Tomorrow Night Down Under

Tomorrow night those lucky Australians will have the opportunity to watch "THE SURGERY SHIP", a documentary starring a lot of our Australian friends!  While I doubt we'll be able to watch it here, if you cut and paste this address - you CAN catch the trailer!  Enjoy it - I did!

http://mediastockade.com/#projects-0

Today's Truth . . .

Yesterday I posted a blog entitled "The Truth!?!" sharing the difference between a friend's e-mail and the StarTribune.  In today's paper, the nation+world headlines read, "They're slaughtering us like chickens" and the sub-heading said, "Mostly Muslim fighters were going door to door in the Central African Republic.  The death toll increased to 280."  Wasn't that the truth I posted yesterday?  Please continue to pray for the believers in the Central African Republic.

Some Ship Love . . .

THE TRUTH?!?

While reading the StarTribune this evening, I came across the headlines, "Clashes sweep Central Africa Republic" with the subheading "Dozens killed after Christian fighters attacked capital."  And I said to Sam, "No, that's not right!  That is so not right!"   We had received an e-mail just this morning from our friend of almost thirty years sharing an e-mail from a friend we have known now for almost a year who is currently IN the Central Africa Republic and everything that e-mail said is absolutely OPPOSITE of what the paper said.  It is the Muslims who are killing the Christians.  It is the Christians who are going in to hiding.  It is the Christian's homes and churches that are being pillaged and destroyed.  It is the Christians who are missing, who fear for their lives.  Feel free to stop right now and pray for the believers in Central Africa Republic - that our Mighty God would be their protection and that the truth would be known!    

LOVE IS . . .

This is the latest from the Mercy Ships Communications Team - enjoy!

Two worlds . . .

This post is taken from a letter our friend Curt Rhodes sent to us.  It's not from Africa, nor about Africa - but it sure could have been.  He is working with Questscope in Jordan and as always, his insight is amazing.     Two worlds. A line forms outside of a Big Box Store early on Thanksgiving morning. Doors open. People rush in, capturing good deals and pushing their way through crowds to grab boxes of stuff. Low prices entice. In the sharp early morning chill, why line up so early? “You have to be first,” says a smiling customer. “If you’re not first, you’re last.” I saw this on TV. People gather inside the biggest refugee camp in Jordan a day before the Thursday that is Thanksgiving in the US. There’s an early morning chill, but no rushing around. No boxes of stuff to grab here. In place of good deals, there are good conversations. “We are here to put the last, first,” says a smiling Syrian mentor – a professional engineer in that other life that no longer exists. “That means we put ourselves last.” I saw this in the faces of my friends. Two worlds. I know which one I would choose. What if I were a “last?” What if my child, or my grandchild, were a “last?” A no-brainer: I would want to live in a world that goes against the flow – goes against the idea that being first makes others last: somehow okay in that world.  The refugee world is terrible. But they are not. The refugee world is hopeless. But they are not. We figure out with them how to live when they have none of the stuff to live with. And often – too often – without some of those they love the most. That is the most terrible part of all. Things will get worse over the next weeks. Winter winds and rain will come. Death and devastation in the civil war in Syria will rage on. Needs will pile up. But as these things get worse over the next weeks, some things will get better. Capacity will grow as we put the last, first.  We have an additional 400 youth to mentor in that biggest refugee camp, Zaatari, starting in December – growing real strength out of apparent weakness. Two worlds. Which one would you choose? A first world, or the other world where the last can be first? I think the only one with potential for people to thrive is the second one. I think you do too. That’s why we are in this together. Curt

It just so happens . . .

That every day I teach at the Y, I have a set of twins - all girls - and one of those twins is either named Kaylee or Keighlee.  My Friday set is the most absolutely identical (until they get in the water!) so Mom keeps a barrette in Kaylee's hair so I'll know which one she is.  This past Friday, my co-worker Tiffany and I started to laugh.  What would happen if we moved the barrette to Kaylee's twin?  Would Mom know?  

Correct answer:  Yes!