Situational Missionary: Situation THREE: MissionsFest Seattle

As I sit back and reflect on the battering that my heart took over the course of a mere twelve to fourteen hours this past weekend I can't help but to break all over again.

Injustice [in-juhs-tis] - violation of the rights of others; unjust or unfair action or treatment

Injustice is something many of us recognize, but it's something that many of the many don't really understand. Until this weekend, I truly didn't know what injustice looked like. It's also something that doesn't really have boundaries. Yes, there's areas that are much harder hit, and suffering more. That's not where it stops. That's not where the line is drawn. I haven't even gotten into the heart of this yet and already my eyes have welled up.

By the time I've written this sentence one child has died because they have no nutrition. By the time I've written this, numerous children have been taken from their homes to be forced into bonded labor, or prostitution. Last Sunday, I was broken by a story about a girl named Jyoti [Jee-oh-tee]. She was offered a job in the city. The people who took her into the city drugged her tea on the way into the city. She was sold to a brothel, where she was beaten and starved until she gave in and let whoever wanted to service her, well, service her. She saw up to thirty different men. No, not total. PER DAY. Thirty men PER DAY. She never saw the light of day after she was taken in by the brothel. That was until the International Justice Mission intervened. Now she is free...

I'm gonna throw some statistics in your face now. These are the ones that really got me. Take a moment on each one of them. Let them sink in...

Half the world — nearly three billion people — live on less than two dollars a day.

30,000 children die each day of hunger. In one year, 11 million children will die.

Some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation.

1.8 million children die per year due to something American's call in sick from work a day for. Diarrhea.

The cosmetics industry brings in 8 billion per year in America. For just 6 billion, we could have basic education available to everyone.

15 million children were orphaned by HIV/AIDS last year alone.

600,000-800,000 people are trafficked across international borders. This does not include internal trafficking.

20 million people live enslaved each and everyday.

A typical "shift" for an enslaved person is around sixteen hours per day. For six days a week...

Those were some of the facts that I remembered. There are countless other injustices happening as I type these words. The event I attended was MissionsFest Seattle. I did MissionsFest because I knew nothing about the suffering this world was going through. I was shocked to learn just how much the world was hurting. When I got home from the Saturday session, I had ice cream for me and my brother in my hand, that I picked up on the way home. I proceeded to go up and take shower... I cried while I took that shower. Cried. Hard. Why? Because I can take that shower whenever I want. I could take two or three a day and all that would happen is a 20 dollar water bill versus an 18 dollar one. I felt selfish. Then I proceeded to get out of the shower, put on an entirely clean outfit and brush the tangles from my hair. I then cried again. Why? Because there are people who never see a closet full of choices. It's whatever they can find. I own more shoes than a small village in Africa owns entirely. I then got out the ice cream and proceeded to watch a television program with him. My mind was in torment with every bite. Did you know that Europe spends 11 billion on ice cream per year? Do you know how much money it would take to give the world good water? 12 billion. I then climbed into my bed where I slept just like all nights, wrapped in blankets, head between layers of pillows. Yet, there are people who buy glue or glue-like products so they can get high and forget about the cold night that they're going to experience... I will no longer take even the slightest thing for granted, yes, I'll forget to express my thankfulness, but no, it will not have left my mind...

Micah 6:8 was the inspiration for the weekend. It has now become somewhat personal. I think about my little boy. Tonny O. from Kenya. Whom God led me to. Who, before me (and I say that truly unselfishly) had no hope, nothing to look forward to, wondered if he was going to get a meal the next day. Now he is. He's seeing doctors. He's getting education. He could be the one to speak up. How much does this cost me? Nothing. Yes, I pay a small little amount per month. I calculated my coffee budget for a month... I spend just about double on coffee per month that I send to Tonny. Not good, no. What are my rewards in sponsoring Tonny? Limitless. What are Tonny's reward? I rejoice everytime I log on to write him. Which is becoming more and more often. On New Years day, I'm going to give Tonny a "brother" or "sister". Maybe from Kenya, maybe not...

Micah 6:8(NIV) reads as this:

He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God....

I'm finally and truly and faithfully devoted to that verse...

Injustice isn't being cut in line at the supermarket when you're in a rush. It's just inconvienient. That's how I think I felt about world issues until this conference. I mean I recognized that the world was hurting, yet, my life didn't reflect a single ounce of pain or suffering so I didn't get that personal touch. Now, world issues aren't inconvienient to me. They're a center point. I just pray to my God that He lends me His wisdom in finding my place in fighting the injustice.

Here's another sobering fact. Two songs off of iTunes cost roughly two dollars. That's how much a person LIVES THEIR ENTIRE LIFE off of for one day...

In the end, there's urgency, there's desperation, there are lost people, there are hurt, and their are souls and minds that need to be saved. Will you meet Him there? Will you forget the struggles of "coffee AND a donut"? Will you speak up? Will you GO? Will you be the salt and the light that Matthew 5:13 proclaims we are?

Matthew 5:13 (NIV)
You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salt again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men...

I walk in this verse now...

Luke 4:17-19(NIV)

17The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

Do you wanna move mountains? I do. More importantly, I wanna set the captives free in the name of Jesus Christ.