It has been a while since I posted anything to my blog. Like most people, I think I have gone through periods in my life in which I am less motivated to do things that challenge me. One of those things is writing about things that are meaningful and impact life. So having said that and made my lame excuses, I am now motivated to start back up with a regular blog; at least for today I am motivated...
I am in the process of organizing another mission trip to Honduras with Osman Hope. My trips to Honduras each year, for the past four years, have become something of which I have become passion for me. My first trip to Honduras was truly life changing and made me even more aware at a very gut level, the needs of people in the world outside of our comfort zone here in the United States. To travel to and work side-by-side with people living in a third world country can’t help but to impact you in a very special and meaningful way.
Despite the current economic downturn here in the US with soaring gas prices, the cost of food going up and the housing market crash, we really are still very privileged and fortunate to live where we do and have all that we have. Even though some in our communities live pay check to pay check, they still have a standard of living that is leaps and bounds ahead of most of the rest of the world. Millions live not pay check to pay check but meal to meal. But even more tragically is loss of spirit and loss of hope that many around the world face each and every day. When you see this first hand, it most certainly calls one to “do something”... I found that to be an overwhelming call.
There is a story about a person walking on the beach and they see millions of starfish being washed to shore dying. Off in the distance they see a man walking back and forth from the shore to the water. As they get closer, they see that the man is taking starfish and putting them back into the water. The person walking on the beach stops and asks the man, "Why are your doing this? There is no way in the world you could begin to make a difference for all these millions of starfish." The man kept at his task and simply looked up and said as he dropped a starfish back into the water, “it made a difference for that one”...
I think that is how it is for us as we face the overwhelming task of addressing poverty and hunger in the world. We can only do it one person at a time. As we move from just one or two addressing problems to 10, 20, 100 people being involved in the issue of addressing world poverty and hunger the impact is increased exponentially . Image how the starfish story would have been different if it ended with the person on the beach getting their friends involved with moving starfish, and then their friend’s friends... They would have been able to get the majority of the starfish back into the ocean.
We are blessed with having an abundance of resources, knowhow and money in this country. Change occurs when people are motivated to change. Motivation comes from feeling something on an emotional level. That is why I like to have new people go with me on my trips to Honduras. They come away motivated, acutely aware and knowing the needs of people in third world countries. They in turn make others aware and get them involved.
So, my goal is to keep moving starfish one at a time. Then too, to get others involved in moving starfish. Then maybe, those folks will, in turn, get others to move starfish. If we do that way, just maybe, we can have a whole nation of starfish movers...
If you are interested in joining the next trip to Honduras, please check out http://ezmissiontravel.com/osmanhopetrip.html
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