Orphan Advocate

The following is an article that was written by someone who has participated in short-term trips here over the past several years. 

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress… 
(James 1:27 NLT)

Let me start with some numbers. 148, 224... Now don’t forget those.

Now, imagine with me a 6 year old child. Being promised candy, a day at the park and other deceits by their parents they trust and love. Now picture a bus pulling up to the children’s home and the child being left screaming and confused in the hands of one of the workers of that home. For some of us that just rips our hearts out. For those who work with Back2Back this can be a sad reality.

I have been blessed enough to have been a participant on 3 trips now to Back2Back Mexico with Family Christian Stores group The James Fund. If you have ever been a participant and listened to anything from Beth G. you would have heard the Experience, Reflection, Action and Change mantra. My experience this year really has led me to further reflection, action and change. I saw these kids in a new light. I didn’t see them as an orphan in a third world country that I should help to support. I didn’t see them as an unhappy child that I wanted to make happy. I looked into their faces and I saw my own children. I saw Pamela at Casa Hogar Douglas who was the same age as my oldest daughter and thought how would I feel if my children were the ones to be abandoned. What would their look on life be like? Or what would their view of a Loving and Caring God be? Could they trust that God? 

The above reflections stirred my heart for these Orphans. I am no longer a happy once a year participant in what God is doing through groups such as Back2Back; I now am an ADVOCATE for the Orphan who hears the cry of God to ‘care for orphans’. This is the Action part of the cycle but what of the change.

How would God have me or those who are feeling this cry to advocacy ‘change’? Am I to sell all I have and move to India, Africa, Mexico or another 3rd world country? For some of you reading this the answer very well may be YES! But some of us are not called to go. Some of us are called, as a woman in Michigan is, to make blankets for those whom Back2Back Mexico serves in the Rio’s and elsewhere. The cry of the orphan to her is the call to help keep them warm and dry. Others it might be a call to support the ministry of Back2Back. Or others of you may be called to intercede.

We too often forget the power of intercession. We lose site of our All Powerful God letting a weak view of God shape our prayers. Or as many American’s, we are too fickle to continue to pray when we do not instantaneously see the fruit of our prayers. A woman with a painting in Ohio knew the power of intercession and passed away before knowing that God had answered her prayer for 2 orphan girls. (http://back2backministries.wordpress.com/2009/06/10/intercession-by-beth-guckenberger/) 

These children need prayer to know that God does love them. He does have a plan for them. He does want to provide them a shelter. He will not leave them or forsake them. He will comfort and defend. He will be their father.

So now let’s go back to those numbers… 148 million is the number of orphans in the world today. 224 million is the number of churches in America according to a study. What if the church were to step it up a notch in the mandate of hearing the cry of the orphan? What if the Church were to pray daily for the tears that these children shed, their tender hearts that need mended? Or even still, what if you and I were to finally step up and realize we are the CHURCH? 

So here's what I think: The best thing you can do right now is to finish what you started last year and not let those good intentions grow stale. Your heart's been in the right place all along. You've got what it takes to finish it up, so go to it. Once the commitment is clear, you do what you can, not what you can't. The heart regulates the hands. 2 Corinthians 8:10-13 (Message)