June 18, 2014
I am frequently asked this question. Why did I choose India? The truth is I feel like India chose me. I have shared before how when I was a teenager I went on a trip to India to work and minister to orphans and the poorest of the poor in the world. That experience was life changing. To see such extreme poverty, neglect, and hunger up close, changes a person.I held babies that had never been held before. I saw children who had no hope for a future that was better than they currently had. I left there heartbroken and wishing that I could do more.
There hasn’t been a time since that I have not thought of those children and the sadness and hopelessness that was in their eyes. There hasn’t been a time that I haven’t felt my heart tugged to do something more. I couldn’t imagine what I could do, one person, to help so many.
I am also frequently asked:
Why don’t you help people here, in your own country instead? Dear friend, we do! Rick and I have given more in support to US organizations over the past 7 years than to any other place in the world. We will continue to give and serve domestically. Our heart is to give more and more as we are able. These organizations are changing the world--right here in the good ol' US, some of them right in our own backyard.
However, we do not feel that we have to limit our support to a single organization or country when there are so many who need help all over the world. Places where a relatively small amount of money can make the difference between life and death. We will continue to do our part wherever in the world we feel called. Even the poorest Americans are richer than those living in Third World countries and have access to social services that simply are not available in Third World countries.
All those years ago, God planted the seed of India in my heart. As a Christian, I fell it’s very important to care for those who are orphaned, widowed or less fortunate.
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27)
Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. (Psalm 82:3-4)
God’s love explodes beyond all borders and so our love follows.
According to statistics released by Unicef, in India there are over 33 million children with no parents. Of these, only a small percentage of children have parents who have died, the rest have simply been abandoned. Children who literally live on the street. Children who are as young as three years old left on the streets to fend for themselves. This I saw with my own eyes. To turn the other way after witnessing this would simply be unconscionable. And now as mother, I see the face of my own children on the orphans in India and tears well up instantly.
Thanks to all of you who have supported Grace and Lace, the longing that was placed in my heart is finally being answered. Every one of you have a part in this story. To know that people all over the world have had a part in building Halle House, fills me with joy.
If you are passionate about, or feel called to a certain area/project, we encourage you to do the same. Go for it with everything you have. Wherever you feel called, whether in your own town or a world away, answer the call.
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