It has been fun

It was fun writing what I thought the world needed to know.  However, life calls me back into reality.  So for now I will close up shop.  Perhaps when life settles into a more routine pattern I will return. 

Thanks to all who came to read what I had to say.

Somalia Refugee Situation Worsens

Somali Children

Recent reports coming from the Voice of America and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) are indicating that the loss of life from Somalis fleeing poverty and conflict will increase. A number of factors are influencing people to flee the country. Decades of instability, extreme poverty, and now the armed conflict between al-Shabab and the African Union Peace Keeping forces.

For some the most likely route to a better life entails crossing the Gulf of Aden to Yemen. Already this year 270 people have drowned in the attempt. For others who choose a shelter in place strategy, the results are not much better. A recent LA Times article reports that the hospital in Mogadishu is filled with gunshot and shrapnel victims. Sadly, one third are children.

Even for those removed from the conflict, daily life is at best a struggle. With nearly 50% of the population living on less than $2US a day survival is a long shot.

Ironically this humanitarian catastrophe has only recently received major media attention as Somalia gained notoriety for pirate activities. Despite rumors to the contrary piracy is not a means to finance the conflict or terrorism, according to the NATO maritime wing commander in the country. Instead piracy has become a means for a few to enhance the lives of many in a country with few other options. The RAND Corporation recently stated that as much as 20% of the ransom pirates earn goes into improving infrastructure and increasing employment. The RAND study suggested that piracy could be kept under control by enhancing economic incentives so that local residents would have other means to earn a living.

Somalia is not the only African country to experience economic or political strife. Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi all bare the scars of turmoil, famine, and civil wars. Compassion International has been working in Africa since 1980 helping children cope with famine, drought, epidemics of AIDS, cholera, and the hardships of ongoing local conflicts. Even after nearly 30 years of humanitarian efforts Compassion International still serves over 317,000 children; a testimony to the dire conditions found in most African countries.

Still, Somalia somehow stands out. It is country with economic potential, military significance, and a desire by its people for a stable government. Right now though, it is a country with not much more than hope.

[If you would like to help children in need Compassion International operates in many African countries.  Please sponsor a child. ]

 

Obama LGBT Hat Trick

A Golden Opportunity for Christ Followers

With the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act already passed by the House and working its way through the Senate, the Employment Non Discrimination Act (ENDA) scheduled for a House Education and Labor hearing this month, and the introduction of legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, the Obama administration is quietly waiting in the wings to pull off a hat-trick for lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender (LGBT) activists.

ENDA introduced by Rep. Barney Frank would prohibit an employer from refusing to hire someone on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The bill (H.R. 3017) specifically exempts religious organizations, and according to a popular LGBT blog  post by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss this extends to religious oriented businesses, schools and camps. It does not extend to secular businesses that are owned by people of religious beliefs that condemn LGBT sexual orientation.

The Respect for Marriage Act introduced by Rep. Gerald Nadler repeals the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and would grant federal recognition to same-sex marriages if the marriage was performed in a state that allows such unions. The repeal would have implications for taxes, social security benefits, and pensions, regardless of where the couple lives. In other words if a same-sex marriage was performed in Connecticut ( a state that recognizes such unions) and then the couple moved to Maryland ( a state that does not recognize same-sex marriage) the couple would have all the rights afforded a man-woman marriage by the federal government.

All three pieces of legislation will be working their way through Congress and the debate over family values and discrimination will begin to perk to the top of the House’s to-do list late this fall. Already conservative organizations have begun campaigns to illuminate the subtleties of the bills. Mean while LGBT groups are turning up the heat fearing that health care reform, climate change, and the appropriations bills will push their agenda to the back burner and away from the President’s desk.

The legislative trio comes at a time when a growing number of Christian churches and organizations are questioning the biblical validity of the venom being spewed by some conservative Christians. In his book unChristian: What a New Generation Thinks About Christianity and Why it Matters, author David Kinnaman devotes an entire chapter to the intolerance, both perceived and real, that has stereotyped the evangelical church. Kinnaman maintains that this is the single biggest issue that prevents younger generations from being open to the truth of the gospel.

As Christ followers we have an opportunity in this debate to erase years of misconceptions and animosity. We can stop the demagoguery and remember that the traditional views (i.e. slavery) of the church have not always been correct. We can debate the issues with tolerance and compassion. We must open the doors of our churches to the LGBT community and say “There is room in here for all”.  Above all else we can remember that we are called to love one another.

Burkina Faso Fights to Stay in Your Undies

As a male I don’t make a habit of keeping tabs on what Victoria’s Secret is doing to enhance their lingerie. However a small line in a D.C. political journal caught my eye.  It reported that organic cotton farmers in Burkina Faso, who are currently contracting with Victoria’s Secret, would face increased competition if a bill introduced by Senator Diane Feinstein passed through Congress.

The bill (S. 1141) known as the Tariff Relief Assistance for Developing Economies (TRADE) Act of 2009 seeks to extend preferential tariffs to a number of Asian countries including Cambodia and Bangladesh. Burkina Faso on the other hand is one of a number of sub-Saharan African countries afforded special tariffs under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) signed by President Clinton in 2000. If Senator Feinstein gets her bill signed into law it will level the playing field for Asian textile and clothing; in effect robbing the AGOA countries of a very tenuous competitive advantage.

Adding to the AGOA countries’ anxiety is a recently released report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office which states that the AGOA countries are facing a Catch-22. The report notes that U.S and U.K. retailers would rather deal with the Asian countries that have better technology and infrastructure which allows them to adapt quicker to changing consumer appetites. The African countries on the other hand have done little to improve their infrastructure making it more difficult and expensive to bring their goods to market and without the incentive of more promising markets, governments are not likely to take on that burden.

The truth is that most of the tariff relief for the AGOA countries goes to oil, platinum, and motor vehicles. Textiles and clothing lag far behind as an export. The organic cotton raised by the women of Burkina Faso constitutes a tiny portion of the exports from the country. Had it not been for the deal Victoria Secret’s signed to use the cotton in a special line of under garments, no one may have even noticed this small niche in the larger cotton market. Still it presents an opportunity to earn money and feed children that otherwise would never have been. 

 The women of Burkina Faso can take some comfort in knowing that identical bills have died from lack of support in the past three Congresses. Also, before the bill can get to the President it will have to pass through the House under the watchful eye of Charles Rangel the current Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and one of the most powerful politicians in the government. As one of the main backers of the original AGOA bill he is not likely to let even Feinstein’s bill pass without a fight.

[If you would like to help the women and children of Burkina Faso, or Bangledesh, please visit Compassion International and sponsor a child]

Blapathy

Blapathy (noun) [blogging apathy] 1. A lack of interest in posting anything to your blog. 2. Feeling that nothing is important enough to write about.

Some of you may be asking where I have been all summer. Some of you may have even noticed that I haven’t posted anything on this blog since Memorial Day. I could say that I have been dealing with family matters. I could tell you that I have been very busy at work. I could explain that I have been traveling. All of that would be true, but the real reason I haven’t posted anything is that I have been suffering from “blapathy”.

Several times I sat down at the keyboard with an idea and then without tapping a key I would just give it up. Nothing seemed important enough to write about. By mid-summer my fellow Compassion Advocates were asking where I had disappeared to. So I tried to muster the strength to scribble something about poverty and children in need, but all I wrote sounded like “blah blah blah” to me so I ditched the draft and abandoned the effort.

If you have ever had the flu you can relate. There comes a time when you know you should eat, and you remember the joy and satisfaction of eating, but somehow you just can’t bring yourself to take that first bite. Often I had my editorial plate loaded with some tasty idea, and then I would completely loose my appetite for writing. And so it went for the entire summer.

As with regular apathy, in order to shake the bonds of blapathy something deeply emotional has to happen. Something that stirs you to action and motivates you to advocate for a cause. For me it was a chance encounter in Mexico.

My wife and I were visiting Mazatlan and had taken a guided tour of the city. We had stopped at a shopping district and as we returned to the bus I passed two small girls and their grandmother. The older of the girls (maybe 6) followed me trying to sell me a little braided bracelet. She wanted $2 for the bracelet. I wanted to help her but I only had $20 bills and 2 one dollar bills in my pocket. I was reserving the $2 as a tip for the bus driver, and I couldn’t justify giving her $20 for a 10 cent bracelet, so I politely declined.

When I got to my seat on the bus my wife asked what had happened and I explained the whole thing. My wife gave me one of those “are you completely brain dead?” looks, which sent me racing off the bus to find the little girl. I bought the bracelet and headed back to the bus, but the younger sister was following me with her tiny little hand stretched out. Having no small money left and my heart aching for her situation, all I could think to do was give her the bracelet; which I tied around her little wrist.

Back on the bus my wife asked to see the bracelet. Fearing I would burst into tears, I simply shook my head. Puzzled by my silence my wife asked what had happened. I couldn’t speak. I wanted to get back off the bus and hand those two darling children all the money I had. I wanted to buy all the bracelets. Would it have hurt me to give up $20?

It was too late. The bus door had closed and we were on our way.

My summer is over, the lazy days are gone, and thanks to two small children in Mexico so is my blapathy.

[If you are looking for a cure for your apathy please visit www.Compassion.com.  ]

[If you are looking for a cure for blapathy please visit CompassionBloggers.com]

Just Doing My Job

The weather in Washington D.C. this Memorial Holiday weekend was a little unusual. We don’t usually get humidity that high until July or August. So I knew cutting the grass was not going to be pleasant.

We don’t have a lot of yard but a good part of it is at a 45 degree angle. I thought it best to take a break to cool down before tackling that part. As I came in the back door to the kitchen, dripping with sweat, there stood my wife with a glass of ice cold tea in front of her. I was thinking how thoughtful she was until she lifted the glass and took a sip out of it. Oh well, caffeine just dehydrates you.

I grabbed a glass and turned to the sink to fill it with water. At the same time I heard my wife getting ice from the ice maker. When I heard her say “here you go sweetie”, I thought the honeymoon is still going strong. But as I turned back toward her with my glass she was feeding the dog an ice cube. I thought the whole thing funny because I know I sometimes expect special recognition for doing ordinary stuff.

To the contrary, I have noticed that people who do heroic things will often say “I was just doing my job”.   I know there are many men and women who serve our country in the armed forces that would say that. They do ordinary things like delivering mail, or servicing vehicles, or ordering office supplies. The difference is that these ordinary things all add up to an extraordinary effort to protect and defend our freedoms.

So I would like to say thank you to all the men and women who serve or have served. Your effort, no matter how mundane, has given us remarkable liberties.

I’m not talking bananas

I love it when I read scripture and the words just seem to jump off the page at me. It is like God is saying “Look right here. This is what I want you to know.” This happened to me recently while I was studying Luke chapter 3.

There was John the Baptist preaching in the desert and crowds were coming out to see him. It had been hundreds of years since a prophet had been recognized in Israel so lots of people from the region went out to see what was up.

John noticed that some in the crowd coming to be baptized were really looking for “fire insurance” and not really interested in living for God. So he warned them that there was no birthright to heaven and that they should change their ways. He told them that the proof of a contrite heart was laudable actions.

“The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire”

Over and over again in the Bible we see fruit being used as a synonym for acts of love, humility, and generosity. However, in Mathew 7:15 – 20 we are told that there are good fruit producers and bad fruit producers. Some who would claim to be followers of Jesus either bear bad fruit or no fruit at all.

We are told that a true follower of Jesus will be known by the fruit they produce (John 15:2). When Jesus told the parable of the Tenants (Mathew 21:33- 43) he made it clear that we are to produce the fruit for him. So I have to ask myself what kind of fruit I am producing. What does good fruit look like? What does fruit worthy of Jesus look like?

Let’s go back to Luke. John likened the crowd to snakes slithering away from fire. They were mostly there for show, but some were truly concerned and asked John what they should do.

This is where the “Ah ha” moment came for me. In verses 10 through 14 John responds to a series of questions that outlines how the people are to live out their repentance. In general he told them to do their work and be satisfied with an honest wage. He warned them to treat everyone fairly and not to oppress others. And the most significant thing to me was that he told the crowd to be generous and share what they had with those that had not.

So a good tree, or vine, or bush, will produce fruit in the form of kindness, love, and generosity. A good disciple will give from the heart, producing joy, peace, and respect. As Paul so powerfully put it in Romans 7:4-6

4So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. 5For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. 6But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

As an Advocate for Compassion International I have seen the good fruit of the Holy Spirit many times. Hundreds of people, young and old, who give devotedly to children in places they may never see simply because they know that Jesus cares about these kids. It breaks their heart because they know it saddens our Lord when one of these little ones suffers. They care as much for a child thousands of miles away, as they do for the one sitting in their lap, because they know that all are children of God and all deserve to be loved, respected, and nurtured.

There is no doubt for me that this is fruit worthy of my Lord and Savior.