I wasn’t supposed to be on this trip.  I had intended to fly into Sudan to scout out land for a medical clinic with a Sudanese lost boy.  I was immensely disappointed when our “friend on the ground” suddenly needed an extra $3000 U.S. dollars once he found out I was an American citizen.  Welcome to African politics!

I was however able to connect with an old friend serving at AIM who put me on a “puddle jumper” airplane with a retired missionary couple to visit an extremely remote part of Northern Kenya named Log logo (good luck finding it on a map).

Logo was dry, extremely dry.  In fact it had not rained for over a year and many villagers had taken their cattle several miles away in search of water. I had never seen such poverty.  The child in this picture was so malnourished that his hair had turned red.

As I walked around Log Logo, I noticed three girls in matching dresses.  When they saw me, they giggled, and I caught the moment on camera.  Having my own two daughters, I suddenly realized that there was no difference between these little girls and mine.  They giggled just like little girls do.  The only difference between these girls and mine was that they were born in Log logo Kenya and mine were born in Tennessee.  In Proverbs, king Solomon makes this point when he says “The rich and the poor have a common bond, The LORD is the maker of them all. – Prov 22:2” .Even though they are poor, they are still valuable.

Later on that day, I saw that there was a difference between us.  I saw the same three girls drinking water out of an animal trough.  For some reason, I was born in America, and they were born here, to live and die as generations had before.

Except for one small house, there was no electricity in the village.  When the sun went down, I understood what Abraham saw when God told him to count the stars and consider his descendants.   Being the rare guests, we were invited to share a dinner at the small house.  As I walked into the house, I was shocked by the familiar device that sat in the corner.  There, in the middle of Log Logo Kenya, in the only house in the village with electricity was a television set.  The fresh prince of Bel Air blared loudly as I entered the living room.  The irony disgusted me.  After watching three sweet little girls drinking water from an animal trough, now I was seeing the best that America had to offer this village was the cheap entertainment of a sitcom TV show.  I knew that I had made a good decision to use creative media to help people like these.

The western world has largely lost its passion for God because we have become intoxicated by entertainment.  What would happen if rather than watch TV for a week, we went to go find someone to needs served, and served them.  After the week is through we might judge which brings more joy, serving or entertainment?  I know from experience that service brings about more lasting joy?  How is it that we have time and money to watch TV…and not go out and serve the poor?  It boggles the mind.

I have not been able to visit Log Logo since, but I was able to show the picture of the three girls to some friends and we sent $500 dollars to help them with schooling and food.

If you would like to send money for their schooling, please contact me!

Blessings,
 Joshua

“Don’t take my picture if you can’t fix my poverty”.

Standing on the streets of Addis Ababa with my new Canon digital camera, a woman walked by and I snapped a shot.  After the shutter was released, the woman shouted at me in Arabic.  I didn’t understand what she said.  My guide interpreted. “Don’t take my picture if you can’t fix my poverty”. I wanted to apologize, but she was already gone.

In the previous 5 years I had spent the vast majority of my time fueling the hungry litigation machine with powerful graphics for the courtroom.  Then in Dec of ’04, I knew that I needed to shift the investment of my talents toward the kingdom of God. I wanted to use photography and video production to show what God was doing around the world.  As I had equipped attorneys to win legal arguments, I now wanted to equip thousands to reach millions for the kingdom.  Ethiopia was my second overseas visit and my introduction to Africa.

The cry of this woman’s heart was unmistakable.  I am not here for your entertainment!  I am valuable.  I am in trouble.  You Americans have been here before and done nothing.  “Don’t take my picture, if you can’t fix my poverty.”  The western society had let her down…and she wanted me to know it.

Each year the U.S. and Europe spend 13 billion on Perfume…enough to cure world hunger.    Jesus said, “The poor will always be with you.”  What many people don’t know is that Jesus was quoting a scripture verse from Deuteronomy 15:11 - “For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.’” There is a command that because the poor are always to be with you, children of God should be the ones reaching out to serve…regardless of anyone else.

Reflections on the street
Walking the streets of Addis Ababa, I saw things that I wish I could forget.  I saw people begging who had their hands cut off for stealing.  I saw a plush hotel that cost $200 a night a quarter mile away from people who would not make $200 in that year.

I saw street kids wandering around dirty.  I saw leapers sitting on the side of the road with their faces literally rotting off.  I did not have the heart to take pictures.  At the same time, I also saw joy.  I saw families and children enjoying life and being satisfied with their circumstances.  It’s impossible to put into words what you see when you visit a place like Addis Ababa.  It’s like experiencing all of the things that you know are there deep down, but somehow get muted as they are not before your eyes.

Visiting an Orphanage
I was able to visit an orphanage while in Addis.  Reflecting on the six pair of shoes that I had back home, I saw this kid who was happy to have any shoes at all.  As the children were fed at the orphanage, I took a picture of two orphans sitting by a wall.  I took their picture because I felt like their facial expressions asked me a question.  The question I felt like they asked was “Is my condition my own fault, or someone elses? “  Jesus disciples asked Jesus the same question?  John 9:2 “And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?”  Jesus answered,

“It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

The only difference was that Jesus reached out his hand and healed the blind man and helped him out of his circumstance.  I wonder if we are willing to do the same.

We need YOUR help to get a project started in this category. Please contact us and be in prayer about ways we can reach out to the millions that are in need.

Scripture Prints for Widows – “A picture is worth a thousand words…of encouragement!”

So Far: 88 prints given away!

Story

In early 2008, Joshua decided to get intentional about spending his money on the kingdom of God. He asked God to show him a where he could invest money serving widows that would have a kingdom impact. Immediately, Joshua remembered all of the pictures that he had taken on his travels overseas and “Scripture Prints for Widows” was born.

Now Watermelon Ministries is providing scripture prints to widows in nursing homes. James 1:27 says that pure religion before God is “to visit widows and orphans in their distress, and keep oneself unspotted from the world”. Watermelon wants to provide you the opportunity to visit a widow and give them a beautiful picture with an encouraging scripture verse. All of the pictures were taken by Joshua on one of his oversea trips.

The need

Each print costs roughly $10 to create. Your donation of $10 will put a scripture print like the ones seen on this site into the hands of a widow/widower in a nursing home. It’s that simple.

If you would like to purchase a print, your donation of $20 will provide a scripture print for you and also put one in a nursing home.

We need volunteers to come and help us deliver the prints!

How it works

The scripture prints must be ordered in large quantities in order to get discount pricing. Once enough people have donated toward a run ( 24 prints), we order the prints from our supplier and have them on hand.

Most nursing homes have an activities director who would love to have you come and give away pictures. We simply call the activities director and set up a good time for delivery, then anyone who wants to come along and deliver the prints is able.

Updates

Jan 23rd 2009 Handed out 20 prints at Claiborne Hughes Nursing Home in Franklin, TN

Dec 17th Gave 4 prints to Priest Lake Community Church in Antioch, TN

Dec 9th 2008 Gave 4 prints to First Missionary Baptist Church in Franklin, TN to distribute to widows.

Dec 9th 2008:  Sent 4 prints to Stroudsburg Wesleyan Church in PA to distribute to widows!

November 2008: 20 prints delivered to Claiborne Hughes Nursing Home in Franklin, TN
October 1, 2008: We delivered our first 10 prints to a nursing home in Smyrna, TN

Contact

Please contact Joshua MacLeod for more info.

Photo Gallery

Garments of Praise is a ministry set up by Watermelon to provide instruments to orphans worldwide free of charge.

So Far: 6 guitars have been given to orphans overseas!

The Story

It is said that “Great things are wound up with all things little.” Who but God could have known that this guitar, made from a gas can in poverty-stricken Malawi, would serve as a catalyst to provide musical instruments to orphans worldwide?

In Nov 2007, Joshua MacLeod, founder of Watermelon Ministries, was travelling in Africa alongside other ministries when he visited an orphanage. As he letter wrote in a letter to his supporters:

“As I stood in this orphanage in Malawi, this young man played his heart out on a homemade guitar made out of a gas can. Living in Nashville, you get to know when someone is a good musician or not…he was a good musician! As I looked at his guitar, my eyes began to water and I was horrified that such a good musician had such a poor instrument. On the other hand the quality of his heart was clearly seen on his face.”

Having watched the effect music had on the young children, seeing their faces light up with joy as they clapped and danced to the music provided by this gas can guitar, Joshua decided to start Garments of Praise to raise money in order to provide orphans with musical instruments—something they’d never be able to afford for themselves.

This dream of providing orphans with musical instruments is now being realized…and you can get involved!

The Need

We need your money, your “like new” instruments, and your time.

How it works

Garments of Praise, a branch of Watermelon Ministries, oversees the collecting and purchasing of instruments as well as arranging the safe travel of these instruments through our various partner organizations already travelling to orphanages world-wide.

We make sure that the received instruments are connected in some way with either sharing the gospel or a music ministry.

Your donations can include:

• New or “like new” instruments
• Cash (used to purchase new instruments)

Updates

October 31, 2008: We sent 5 guitars to the orphanage
October 1, 2008: We sent one guitar to el hogar para niñas La Granja, a girl’s home in Santiago, Chile.

Contact

Please contact Joy Shind, brianjoy7[at]yahoo.com, or via phone (615) 585-0303 if you’d like help raise funds or donate instruments for Garment of Praise.

Photo Gallery

In Sep of 2004, I sat at the kitchen table of my father-in-law, (who was also the president of the company I worked for) and informed him that I was going to leave my job and start a non-profit organization named after a fruit. A Watermelon to be specific.

Before this radical move, I was the national manager of a successful courtroom presentation company and had recently published the lead article in the Nashville Bar Journal. “considering courtroom technology”. I was bringing down a pretty nice salary complete with company car, cell phone, insurance and matching 401k. We had been so successful in the previous 5 years that we had just opened an office in Atlanta. The future was so bright…I had to wear shades.

Earlier in the year, I had worked on a huge case in Houston TX. By huge, I mean 500 million dollars huge and I was flown out to help with a major hearing. At the end of the day, the attorney I was helping (who incidentally owned 100 of his own personal cars) came over and with a congratulatory handshake told me, “Josh, you’re the best we’ve ever worked with.”

So, what led me to leave this successful career and start a non-profit? Primarily God, but secondarily a missionary named Kevin Sheehan. There are certain people who share things about God that you can’t get out of your head…Kevin was one of those people. He left a successful career at IBM in the 70’s to go into full time missions and he very persuasively argued for “planting our seeds” rather than consuming them for personal gain. It was from a sermon preached by Kevin that the name Watermelon came about.

My father-in-law looked up from the table and said, “Well, the last thing in the world that I want to do is get in the way of God…but…what’s your plan?”. Up until that point, I hadn’t actually considered a plan. I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that I was supposed to quit my job and start a ministry, and I knew that I was supposed to help Christians with creative media services…but who and how and what, I didn’t have a clue. I asked God to send me 3 people who needed what I could offer…and He did.

The first persons that God wanted me to serve were Maurico and Anna Erazo. They serve 10,000 kids each year in Honduras, sharing the gospel and teaching life skills. The second project was for the directors of missions for the Christian and missionary Alliance in Indonesia, and the third for a local youth camp. Each of these ministries was provided an excellent video production free of charge.

As I write this, it is now 2008, in the last four years I have travelled to Kenya Twice, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Ghana, Malawi, South Africa, Chile Twice, India, and I’m heading to Indonesia at the end of the month. Even though I had no clue how God could use a courtroom presentation specialist to serve the church at home and around the world, we’ve been instrumental in helping about 35 ministries either get off the ground, or expand their influence. 35 isn’t bad, but our mission is to equip thousands to reach millions…so we’ve got a long way to go.