By Naomi Silseth Only once before had I seen eyes filled with such complete hopelessness: in a young Cambodian beggar boy. But now I found myself looking into another pair of large, dark eyes that spoke clearly of her fear and sadness, the hopelessness of certain death. I followed my student Rose as we carefully … Continue reading Eyes Without Hope: Cambodian beggar
By Ruth Wilkinson I’ve started making it a priority to go to the local soup kitchen for lunch each Tuesday. This is a bit of a sacrifice, since Tuesday has been the only day I get the house to myself. At the same time, it’s good for me, being an introvert with hermit tendencies, to … Continue reading Giving and Taking: God loves the poor
By Lorie Newman As I look back on my life of 36 years, I can see incident upon incident where God has orchestrated certain situations in my life that created in me a heart for the poor and the outcast, the widow and the orphan. Some of those life experiences were painful, and some were … Continue reading May I Beg for Your Food?
By Lorie Newman Repulsive. Dirty. Cast aside. Unwanted. Abandoned. All of these words describe the orphaned girl in the picture. I want to turn away as I look but I cant. I want to look away and pretend shes not there but I can’t. I want to look away and go back to ironing, cleaning, … Continue reading Does One Really Matter?
By Harold Hand Continued from: First Steps: Strawberry Chocolate and Broken Glass As we clap for Derrick, Baby Josh leans in and starts to reach for Joshuas candy. Baby Josh is five months old. The other kids call him Baby Josh so as not to confuse him with the older Joshua, although it usually runs … Continue reading First Steps: Strawberry Chocolate and Broken Glass, Pt. 2
By Erin Almand I first saw her in a filthy purple dress and tattered Big-Bird sneakers, standing on the perimeter of the group. Her matted hair was braided and her little mouth was locked stubbornly around her thumb. She refused to play ball. She didnt want to sing or dance. But when we began a … Continue reading Learning to Love in the Dominican
By Carole Turner When I was 19 years old God called me to orphans. At the time, it manifested in the form of the pro-life movement. I was an active, vocal, involved participant in Operation Rescue, and I spent years trying to reach women outside of abortion clinics. I was also arrested three times due … Continue reading The Plight of Orphans in Africa
By Lorie Newman The longer I walk on this journey of faith with my Savior, the more Im realizing just how dark my heart really is. Over the past several years, even the smallest of sins that quite frankly I used to dismiss, seem to blink at my spirit like a fluorescent neon sign that … Continue reading Orphaned and Wearing Red
By Keith Hand Ms. Brown is peering at us from behind the screen that surrounds her porch as we pull into the yard, clutching the youngest against her chest as she watches the five of us approach. Her eyes are wide, except the outside corners, which are scrunched together to make room for her smile. … Continue reading First Steps: Strawberry Chocolate and Broken Glass
By Lorie Newman I have just awakened from a powerful dream. Do you believe God still speaks through dreams? I do… I was in an old building when a man and woman began to say they had something to show me. I watched them in amazement as they started pulling a huge “train type” cart … Continue reading Do Little Children Go to Hell?