Courage or Cowardice?

"One of the most cowardly things ordinary people do is shut their eyes to facts." -C.S. Lewis

Ladies and Gentleman here are the facts.Every minute approx. 15 people die of starvation.
Every year 3.5 million children die from lack of food.
There are more than 27 million slaves in the world today, more than any other point in history.
The average age of a trafficked victim is 12. (that means there are some that are younger than 12!)
Babies being raped.
And it happens in our backyards. 
The U.S is ranked as the third largest destination country for traffickers 
And North Carolina ranks in the top eight states for Human Trafficking...and Charlotte is where it happens the most in NC.

Ladies and gentleman can we have courage.?
Can we a generation that fights back against the encroaching darkness and clip the talons of evil?
Or will be the people who stop our ears, cover our eyes, and pretend that these atrocities are not happening on our watch.
I know these numbers are astronomical, I know they are almost mind numbing...
But do we really want to be like the people in Germany during World War II that just sang songs in the church louder to drown out the noise of the trains rumbling by....to take the Jews to their deaths in concentration camps. The people who apathetically let people be mistreated and die around them.
Or do we want to be like the courageous, brave individuals who hid them in their basements. They didn't save all of the people--but they saved some.Can we stop for a moment and listen to the cries that are rising all around us calling us to action?Can we let our worship actually move our hands and feet to action?

No, we can't fix everything...but does this mean we don't fix anything?No, we can't help everyone...but does that mean we don't help ANYONE?

One child. One life. Do you not think it's worth it?
Can we value human life more than comfort and security?
Find an issue that lights your fire on the inside and then do something.
You might not be able to afford to give finances--but you have a platform no matter who are you.
Educate people; ignorance is only going to cause this problem to get worse.
Educate yourself.
I don't know about you but I choose courage.
I'm still scared of what you people might think of me.
But I cannot be quiet anymore and I cannot just sit by and not do anything.
I will do something even if I go all alone.
Life is too short to waste being a coward and I've already wasted a lot of time being one.

Here are some places to start: 
My friend Melissa runs a Children's Home in Nicaragua. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Casa-de-Gozo/193122194102381
My friend Lanie works with an organization that is rescuing girls who have been trafficked right here in Charlotte. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rise-Up-Ministries/156720777794836
My friend Katelyn interns at a 
Cure provides surgeries for people who can't afford them--all over the world.https://www.facebook.com/cureinternational
Compassion International feeds and provides an education for children all over the world.https://www.facebook.com/compassionintl
Children's Hunger Fund is an absolutely amazing organization that feeds thousands of children around the globe. https://www.facebook.com/ChildrensHungerFund
James Barnett is homeless because he chooses to be. https://www.facebook.com/JamesTheVerbClothe Your Neighbor as Yourself provides things for people in need relative for what you buy from them.https://www.facebook.com/CYNYORG
Katie Davis (my hero) is in her early twenties and has 16 children and feeds over a thousand people every week. http://www.amazima.org/
"it’s not that we don’t know or we’re not shown the proof of poverty
it’s not that we don’t have the tools to go to break this yoke of slavery
we quit because it’s not an easy fix and then forget that they are even there
we forget to care"

I post a status on facebook asking for people to help me pay for 3 surgeries and immediately I become incredibly impatient.
I am a fixer.
I want to fix problems now.
I want to pay for everything in 4 hours.
I want to try and control the situation.
And I hear God whisper quietly, "I got this. You can trust me. It's my job to speak to people's heart, not yours."

I sit on my bed and whisper back, "I believe, but oh Lord help my unbelief."

Pray for my faith.

One

Let me not be blind with privilegeGive me eyes to see the painLet the blessing You've poured out on me
Not be spent on me in vainLet this life be used for change

I was born into a very affluent family.
Both of my parents grew up in relatively poor families but worked hard put themselves through school and saved their money.
I never wanted for anything. However, my parents didn't want me grow up taking money for granted.
I grew up wearing hand me downs and we shopped at good will and garage sales. And it was understood that I wasn't going to be allowed to act like a spoiled brat :)
Nonetheless I don't know what it is like to go to bed hungry.
I don't know what it is like to not be able to afford medical care or clothes.
I grew up having more than 90% of the world.

There are times I question, "Why me?" Why was I born into the most affluent country in the history of the world. Why do I get to live like this while other people die? This has bothered me from the time I was a teenager. Why do we as Christians talk so much more than we do? Critize so much more than we help?

Could a spark of Your love light the whole Church on fire?
When we care for our neighbor more than we care for style?

We don't like to talk about uncomfortable things here in America. No one likes the Debbie Downer that talks about the fact there are 27 million slaves in the world today-more than ever before, that the average age of a girl trafficked into prostitution is 12 FREAKING 12, no one wants to think about one of the 16,000children that will die of hunger related causes, and that Charlotte is a literal hub bub of sex trafficking. Nobody likes that girl who won't shut up about the marginalized, broken, poor, orphans, lost and hurting. We'd rather talk about fun things.

I don't want to be that girl. I like people liking me. I don't want to be the Debbie Downer; I don't want to be annoying. But if I don't who will? I've stitched my mouth closed for far too long.

When I breathe in hope and breathe in grace and breathe in God
Then I'll breathe out peace, breathe out justice, breathe out love.

I am here for a reason. I have a this small sphere of influence I have for a reason.
I've been given this ability to as my English instructor told me, "You effortlessly do what some people work for years to do well--you put words to your feelings and convey them accurately."
I've been born in America for a reason.
I've right here in this very moment for a reason even if I don't know exactly why.
There is a reason I am good at rhetoric.
There is a reason that these issues like a fire in my heart and make me want to run around like a crazy person telling people.
No we can't save everyone--but we can save one. And that one is worth it.
Do we not do anything because we can't do everything?
And if you and I don't do anything-then who will?

So here I am.
My name is Ming.
I am free.
I am loved.
And
I will be a voice for the voiceless.
I will carry a torch for those who can't carry one themselves.
And I will love every single moment of it.
This is life.

Crazy

It's been a year, which is ridiculous. On one hand it feels like forever, on the other hand it feels like this last year has flown by. It's the dichotomy of life I suppose.

It's crazy to think that a year ago I was more depressed than I have ever been before and variated between throwing massive temper tantrums and begging while wrestling with God and why life just has to suck and hurt so bad sometimes.

Until...I decided that I wasn't going to let something bad be the defining moment of my life. 

Question

What am I doing with my life?
I don't really know the answer to that question.
There is this itching in my bones that insists that there is abounding life just around the corner if I would just be brave enough to reach out and take it.
But I feel like there should more than this-more than this working to accumulate a solid savings account, buying a house, and having a perfect retirement planned...surely this can not be the ultimate in life...
There has to be more than just going to church, being a good person, and then laying quietly in my coffin when my lungs exhale for the last time.

Surely life wasn't meant to be lived like this...
The American "dream" just seems so...comfortable and safe.
And were we really meant to live life safe?
Or should I just sit down and shut up?