Posts Tagged With 'traveling'

  • Mar
  • 07
  • 2012

Love is a Thread

Posted by Amber Steffen In Caring for Orphans, Combating Exploitation, LSM, News | No Comments »
Love is a Thread

“Love is a thread. Justice is a garment.” –The Justice Conference tagline

Think about that for a minute. If love is a thread, and God is love, then this whole ‘garment’ is woven together in love. And God is just. So as love and justice weave together, we have this beautiful tapestry of… God. I don’t know about you, but if God says that He IS something, then I think that’s something I want to be woven into too.

I love that tagline, because the visual of that tapestry of love and justice seems to marry those words in a beautiful image we miss too often. I’ve been thinking about that ever since getting home from Portland last week.

I was at this conference in Portland, OR with a co-worker to scout out some deeper ways LSM can get learn and get involved with people on fire for God’s kingdom. And through some great conversations with people we met, and tremendous theological speakers, I saw a larger glimpse of the Body of Christ coming together to weave a little bit more of the tapestry.

Sometimes, when we look at injustices like sex trafficking, HIV/AIDS, child slavery and extreme poverty, it can look like those broken threads could never be placed together again. But last week, we saw 4500 believers meet to try and rebuild some of those broken threads as we network and encourage each other in the work God’s placed us in.

And I think I can add something to the slogan. See, if love is a thread and justice is the garment, then I think we’ll be clothed in hope if we take on this garment. And hope doesn’t make us ashamed, because the love of God is stronger than that. He’s promised us that His way is easy and his burden is light. I got a wonderful glimpse of how much lighter that burden can be when we come together. I’m excited to see where this will go as we continue to dive deep into God’s ‘garment’ of love and justice.

Take Action:

Check out the Justice Conference to join us in Philly in 2013.

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  • Feb
  • 02
  • 2012

This is Jesus

Posted by Amber Steffen In Combating Exploitation, Ethiopia, LSM | No Comments »
This is Jesus

“This is Jesus. Not that He apologizes for the hard and the hurt, but that He enters in, He comes with us to the hard places. And so I continue to enter.” –Katie Davis

Katie Davis said that in response to her work in Uganda among some of the poorest and most desperate people she’s known, but long before I heard this quote, I had my own encounter with Jesus in the hard stuff…

I closed my eyes tightly for a brief moment to hold back the tears that threatened to surface. It was dark, and the glow of faint lights along the streets casting eerie shadows in the dark corners of the alleys. The van was quiet as we drove through what had been a bustling market just hours earlier. Now… it was ‘prostitute alley,’ an area in the city that transformed after dark to sell not fruits and vegetables, but humans. Woman after woman stood along the crumbling walls, stone faced, waiting. They say roughly 40,000 women work in a 3-4 mile radius here.

These women were desperate. Desperate enough that they would do anything for mere pennies to support themselves and their children. And even though I knew what to expect, nothing had prepared me to see face after face of young women with faces of stone, like they’d died long ago.

In the hour we drove around the red light district of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia that night, I don’t think I’ve ever been more aware of the sinfulness of humans, or of the strongholds that Satan has on this world. But even in the long, heartbreaking ride that night – and in the days and months and years that have followed – I have hope. Hope because of Jesus. He’s aware. And Jesus travels not only with us in those trenches of sin and desperation, but beckons us toward them to help. That night, I saw a fierce need for justice. I saw desperate women needing someone to stand up and be a voice for them…

So this is Jesus. Not that he apologizes for the hard and the hurt in this world that our sinful nature has brought, but that He enters in, He comes with us to the hard places. He shows us WHO HE IS in these places and asks us to be his hands and feet in bringing hope and life and death to evil. And so we continue to enter.

Take Action:

To see more of what we’re doing to Combat Exploitation in Ethiopia, check out this page on our site.

To give to our work in Combating Exploitation, click here.

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  • Oct
  • 19
  • 2011

Two Worlds

Posted by Amber Steffen In Caring for Orphans, Combating Exploitation, Ethiopia | 2 Comments »
Two Worlds

Jena Lee writes in the book HOPE IN THE DARK this message:

I straddle two worlds. One foot in America. One foot in Africa. My heart is split. It’s an awkward place to be, as it stretches the legs upon which I stand. I would prefer to be in one place instead of straddled awkwardly across an ocean. Contrary to American doctrine, however, I think we’re supposed to be a little bit uncomfortable as we live within the tensions of this complicated world.

Lately, I’ve come to realize that it’s not just an ocean that separates us from Africa. Greater barriers have caused a distance between the two continents. Misunderstanding has turned goodwill into a greater injustice. The media portrays Africans as victims, as children with flies on the their faces, as statistics, as those we pity, and as those we judge with Western standards. Even with the best of intentions to help, I don’t think we truly understand Africans because we haven’t take the time to listen and share their stories in an honest and humanizing way.

It is true: the greatest humanitarian crisis of HIV/AIDS is attacking Africa with more power and momentum than we can believe. It is important to hear the stories of those whose battle for survival is every day, every minute, every waking breath. I hope that you will slip your feet into the shoes of another as you try and imagine what it must be like to live on a continent that has felt silent to and ignored by the rest of the world. 

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  • Jul
  • 21
  • 2011

Allen & Susan

Posted by Amber Steffen In Caring for Orphans, Combating Exploitation, Ethiopia, LSM, News | 1 Comment »
Allen & Susan

Last week, two anxious passengers stepped on a plane to Africa. We’ve covered them in prayer, watched as they’ve prepared and said their goodbyes, and given our support and love as they’ve taken off.  As Allen and Susan settle into their new home and find their new “normal” we invite you to join us in continued prayer for this couple and for the work they’ll be doing for LSM in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Their mission in Allen’s words:

Addis Ababa; it means “new flower”.  We see new flowers in the spring and it  rings hope for a summer just around the corner.  Everyone wants to have hope.  Even poverty shackled girls and young women on the streets of “new flower” (Addis Ababa) who must sell themselves so they or their children can eat and survive.  According to Women at Risk of Ethiopia, one out of ten women above 15 succumb to prostitution.  74% of those will become HIV positive.  Their future is limited to usually less than a few years.  If you were 22 years old, two children, no husband, no job, no food, no government safety net, and the likelihood of not living to blow out the candles on your 25th year birthday cake, or seeing your 2 year old’s fifth year birthday cake–what would you hope for?  That is why Loving Shepherd Ministries is in Addis Ababa. 

That is why Susan and I want to go there.  To share hope:  hope in Homes of Hope for orphans whose mommies have died in premature horrific deaths, hope in the love of Jesus Christ for all including prostitutes,  hope for innocent children to escape from exploitation, and eternal hope in a merciful God.   Making a difference, even for one, feels great.  Making an attempt to make a difference and trusting God for the rest does too…

Hope is a powerful and valuable commodity.  And it is more.  It empowered our forefathers to cross oceans in tiny little boats.  It has empowered people across generations of time to push beyond physical endurance, beyond present suffering, beyond constraints of their environment to see a future that is better and pursue it.  Without hope life ceases to have meaning.  God knew that and sent ”Hope” to all on Earth. 

Our mission is:   Sharing Hope with Hearts.

Please pray for the Stollers as they start language training on August 15. Pray for housing opportunities to open up near the language school and that they would be given the ability to learn the language as they become students again.

Read more of their journey on their blog:  http://sharinghopewithhearts.com/

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  • Jun
  • 07
  • 2011

Temporary Home

Posted by Amber Steffen In Caring for Orphans | No Comments »
Temporary Home

A family I keep up with is in the process of moving overseas to run an orphanage. Right now, they’re living in a small rental home and trying to raise the last of their support before leaving to reach the precious children that makes their hearts beat. This week, she wrote something that touched me deeply. She says:

“I’ve had a lot of people ask me lately how we are doing in the midst of all of the changes that have occurred in our lives lately. I have to admit that often in the past I have been guilty of finding security in the comforts this world has to offer. I think it’s human nature really, yet silly just the same. We all know money doesn’t equal security- and yet we live like it does anyway.

As we transition into full time missions almost all of our comforts have slowly been stripped away. We are living in a temporary home, with temporary living room furniture, temporary table, temporary dressers and a temporary computer desk.

I fully admit it hasn’t been easy, and yet it has been a powerful reminder that regardless of where today has each and every one of us, we all need to remember that whether we have temporary lawn furniture in our living room or the sturdy, beautiful, name brand stuff…

it’s ALL temporary.

If you want security in something that will last forever I can tell you exactly where to get it. It comes with a life time guarantee and never changes. It’s solid as a rock -and not a better quality can be found. It has been here since the beginning and will last through the end. It’s all right here, just waiting for you to come pick it up and get this… it’s free.”

I’m encouraged as I see how even in the midst of all the changes their family faces, this mother clings to the Word for her sole strength. And she’s right, it doesn’t change, and what we have invested in Jesus will last forever.

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  • May
  • 19
  • 2011

Gobena Coffee

Posted by Amber Steffen In Adoption, Caring for Orphans, Ethiopia | No Comments »

God touched a couple’s lives when they adopted their little girl, Eva, from Ethiopia. But their journey didn’t stop when they brought their baby girl home. In fact, in many ways, the journey started there.

Check out their video and see how God used it:

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  • May
  • 10
  • 2011

Waiting

Posted by Amber Steffen In Adoption, Caring for Orphans, LSM | No Comments »
Waiting

Many times, waiting through the adoption process becomes more difficult than most realize at the beginning. Here’s a profound post from an adoptive couple on their journey:

I was sitting at home in Texas while Amy, my wife, was on the phone from Guatemala and was crying and asking the simplest and yet one of the most difficult questions to answer why? Why had our wait to adopt our twins from Guatemala taken so long? Why, upon arriving in Guatemala City for her fourth visit to see our twins while we waited for all the paperwork and endless steps to be completed, had she discovered that our son had a growth at the base of his skull? Why couldn’t she get any answers or good medical care for him there? Why couldn’t we just bring them home? Why was this happening to us? Why, why, why?

As I sat on the phone hundreds of miles away from her I did not have any answers. Worse yet (especially for a guy), there was nothing, absolutely nothing, I could do to ‘fix’ the situation. The thing about adoption is that it can, at times, cause you to feel quite helpless, impotent and utterly powerless. So I told her that I loved her and not to cry and not to worry and to get some sleep, and then I got off the phone and cried and worried and couldn’t sleep. And then it hit me at the answer to the ‘why’ questions as they related to our adoption journey, as they related to the children we so desperately wanted to welcome home.

The next morning while driving to work I typed out the following message on my Blackberry . . .

——————————–
Original Message
——————————–
From: Michael Monroe
Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2005 9:32 AM
To: Amy Monroe
Subject: It hit me

Last night it hit me. The answer to your question “ why? It hit me that the answer, at least for me, is that some love simply costs more than others. We as Christians should know this better than others. It is easy for me to forget that this process is not about me. It’s about giving these kids the love that they deserve – the love that every child deserves. If all we are able to ever give to Kate and Carter is what we have given them thus far I believe that would be enough for them. Of course we do and will always want more for them and for us. But the bottom line is that they are wanted and are loved, even desperately so.

I have to remind myself that what we are really doing here is ransoming them. We can only pay the ransom for Kate and Carter with our love. So, it will probably go on hurting. Hopefully a little; maybe a lot. But we will not and cannot stop loving them whether it is a week, a month, a year or lifetime more. They are wanted and are loved by us and will be forever.

I would not want to be in this valley with anyone other than you. And I believe that we will come out with a more wonderful family, a more beautiful love and a richer understanding of the true miracle of adoption.

I love you,
Michael
——————————–
End Message
——————————–

The Bible repeatedly reminds us that we are never alone. And not only are we not alone, we are assured that God is up to something even though we may not understand or even like our present situation or circumstances.

In Romans 8 the apostle Paul writes: ‘Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.’

So don’t give up . . . and don’t stop asking ‘why.’

 

This blog is taken from: http://adoptivedads.org/page/96

 

 

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  • Dec
  • 03
  • 2010

Around the World Again …

Posted by admin In Ethiopia, Haiti, LSM | No Comments »
Around the World Again ...

We’re posting more pictures from Amber and Regan’s recent trip to Haiti and Ethiopia. Also, please be prayerful for Troy Leyse, who works with our business development, as he travels to Kansas this weekend and Ed Schwartz and his wife, Jeni, as they travel to Haiti next week.

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  • Dec
  • 01
  • 2010

Around the world …

Posted by admin In Caring for Orphans, Ethiopia, Haiti, LSM, News | No Comments »
Around the world ...

Recently, Loving Shepherd staff members Amber Steffen and Regan Reimschisel visited Haiti and Ethiopia. We’ll post some of their pictures from Haiti today and some of their pictures from Ethiopia on Friday. To learn more about their trip, go to their blog at http://reganandamber.wordpress.com/

Come back Friday for more pictures, and as always, thanks for your prayers.

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  • Aug
  • 20
  • 2010

Hello …

Posted by admin In Caring for Orphans, Haiti, LSM, News | No Comments »
Hello ...

Dear Friends ~

Greetings from one of the newest members of the LSM team! My name is Shane, and I can remember hearing about Haiti back when I was a teenager. I first learned about the people who went to Haiti, and then, as I became older, I learned about the needs there. I always had an unexplainable interest in Haiti, but it never occurred to me that it would be a part of my future.

Then Christ became a part of my life, and I soon found myself on a trip to Haiti in 2004. Something happened that time, and though I returned from Haiti, something within me stayed there. I knew I needed to get back, but I didn’t know when or how.

Then, in 2007, I returned to Haiti and found where I had left that part of me; I picked it up and felt whole again. I found the place where I needed to give all the things that were given to me; God had been preparing me for this realization for most of my life, and I could see where He had been leading. I just felt “in place” when I was in Haiti.

In 2009 my path intersected with LSM, and I soon became connected with the ministries there. I didn’t know it at first, but the Lord was prompting me to take a turn at that intersection. I heard God saying, “Do you trust Me?”

So, after much prayer, I turned and followed the path of LSM. I will live and work in Haiti as LSM’s Haiti Project Coordinator, and I am excited about what the Lord has revealed to me. He has also revealed this scripture, and I find strength in its promise:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ~ Jeremiah 29:11.

After returning from Haiti in August, I now have a place to live, and I have begun focusing on my goals to develop Loving Shepherd’s Vocational Ranch. The days of packing and preparation are upon me while so many things need to happen to live in Haiti. The things we take for granted in the U.S. are non-existent luxuries in Haiti.

I am excited about the small staff we have assembled to begin work on the ranch, and I have been blessed beyond measure by those whom have worked hard to help me. The work is great, but not greater than He that is within us.

As I think of the not-so-distant future, I can envision the day when the first young adults from the Homes of Hope arrive and all the preparation that happened before that day reveals its purpose, and I can’t wait to witness the young lives begin to blossom as they see how God reveals His promise from Jeremiah 29:11.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ~ Jeremiah 29:11

Sincerely

Shane Shaw
Haiti Project Coordinator

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