Recently, I read the book Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder. Through masterfully written stories, Kidder describes the life of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Harvard-graduated doctor who has chosen to spend his life serving poor people across the globe. Farmer first encountered the desperate need of those living in poverty while visiting Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The people that he met living in the Central Plateau did not have clean water to drink, arable land to farm, health care, sanitation, or education. Many people in developed countries would love to credit these deficiencies to laziness, indifference, or some other reason that would pin the blame on the Haitians. But what Farmer found was that this extreme poverty often came from systematic oppression from the ruling elites, who were often supported by the United States government. These people could not will their way out of poverty no matter how hard they tried; the entire deck was stacked against them.Thus, Farmer, along with several other devoted individuals, established a free clinic in the Central Plateau. In the process, they founded Partners In Health (www.pih.org), an organization whose mission is to “provide a preferential option for the poor in health care.” PIH gives preference to those people that never receive preference in anything else; they seek to provide health care for “the least of these” (Matt. 25:40), treating such diseases as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and malaria, as well as any other problem that people bring them. Please check out their website. Read the book; donate your money and your voice; help save lives.
World Vision
I love this organization! World Vision (www.worldvision.org) is a Christian-based humanitarian organization that seeks to help some of the most needy people in the world by developing communities and providing relief during times of disaster. Through their community development programs, they seek to build sustainable communities all over the world that have adequate food, water, health care, education, and income. It is through these humanitarian programs that World Vision displays the love of Christ to the world; through their acts of love and service, they open up doors to share the good news of Jesus with people who are dying, both spiritually and physically. They are an organization that seeks to meet the entire needs of communities. Please think about supporting this wonderful organization. Check out their website; look at the faces of children who desperately need clean water and sufficient food to survive; think about how blessed you are, and choose to share. Begin by sponsoring a child. Then, after you fall in love with that child, support another. And when you do, I would love to read an e-mail about it (markwclancy@gmail.com). And then pass the word along.
¿Qué apoyas tú?
That is the question: “What do you support?” Of course, your answer could take an infinite number of forms, such as “my family & friends” or “Barack Obama in 2008.” But those answers are not exactly what I am looking for. What I am getting at could be restated as, “What causes do you support?”In my own life, I have learned that if I don’t intentionally stand for anything, then often I don’t stand for much at all. If I don’t willingly seek to share my faith with those around me, no matter how strong my own inner faith may be, it normally isn’t shared at all. If I don’t make a conscious effort to let my family know how much I love them, those sentiments often go unspoken. And if I don’t intentionally choose causes to support, chances are that I will never merely stumble upon them.My next several posts are going to be about causes that I believe are worthwhile, that are concerned about the needs of those who are hurting, and that display the love of Jesus Christ to a suffering world. There are organizations out there that are deserving of your time, voice, and money. Maybe I can introduce you to a few.
Drowning…
At one point in my life, I was sailing the seas of cheese. Now I am drowning in a sea of Spanish. Today I began auditing two Spanish classes at ACU, both of which are taught by our team’s personal tutor, Señora Walker. I am auditing Intermediate Spanish and Survey of Latin American Literature; the first is taught in Spanish and English, the second purely in Spanish (today, I caught about 10% of what she said). Please pray for my language acquisition ability, my patience, and my sanity.
Women in the Old Testament
This past week I have been auditing the ACU graduate school course with the above title. It seems that I just can’t get enough of school-inflicted torture, so I keep taking more classes. Yet, this past week has been anything but torture; in fact, I might even label the week joyous. Dr. Glenn Pemberton proved to be an excellent professor, leading the class through difficult biblical passages, discussions, and topics. My classmates provided helpful insights and questions, in addition to being kind and humorous.But the best part of the class was the material. For the entire week, from 8 am to 5 pm (with several breaks, of course), we examined obscure Old Testament passages that are often overlooked and nearly always oversimplified. These passages were ones that included women as one or more of the main characters in the story. It was fascinating to examine the numerous dimensions that affected, both positively and negatively, the daily existence of women in ancient Israel: the roles they played in religion, their importance in the family and community, their social oppression, their abilities, their short-comings, and the way God worked both through and sometimes in spite of these dimensions.And the most surprising outcome of the week: my greater appreciation of the Song of Songs as an amazing biblical text that offers hope and a vision for the future (but not in the way that one might expect). Ask me about it sometime.
The Holidays
I don’t think that this Christmas break could have been much better, which is nice considering that I will most likely be in Central and South America for the next several Navidades. Time with Mom & Dad was wonderful, and I was able to see high school and college friends, as well as see many of loved ones from my home church. I am constantly reminded of how blessed I am with the amazing people that God has placed in my life.Marathon training continues. The longer I run, the more ready I am for the marathon to already be over. Although many would disagree, I get tired of running after about ten miles…call me crazy. The Davidsons have already moved to Paris, TX, and the Yoakums are heading out tomorrow to Kaufman, TX. While their departures have been sad, it is also an exciting reminder that Lima is drawing ever nearer. I can’t wait! More to come in the near future…
