syrian orphans

 Syrian Orphans in a Refugee Camp

We partner with 1001 Orphans to try and alleviate some of the issues that take place in our partner church in Kenya.  Our partnership has hit a few rough spots and some of us are irritated with the time it takes to build a center, or the amount of Orphan support that gets through, or the measure of cleanliness, or the lack of mosquito nets especially since we are trying to partner with Lutheran Malaria Initiative, or whatever.  There is a lot of grumbling about capacity and who is in charge of what.  Some have called into question some of our partners abilities to sustain these efforts.  Every time we talk about these issues I think of the situations that we and our partners are dealing with.  Political instability, factions in the church, donor demands, accessibility  and things to numerous to mention.  We sometimes act is if our partners, both here and in the emerging country and partner church are not as responsible and active as they could be.

Then I think of some other stuff like –

“We, meaning all of us through our government promised Vets that we would take care of them after their service .  70000 Vets cannot get the benefits they were promised including healthcare, and meanwhile the same folks that have accomplished this shameful act now are willing to destroy the insurance of 80 million people in order to cover 30 million.  It gets better.  They, not we,  want to be in charge of seeing that everyone gets health coverage.  Does that include Vets.  Oh and by the way they have opted out of the plan that they are going to force on us.

Watching a government that takes people that have failed miserably at what they were doing and instead of firing them giving them paid leave or raises and promotions.  Some are even going to have made for TV movies about them.

Living in a country that has been transformed into a third world nation because we are afraid to be the world’s largest exporter of oil.

The guy that made the video making fun of Islam that was not responsible for the attack at the outpost in Benghazi is in jail, while the guys that are responsible for actually doing the deed are wandering around the bazaars of Tripoli and other places in Libya.  Reporter can get interviews with them but the FBI can’t find them.  By the way the FBI Chief doesn’t know if FBI is investigating the IRS issues either so, go figure.  By the way the FBI is the greatest investigative organization in the word – just ask them.

Going to the Post Office and being told that the clerk couldn’t mail 200 CD’s of mine because, she said, “I would have to stand here all day and run off the stamps?

What if went to my local brake repair man and told him I needed new brakes?  Do you suppose he would say to me, “you need to go somewhere else.  I would have to be here all day installing your brakes”?

The NSA collects all kinds of data from our computers and phones.  Supposedly every key stroke that I make right now is recorded by them so guys, if you are listening or looking or mining or whatever you are doing can you answer me a question – with all of your data and a warning from the Russians how is it possible that you missed the Tsarnaev brothers?  You don’t have to tell me but you might want to explain it to Boston.

Listening to one political party accuse another political party of a “War on women” when that party right now has three, count them, three high officials that have been accused of sexually harassing women.

Listening to the Vice President  say on national TV that “St. Mary’s Hospital down the street is not going to be forced to pay for the abortions or the contraceptives of the workers, and that is a fact”, while the fact is that the Catholic Church and Lutheran Church Missouri Synod are suing the government because that is precisely what we will have to do.

What is exactly a fact?

Before we start looking at the deficiencies of folks that are trying to help we might want to address those who make matters worse.  We might want to question those that are always trying to do for others what they can do for themselves and causing more and more dependency without demeaning those that are trying to help those who really can’t help themselves.

Here is fact –

UN agencies say the number of children forced to flee Syria has reached one million, describing the figure as “a shameful milestone”.  The helping class in this country could have done something two years ago.

The UN’s refugee agency and Unicef say a further two million children are displaced within the country.  The helping class on the international scene is as bankrupt and immoral as the ones here at home.

More than 100,000 people have been killed in the conflict, according to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

One step forward, two steps back.  I talked to the folks at 1001 Orphans and they said the 1 orphan is to remind us there will always be another, always one more.

Here is a fact – because of the stupidity of Governments, here and around the world, the duplicity and venality of politicians, the world and our flesh and the devil, there will always be one more orphan.  Pray God that we have will, the stomach and the compassion to keep trying to do something about it.

Instead of wringing or hands about what we should do we might want to remember what Paul saw as the function of the church and of preachers – preach the Gospel and care for the poor.

More on that later.