A Mother's Loss: My Somber Christmas Blog

Last night, I was disturbed by a dream that left me searching for my son.  I had sent him off somewhere not knowing exactly where he was going and two days later I realized he wasn’t coming back so I searched for him relentlessly, afraid that I may have lost him forever.  I asked family and friends if they had seen him, which left them accusatory to say the least at my lack of responsibility in protecting this ten year old boy’s safety. The ten year old boy I love the most in the entire world.

 I questioned my own sanity in letting him go by himself and not having any way of contacting him. I felt like he had gone into an abyss that we could never get him back from. My dream turned into a nightmare.  Thankfully though, I woke to find that this was not at all true and that my son was indeed still laying upstairs safely in his bed.  Relief.

 Not so for another mother we encountered this week though;  Not so for yet another one we have met in these last five months and again not even for another mother we are reflecting on this season.  Let me tell you about these three mothers:

1.       We have just moved into a new place in the west south corner of Addis Ababa. The suburb is developing fast and many foreigners as well as Ethiopian people are moving into this area, showing promise for business owners and landlords who have built homes in the area anticipating that this would happen.  The area also leads onto the new highway that runs south to places like Debre Zeit (our old home city), Nazaret and Awash National Park.

There is a bustling supermarket and business building that is frequented by many middle class and well-to-do customers. Knowing this, many beggars stand stationed outside with their children, trying to make the most of the opportunities that will avail them.

Unfortunately though, as we found out, these children are being put at risk as they follow people across the busy street chasing that coin, that birr, that piece of bread…which is so much less than they ACTUALLY need.  My heart broke as we encountered the enormity again of the need here and our insufficiency to meet the needs.

Thursday came and Asaua and I went to do our shopping with our friend in her car to this particular supermarket which seems to be the closest thing to our western supermarket experiences (bar the security checks at the door and the potential power outages).  I had forgotten the wallet on the first trip so a couple of hours later, Asaua had to make a second trip to pay for and collect the food.  As he was getting ready to pay and leave, the driver came in to warn him that there had been an accident outside.  One of the beggar boys had been hit by a passing vehicle and he lay dead in his mother’s grieving arms.  People surrounded them to pass blame on this mother for allowing her son to be out begging with her while she wailed; Asaua catching a glimpse of his limping legs still lying on the road that claimed his life. Cars came to a halt to bypass the boy who needed bypassing just a few minutes earlier.  A life not yet lived, was taken away and a mother lost her son in one Thursday afternoon excursion. The loss of that mother rang wild in my soul as Asaua reported what had happened on his return. Oh, Lord Jesus, you know the pain that grieved her heart.

2.        Five months ago as we prepared to leave Ethiopia, a lovely lady had been put in contact with me as a potential partner with the work that we are involved with.  As it turned out, she ended up being the answer to our prayer for accommodation in Sydney as we prepared to stay near my sister’s house in the “Hills District” of this huge city.  She lived only six kilometres away from where my mum and sister’s family were living.

As we entered into her home, we heard this mother’s loss of her dear son.  Nine years earlier, her son had left his home country with his wife to be missionaries in Ethiopia. After he had arrived, our host (his mother) had visited him and they had a good time together exploring the country he had then made his home.   After her return to Australia, a few months down the track, she was alerted to the fact that her son was in a fatal fall during a rainy night excursion out onto the roof of a building that needed some maintenance.

As we heard her story, we sensed her pain and empathized with the loss this family had experienced as the result of his obedience to God’s call on his life to go to Ethiopia. It doesn’t make sense yet we have heard it time and time again. Mother’s losing children on the mission field. What pain they must endure to not have to just say goodbye once, but to say goodbye till eternity they meet.  A mother’s loss of a son surfacing in an ocean of pain.  Grief unbearable without the strength of One who carries heavy burdens.

3.       The third woman that comes to mind is the one to whom we see around us in Nativity scenes and on Christmas Cards this season.  Two thousand plus years ago, she was chosen to give birth to the Messiah. “The One who was and is and is to come.” He was to be conceived of the Holy Spirit in HER womb and to be raised in her home under the love of her arms only to then be given over to a horrendous death in which she would be witness to.  He was to be the propitiation for our sins.  Yet she took on the challenge and trusted God with her son.  She surrendered her body, her life, her grief to the One who had seen the beginning from the end.  

I wonder if she sensed the loss from the beginning, forming attachments with her beloved son – a son who did not sin! A son who did no wrong and could not have caused her harm if he had tried; her love for him would have been untainted by hurt or pain.  Yet she awaited the time when what the world would do to him would bring the greatest hurt and pain a mother could endure.  Yet she loved and protected him, chasing him down also when he seemed to go missing yet was about his Father’s business. You can read about that story in Luke 2:41-52

Though this wasn't the greatest loss this mother was to experience, it was the taste of what was yet to come. In the event of her greatest loss, Jesus comforted her and gave her a "replacement" son, John. She then got to know the joy of His Resurrection before anyone else did as she met him outside his tomb.  This is the hope that we have. The story does not finish at her loss, but rather in her regaining her Son in His Resurrection moment. This too we can partake in as we receive Eternal Life thought the very act Mary lived to grieve. Do you know that Eternal Hope? It is yours for the taking.  

In this season where the focus is on a Son, know that it encompasses the awaiting loss, an expected grief and that in that grief, He is not unaware of yours.  

He truly came to bring...

JOY TO THE WORLD!

The Gift Which Keeps On Giving

.

They’re the BEST kind.  

The gifts that go beyond the expiry date. 

The kind that cyclically provide. 

The ones that you remember far beyond the initial receipt.  

Those that, in some way, continue to show up just when you need them.

We have spent two Christmas seasons here in Ethiopia now and have come to terms with the fact that here the “season” as we know it, doesn’t exist.  On December 25, life goes on here.  We have to TELL OR REMIND people that it’s our Christmas time and are often mocked for that fact that our Christmas season lasts a couple of months, where here it lasts a couple of days. 

While part of me misses the Christmas season and festivities, I am already readying myself for what I am about to be smashed in the face with when I return to the Western world- Fanatical consumerism!  Like extreme terrorist attacks, insurgences take place on our bank accounts where everything explodes and one day later, the mess has to be cleaned up.  Then for months, the debts have to be paid.

Am I wrong? I don’t know.  Maybe things have changed in the last two years.  I remember consumer spending around Christmas had slowed during the financial crisis.  Maybe it’s remained the same. *sigh

Anyway what this whole experience has taught us is that there are things and days and gifts in life that matter and some that, well, don’t matter so much.  There used to be an advertising campaign by the Warehouse in New Zealand (a big red warehouse that is equivalent to maybe Kmart or Target for all those non-Kiwi’s reading my blog.)  It would always say, “The greatest thing you can give your children is TIME!”  This is SO true. 

Time is one love language that almost encapsulates all others. It takes time to deliver LOVE.

Last Christmas we were given a gift that helped us to give this gift of time to our children.  Actually, the gift was financial and it was at our discretion about how we would spend it.  It was right around the amount we needed to get an annuu membership at a local resort.  One of the nicest in Ethiopia and it resides in our town.  It included a free nights accommodation for our whole family in the Presidential suite, free access to the resort which you normally have to pay a lot for, then free access to the swimming pool, kayaks, WiFi, gym, Pool table and discounts on the Spa Treatments. 

Asaua and Matthias at Kuriftu for Matthias' birthday breakfast

All year round we have had the enjoyment of this resort.  It was our get away when we needed our space.  It was our good internet access portal that we could use.  It is our family retreat where TIME with the kids is inevitable.  It was our place to hang out and have cheap buffet breakfasts. And of late, our destination for Saturday morning walks where we could get our weekly hot shower. This is our gift that keeps on giving.  I am thankful every time I walk into that place for my Aunty and Uncle who gave us money last Christmas for this pleasure.  We have used it beyond the price that was paid.

Again this Christmas, some other people are wanting to give us a gift.  It is a gift they are willing to pay a price for- THEY want to give us $5000 but they are rallying around their friends and family to help them put together this money.  Their names are Aysha and Emilou and the gift they give is one of a kind.  Maybe in the future more appeals like this will happen but this is the first of it’s kind on such a large scale.  And the price that they are willing to pay goes far beyond what we could have ever imagined.  Both of these beautiful girls are willing to sacrifice their HAIR!! 

Long, beautiful, wavy, shiny hair.  The kind that won’t happen over night, but WILL happen. 

And as they give their hair, people are giving their money.

And as people give their money, we can give children scholarships and women rehabilitation from commercial street work.

And as more women are rehabilitated from prostitution, more mothers become available to look after orphaned children.

And as more orphaned children are cared for in Ethiopia and raised as leaders, the stronger society becomes for the next generation.

The stronger society becomes if the 3 million orphans are looked after and raised in healthy environments (not that we aim to target them all…but let’s just SAY!), the less dependency will exist, the crime rates will go down, there will be less slavery that will damage peoples’ potential, less corruption will exist in government, the more the country will thrive!!  Huh, and the gift just keeps on giving!!

But before you jump to conclusions and assume that I am crazy for even BEING so AMBITIOUS!  I have a little piece of information I want to share.

The thing is that if all of this were a result of giving, then actually the greatest recipients are not the communities or societies out there, but the communities of givers themselves.  And if You respond, then this is the proof of the benefits that belong to YOU.

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Jesus Christ

I read this the other day in a NZ NEXT magazine published last year. 

"Giving and receiving is the flow of life.  The brain registers the act of giving as a primary human function and you will thrive when you give!! [Emphasis added]

A medical research centre in the US set up support groups for people suffering from MS (Multiple Sclerosis).  The group leaders were people who had suffered MS for many years.  While there was marked improvement in those attending the group to be supported, the most remarkable improvement was in that of the person helping the group.  As a result of these findings, further studies were conducted to measure brain activity while engaging in giving and philanthropic acts.  The results again were two-fold.  Well-known feel-good chemicals were released in the brains as a result of giving.  Furthermore the brain area activated was that which satisfies our basic needs; food, ses and emotional security.  So it would be fair to say the act of giving is as fundamental as our need for food, water and procreation."

SO

It is fair to say, that you NEED to GIVE.  And Yes, I know that everyone has someone to give to and there are always people in need needing your money- a few million in the Phillipines right now.  But you can never give to much. 

So what I suggest you do is donate now. 

Here are the bank details for the Bald and Beautiful campaign.  They have nine days left.  Nine is my favourite number.  Will you just give even $9, or $99 or even $999 :)

38 9003 0792278 01
Kiwibank

Help us, help them to Dare to Dream

Most of us in the western world take even our dreams for granted. Our ability to have big visions and dreams for our future often stem from the opportunities that surround us and the people who have inspired us to take advantage of them.  We see people realize their dreams and in forgetting their initial struggle in attaining their dreams, we think that if they can do it, well so can I.

We have a dream. Its a dream I am going to share when I get to New Zealand and pray that people will catch it and support it. Its a dream I believe was Divinely inspired.

I have so many dreams that I find myself having to control them. I have to filter which ones are worth chasing and which just need to be swept into the dust pan in my mind.

But today I sat with a room full of women who struggle to dream.  I have   lived in a country where people struggle to dream for the last two years. They struggle because of lack of opportunity, lack of inspiration, lack of resources and presence of political and economical obstacles. Yet some still dare to DREAM.

Yet these women face a greater struggle. Their struggle is against their own worth. Their own value. Their own shame. The greatest enemy of their dreams are themselves.  Yet we live in societies where the greatest enemies of our dreams are the ones closest to us! We struggle against the Tall Poppy syndrome where we are so insecure about ourselves that we need to chop the heads off of those around us who dare to rise above their circumstances and chase their dreams!

But these brave women openly shared their minute dreams. They were limited by their desire for survival and their visions were blurred by their desperation. Desperation for the immediate can alter our patience for the eternal.

We want immediate change when God wants eternal. "For our light affliction which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and ETERNAL weight of Glory. While we look not at the things which are SEEN, but at the things which are NOT SEEN: for the things that are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." 2 Cor 4:17-18

"How can I dream when I am like this?" One girl asks as she points to her 39 week pregnant belly. And the others dreams weren't far off her mark. Dreams of change. Dreams of deliverance. Dreams of a home with no pressure of a landlord who expects you to pay your rent with your body. Dreams of a home where the focus is on their children. Even if that means eating less, earning less, exposing less.

They see what more they can gain: their dignity, relationships with their families, their FREEDOM!

So today I want to ask you, yes you, big dreamer, to dream FOR these women.  This week I was in a development training with our church and we learnt about going into the community and establishing relationships with community leaders BUT we also learnt the importance of going in with a vision. People want to know that you have a vision. And when

I told these ladies that I had a vision for them today, I saw the reality of that lesson in action. As they right now find it hard to dream for themselves, we need to dream for them.

They have dreams. They are locked away along with their potential. But what we want to do is give them the keys to help them unlock this treasure chest that has been hidden to keep them safe.  And its going to be a process that will take a few months - maybe a year.  And we have a plan. We have  put our dream on paper and we need others to run with it, to advocate for it, to financially get behind and support it. For the sake of these women and the next generation.

So right now, we need sponsors.  We need you to give, to share, to ask, to sacrifice, to reach down into your treasure chest and give us a hand up. We want these women to be able to help themselves but first we need you to help us help them.  There is a ship load of treasure just waiting to be found.  Here is how you can help:

Sponsor one lady to get off the street for one year for  $50 a month. This will enable her to be rehabilitated and self sufficient after the first year. We will give you a name, her story, her photo and help you follow her journey.

Sponsor a Social worker to work with these ladies through the program @ $100 a month.

Buy a loom for $150. This will help these women train in scarf making and hopefully earn themselves a good living off the street.

Buy a spinning wheel for $100 for the same reason!

Plant a seed. As start up costs are often high, we need people to help plant a seed.  We currently have these set up costs needing some assistance:

Rent of some land: $5000 for the first six months.  This land has buildings for accommodation for the women, warehouse space for cotton weaving, classroom space for addiction rehabilitation and life skills training, office space, child care space and agricultural potential.  For more info, contact me.

We also need to buy beds, mattresses, desks, chairs, tables, ovens, kitchen utensils, cupboards, couches, linen, mats. All of these can be made locally and aren't too expensive. 

Your seed of anywhere between $10-$1000 can help us purchase one item. Depending on how much you give, we will let you know what the fruit of your seed is!

This is us dreaming again but also having a bit of faith in what God is able to do.  Please, give generously.

You can give to Redeeming Love World Missions Fund in America or through PayPal to Michelle.tiatia@gmail.com and we will make sure 100% of your money will go towards what it was gifted for with full reports.

Merry Christmas everyone. Now go buy something that will last for eternity!

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moths and rust can corrupt and where thieves can break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven...for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Matt 6:19-21

November Update

Normally I don't put up our update letters for public viewing, but just to give people an idea of what's been going on lately and also give you a taste of what our update letters are like if you want to be added to our email list, here is our November update...

Thank you for all of your continued prayers.  We have seen some real breakthrough this month and we want to share some of that with you.  First of all, I alluded to an incident we experienced last month that kind of shook us up a bit.  That incident was (as my sister reminded me) a testimony of God’s protection, so I’ll share it with you and let you know what’s happened since. 

About a month ago my daughters and I (Michelle) went for a walk up a mountain in our town with our pastors 14 year old son.  We have walked up this mountain many times and after being sick for a little while and needing some fresh air and exercise, the girls and I headed up in the late afternoon as it was starting to get cool enough to walk outside.  After we conquered the mountain and quickly headed back down before it got dark, we were approached by three young men who were asking us for money.  As we didn’t have any money, they then proceeded to take off Kiara’s bracelet while I called Asaua on my phone to let him know what was happening.  I then gave my phone to Lydia to take and run away with as she was clearly afraid and I wanted to “handle it” without it getting too scary for her.  Anyway, my plan backfired and the young men chased her so she was stopped.  Our pastors son then intervened and was talking to them in Amharic but they pulled a knife out on him so I told them just to take the phone (which was an iPhone3G that I had been given for work) and they left us alone.  Asaua turned up not long after and the men all tried to hunt the boys down to no avail.  This was really our first incident where we have felt unsafe in Ethiopia and it is really something that could have happened in any other country, it’s just that here there is no emergency number you can call and no search equipment like patrol cars to keep you safe. 

What we do have, in more areas than just this though, is a God who shows up beyond what we HAVE or don’t HAVE.  That day, our pastor was in a conference at our church and the preacher had said to him that the devil was going to try and kill his children, but not to worry because God would protect them.  Really, this is just a confirmation for us and reminder that God did protect us that day.  We heard stories since then of people who have been killed on that mountain in similar situations. 

When we lived in Rotorua in 2005, God showed me this verse in Psa 4:8

  In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

Only God can keep us safe, not our fears or worrying about being safe.  God promises protection when we walk in His will.  When they approached us, one of the boys showed me his teeth as they were chizzled into points and he was trying to scare me with it.  He said he was a vampire and he obviously thought that would have an effect on me- and maybe two years ago, it would have.  But I thank God that Fear doesn’t live here any more and it’s not something that I let feed my mind so I didn’t fear them at all as I knew God’s protection was with us. 

A week later, that same boy was caught and we had to go and identify him in the jail – with no hidde mirror, just an open veranda that they walked him out of in front of the prison cell.  I simultaneously lost my contact the same night as this incident so my eyesight was not good as I was wearing my friends glasses.  When they brought him out, I didn’t immediately recognize him so I asked him to come closer and I said in Amharic “Smile”.  He refused and kept this innocent face that made me question whether or not he really was the boy who tried to scare us that day.  So the police man slapped him on the head and told him to smile.  So he opened his mouth and the very thing that he tried to use to scare us, was the thing that in the end incriminated him.  There was no denying those teeth.  So this week  the four of us have to go to High Court in Nazaret and be witnesses for his case that will at least put him in jail for three years.  Suffice to say, that jail here is not like jail in first world countries.

So other than this exciting adventure we have been on, we also had our director from Australia here, and at the same time the directors from our other international offices, the USA and Canada also gathered here for a week of strategic planning and establishing our new NGO status.  Blessing the Children received NGO status at long last!  Praise God! The new name of our Social service is Blessing the Children Development organization (BCDO) which now runs separately from the school.   

While Glen was here he held some business training for business people in our town.  Even mothers of the children in our programme attended and it was really cool to see them dream bigger! 

We have also been accepted as Missionaries with the Mekane Yesus Church here in Ethiopia.  Mekane Yesus church is one of the oldest denominations here in Ethiopia and they have a long standing relationship with the government that is equalled to the Orthodox church’s relationship with the government.  They usually only accept Lutheran missionaries who have been sent from churches in Europe so we are breaking ground in many ways through this new relationship.  We are very thankful for this privilege of being able to serve under them. 

Another breakthrough we have experienced this month is not in Ethiopia, but is in New Zealand!  Our good friends have just established a charitable trust for us called Love Rescue Charitable Trust.  The purpose of this trust is to provide a channel whereby people can donate to the work here in Ethiopia as well as provide awareness for issues that are being experienced here that we know people want to help eradicate or improve or be a part of bringing Kingdom values and hope into.  I will keep you all informed on how you can partner with us through Love Rescue.  I believe we as Christians are all called to be Love Rescuers and this will be an avenue for some on how they can out work that.

We have also been experiencing some real growth in our International service ministry.  We officially launched our service at the beginning of the month and had many people come and celebrate with us.  Just after that, we had a new musician join us from Addis Ababa who is a graduate from the Mekane Yesus Jazz Music School which exists to empower worship leaders around Ethiopia.  He is an amazing musician and is adding real value to our music team.  We’re having new speakers and are looking forward to how God is going to continue to work through us in this ministry.

Please continue to pray for our visa situation.  We are having a hard time still, but hope is coming as we are now able to be assisted by the Mekane Yesus Church office.  Right now, our visas are ready to expire on Thursday!  We are going to apply for an extension and then pray that everything that needs to be done will be done and approved by the government so that we can stay for another year without all this run around!  I emailed a veteran missionary couple who served here for 50 years and asked them to pray for us.  They said that they arrived here on boat in 1954 and had to wait for four months in Aden for their visas to be approved.  It put a slightly different perspective on our situation!  But they also said this was their constant prayer, so when you pray for us, always pray for this situation please.

On the home front, Jamal is doing really well at school.  He is passing all his tests now in the Cambridge curriculum through Greek Community School (where he doesn’t learn Greek at all L ) But he is getting opportunities to do what he loves most- Dance and entertain people.  He went from performing at the school UN day to being asked to perform at the African Union Christmas Gala this Saturday which he is really excited about.  Matthias and Wesley are also doing really well.  Matthias is Grade 4 now and Wesley Grade 3 and they are loving it.  We got to skype call a school in Christchurch this past week and it was really cool that my kids got to share their experiences with other 7-9 year olds in Christchurch.  They are looking at doing some fundraising for us during this Christmas season.  Kiara and Lydia are doing well too.  They have completely recovered from the experience of last month and are based at the school with their dad where they get constant connection with the kids in the program.  They are also going out to their friends house two towns away every Friday.  There they are doing prophetic art, horse riding, swimming and baking.  I try and join them every now and then.  This family have become good friends of ours. 

People have been asking what our address is here so I just want to remind you of our details. 

Asaua and Michelle Tiatia

BCI Academy

P.O. Box 1465

Debre Zeit

East Shoa

Ethiopia

If you want to send over a care package, there are a few things that we are always in need of supplies for like:

Stationary

Clothes and shoes for our kids as they continue to grow

Headbands and hair ties

Cadbury Chocolate :)

Chocolate chips for baking

Dried fruit and nuts

Baking soda

Cereals

Reading books

Vegemite and Marmite

We would also love to build up a database of your addresses.  If you send us back an updated address for you we'd really appreciate it!  Have a great Christmas season wherever you are,  We are looking forward to having our first short term missionaries coming from Australia while in our new roles.  We would love to have some New Zealanders coming to join us in 2013 also!  Please pray about and talk about it with your friends and family and let us know if you're keen!  

Love and blessings from

Asaua and Michelle, Jamal, Kiara, Lydia, Matthias and Wesley Tiatia

If you would like to sign up to our monthly updates, or come off our update list, then let me know through my email address:

michelle.tiatia@gmail.com

Perspective

This past week, Asaua and I had the privilege of going to Kenya for 8 days for Visa purposes.  We were amazed at how different Kenya is to Ethiopia.  While still Africa, it displayed many characteristics of the Western World- Malls, Supermarkets, Civilization, Development.  Although we were able to visit the slum area of Nairobi and see the poverty that exists there, we were also able to enjoy the benefits of its colonialism.

This was a benefit yet also a resurgence of our materialistic nature that comes with being brought up in a country that is full of it.  How can we help it when reminded that this is Christmas season and spending and eating is what you are meant to be doing? 

It kind of made me frustrated on our return, being tempted to ask, what are we missing out on?  Should not Ethiopia be more like Kenya, availing everybody to the “spirit of Christmas” that exists “everywhere” else in the world?  But then I did ask the question and was questioned in return about the purpose of all this festivity and celebration so early before the Christmas day that is celebrated on a totally different day in Ethiopia. 

Why do we celebrate Christmas for so long?  I am not totally sure of its reasoning.  Perhaps because of the Advent season that leads up to Christmas day that is celebrated by Catholicism.  Most probably because of the commercialism that comes with the season and the high retail dependence on this time of year.  I know that I have always enjoyed celebrating many different Christmas and End of year “feasts” to have an excuse to have that get-together that all year, we have promised we would have with friends and family. 

The truth is, though, that Christmas is about Jesus, who was born into this world, not in the form of a rich man with many material possessions, but in the form of a baby with no place to stay.  He was born in a home, more like the homes many of the children in our programme are born into-with hay for bedding, sharing his room with donkeys and animals. 

From day one, Jesus was resonating with the poor and the needy.  He invites us into His world and He has asked us to follow Him.  Sometimes, well many times, that means that life will be uncomfortable.  We can choose to work with the rich or the poor.  Sometimes, working with the poor isn’t appealing, and I’m not saying that working with the rich is bad- but it definitely demands less stretching for our human nature.  Would you rather work with the rich, or work with the poor? They both mean totally different things.  Working with the rich, more often than not, means that you yourself are rich.  Working with the poor, however, means getting to know people who have stories and lives that will break your heart.  It means lowering some standards that you may previously have held.  It means that life can get uncomfortable and dirty.

There is a song I’m sharing below by Leeland.  This song is so powerful.  It is more often a tragedy for us to turn away from the opportunities God gives us to serve those who need it most.  He turns our attention to the broken, the needy, the orphaned, the fatherless and the widowed-those who can’t fend for themselves-those who don’t have a government to look after them- these are those in whom the Church has the opportunity to rise up and work with. 

There is a greater perspective that we can have-not an earthly one where we just live life for ourselves and for this life- but we can live life for others, for eternity, like Jesus did.  Jesus only had 33 years here on earth.  He lived each day with purpose.  He has asked us to live like Him, follow Him, and to be USED by Him..  We don’t know how long our life will be here on Earth.  What you got for Christmas in 2011 is not going to matter when you die, but what you GAVE for Christmas in 2011 might.  Give Your All!