Jumbo Gerber is our director in Swaziland. He just wrote about the following four people:
Mamba (age 7) was hanged by his stepfather
A little baby boy was found this week in a long drop toilet
A mom sleeping with her two children in the rain after her house was blown down by a storm
The mother of 7 children who does not see an alternative to selling her body to provide for her children
The mother of seven wrecked him:
“Today I saw a mom that is at the end of her rope; a mom that is beyond desperate to try to do better so that her children would not be sent home from school for stealing other kids’ food … because their last meal was the previous day at the care point.
A mom who wants her children to be safe, warm and dry in their home. A mom who feels she is all alone and has nobody to talk to about her struggles, a mom that is blaming herself for the bad decisions she has made after her husband past away. A mom that knows she is a bad example for her older kids, because they know and see what she does.
I saw a mom who wants to change; a mom who, even in the most difficult circumstances, has not abandoned her children. I saw a mom who wants to do better; a mom who wants to leave her children a legacy.”
And it wrecks me too. I think, “My problems are first world problems.”
What wrecks you?
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This young generation that settles for less when there is a treasure in front of them waiting to be discovered. That they settle for what others say is possible for them instead of accepting the challenge of doing the impossible for the Kingdom.
I’m in the process of being WRECKED by a woman in her late 60s who has turned to hoarding as a way to mask the pain that life has left her with. I’ve been working with a team this week to clean out her house. My words cannot even begin to describe the overwhelming feeling that has possessed my mind this week as we’ve been going about this project. My sleep is not complete. My mind continually goes back to this woman and her home. God has called us to be WRECKED by stories like this and then to go make a difference. Thanks for the reminder and confirmation.
i am doing something for my bible class at school and i go to a private school and i was wanting to know if there was someone that is in missions that i could pray for like a specific name. just send me an email
jonmarkwood@yahoo.com
This wrecks me. Wrecks me enough to assure me that giving my life to bring Jesus-style transformation to the poor has been a valuable use of my adult years, and I should continue on as long as there are people like this suffering.
Funny you should ask. This woman in India who is raising her disabled son. It is more rare than what you might think.
http://ahopefuloutlook.blogspot.com/2012/10/what-woman-i-never-met-taught-me.html
Dear Seth:
I am reminded of Jean Valjean’s theft of bread, out of the love for his family.
I think Jesus’ sacrifice covered the worst sin.
I think we beat ourselves up, trying to be perfect, called to it as we may be.
I think that (perfection) is Jesus’ job.
I think forgiveness is ours.
God, I hope I’m right!
Rodger
What wrecks me:
Knowing one of my new friends was divorced young because she was married off to her cousin at 13.
Seeing another friend (currently 16) have a nervous breakdown because she has had a baby die, two miscarriages, been married for a few years and there is no concept of “counseling” here.
Loving the people around me so much and knowing the Father loves them even more and they don’t know it.
And most importantly what wrecks me? Is how much I took the religious freedom we have in America for granted and the opportunities to share freely that I did not take and desperately desire now.
Followers of Christ who are bored, tired, and enslaved to the pursuit of their own comfort.
There is so much more to life than building our own mini-kingdom. Abundant life is found by giving our lives away for the benefit of others. We thrive when we seek the Kingdom of God.
I’m praying for those “laborers” who don’t yet realize that their “harvest” is a woman with seven children and others like her somewhere on the other side of the world.
that definitely puts it all in the right perpective for me this morning Seth, I will be leaving sunday for Vietman and will do all I can for the Kingdom of our Lord.
– The girl who gives her body for a bowl of rice! *
– The girl who sells her body for sex – for a cup of coffee – to help suppress her hunger! *
* All of these are real women with real stories in the Philippines.
My comment is that all of your comments are awesome & encourage evaluating my priorities in life. When I think about all the hurting people in this world, I feel overwhelmed at any solution to make these lives feel more valued, filled to overflowing, & less abused. I know that the answer to these conditions is “to love oneanother as myself.” “Not love myself above others”. Our WR teams are on the right path toward touching lives for the Lord! If only we here in the USA could walk across the street to our brother’s house & touch their lives, what awesome results may occur. Somehow it seems easier to minister to those in other countries. We have so much to share with those in need. Thank you for what you’re doing to “the least of these”.