Day 29 Just Wondering

 1/29/2025

How could anyone not see this photo and not be affected? A photojournalist reporting on one of many such scenes depicting starving children and widowed mothers begging for food to feed their starving, malnourished children. All this while keeping a watchful eye out for the the ones who have caused such devastation, as they often return to pillage, rape, torture, and burn down homes and kill again. This photo could have easily been taken in a number of countries, but my guess would be Nigeria or Mozambique, as they are two of the hardest hit areas today. I have been following and praying with others for the nations of the world, some more impacted than others. Each year I receive a list from Open Doors and Voice of the Martyrs listing the 50 most persecuted nations in the world, so I stay briefed about what's happening and where. 

With modern technology an app can be installed on my cell phone alerting me of attacks in villages in real time, so I could pray. The alarms were going off so often that I had to remove it. It's one thing to see a list or receive monthly updates, but it's harder to swallow when things are happening at the very moment, and all I can do is pray. A helpless feeling comes over me, and it grieves me so knowing so many innocent children are living in areas where gunfire and mayhem are a way of life. The nation of Israel also has a phone app alerting the citizens to find the closest bomb shelter at any given time. Imagine anyone having to live that way much less children, and yet, it is a way of life.

As a teenager I dreamed of being a foreign correspondent or joining the Peace Corp, but I don't know if I could stomach all the evil in the world. My humanitarian inclinations, wanting to save mankind from squalor and mayhem, still burn bright and strong. Now days I don't know if I'd know which direction to focus my attention. It's hard enough to sort through the stacks of mail or the emails on my computer trying to decide who I can financially support. Retirement for me has not been about traveling to exotic or historic cities or glamorous locations, staying at luxury resorts and dining in fancy restaurants. I'd rather feast on a garbanzo bean feast, as I was privileged to do one cold, snowy afternoon after hiking to one of my client's homes in northern New Mexico. My car couldn't make it over the icy knowles, so I had to hike to an appointment in one of the rural areas. I've avoided some serious repercussions of my impulsiveness, as the woods were full of predators at the time. I have to laugh at some of my antics, but at least I made it safely. God has always smiled on me, and He even sent a traveling nurse along that lonely road on that day to rescue me from the coyotes or wolves. Even animals get hungry, and sassy ole ladies make a tasty snack.

So much relevance is placed on the accumulation of wealth and buying stuff, mostly not needed. I spoiled my children, not wanting them to feel less, but in the long run it seldom works. The more one has, the more one wants. Greed and selfishness are a way of life, and it is never enough.

This little fellow shown above has found a better way, a selfless, giving spirit, unconcerned about the size of his little arms or how many ribs are showing on his half-naked body. I'd say he's far richer than most people I know. How I wish I could give him a big hug and tell him I love him. I've only been on one missionary trip in my lifetime and one foreign country. One summer I went to Belize to the Mayan rain forest for Vacation Bible School. I only went once, but it has remained with me for years. The children followed us around the village, eager to see anything they could see. Dressed in clothing donated by churches, etching out a simple living, eating what they grew or what was given to them when the missionaries came. They loved scraps of paper and bits of soap. Grateful for the ten days we were there. I often wonder about that time. Oh, how I wish, how I wish....