Does this make sense to you???

so i have this friend. he went to a foreign country to do missions and lived there for 2 years so this was by no means, a 2 week "lets travel for 4 days, work for 8 days and go to the beach for 2 days" kinda missions trip. this was an in your face, living the life, missionary LIFE.

we both went to this high school and church in a suburb where the majority of residents make over $100,000 a year. many of my friends lived in houses i would call extravagant (especially now!!) and driving cars that put my 1983 volvo glt to shame.

so when it came time for my friend to fundraise for his trip, he got shockingly little financial support from the church. its not a small church either. with a congregation around 1200 and a parking lot full of luxury cars and suv's, you better believe those people had huge checkbooks....but they all slammed shut. i know that appearances aren't everything and that potentially, a lot of those families that looked rich could have been swimming in debt but i know for a fact that tons of them weren't. they just didn't care/were too busy/a million other excuses.


then i have this friend who and is generous and giving, even when money is tight. when i told him about this friend of mine from Uganda who desperately wanted to go to university but there was no way he could ever afford the tuition making what he does doing children's village ministry, this friend barely blinked an eye before agreeing to pay for his tuition.

if i wasn't convinced of it before, i am solidly convinced now. money does not buy happiness. i have friends who buy 200 dollar pairs of jeans and i truly truly hope that even if i DID have 200 extra dollars just lying around, that i wouldn't spend it on jeans.

isn't it weird how you get back from third world living and tap water doesn't taste eggy?
and how turning on a light is a big deal sometime?
and how 30 dollars for this new shirt isn't a steal of a deal, its food, clothes, and school for a child for a month?
and how a dress that a friend got at her baby shower made you cry because you had bought the same one for your baby in uganda?
and how you just dont really care anymore if only wearing things related to africa isnt that cool your still gonna do it?
and how wearing leggings and looking good doing it just doesn't really appeal?
and how reading adoption blogs takes the place of perez hilton?


this is what i hope for:

i hope to grow up to be wise, and globally aware and concerned with social justice. i hope to give some awesome kids a forever home. i hope to become a nurse and run a feeding program in a refugee camp. i hope to marry a godly man who challenges me intellecually and spiritually. i hope to never be content with a north american life. i hope to remember every day how i lived in UG. i hope to be reminded often of how little i actually need. i hope to be able to recognize and differentiate between my wants and my needs. i hope to live in africa again. i hope to impact lives. i hope to be impacted. i hope to live passionately and compassionately. i hope to give freely. i hope to recieve freely. i hope to never forget just how blessed i really am. i hope to bless others through my blessings. i hope to be a part of a church that embraces and truly supports missions. i hope to life long and prosper.