Comments on: Shaving by Lantern Light

By: rob

rob — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:54:58 +0000

Creating and adapting with ingenious solutions to thrive in unbelievable conditions – without complaining. Just like me, er not.
I am struck again by what you see and what I miss. I love Dave’s question as to how we can communicate this to others, in order to see change, without being insufferable. I guess that calls for creativity and ingenuity.

By: Kitty Stoeppelwerth

Kitty Stoeppelwerth — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 23:52:11 +0000

For those of us that can not be there, thanks for helping us “get it”. Well done.

By: Denise

Denise — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:40:29 +0000

I think getting more people over to third world countries via short-term trips or WND opportunities, etc… helps. My personal opinion after visiting a few places and wanting to share, most still do not “get it”- until they experience it firsthand for themselves. It would be really cool if there were some type of organization whose main goal was to work hand-in-hand with Churches and other Social Justice- mission minded organizations like WND to help raise money and try to supply up to 50 percent of the costs for individuals who would like to go– but cannot seem to raise the funds for themselves. Getting people over there to “see it for themselves” is powerful!

By: John caves

John caves — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 11:25:19 +0000

What strikes me in Barry’s message is the concept of home. I took my first mission trip to NY recently and visited the “homes” of people living outside a church on 5th avenue. Every night they built a home from cardboard, only to take their home apart in the morning. Ironically, each home owner took pride in the quality of their home even though it was temporary, just like Kibera residents.

The simple solution for me is to build my home on the foundation of Jesus and continue to have Him shape me for my contribution to building God’s kingdom here on Earth.

I believe that I share my ache with others through the actions I take to share my food with the hungry, provide the wanderer with shelter, and not turn away from my own flesh and blood no matter where God leads me.

By: Amy Sorrells

Amy Sorrells — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:42:27 +0000

Your words on surviving and thriving and overcoming and adapting are beautiful. So many responses I could write this evening. So many times I’ve been grateful to use “thin coats of paint” or “sheets” God has given me to decorate the shanty parts of my heart.

And an idea for Dave: veggie sacks. Human veggie sacks. Find “15 seedlings” ripe with a hunger for the hurting. Pour the stories and faces of the people on this website and like in The Hole in Our Gospel into them. Those “15″ will grow into fully mature plants in just a few months. Their passion will germinate and produce fruit and “feed” other hearts–even families for months and years to come! Veggie sacks = human sacks = a crumpled bag of loaves and fishes in the Hands of the Master. “All they require to keep going is [Son] and [The Word].” Even “leftover” joy overflowing from others’ acts of service can do amazing things.

Like Barry says, sometimes it’s the “amazingly simple solutions” that overcome “insurmountable problems.”

And I’ve had the privilege of discovering that the joy of bringing hope to even one captive never runs the risk of being insufferable. It only spreads more joy and releases all the more.

Welcome the ache. Embrace it. Then use it as “Miracle Grow” to tell others about the miracles of Peter and all the others on this site and around the world.

By: Dave Rod

Dave Rod — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:57:36 +0000

OK… let me throw this out into the WND community…

I’ve been really getting wrecked again by a lot of the stuff the team has been posting. And Barry and the team have included some excellent next step ideas for us to try. Love it.

But…what do we “do” with the ache we feel after reading the truth like this? How do we “share” the ache with our clueless friends, family and neighbors? (without becoming insufferable)

Ideas?

By: Bee

Bee — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:17:19 +0000

It’s really interesting to learn about the “sukuma sacks”. When I was in Kenya, my coworkers taught me the sukuma wiki means “to push the week,” it’s the food that gets the family through the week when they have nothing else. This innovation that allows them to always have enough food to push through the week is remarkable!

By: Shem Odhiambo

Shem Odhiambo — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:21:33 +0000

There’s dedication, the there’s commitment. I think it take commitment to a cause to endure what you have chosen to endure; taking time to learn and understand. Thanks for sharing the experience man this is a great forum:-)

By: Blake Anderson

Blake Anderson — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:31:58 +0000

I love ingenuity like that. I wish I could go and just learn from them.

By: Penny

Penny — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:57:28 +0000

WOW!! This was such a good article…thought provoking, poignant, but also very funny! And I loved the practical “next steps” section.