and future donors. That is my prayer.

I have become my high school Spanish teacher

Mr. Blomberg, my high school Spanish teacher.

Today is my 43rd birthday. I think what amazes me more is the fact that I graduated from high school 25 years ago. I have very fond memories of high school. It was definitely a season of my life that stands out. I had great friends, who I still connect with today. Those years were full of fun, ridiculous amounts of laughter, and really there was minimal drama. As far as academics, the only thing I really remember was in November 1989 when our history teacher spent significant time helping us understand the fall of communism. Besides that my memories are full of laughter, fun, and friendships. 

One class in which we laughed a great deal was Spanish. Oh Mr. Blomberg, the rather eccentric older man who had a massive pot belly and wore crazy plaid blazers. I remember his odd grin, the times when he laughed at himself, and we laughed along more at him than with him. I also vaguely remember him jumping around the classroom. As far as Spanish, I still know about 10 words, but please don't ask me about grammatical structure or the various tenses, I never got those to begin with. My guess is that Mr. Blomberg has passed on from this world but his memory is still etched in the minds of his former students.

One such memory is of Mr. Blomberg walking the path along the Mississippi River getting some exercise. Now I can't remember if I actually saw him or if the details were relayed to all of us from a class mate who witnessed the event. The vision in my mind is of him briskly walking with his arms swinging like crazy, you know to get the heart rate higher, and to work those shoulder and back muscles. However, to a bunch of teenagers, he looked hilarious. 

It dawned on me a couple years ago that I had become my high school Spanish teacher as I walked with my arms swinging like crazy to get a more intense workout. Life is all about perspective and at 43 years old I fully expect to be laughed at by teenagers. I see my boys laughing at me on a daily basis and occasionally hiding their heads. My guess is that Mr. Blomberg felt the same way, knowing our laughter was more at him than with him. However, he did not seemed bothered by it, he obviously cared about his students, he taught with passion, and extended us grace. The older I get the more I realize that life needs to be lived extending grace to others, keeping things in perspective, worrying less about what others think, and doing what is necessary to take care of yourself. Even if it means swinging your arms like crazy on your daily walk so you are stronger and feel better.

I decided to dedicated my 43rd birthday to my rather eccentric high school Spanish teacher. Thanks Mr. Blomberg for still teaching me life lessons all these years later and as I use my new birthday hand weights, I will fondly think of you.

My teenagers, not too embarrassed to pose for a selfie with mom.

The Shoes

Addisu and Israel

Can you imagine being almost 20 years old, having both of your parents die, and taking on the responsibility of providing for and raising your four younger siblings? That is Addisu’s story. I had the privilege of meeting him last month in Shanto, Ethiopia.

Photo taken in Shanto, Ethiopia January 2011

On my first trip to Ethiopia in 2011 I found a pair of shoes on the ground. They belonged to Israel, an 11-year-old boy in the sponsorship program. I was able to give him a new pair from our donations. His response was tears of joy streaming down his face. I was so deeply touched at his gratitude, it changed my life, and I came home a very different person. On this trip I decided to visit his home and find out more about his life. I'd love to write a children's book about Israel's shoes, with the goal of teaching children about contentment and hopefully raise money through book sales.

Gistane (Addisu's wife), their boys, Nebiyu & Naod, Addisu, Israel,
and Abera (Israel's other brother)

Israel is the youngest of five children. When he was a very young, both of his parents died. His oldest brother, Addisu, dropped out of school, began to fill his father's role by running the family farm, and raising his four siblings. What a huge responsibility for a teenage boy! Today, Addisu is married with a precious family of his own. Three of the siblings he raised are grown and gone, but he is still taking care of Israel who is diligently attending school and working toward a sustainable future of his own. This sponsorship program is designed for children like Israel who have lost one or both parents. It gives the remaining parent or caretaker help by providing the opportunity for the child to receive an education, a daily nutritious school lunch, hygiene materials, access to medical care, and the love and support of many caring adults. I know the support for Israel over the past five years has given Addisu peace of mind. His sacrifice for his siblings inspired me so much. As a Christian it was neat to meet with other followers of Jesus and hear their story, see their faith, and be able to pray with them. I was inspired and changed once again.

Israel doing chores around the house.

 

Addisu and Gistane are still living in Addisu's childhood home, and working the family farm. They are subsistence farmers growing false banana, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn. They also sell in the local markets.

Alex, from Children's HopeChest, praying over Israel and his family.
Many neighbors gathered and watched while we were visiting.

Sponsoring these children, donating to projects I promote, supporting my trips is partnering with people like Addisu as they care for children in need, right in their own community. I hope their sacrifice inspires you to dig a little deeper and help me more.

In the weeks to come I am giving my fundraising efforts a bit of a facelift. I want to be more effective, see these programs grow, and impact more children and widows. I am a Christian. In the Bible, the book of James is all about how to live out your faith. James 1:27 says:

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

My desire is to be obedient and care for those in need, keeping myself from the pollution of discontentment and living a life that is all about me. I love that you are joining me. We all help in different ways. Your support means a great deal.

This is Israel and me. This young man has such a special place in my heart.