The blog that I've read has a good point...Before you sign up for a volunteer trip anywhere in the world this summer, consider whether you possess the skill set necessary for that trip to be successful. If yes, awesome. If not, it might be a good idea to reconsider your trip...I can't, or won't argue that point. It's a good one. However, I will argue the following...me, being a white girl.
That one phrase has stuck like a rock in my stomach. Each time I've seen this particular blog posted on Facebook it has made me want to cry with anger. The reason has been one...very...simple...reason...it perpetuates racisim. I despise racisim. I cringe when people refer to others by color. This is not something new, I've been this way since the day my mom beat my hide for suggesting that someone was not as good as I was simply because of their skin color. I didn't know it at the time, but God used that moment to wake me up and show me truth. Suggesting to me that I shouldn't be somewhere simply because I'm white hurts. Suggesting that someone can't do something because they're black infuriates me. How dare you!
Mark 16:15 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. This has been my response each time to this blog. Do you notice that Jesus NEVER says...if you're white, you can only go into white the world. If you're black, you can only go to the black world. If you're Asian, you can only go to the Asian world...He says GO!
Three weeks ago, I took the following picture and asked the following question...what is the one thing that is different about my hands? The very first thing that all the children said was "you're white and we're black." I said, no, that's not the difference I see. It was one...simple...sentence. "We all have hands. We all have ten fingers. But there is something different about my hand." After a moment, they all saw it! Do you see it?
When we left Clau Clau, we were taking Comfort with us. Comfort is one of the volunteers at the center. We were doing the "Thankful" game and when Comfort did his thankfuls, I had to keep from crying. He was thankful for the above example. He was thankful that one of the little girls in this picture was walking past him but stopped and said the most beautiful words..."GoGo Wendy says God made us all the same...beautiful!"
Those words, right there, are the very reason that this 48 year old, woman of God, sold everything she owned, left her family, and moved to South Africa. Those words are what keep me going on the rough days. She gets it! Do you?
The difference I see is big hands with a wedding band . People are beautiful in many ways. Some are beautiful on the outside but ugly on the inside because they don't know who they are in Jesus. Then you have the people that their looks are not that great, but they are beautiful from the inside out because they know who they are and what they have in Jesus. Our job is to love from a heart of love. knowing that that's what pleases God. We are to look like Jesus. Our hands are His hands. Red, yellow , black, or white we all are precious in His sight that's why He sent His son Jesus to save the world.
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