08 April 2008

A Little Story About Some Friends We've Never Met.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/04/08/google.refugees.ap/index.html

Google Earth will let you peek in on refugee camps worldwide. You can learn more about the crises in various areas and appreciate the difficulties humanitarian organizations face in providing necessities to these folks.

I haven't seen it, but I've *heard* these maps can actually show people about their daily business. Bad enough if Google Earth catches you outside a strip club or doctor's office here in the US, but imagine yourself in a refugee camp with 30,000 of your closest buds. You stalk away to the one bush in a 5 mile radius to relieve yourself, unaware that the satellite above you has just taken your photo.

One resource we've started using in our homeschool that is FREE is our church magazine. This week it was about Kenya. We could see REAL people in the magazine and look at Kenya on the map. We could pray for a REAL pastor by name. I don't know about you, but I feel I'm better able to pray for others if I have a name or face to think about while I'm talking to God. I know God DOES hear just the same, but I find it more helpful to see a picture and ask God to help "Pastor Steve in Kenya be encouraged this week" rather than, "God, please help all the poor people."

I think often our discouragement for praying for Christian (soon-to-be) martyrs, pastors and missionaries isn't that we don't care. It's more that we don't know what it's really like. We don't know where to start. We think about what they go through and feel guilty for complaining about our 10-minute drive-through wait. It makes us uncomfortable that we've just spent $25 on a few fries and a burger when you KNOW you could have eaten a PB and J and cut a $20 check for global missions.

Guilty.

7 comments:

  1. I think that you are right. I am considering signing up for the Voice of the Martyrs for our next school year.
    It has stories in it that will help direct our praying. It is nice when you can see specific needs and their faces.

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  2. Ya, I'm sure that's what people in refugee camps are worried about....

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  3. My point was that I think privacy is a concern ethically when you take pictures of refugees without their knowledge or consent, though, anonymous. I'm sure they have a lot to worry about and this doesn't top the list.

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  4. In Ayaan Hirsi Ali's book, Infidel, she visits a refugee camp in Kenya (if I remember correctly). It's filled with Somalis who have fled their country's war. She gives quite a description and it's clear these refugees need prayer and a lot more.

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  5. Oi...I see we've both had some critics at our blogs this week! Mrs. C, I do believe you're right, I need to change the color of my hair (John and I fell over laughing!) and you need to be less concerned about privacy. Is there a full/fool moon out or something?

    Thanks for the laugh, though!

    And that magazine, is this local or can anyone subscribe? One of our compassion kids is in Kenya, Gervasio. He's amazing! (((hug)))

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  6. PS--Note I'm not anonymous. I don't like anons. Not really. Is that wrong?

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  7. Stacey, it's the Pentecostal Evangel. Since you have a church home, you might just ask your local Assemblies of God pastor to give you a copy. I really enjoyed this week's.

    Well, enjoyed isn't the word because I was in tears. I felt it was a good read, how 'bout that?

    Harry, Ali is a very interesting character. Citizen of the world, almost. I'll bet you she's been to every continent but Antarctica.

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Non-troll comments always welcome! :)

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