Kony 2012, What They Don't Want You to Know

Have you ever noticed there’s always someone who doesn’t want you to know something.  Seems like everyones trying to hide something from me.  Anyway, I watched the Kony 2012 video yesterday and to be honest I thought it was pretty good.  I like to see Americans thinking outside the box to try and solve one of the world’s problems without throwing billions of dollars down the UN rat hole.  But, as I did some research on the Invisible Children charity, I read several disturbing bits of info.  They go like this:

• ·         Invisible Children only gives 32% of its donations to the direct services to help those it claims to serve.
• ·         Charity Navigator rates them 2 or of 4 stars because they haven’t had their finances externally audited.
• ·         People are upset because the Kony video advocates military intervention to bring Kony to justice risking that many of the children they are trying to help could be injured or killed in the process.
• ·         They spent 1.7 million on salaries and 1 million dollars on travel in 1 year.  (FYI from what I can see they have over 100 people on their staff.)
• ·         What about all the people who need help here in America?

I’m not here to bash Invisible Children.  I don’t know anything about their organization and before this week I had never heard of them.  It’s disturbing to me that so many would immediately begin attacking this organization considering most of those who are criticizing probably never get off their butt and do anything to help anyone let alone these kids in Africa. 

I’d like to briefly address the last bullet point because it is particularly distasteful to me.  I’ve heard this sad expression used by many over the years for various reasons and I’ll tell you it really bothers me at this point.  I hear a lot of guff in the media and from others about the 1% these days.  They refer to corporate fat cats who live in luxury while the rest of the 99% struggle to survive.  Let me share some truth with you.  If you live in America and your family makes 50,000/yr, you are in the top 1% of wage earners worldwide.  Not only in this time but in all of history!  If you make 50,000 you are one of the richest people in the history of the world.  That said, here’s my next fact.  There are no poor in America.  That’s right I said it.  The poorest people in this country live better than many billions of people around the world.  Two billion people on this planet RIGHT NOW live on less than two dollars per day. If you are poor in America, you get free food, free clothes, free housing, free education, free healthcare, and just about anything else a person could need.  Please don’t misunderstand me, these people are in need, and deserve our help but let’s just keep things in context.  So when hear someone complaining that we should be helping the poor here first quite frankly it makes me a bit sick.

Now back to Kony.  In light of what I’ve already said you can understand why I’m happy so see normally uninvolved Americans getting behind a movement like this.  But there is a problem.  Kony exists for a reason.  The governments in this region are incapable of stopping these warlords and the people are so destitute and powerless that they can’t stop them themselves.  But even if we intervene, there will be someone to fill the void when Kony is gone. Does that mean we should just look the other way?  Of course not.

Then there’s the matter of peace and negotiations.  I just laugh when I hear people talking about negotiating to bring peaceful resolution to matters such as these.  It really highlights the foolishness of a culture like ours that has lived in luxury and safety for so long that we aren’t even capable of understanding that men like Kony don’t negotiate.  Their power exists through terror and force. It’s all they know and they will never go peacefully.

All of these factors are important, but there is one critical factor I haven’t discussed.  It’s really the reason that I can’t get behind Invisible Children.  Invisible Children is supporting the use of force to bring Kony to justice and see these children restored to their childhood.  Noble cause to be sure.  But then what?  They are still poor beyond belief, they don’t have a stable govt., they don’t have basic services and no amount of money will fix that.  There are a lot of social justice programs out these days.  It has really become quite en vogue to get involved.  After the limelight fades and the cameras have gone away, these people are without help and without hope.  Hope that only Jesus can bring them. 

I’m praying for Uganda today.  Praying that Kony will be caught and brought to justice.  Praying that people will be drawn to the needs in that part of the world.  But I’m also praying that Christians will get involved and help the MANY ministries that are already operating on the ground bringing the hope of Jesus along with the physical help this tattered part of the world desperately needs.  It’s the only real hope they have.

All that gold...

This is the Buddhist temple Wat Phrathat. It sits 3500 feet above the city of Chiang Mai on the Mt Doi Suthep. It was built some time in the 1300s and all that gold you see here...yep its real...over 100 tons of the stuff. What a waste.



View from the top of Doi Suthep.

¹⁸ With whom, then, will you compare God?

To what image will you liken him?

¹⁹ As for an idol, a metalworker casts it,

and a goldsmith overlays it with gold

and fashions silver chains for it.

²⁰ A person too poor to present such an offering

selects wood that will not rot;

they look for a skilled worker

to set up an idol that will not topple. (Isaiah 40)

I kept thinking about what a selfish religion Buddhism is. Many of these people are so poor, particularly in Cambodia, yet throughout these countries are these massive pagodas plastered with solid gold. The Buddhist monks go out every morning taking food from people who barely have enough to survive. Yet they are placated with the promise that if they give what little they have, they will earn brownie points for the afterlife. I'm thinking that if the monks spent more time growing food and less time meditating in front in front of a statue of a dead man there wouldn't be much of a hunger problem in the region. But I'm just being insensitive. Or is it sensitive...I'm not sure.

The Shout of the King

Writing my blog is so easy here because every day I'm having these amazing experiences. I had been thinking about how I hear God speaking so clearly to me here, every day, all the time. I had thought to myself that God was shouting at me in Cambodia. I thought, God speaks in America, but he shouts in SE Asia. Then today while I was reading I came across this verse:

The Lord their God is with them; the shout of the King is among them. Numbers
23:21b

Now this verse is speaking of God being like the king of the Israelites as He leads them into battle. His shout is intended to rally them to accomplish His purposes. But this verse struck me because if God was there shouting to the Israelites, how much more so now among His people bought by Jesus.

Guys, I've often heard people say that they can't hear God's voice.; I have said this myself. Here's what I know now. God isn't speaking to you. HE'S SHOUTING AT YOU!!!

The shout of the king is among us! I hear it so clearly here. Pastor Rad was talking about how its easy to hear His voice here because we're living on faith. We've stepped out and are doing things that are outside our comfort zone. Most importantly we're serving those who are close to God's heart and when you do that God ALWAYS shows up.

So my question to you today is, do you hear the shout of the King? If you don't, something is very wrong. If you want to hear it, I have an easy solution. Step out in faith and do
something crazy for God. It doesn't have to involve traveling around the world. Find someone in need and meet that need on God's behalf. As you set aside the things that distract you from Him and focus on the things close to His heart, the shout of the King will grow louder and louder.

Spent the day at the GROW home today. Games, food, painted a mural, moved a couple tons of sand to the play area one bucket at a time! Then all the kids came to the hotel for a swimming party. Tonight we took the kids to the equivelant of a super Walmart in Chiang Mai. We had money to spend on each one of them. The kids had never been to the mall. Ever. Of course we immediately took the kids to the toy aisle thinking that was where all the money would be spent. But the kids were uninterested. They wanted clothes. So they were taken to the clothing section. All the kids bought clothes. They were very concered that they were going to overspend, they wanted to make sure that there was money left to save. needless to say I was a bit dumbfounded.

Can I just say...the food here ROCKS! Oh my gosh, its so stinkin' good! Ate at Fa's house last two meals. If I eat another I might not come home, I'm just sayin'.

Night market in Chiang Mai

GROW Kids
Ahhhh, yeah...
Balloon races at the state run orphan home. The home is in the background.

Leading the Angels in Worship

Imagine that you walked into heaven and one of the first jobs you were assigned was to lead the angels in worship. That was my dilemma on Sunday. As we entered the Asia's Hope compound we were met with the usual crush of smiles and laughter and 30 plus voices shouting "Hullo D'ddy! Hullo Mu'mmy!"

Just getting off the bus is an event. While trying to avoid stepping on little toes, two sets hands quickly take your right hand and forearm, two more sets take your left hand and forearm. Another set of hands grabs you from behind and you are immediately relieved of any baggage you might have had. Meanwhile anyone who is left is hugging you from the front. You have to shuffle your feet because you can't move any faster and you don't want to step on anyone. I got led into the Team Hope Pavilion and seated on the boys side of the room, meanwhile Diane was led to the girls side of the room. As the music started I was surrounded by children smiling warmly at me and then they began to sing. I'm telling you this was a moment I won't soon forget. The children on either side of me were were gently caressing my arms and then the worship started.

Every tear in my eyes immediately left my face. I looked over at Diane and she had lost her composure. I have never felt so welcome, so special, so honored as I did in that moment and it occurred to me that I was getting an earthly glimpse of what heaven is really like.

I had been preoccupied with so many things. What song was I going to sing? Would they have a music stand? Would there be a microphone? Would the guitar be in tune? The kids were only concerned with two things. Worshiping God and our team. All the details I was concerned about immediately became irrelevant in light of these little ones love and care for us. These kids worship like they do everything, passionately, purely, and with unadulterated energy! I have been leading worship for over 20 years. I have led countless thousands in worship in that time but this day I wasn't there to lead them in worship. They were leading me. My little offering of a song that morning while politely welcomed by them, was really the least important thing that happened that morning. I've struggled to put into words what being with these kids is really like and how one can become so attached to them in such a short time. Diane and I were left unable to process our time with these kids because it is so sweet and so bitter all at the same time. I heard this quote today during my study time.

"Beauty is unbearable. It drives us to despair because it offers us, for a moment, a glimpse of an eternity that we desperately want to stretch out overall of time." (Albert Camus)

As I watched the angels worship God this day I caught for a brief moment a beautiful glimpse into an eternity that I did not want to end.

Seam Reap

We made the three hour drive from Battambang to Seam Reap this morning and visited Angkor Wat which is a massive Hindu complex built in the 9th century covering 140 square miles and is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It is also the site where tombraider was filmed.




This evening we had dinner with some people from the White Dove ministry. This ministry helps women entrapped in prostitution get out by teaching them skills so they can find other work and teaching them about Christ. It's just a husband and his wife but they are doing great things for God. It was very moving to hear their story.

Went downstairs in the hotel this morning to write this. I found the hotel staff assleep in the lobby of the hotel. I've been temped to complain about our accomodations. I would never accept them in the states. But I'm constantly reminded that there is a different reality here. My petty gripes are really pretty small compared to these people's daily reality.
Wanted to post more pictures but the internet connection is too poor and it wont allow me. Hopefully more later.

What a roller coaster the last two days have been. I have little time to write and when I do it seems the wifi is never working. Anyway Diane is so tired she fell asleep sitting up with her hands in the keyboard of her Kindle after typing for approximately 10 seconds. She spent the night in the orphan home last night and got very little sleep.

Today we cooked breakfast for the kids. Pancakes and syrup. They loved it and came back for seconds and thirds. This afternoon we spent the afternoon doing crafts and playing games, doing makeovers, having a waterbaloon fight, and working on individual photo albums for the kids.

This evening we went to the Battambang BBQ. I can now truly call myself a hardcore barbequer! this place was a health code nightmare. Picture this. You sit at a metal table. In the center is a hole in which they place a bucket filled with hot coals. Some of the coals falling through onto the floor around your feet while you eat. On top of that they place a pan with with some kind of hot liquid. The BBQ is a buffet filled with raw meat and all sorts of things I can't identify. No ice under the meat. Meanwhile cats are weaving in and out between your legs. Sweet! Oh I forgot all the while they are blaring dance music. The kids loved it. Once little girl ate so much she had to run to the bathroom to throw up. After the meal the kids got up and started dancing and some of the teens from surrounding tables joined in. It was really very funny.

Some of the kids were already starting to cry as we finished our food. We went back to the home and had a very nice candle light worship / prayer meeting. After this it was time to go. Many many tears. I have heard many times about how hard it is to leave the kids and say goodbye. There's really no preparing for it. Its just something you have to get through

The Road to Battambang

We've left Phnom Penh and are traveling across Cambodia in a small
bus. The city slowly melts away giving way to the Cambodian
countryside. As I watch mile after endless mile go by I am overwhelmed, I
am swept under. I am sinking. Others are talking, laughing,
loving. I am staring. I don't want to miss one second of
this. Every shack, plied with wood and corrugated steel. Every face
along the well worn road. I want to remember all of them. I
can't. They will be gone soon. Replaced with a thousand more.
Abject poverty everywhere. Naked children playing by the side of the
road. Teens fishing with nets in a drainage ditch. A mostly naked
elderly man sitting on a concrete block picking pebbles out of a crack in the
rock.

Then the tears come.

I feel stupid. I have nothing for them. I am nothing for them. But I bring someone to them. I am praying over the land as it passes my window; my praying becomes quiet singing.

You are stronger.

I am so tired.

You are stronger

Buddhist temples and mosques everywhere. Not one church anywhere.

Sin is broken

What will I say to them, I can't speak one word of their language?

You have saved me.

God I need some help here because this is allot. Its allot for my little
world at least.

It is written Christ is risen, Jesus you are Lord of all.

And then...

Ry Vith got her hug today!


FOOD FIGHT!

We're Here!

OK, where to begin. Honestly so much has happened already that I'm in a bit of a fog. We flew from Cleveland to Dallas. From Dallas to Seoul South Korea and from Seoul to Phnom Penh Cambodia. All told the trip took about 28 hours. Since we left at 0230AM I couldn't sleep before we left so I had been awake for about 40 hours or so when we got here with the exception of a couple brief cat naps on the plane. Needless to Say Diane and I were both very tired.


Phnom Penh is quite a place. It's a huge bustling city of millions of people. It appears that nearly all business occurs on the street corner as the streets are lined with every kind of tiny shop and restaurant you can imagine. There is a heaviness here that is palpable. Its not just the heat and humidity. Believe me...ITS HOT! But I'm not talking about that kind of heaviness. Life here appears so hard. Few people have cars. Most ride motor bikes, often you will see people jammed onto trucks with every inch of space occupied, including the roof!


The traffic, well the only thing I can say about the traffic is that is crazy! There are no traffic lights to speak of and no discernible traffic laws. People go in every direction. Some cars have drivers on the left and some on the right. People think nothing of driving the wrong way down a divided road. Most streets have no lines but it wouldn't matter if they did. Often what should be two lanes of traffic becomes 4 and when that clogs up they simply pull up onto the sidewalk and keep on truckin'!

The poverty is pervasive. People's every waking hour is spent in a struggle for survival. Many beggars, some horribly disfigured, burned, missing limbs. Children roaming the streets, not in school with boxes of post cards trying to earn a dollar or two. What struck me today was the seeming pointlessness of their existance. These people go litterally from morning till late into the night on an endless quest for survival. People line the streets many doing meaningless menial tasks. For example you might see someone piling up small sticks into a pile. Seems normal enough, maybe like something you would do at home. Problem is the streets are litterally filled with trash. If there's a refuse removal system it appears totally inadequate as in some spots the trash on the streets is ankle deep. So piling up sticks becomes a somewhat silly task since there's no where for those sticks to go. Many people just sit on the ground or behind their booth staring off into space. No where to go, no help, no hope. It's very sad. In spite of all this I found the people to be very friendly. We accidentally walked in on a funeral while exploring (it was taking place outside too) I was taking pictures and a little woman walked up and poked me. She wanted me to take her picture, which I happily did. When I showed it to her she seemed so proud and happy.




We're eating good. Here's a couple pictures of breakfast. I had white noodle soup with beef
and Diane had Beef and rice. Strange breakfast huh?






After this we stopped at a place called the Russian market. Odd name since there was nothing Russian about it. It was indoors, very cramped and VERY hot. Still it was fun to walk around and see the vendors. Even here the children were always present trying to sell their small goods.

After this we went to Tuol Sleng. I'll write a separate post about this experience later as it's too much to go into now. Tuol sleng was a prison where the Khmer Rouge housed and tortured its political detainees. During the Khmer reign of terror or 20,000 people were housed at the prison. 7 survived. The pictures and descriptions of their "life" in the prison were excruciating to read and hear about. Interestingly 1 of those seven survivors happened to be there at the prison while we were there and we were able to take a picture
with him.



I wish that had been the end of this excursion unfortunately it wasn't After departing from Tuol Sleng we went to the killing Fields. The name is accurate. These were literally fields where they took the people and killed them and buried them. Most of the bodies were later exhumed from the mass graves by the government after the Khmer Rouge was defeated. but they never found them all and over the years as the rain erodes the soil the victims continue to literally wash up. The rag that you see in this picture is actually clothing attached to a body and it is half buried in the soil. This is the path we were walking on. Very grizzly.


During the course of the Khmer Rouge's reign several million people were murdered or starved to death. As I said, more later.

Our bus driver was incognito tonight so we had our first Tuk Tuk experience. Remember the traffic...yea, a tuk tuk is basically a flatbed with two seats pulled by a motorcycle. Very fun, but you take your life in your hands.

Its late, we're tired. Tomorrow morning we have a six hour drive to Battambang and then we'll finally go see the kids!

Here We Go!

OK so the time has finally come. After months of waiting, planning, worrying, and praying, we leave for Cambodia tonight. We haven’t even left yet and I’m already in awe of the way God has worked everything out. Way back in June when we first decided to go on this mission trip I had a laundry list of concerns. I had no idea where the 6000 dollars to fund the trip was going to come from. I didn’t know what we were going to do with our kids. I didn’t know how I would get this much time off from my new job. Those are just the big ones, there were a hundred more. Of course I believed God could work these details out, but I’m not sure I believed that He would. The cool thing is that not only did God take care of every one of my major concerns. He took care of all the little ones too, right down to the last detail.

I still have a few fears but to be honest I really have great peace about this now. After watching God do so much in so little time how can I do anything but sit back and just allow Him to work this out.

Thanks to everyone who helped, and there are a lot of you. From watching our kids, to financial support, to encouragement, to prayer, and logistic support, loaning of suitcases, and computers and so many other things too numerous to mention, I just can’t say thanks enough.

My goal is to use this blog to chronicle the journey. If you’re interested feel free to check in and follow along.