Futbols 11 & 12

 The 11th and 12th of the One World balls traveled with my friends Bobby & Brian to Ethiopa. Bobby & Brian were a part of a HOPEthiopia trip and spent a month involved in various activities with the organization, and its sister organization Hope Rwanda. 

The guys were able to use the balls in a sports camp put on by HOPEthiopia through a partner school, and then pass the balls on to school for future use. Brian sent the pictures you're seeing and said the kids didn't have balls in good condition and were very excited to see the new (and a little different) One World Futbols. 

HOPEthiopia is focused on a holistic development model that comprises smaller projects such as agriculture, community projects, reforestation and a peace garden project. HOPEthiopia is focused on reaching the vulnerable of Ethiopia by serving orphaned children and retired pastors. For more information on HOPEthiopia visit their website and learn about their sister organization Hope:Rwanda here. 

are you hungry?

“People are hungry to be brought closer to the world, even its hard parts...I believe that which separates action from inaction...is not indifference. It is distance. May it fall away.”

Lately the word 'famine' seems to stick in my throat somewhere between the loss for words and a lack of understanding. And it's hard to grapple with the news reports. Sometimes the reports make me angry. Sometimes they make me sad. And sometimes I turn away from them and want to pretend I didn't see them.

And while East Africa experiences the worst famine its seen in 60 years I feel a world away. And I am. 

But just because I live in a world that is removed from what is happening doesn't mean I need to be removed. It's exactly when these things are going on that I need to become involved. Because we're not indifferent to what is going on. We just feel like action is difficult, and action needs to happen somewhere else. And so the good news is that action is here, and action is now. Maybe it's in a donation, hopefully it's in prayer. And maybe as we join in prayer with our brothers and sisters the distance will fall away. 

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The above quote is from the book Six Months in Sudan by Dr. James Maskalyk.  Here is the quote in full: 

“People are hungry to be brought closer to the world, even its hard parts. I went to Sudan, and am writing about it again, because I believe that which separates action from inaction is the same thing that separates my friends from Sudan. It is not indifference. It is distance. May it fall away.”