giving...

There are a ton of charities and non-profit organizations... a ton of good ones. Sometimes it can be very overwhelming to hear all of the good things they are doing and not be able to help everyone.

I've written before about supporting Compassion through my sponsorship of Juliet in Ghana. For more than a year now, I've been sending money and letters to Juliet hoping to make a difference in her life.

On Thursday night, a non-profit group, Invisible Children, came to Methodist to share their story. "In the spring of 2003, three young filmmakers traveled to Africa in search of a story. What started out as a filmmaking adventure transformed into much more when these boys from Southern California discovered a tragedy that disgusted and inspired them, a tragedy where children are both the weapons and the victims." (from invisiblechildren.com) I went as a favor... and honestly a little bit of a skeptic not sure what I'd feel at the end of it.

Instead, I spent an hour engaged in their film... laughing and crying. There was a part of me that could have quit my job right then and there and signed up to become a roadie. Instead, I bought a bracelet and went home to watch tv. Is that enough? 

Check out an introduction to Tony...

Tony Bracelet: Trailer from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.

Tony's story is hard to hear in and of itself. His mom died of HIV and we watched them dig her grave and cover it up. Yet, it was Nate's story that really broke me. His personality and energy seemed so contagious and he was really making a difference. I can only pray his story will be used to help more people.

Read more about Nate

There are so many more worthwhile charities I could share including World Vision (world poverty and hunger), the Home Foundation (human trafficking) and Houses of Hope (orphan homes in Africa). The question usually comes up about why we spend so much time and money helping people in other countries when there are so many Americans struggling right here "in our own backyard." I think there is plenty for us to do here, but I also believe in not neglecting our neighbors. Right here in Fayetteville, I have the opportunity to donate to my church, my alma mater, and Operation Inasmuch just to name a few. There are so many other organizations across America working to help people... we could be here all day listing them.

All of this to say, one of my favorite organizations ever is FCA... or Fellowship of Christian Athletes. I've been a part of FCA since high school and it's been well documented how much of an impact the group has had on my life. Recently I've had the pleasure of meeting one of our local FCA rep's Quinn Evans... I have been truly inspired by everything she is doing through FCA. The coolest thing about Quinn's story these days is her ability to serve not only in her "backyard" of the North Carolina Triangle... but is now taking FCA overseas to serve our neighbors.

The moral of my story... we can't give everything to everyone, but we should give what we can... whether it's time... money or some other resources... people need us. And as a Christian, I believe God has asked us to and while I don't want it to ever be my only reason, I want to be obedient. Let's give...