the crisp connection

I'm not sure exactly how long since i've gone off on something, but i hope long enough that I can do it again. because i cannot let this go. again. walking through the atlanta airport, patrick and i admired alot of the artwork adorning the halls of the train tunnels. if you choose to walk in between terminals, you can be entertained with the history of atlanta, various displays of african art and sculpture, etc. And then we came upon this one. As you can see, it's referring to elephants. elephants, people? yes, i realize they have no voice. you know why? its because they have no soul. and therefore, are a lower life form than those of us who do have voices, who do have souls. now, i wish that the world were such a wonderful, peaceful, happy place for us people that we had enough time, energy, and financial resources to worry so much about the state of these precious little elephants on this poster. But i gotta tell you, that is not the case! If you are a kind hearted person who wants to stand up for someone who has no voice, can i point you in a different direction?

Machine Gun Preacher: http://www.machinegunpreacher.org/about-sam-childers/ I put this one first because its pretty easy to watch a movie. We all do that regularly, I imagine. I'm not advocating for this unique "preacher", so much as I am the cause of the children he's fighting for. His methods are questionable, but the point is, evil is out there, and we do have to fight it. Its about southern Sudan (yes, i realize everybody thinks I run that into the ground, and I'm sorry), and the children there. Started by Sam Childers, ex-criminal from Pennsylvania.

Invisible Children: www.invisiblechildren.com This is an organization dedicated to rehabbing abducted child soldiers, specifically those taken by the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) in Central Africa. Many of these boys are kidnapped when they are very young, and forced to commit and witness unspeakable horrors. Eventually, they fully adopt that way of life. They are using a variety of methods such as radio to reach these children and encourage them to surrender. There are a few residential facilities where the ex-child soldiers can go, and they help them find their families, if they are still alive.

Make Way Partners: www.makewaypartners.org Their mission statement: "Through the hope of the Gospel, we go to the most vulnerable and least protected to end human trafficking and modern day slavery." They have people in a few different countries, but they started in Sudan as well, doing much the same things as these others I've listed. Started by Kimberly Smith, average wife/mother/churchgoer/American.

Amazima: www.amazima.org. Started by Katie Davis, a young girl from Brentwood TN doing a short term mission trip in Uganda, and ended up staying. And adopting children. And opening an orphanage. Because she was in love with Jesus, and so she loved what Jesus loved, to the exclusion of everything else. Uganda has been completely traumatized by the LRA as well. An amazing, amazing story. These are all amazing stories. About average people who are confronted with the horrible truth about the world, and do above average things. and therefore end up changing the world.

Hudson Taylor said "“What does the Master teach? Is it not that if one sheep out of a hundred be lost, we are to leave the ninety and nine and seek that one? But here, the proportions are almost reversed, and we stay home with the one sheep and take no heed to the ninety and nine perishing ones!” It was true in his day, and its true in ours. But they arent just lost. They are being kidnapped, raped, maimed, murdered, and forced to do the same. But hey, let's hope those elephants get all the help they need. It would be a crying shame if they were hungry or cold. or extinct.