As more and more of our friends and family check in here, I thought I would write a bit about how I came upon our title for this blog. Perhaps some folks think I just have a horrible self esteem, and don't think anything I write is worth reading. Well, the title has nothing to do with my self esteem, and I'll leave it up to all of you to decide if you want to use some of your own time to read this. I actually borrowed the title from one of my personal inspirations. First, I find myself amazed and inspired by Elisabeth Elliot...missionary, writer, and just an incredibly brilliant Christian woman. If any of you have read through my personal profile, you will see that a book by Elliot is listed as one of my favorites. It seems shallow to call it a "favorite" ...like a movie I enjoy, or chocolate. In fact, "A Chance to Die" is one of those rare books that has impacted the way I think and believe. It is the biography of Amy Carmichael, who became a missionary to India over a century ago. I cannot begin to explain the impact these two women have had on lives, or the face of missions in general... I'll leave you to read it for yourself. Here is the short form.
Amy Carmichael traveled to India as a young woman, with a desire to teach and evangelize people who were living in a darkness she could barely comprehend as a Victorian lady. Although her heart was for a traveling teaching ministry, God broke her heart for the children sold into temple prostitution. As she began to rescue children out of this horror, her new ministry was born. As she collected children from all over India, she needed a place to put them, and workers to care for them, and most of all, people to pray, and give to their many needs. Dohnavur Fellowship still exists today, though it is run entirely by native Indian workers. Amy Carmichael dedicated her entire life to her "family" at the fellowship, never returning to England, but dying in India as an invalid, after years of caring for her children.
"Scraps by Nobody" was the name of one of her newsletters home to a select circle of loved ones, who were committed to pray ceaselessly for the ministry at Dohnavur Fellowship. It was her desire to present their needs in a realistic way, without the desire to entertain and titillate the reader with glamorous stories of foreign, exotic lands, or missionary conquest and adventure. Likewise, it was not a plea for funds, but simply for prayer, that God who could supply every need, would make their way clear. In Amy's mind, her "scraps" were not important for the purpose of making herself known, or of making someone on the receiving end feel important. They were just bits, offered up to God, to use as He willed.
In the near future, we will be sharing some of our pressing needs. We hope that you will pray ceaselessly that God who is able to supply all of our needs, will make our way clear. We also hope and pray that our "Scraps" will help you to understand how you may have a part in this ministry to damaged children, to which God has clearly called our family.
Amy Carmichael traveled to India as a young woman, with a desire to teach and evangelize people who were living in a darkness she could barely comprehend as a Victorian lady. Although her heart was for a traveling teaching ministry, God broke her heart for the children sold into temple prostitution. As she began to rescue children out of this horror, her new ministry was born. As she collected children from all over India, she needed a place to put them, and workers to care for them, and most of all, people to pray, and give to their many needs. Dohnavur Fellowship still exists today, though it is run entirely by native Indian workers. Amy Carmichael dedicated her entire life to her "family" at the fellowship, never returning to England, but dying in India as an invalid, after years of caring for her children.
"Scraps by Nobody" was the name of one of her newsletters home to a select circle of loved ones, who were committed to pray ceaselessly for the ministry at Dohnavur Fellowship. It was her desire to present their needs in a realistic way, without the desire to entertain and titillate the reader with glamorous stories of foreign, exotic lands, or missionary conquest and adventure. Likewise, it was not a plea for funds, but simply for prayer, that God who could supply every need, would make their way clear. In Amy's mind, her "scraps" were not important for the purpose of making herself known, or of making someone on the receiving end feel important. They were just bits, offered up to God, to use as He willed.
In the near future, we will be sharing some of our pressing needs. We hope that you will pray ceaselessly that God who is able to supply all of our needs, will make our way clear. We also hope and pray that our "Scraps" will help you to understand how you may have a part in this ministry to damaged children, to which God has clearly called our family.
1 comment:
hey mom check it out
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