Tag Archives: orphans

Published in: Sudan January 18, 2010

A Prayer for Compassion

By Joshua MacLeod No Comments


Imagine if water were so valuable, you wouldn’t waste if washing your face. As I stepped off the plane into Sudan, I saw the dusty faces of those who have suffered under the terrible genocide happening in Darfur. It is one thing to talk about the 400 thousand people who have died and 2.5 million people displaced, but it is a far different thing to see the reality of lost lives and hardship on the faces of those in Darfur.

I visited an orphanage run by Kimberly Smith. At the time there were 800 children living without any shelter…the number one cause of death being wild dogs. I found my self in a state of numbness. Having recently visited Northern Uganda, I was shell shocked that such devastation was happening on our planet.

During this “numb” state, I started feeling guilty. I expressed my numbness to a Sudanese pastor named Tito Abaha. “You should pray”, he said…and I did. I said a simple prayer asking God to give me compassion for the children.

A few minutes’ later I was approached by three young children. I picked up a guitar and started playing “Father Abraham”. We started marching around in a circle as I sang.

I asked the oldest girl how she had come to the orphanage. “The soldiers came in an shot my mother an father, and so I came here”, she said. The other children looked up when she had finished speaking, both of them with the same reply…”me too.” The little girl then asked me a question. “Do you have a mommy?”. “Yes”, I said. “Do you have a Daddy?”. Yes. “Ohh”, was her response. I held back tears.


A friend of mine had given me a children’s book about how God is the creator. I took the book, sat the children on my lap and told the children about a father in heaven who loves them and created them to be with him forever.

“Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the orphan and the widow in their distress, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” -James 1:27

It is easy to quote this verse without visiting the orphan. It is also easy to get “spotted” by the world and become so busy that we neglect those who are closest to God’s heart.


God answered my prayers when I asked him to give me compassion for these young orphans. You can get involved in serving orphans in Sudan by contacting me.

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Published in: Uganda January 18, 2010

I Want to Thank You for Changing My Life

By Joshua MacLeod No Comments


It is hard to put into words the things that have happened in northern Uganda. An unimaginably evil man named Joseph Koney led by “7 spirits” decided to attack the Ugandan government. He formed a cult rebel group and named it “The Lords Resistance Army (LRA).” His tactics for gathering troops included the kidnapping of young children and forcing them to join his militia. Young women were captured from villages and forced to be the “wives” of rebel soldiers. Many horrible and demonic things were done to these children.


Seeing only the devastation that the war in Uganda brought, I began looking for signs of life. I found light in the eyes of the missionaries at “The Village of Hope”. Missionaries Jerry and Candice Bingham have been serving the people of northern Uganda for years. They reach out to persons infected with HIV/Aids and other diseases and bring healing to the victims of the LRA.


The hotel that I stayed at was called “Jo Jo’s Palace”. You can imagine what the rooms looked like! On the day before we left, a young man named Peter approached me asking for money. I felt like God wanted me to share the gospel with Peter, so I asked a question. “Did you ever tell a lie?” I said. He looked me right in the eye and said yes. “Have you ever stolen anything?” I said. “Yes.” Then I told him about a savior who died for liars and thieves and that he could spend eternity with Jesus. We knelt down and prayed for him to receive Christ and one of our team-members took this photo. I gave him a few dollars and asked him to spend half of the money giving water to the poor, and the other half he could keep for himself.
On the next day as we were preparing to leave, Peter came running up to me. “You changed my life yesterday!” he said. “I went to church this morning! I took half of your money and delivered it to the very poor. They were so happy! So, I took all of the money that you gave me and bought more water, “ he said. “I want to thank you for changing my life!” With that he walked away smiling.


It is impossible to make sense of the horrors of this life, without taking into consideration eternal purposes. The young women at The Village of Hope and Peter may have an extremely hard living condition today, but I know that they will spend eternity in peace.

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Published in: Chile January 18, 2010

She Prayed for the First Time

By Joshua MacLeod No Comments


Stepping off the bus at the Jogar Girls orphanage in San Tiago Chile, we were met by the cutest little girls you ever saw!  They were so excited to see us coming and greeted us with hugs and kisses.  How anyone could have ever abandoned or abused these precious children was beyond me.

As I looked around, I noticed bars on the windows.  I learned that men from the adjoining slum had formerly broken into the orphanage and sexually assaulted a four-year-old girl.  Vision for Chile had come in and built several safe dormitories for the girls to stay.  Our short term team was going to build the foundation for a third dorm.


On the first day there, one particular girl caught my attention as she looked out through the bars of a window and I took this picture.  The girl’s name was Jacqueline and throughout the week she watched us intently as we worked.


As with any “short term team”, there were a lot of blood sweat and tears as the different personalities learned how to work together towards the common goal of serving the orphans.  Often times in Christianity, we have a comfortable church structure where the “professionals” handle everything, and the body never needs to work side by side.  This is definitely not the case on a vision for Chile trip.  Differences are overcome in order that the girls would have a safe place to stay.

At the end of the trip, Jacqueline came up to me and asked if we could talk.  She didn’t speak English, so we had a young missionary girl named Suzy translate.  Jacqueline said that she wanted what we had.  She saw Christ in the short termers and she wanted Him for herself.  I explained the gospel and told her that she could pray to receive Christ.  She told me she had never prayed before…and then she prayed to God for the first time in her life.  I snapped this picture later on that day.

You can watch the current vision for chile video below:

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Published in: Ethiopia January 16, 2010

Don’t Take My Picture If You Can’t Fix My Poverty

By Joshua MacLeod No Comments

Ethiopian Woman

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

orphanshoe

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

Orphans

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 in 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.

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