Those of you who have volunteered for a JMI mission trip in the past have likely made or received a friendship bracelet.  I am sentimental when it comes to receiving these little expressions of some child’s love and generally never take them off once they are tied on.  If it weren’t for my dog’s sharp teeth or exposure to the corrosive forces of nature, my forearm might never see the light of day!

I got to thinking the other day about the three bracelets that are my most recent survivors, the children who gave them to me, and what they represent in my life and ministry.

The thin yellow and black bracelet was given to me by an abandoned boy in India who desperately wanted to give me his gift and share his story with me before we departed for home.  At the time, I had imagined that we would partner with this program and that I would find him a great sponsor.  He clearly needed a father figure, but that program wasn’t interested in exposing their kids to American influences.  So my yellow and black bracelet serves as a reminder to me of the children out there who we have not or cannot reach and help.

The blue, yellow and red bracelet was given to me by an orphaned girl in Moldova about three years or more ago.  Her name was Maria and I had known her for several years before that.  Maria was a gypsy child with some learning disorders, a little sad but very sweet.  I realized that she would be at high risk for human trafficking and promised myself that she would be afforded a place in our transitional living home for girls when she was discharged from her orphanage.  After only a few months in Grace House, I was told that she had run off with another gypsy boy in town.  Maria’s bracelet reminds me that, despite our very best efforts, we can no more guarantee a Moldovan child’s destiny than we can any of our own.

The band with the wooden inscription, “MOLDOVA”, was given to me by Jazgul, another young lady in Grace House.  I think of Jazgul as JMI’s crown jewel.  By the grace of God, she was spared a life of sex slavery when her mother’s attempt to sell her failed.  She is a true gift of God…humble, faithful, kind, bright (double majoring in languages and engineering), respectful and possessing integrity that belies her years.  Jazgul’s bracelet is a reminder to me that the work we do is worthy of our best efforts…that the one lost sheep is worth the search.

The Lord of the Harvest rolls his sleeves up every day and works his fields.  Occasionally, he must lift his head up and look around to see who has chosen to labor alongside him.  I pray that when he does, he will see your sweat-soaked back bent in his service and your arms wrapped in symbols of love’s successes, love’s failures and loves yet to be!

If you find yourself at a place where you are open to be used by God to change the life of a child (or die a little in the trying), contact steve@justiceandmercy.org to inquire about a mission trip or visit www.justiceandmercy.org/sponsor to sponsor your very own child.  We are currently accepting volunteers for trips to Moldova (June 29-July 6) and to India (September 28-October 8).

Enjoy a taste of India.  If you want a bigger swallow, write me:  steve@justiceandmercy.org!

This is the Lighthouse of Hope campus.  The School is on the left with the Church (ground floor) and orphanage (upper floor) on the right.  The pastor’s home sits behind the building on the right and not visible in this photo.  The campus is still a work in process. Several items still need to be added: bathrooms, a fish pond for protein source, trees around campus and a vegetable garden.  The school will begin in the new school year (July). Orphans will be moved in by then.  This is the first of many such campuses we hope to build.  We love having the three ministries on one site and the countryside setting is a great place for the children to live.

Admittedly, we are a little bit proud of a building with glass windows (rare in villages) and even clerestories above to allow warmer air to rise and exit which is very helpful when temperatures exceed 100 and the humidity is way up there too.

                                              Girls working on home work.

This is the interior of Church.

This is New Hope.

Getting the children in larger quarters is a priority in all of our homes – except Good News where the children will have a big campus (by Indian standards) on which to live and play.

Here is a picture of the children of Good News Home who will be living at the Lighthouse of Hope campus.

New Hope Children in their school uniforms.

Rekha and her twin brother live at New Hope Home.

                      Arvind is pastor of Lighthouse of Hope and the                    Director of home and school

On January 21^st of 2013, JMI’s ministry effectively doubled in a single day!

That was the day that John Paculabo, the founder of Kingsway Records and the principle fundraiser for much of the ministry along the Amazon in Brazil, conveyed a riverboat, a community center, staff members he was funding and the annual proceeds of Kingsway Trust in the U.K. to Justice and Mercy International.  Along with those assets, some significant church partners will also begin to work directly through our organization. 

The effect of this change could be likened to taking all we have accomplished in Moldova in six years and multiplying it by two overnight.  With almost no notice due to John’s fatal bout with cancer, that kind of sudden growth can be overwhelming. 

In order to absorb this unprecedented development, God led us immediately to one person with impeccable credentials, proven leadership and mission experience in both Moldova and Brazil:  Mary Katharine Hunt of Nashville, Tennessee.

Mary Katharine, or “MK” as her friends refer to her, comes to us with 20 years invested in the ministry of LifeWay Christian Resources.  Most recently she served as the Vice President of Marketing for B&H Publishing Group, a division of LifeWay.

Mary Katharine has a heart for missions and a passion for advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world. Over the years, MK has volunteered for and led many mission trips to Mexico, Moldova and Brazil. She served on the inaugural Board of Directors for Justice and Mercy International in 2008.

Hunt, a native of Tennessee, is a graduate of The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication. She also attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

Mary Katharine will join Steve Davis on JMI’s administrative team, assuming the position of Executive Director of Operations for JMI.  She will assume the primary leadership role for missions in Brazil, though her responsibilities and skill sets will span the entire scope of JMI’s international activities. 

“I am thrilled beyond words to have Mary Katharine join me in taking JMI to the next level of service,” says Davis, whose role now becomes more specialized as Executive Director of Program Development.  “I have known and served with MK for 10 years in Moldova and never imagined we would be so fortunate as to have someone with her considerable expertise and experience in both our primary service countries on our leadership team.”

The addition of Mary Katharine Hunt is only one of several amazing things that God is orchestrating around his Kingdom in Brazil.  We will be excited to share many more with you in the coming days.

Mary Katharine assumes her role with JMI on a full-time basis beginning June 1^st and can be contacted at mkhunt@justiceandmercy.org. 

On Tuesday, one JMI team from Rolling Hills Community Church took off for South Africa.  And we are currently forming teams to serve in Moldova (June 29-July 6, and July 6-13), in Kenya (Aug. 4-17) and India (Sept. 28-Oct. 6), with an announcement about a trip to the Brazilian Amazon due shortly.

It occurred to me today that, for us, mission trips can become more a matter of our own conveniences and preferences than about God’s will or meeting the desperate needs of the world.  We often think in terms of “our time”….”our money”….”our needs”….”our safety”….”our discretion”.  I wonder how “our thoughts” on these subjects play out in the sight of God?

What do things look like from His vantage point?  While we are content to weigh our options, how many people does He watch every second who succumb to hunger, abuse, disease, war, human traffickers or any of the other forms of loss and suffering?  Are we to imagine that our prayers for our own safety and provision hold that much weight with our Lord when we so easily dismiss from our thoughts the ones whose wailing fill His ears? 

I stand guilty, and I’m reminded that “my time” was the gift from the One who conceived of me as someone capable of serving the least of these.  How will I account for my use of His time?  And not just someday, but today?!

“My money?”  The young man I used to be could scarcely have dreamed he would amount to anything 40 years ago.  And the older man that I am now can easily imagine how every last cent could disappear or become worthless in this volatile and unpredictable world.  My money was never mine to begin with!

“My needs?”  I would be embarrassed to hang my list next to those of 95% of the world!

“My safety?”  Compare America’s myth and obsession with insuring our life, health, wealth, disability, car, home and even our food and identity with the God whose followers have, through the ages, suffered shipwreck, torture, imprisonment, loss of family, loss of homelands and every conceivable form of death from every inconceivable means of taking life.  When I dare presume to ask for safety, I do it with the sobering knowledge that He “spared not His own Son!”

Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.”  But how often do we neglect those words because we could survive for a month on what is in our pantries?  But to orphans in Moldova; to the poor in the jungles of Brazil and children living in the slums of India and Africa and Haiti, that simple petition means something…maybe everything!

Where you go?…when you go?…God leaves to your discretion.  Given what He sees and hears and knows, and given what you have been given, today is a great day to think about going on a mission trip!

Very shortly after he returned from Moldova, Jeff did what so many are compelled to do: he sponsored a child. That is a huge blessing for an orphan and a sponsor. But Jeff soon discovered he had an unexpected, almost miraculous connecting relationship with a client who would multiply that blessing on behalf of the 18 kids we currently have in our transitional living program.

As it came about, Jeff’s business associate – Gary Belot – was a transplanted Moldovan heading up a technology company here in the States. Amazingly, Gary had a field office in Chisinau, Moldova named Ellipse Solutions with a staff of about 18.

Knowing that a part of the JMI vision for the transitional living program there was for the residents to learn computer skills, Jeff contacted JMI Director, Steve Davis, and the two began to formulate a proposal for Gary’s consideration. The plan was to ask that someone from the Chisinau office volunteer to teach computer skills according to a comprehensive plan once a week in our transitional homes. In addition, we asked that Ellipse Solutions oversee an upgrade to our internet connectivity and consider setting up one or more of our brightest students in an eventual apprenticeship through their office.

Gary turned out to be very receptive to our ideas and directed his staff to assess our wireless service, make the necessary upgrades and immediately begin the training program. But Jeff wasn’t satisfied leaving it at that. He knew we had a limited amount of laptops available to our students and began advocating for more.

In God’s providence, another great Moldova supporter named Stephanie Dykes was working to include JMI as a beneficiary in Ravenwood High School’s annual dodgeball event that she initiated several years ago there as a teacher. That event generated enough money for us to purchase an additional seven computers for our program.

This story is a testament to what one person can do when God is orchestrating a blessing for His children (and, in this case, how He can be working in the lives of different people separately in order to weave a single blessing). It is also a reminder that we all have a sphere of influence and the power and interventions of God can never be underestimated.

When your heart’s desires intersect with God’s dreams for His children, miracles really do come true!

P.S. JMI is prepping for this year’s summer camps for Moldova’s orphans and we will need volunteers to help us seek and save the most vulnerable of children. Please pray about your involvement in this life-preserving ministry. If you’re in the area of the WareHouse in Franklin, TN, plan to attend our informational meeting Sunday, Feb. 3rd at 12:30 p.m. in the Gallery. If you’re out of town, contact steve@justiceandmercy.org to get the preliminary information or register your interest in joining one of our volunteer teams this summer!

Jn. 14:15  “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

“Show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”  In that one statement, and whether he realized it or not, Philip the apostle verbalized the deepest fear and hope of every member of the human race (whether we realize it or not)!

Is this not the nagging obsession of atheists?…that the Father we believe in is too good to be true?  “Show Him to us,” they mockingly demand.

We know why it matters so much to us to bear witness to His love and what He has done for us and for the world.  Why does it matter so much to unbelievers that we believe unless some last, remote stronghold of hope remains in their hearts that there is a Father and that He could somehow vaporize their dis-ease and convince them that they too have been accepted?

“Show us the Father” must also be the heart-cry of orphans, abandoned children, children who have been trafficked, children whose parents are dying before their eyes and all of the rest of us who dread the thought of being alone in life.  It is agony.  So much so that, for some, it is better to cocoon themselves in contempt or bitterness or self-assurance than to have their most raw spiritual nerve prodded again.

Since our inception, JMI adopted 8 global initiatives toward which we would devote our resources.  Those initiatives were each worthy in their own right, but honestly, too ambitious for a host of nonprofits, much less our one. 

For that reason, we are narrowing our focus to the one initiative that has consistently represented our greatest passion:  Orphans and acutely vulnerable children.  That’s why we exist. 

And what of the other 7 initiatives?  If you’ll notice, they all represent issues impacting orphans:  poverty; human trafficking; disease; education deficits; spiritual confusion; (dangerous) environments; and war (and violence).  For that reason, they will continue to matter, but as they revolve around at-risk children.  Notice also that “orphans and acutely vulnerable children” is the only one of the bunch that expresses itself in persons rather than as issues.  That matters too!

Jesus knew from the beginning that we would be stuck between the rock of not trusting in the graciousness of a forgiving Father and the hard place of fearing we would be “left as orphans.”  And so he sent us “another Advocate,” to “help you and be with you forever.” 

If then, being left as orphans is our biggest fear in life, let us become their advocates.  Let us see them.  Let us know them.  Let us come to them.  And let our love and faith live in them as the Spirit sees and knows and comes to us and lives in us.  That’s the way the Father is shown!

People think that it is a great power that keeps evil in check.  But I have found it is

 Like everyone else in the country, I have been engrossed by the horror of what transpired Friday, Dec. 14^th at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

Whenever there is a tragedy of this magnitude, the deeper, darker, unresolved questions of life begin to bubble up within and around us.  Did God call these children home?….and, if so, what does that say about God?  Was 20-year-old Adam Lanza a victim of mental illness or a pawn in something supernaturally evil?  And what is responsible for the rise in these types of mass and senseless homicides?  Is gun control the answer?  How about putting prayer back in public schools?

Everyone has their own opinion and they are entitled to it.  Because Sandy Hook involved little children on our own shores, it has chilled the core of our nation’s soul.We will debate all these issues and attempt to legislate some change that won’t solve the problem and will likely create others and divide us further.  But we will do something because to do nothing makes us feel as powerless and vulnerable as we are.

Do we really imagine we have the great power to keep his kind of evil in check?  Shall we prevail upon our government to lock up all our guns or lock up all our deviants, and do we really think either is possible?

The debate our nation should have but will ignore is more granular.  That debate has nothing to do with changing “them” or changing “things” and everything to do with changing “me”.  For instance, Adam Lanza does not sound like the kind of a kid I would have gone out of my way to befriend, but I sure wish someone had.  I have to take that deficit in my own soul and character to heart.  If I could be more sensitive…more lovingly, graciously, intentionally “out there”…maybe the shadow of kindness would fall across the next Adam Lanza and he would not erupt (and we all know he is out there).

But I have found it is the little things, a small kindness, an act of love, that work.

 That feels like the Jesus way to me.  For adults, at least, the issue is more than how to dodge the bullet or the deviant behind the gun.  It is to be available, living faithfully, generously, receptively, even dangerously among the thirsty and hungry before they become the sick and in prison.  It is living as if every cup of water we offer is life saving.  More, it is becoming Jesus’ everyday waterboy in my neighborhood and in His world.

Perhaps my perspective is too simplistic or foolish for you.  No force of law.  No mandated reform with teeth.  No political persuasion.  (It is always easier to impose laws, limits and sanctions on others than it is to “let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me”).  Ah, but what can you expect from a Hobbit lover?  Yet if you want to explore it further, may I invite you to take a little mission adventure with me next year?  It’s a great way to indulge in little things that change me, and consequently, change the world!

I won’t even ask where your mind runs to in response to this question.  The very thought of God hearing our vulgar, callous, thoughtless words morning, noon and night is embarrassing, but being subjected to some of the things we think, as well, is shameful.  It reminds me of Brian McLaren’s words from his book, A New Kind of Christianity:  “If Jesus could see what people have done in his name, he would never stop throwing up.”

By now, you may have your candidate for that most contemptible word in mind.  I have mine, and maybe it will surprise you.  That word is untouchable.

That word isn’t used much here in the U.S., but in the country of India, the caste system, despite legal rulings to the contrary, is still alive and well.  Children born into families labeled untouchable will all too quickly be ma

What does that designation mean to them?  It means a life of being berated and abused; being beaten and sometimes killed.  They are simply viewed as taking up space…in the way…good for nothing.de to believe that they, themselves, are less than…beneath…inconsequential…subordinate…untouchable!

Furthermore, India, according to the United Nations, is the most dangerous place on earth to be a girl.  Due to the expectation of unaffordable dowries to be paid by the families of brides, 7,000 females are aborted or killed every day in India.  That’s one every 12 seconds.  In the time it takes for us to worship together, 400 girls will perish!

On September 28-October 7, we will carry another message to the children who live in the Bihar Province near Delhi.  Bihar is the poorest, most backward, and least literate of all Indian states. Of the 45,138 villages, only 7,000 have any Christian presence. We will tell them of a God whose Son welcomed every child into His presence…whose love was unconditional…who, Himself, was incarnated as one of the poor and who suffered…a Savior who, like them, was deemed “smitten of God and afflicted,” but who conquered death and hate and now sits at the right hand of God in power interceding for them!

If you would like to be a part of this redemptive, pioneering ministry, mark Sunday, March 3^rd on your calendars and meet me at Panera (south of the WareHouse) at 12:30 for lunch and additional information on this amazing trip.  Our mission will include VBS-type programming with the children, but we will also have the sacred experience of interviewing the kids for sponsorships and thereby making a contribution to their lives that they can scarcely imagine!

At Rolling Hills, we are blessed to work with some great people around the world. Two of those people, I would like to introduce you to are Lumka Malima and Kennedy Dick.  Lumka and Kennedy are both Life Skills Educators in the township of Red Hill in Cape Town South Africa.  Lumka and Kennedy both live and work in Red Hill and are two of our heroes.  For the past seven years, Rolling Hills and JMI has enjoyed a partnership with Living Hope Ministries and had the privilege of working directly with these life skills educators.  Our own missionaries Nathan & Claudia McDivitt work with this team daily.

Lumka Malima has been working with Living Hope for two years and is the mother of two boys, 8 and 18 years old.  They enjoy going to the beach and shopping.  Lumka’s hopes for the kids and teens of Red Hill are that they will grow up to be great men and women of God, who will also raise their own children according to God’s principles.  Lumka has been able to build a great relationship with her community and enjoys teaching the children about Christ and building the knowledge of God into their daily lives.

Kennedy Dick enjoys working in Red Hill because it gives him an opportunity to shepherd the hearts of kids and teens while also building meaningful relationships with parents.  His desire is to help the kids understand that God can change their life and help lead them as they become leaders in the community, their schools and ultimately wherever God takes them.  Kennedy has been working with Living Hope for sixteen months and he and his wife Rene’ have three children, Joanne, Jeremiah and Elridge.  The family enjoys outdoor activities like camping and swimming.

You can be praying not only for their continued work in Red Hill, but specifically that Lumka would be able to get her own home for her family.  You can also pray for Kennedy to finish the year strong and that God would protect his family and marriage and their home would be an example to the community of Christ’s love.

Know that our work around the world is being carried out by great men and women like Kennedy and Lumka.  Your support not only aids their continued work, but also provides daily meals to kids in Red Hill, early childhood education development and intervention, parenting classes and after school kids and teens clubs. To learn more about South Africa, Living Hope or ways you can be involved with the ministry of Lumka, Kennedy and the work in Red Hill, please contact:

Jason Hale: jason@rollinghillscommunity.org

To drop a note or learn more from Lumka or Kennedy directly, contact them at:

lumkamalima@gmail.com

kennedydick@gmail.com

On behalf of the children and staff of Justice and Mercy International, we wish you and yours a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving.

As you count your own blessings this season, I pray you’ll join us in gratitude for some of the things we’ve seen God do around the world this year:

We now have over 250 orphans and social orphans claimed for sponsorship in Moldova…that’s 250+ kids who can name someone in their life who knows their name and loves and prays for them!

• We have 2 missionaries being sponsored through JMI in South Africa (Nathan and Claudia McDivitt) and 2 in Kenya (Dennis and Michelle Freeland)!
• We have 100+ children in the Red Hill, South Africa ghetto who know the name of Jesus and are provided with a daily meal in that name!
• We have a new ministry opportunity in India (to be announced shortly) that will serve children that culture calls “untouchable” but Jesus invites to “come unto me!”
• We have ministry opportunities now under consideration in Brazil that will dramatically impact the people of the Amazon and elsewhere as well as our own organization.
• We have a great and growing staff team in Moldova that includes our National Director Alina, our transitional living psychologist Elena, our Boys2Leaders Coordinator Igor, and our sponsorship translators Kate, Sasha and Natasha.
• And we have a growing list of faithful church partners; a dedicated and over-stretched staff in Franklin, TN who help multiply our loaves and fishes; a handful of incredibly talented and invested professionals who help us with our graphics and website; a church – Rolling Hills Community Church – that provides us with rent-free accommodations and use of their own staff for JMI purposes; and a Board of Directors with vision and faith.  All of these share our vision and passion for seeing God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven!

And though I could go on and on, I must conclude with my expression of gratitude for those personal friends – some long relationships and some only weeks new – who inspire me, pray unceasingly for our kids and staff, promote JMI to everyone they know and in every respect eclipse me in wisdom, faith, knowledge and spiritual power….you know who you are!

God is good and his mercies endure forever.  What a privilege to walk this journey with you all!