By the grace of God, the “Twinkie Project” has wrapped up a successful phase in its development. Morgan arrived back in the U.S. earlier this week. And I feel like I have caught a glimpse of what this thing could be. I’m pretty excited.
Did you have a chance to read some of her latest work? Here are some excerpts. Read and pass along. Please. Share her stories.
The Unexpected Picture
In today’s culture it is almost a fad to put money into charities, or to buy brands that support a cause, which is great … but I wonder if that is numbing us to the reality of the world that is beyond our safe and comfortable walls.
I wonder if we have been overexposed to the idea of poverty to the point of forgetting that it is not simply about a continent, a country or a group of people … it is about a life. It is one heart, one mind, one prisoner, one child and one future.
We must narrow our focus, we have to look through the feel-good hype and let our hearts truly feel for the people, not just the feeling of donating.
If we maintain such a broad focus of poverty, it is almost impossible to do anything to put a dent in it … but if we can hone in on one life, think of the difference we can make.
Through Dessiray’s Eyes
Most people would agree, at least to some extent, that “The eyes are the window to the soul.” Somehow eyes manage to tell more about a person than could be said by words, stories or descriptions.
Perhaps it’s because eyes display emotion: They light up when we are happy, look exhausted when we are tired, display fear and worry, and are the gateway for tears when we are sad.
Maybe they say so much because for most of us, they capture our experiences and paint the pictures of our memories. It is through them that some of the most beautiful and also some of the most horrific things become a part of us as we make our way through life.
What we see, who we see and where we see it colors our “window” and leaves a mark on how we will view the world and how we view our own souls. This is why we often wish we could see things through the “eyes of others,” or we attempt to see the world through “rose-colored lenses.” We are aware that things appear different depending on the eyes through which we are looking.
A window is a piece of glass that goes two ways, so if it is true that the eyes are the window INTO the soul, that means they are also the window OUT of the soul. This makes me wonder, as I stare into the eyes of the children, what they see when they look out.
Please pray for the hearts of children that Morgan loved and touched with the grace of God while she was there.
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“I wonder if we have been overexposed to the idea of poverty to the point of forgetting that it is not simply about a continent, a country or a group of people … it is about a life. It is one heart, one mind, one prisoner, one child and one future.”
What brings this truth home, for me and for so many others, is child sponsorship through Compassion. Compassion’s emphasis on the personal relationship between sponsor and child, with the encouragement to write letters–often–and even to bring sponsor and child together, in person, when possible…. Therein lies the difference, I think, between merely giving money and seeing the life. I doubt that even child sponsorship, through an organization that does not encourage personal relationships, can do so well.
It is both a narrowing of focus to see one life, one child, one future, one hope, and a broadening of vision to see that so many more real children need the same opportunities.
I loved reading Morgan’s posts! Really thought-provoking…
Morgan is right on!!!!!!!
That is why I like to visit, although I still will not understand everything at least I am not still stuck in the house “looking out the window” at poverty. I tend to think I like to be in the mix, because it is more fun there 😉
Now can you tell us what the Twinkie Project is? 🙂
I’ve really enjoyed reading Morgan’s blog. I think my favourite entry was Through Dessiray’s Eyes.