Christmas. A day to think about...poverty.

With all I have to be thankful for this Christmas, I can't help but think of those less fortunate. Particularly those that live half a world away in dire poverty, surviving on less than a dollar a day, living in fear of being raped, killed, or orphaned. I say this, not to damper the Christmas spirit, but to remind myself that Christ came to earth to live and die for me and for those living in very different world than me. Whether we're rich or poor, privileged in this life or not, we're all sinners separated from God. And Christ came to die for us all. 


I've been reading this evening about the atrocities that have gone on, and are still going on today, in the D.R. of Congo. I'm sad to say that I've never heard of any of it until researching the country because we hope to adopt a child from there. 


The Congo conflict—sparked by the Rwandan genocide and Rwanda’s subsequent invasion of Congo in 1996 and 1998—erupted into what’s been termed Africa’s World War or The Great War of Africa. More than 5.4 million people have died as a result of mass murder, famine, and disease born of the chaos.*

The Congo has been deemed "the worst place to be a woman." One of those reasons is because there are an estimated 48 rapes per hour in the Congo. Most people in the congo live on $20/month. The Congo is one of the most nutrient-rich countries in the world, with little to show for it because of militia driven exportation of resources. With all these atrocities, there are no doubt a vast number of orphans. 

It is estimated that 15% of the Democratic Republic of Congo's under 18 population are orphans, 770,000 of them orphaned through AIDS alone. However, most have become orphans a result of the bloody conflict there spanning decades that has taken the lives of millions of the country's citizens. We're talking about 5,000,000 orphaned children here ~ about the entire population of Scotland.**

My heart is heavy with the truth of the reality in the DRC. I can't even fathom a life like this. Where is the hope? Where is the Joy? I'm certain it's even there, in such a desolate place, because Christ came, lived, and died for all and He is the true source of peace, hope, joy, even in the tumultuous of places.

I'm further inspired, as if I needed more inspiration, to pursue an adoption of one of these 5,000,000 orphans. This perspective helps me to know how to pray for our future daughter/son. I ask that you would pray for her/him too, and also pray how God would have you respond to your new awareness of the atrocities that are taking place in the DRC. 

This picture is credited to another great site for information about Africa's Orphan crisis- http://www.africanorphans.com/

*http://athousandsisters.org/congo/

**http://www.child-sponsorship.com/democratic_republic_of_congo_orphans.html

The "Wise" Man

Jackson is at an incredibly entertaining and cute age. Being 3, everything is exciting and he's beginning to process a lot of the world around him. It is amazing to watch his mind grow and his thinking skills develop. I especially love when something we've been trying to teach him, suddenly clicks and he internalizes it and makes it his own lesson to teach his brother. He looks out for little brother a lot, usually saying things like, "no, no Hudson. That's dangerous!" in a very caring and motherly voice. It's precious! While they do fight like most brothers, they are incredibly affectionate towards each other. Hudson is getting so affectionate he spent a solid 5 minutes hugging everyone within site as he left his classroom yesterday. He hugged teachers, kids, mommy, then other kid's parents, then other kid's siblings. It was really precious that he did not want to miss anyone in the vicinity.

We've been going through an especially challenging couple weeks with Jackson. He's been getting very angry when privileges get taken away or other forms of discipline are implemented and will scream and sometimes hit at us. Sometimes it's hard not to laugh, and sometimes it's hard not to cry. To be quite honest, I've always had a touch of the "hot head" in me, especially before I was walking with the Lord. So to see this trait coming out in him makes me feel awful. I'm praying it's just a phase and not an inherited character flaw.

But today the Lord allowed me to see some major silver lining and progress in him. I wish I had a recorder on me the whole evening to share the full conversations, but even that wouldn't do justice to seeing his expressions and demeanor as we talked. He had been a great little helper all evening. Even in the midst of Hudson's "curious george" episode that included a major spaghetti clean up, a disappearing diaper-turned poop all over the white carpet, and then a flooded bathroom floor; Jackson was trying to help me clean, "fessed up" to being the cause of the disappearing diaper, and tried to get Hudson to stop the crazy splashing in the tub. He did have one stand off with me, which ended surprisingly different than usual. Very quickly he changed his attitude and said, "mommy, I'm being really quiet in time out. I'm ready to talk to you." So I asked him why he had to go in time out and he proceeded to FULLY explain how he disobeyed mommy 5 times and that's why he lost his play time, his book, his before-bed drink of water, and why he had to go in time out. He ended it with, "I'm sorry for dissing-obeying you mommy. I won't dissing-obey you anymore." Then we had an incredibly sweet time of talking on the couch. He explained to me all about his "other" grandma who is now in heaven with Jesus and when we die we'll go to heaven too, if we love Jesus. And He is always in our heart if we love him and we don't have to be afraid of scary monsters in our bed or of smoke alarms. If we get scared we just pray to God or call for mommy and daddy. The whole time he was saying this (and so much more), he's in his pj's with his favorite hoody on (hood on the head too) and leaned back on the couch gesturing with his hand while he speaks--like a seasoned conversationalist. After we prayed and he sung "away in a manger" to me, he said, "well, now what should we do mommy? Brush teeth and go to bed? I'm tired."

I know he is very verbal for his age, but he blew me away this evening. Not just with the amount of talking, but the content and the level of understanding that has seemed to blossom in leaps and bounds lately. Hearing him pray for friends and some of our co-workers and talk about loving Jesus blesses my heart like nothing else. My deepest prayer for our boys is that they be men who truly love the Lord and want nothing more than to serve Him. I know Jackson is smart, but I want him to be wise in the ways of the Lord, not in the ways of the world.

I'll end my momma-mantra with a cute video I took of him yesterday, singing about The Wise Man who build his house upon the rock. What makes it funny is that he was reading a book about the first Christmas and saw the wise men--which made him break out in song. Different wise men than the song is about, but that's ok if he thinks they are the same for now.
Jackson singing, "The Wise Man"