Wayne Jacobsen's Blog, page 93

Out of the Slums

Widows and children we'd like to help move to a safer and more sanitary location

Many of you who have followed this blog over the past few years know well the need in Kenya thathas been exacerbated by the tribal violence of the disputed elections in 2007. We have an opportunity to help move an orphanage full of children, some of them pictured above, onto an available piece of land that can be refurbished to help meet this need. We have been working with them over the past month to see what solution God might have in mind. Originally they wanted to build a pristine orphanage on 10 acres, but the costs were extremely high.

We encouraged them not to see this move as a permanent solution for these children. God did not make children to be raised by institutions, but to become part of a family. We wanted them to think of this move only as transitional—to care for them until God can work out a way for them to be with an extended family member, or even to be adopted into the home of a believing family in Kenya. It has been a remarkable journey praying with them and helping them think through all of this.

They have now found a one-acre piece of land with some buildings already on it than can be refurbished to help provide a place in the short-term for them to live away from the unsanitary conditions of the slum they are in. The cost of buying the land, refurbishing the buildings, and providing for the staff for two years comes to about $85,000.00. Yes, that is a lot of money and I don't have a clue if we know enough people who can pull that off, but we do feel led by God to provide a conduit here for people he moves to give to see what we can do.

The most immediate need is to buy the land while it is still available. That cost if $49,000.00 and we need to see if that can be provided soon. To renovate the existing buildings and to build a couple of others as well as to supply them with furnishings will cost an additional $20,000.00. We are also hopeful to provide expenses for the staff, which is $1,000 per month for 24 months. After that the Kenyans will take over the ongoing expenses of this facility as needed. The total to get them moved and cared for is $93,000 and will also provide much-needed jobs for people there in the construction and ongoing care.

Where they live now





The property currently for sale, that we can give to them as a place to live.

We're going to see if there are enough people out there that God would invite to help us cover these costs. The most immediate need is to buy the land while it is available, so that is our first goal. People have already been sending gifts large and small. One man from Europe just sent us almost $700.00. And to make this goal more attainable, someone has offered to match every gift sent in, up to $50,000.00. This means we only need help with half of the amount.

I am so blessed at the excitement so many people have had to help us share our bounty with these people. If you would like to be part of this to support these brothers and sisters and see the Gospel grow in this part of Africa, please see our Sharing With the World page at Lifestream. You can either donate with a credit card there, or you can mail a check to Lifestream Ministries • 1560-1 Newbury Rd #313 • Newbury Park, CA 91320. Or if you prefer, we can take your donation over the phone at (805) 498-7774.

Living Loved in Germany

visit their website for more information.

He Loves Me In French!

International Page. If you know of others we've left off here, please let us know.

Leaning In

Esquire

Great advice for parents! Even better for us to understand why God doesn't scream his plan and purpose into our lives. It's an invitation not a demand! Yes, it takes a bit to learn to listen to that voice and give it the place in your life that it deserves, but what he wants most is for us to lean in and enjoy him, not just get his wisdom.

My sheep know my voice, Jesus said. It's not about hearing first; it's always about relationship!

An Ongoing Need in Kenya

The aftermath of tribal violence: Widows caring for orphans in the slums of Eldoret

I received a touching letter the other day from my friends in Kenya, updating me on God's work there since Kent Burgess and I visited last February. I will reprint excerpts from it below. I appreciate so much what God has stirred in their hearts and that it continues to bear fruit by drawing hearts to Jesus.

At the same time we continue to help with many physical needs there. Just last week the mom of one of the men, who drove us around Kenya, died in a hospital. They would not release the body until the $1400.00 hospital bill was paid. No one could afford that amount, so we sent it. Without your generosity for the brothers and sisters there, we would not be able to help them in the way we have. We've been blessed to be a conduit over the past three years to get tens of thousands of dollars on the ground in Kenya to help relieve the suffering of widows, orphans, and homeless people.

So, though I am the focus of their gratitude because it has come through me, I know that a lot of this appreciation goes to countless people who read this blog and listen to The God Journey. Thank you for making a difference in this corner of the world. Please know that these needs are ongoing. We will continue to send money out of our abundance to help alleviate the suffering and provide for those who have nothing to eat, or no way to begin a small business that can provide for their needs.

If you would like to be part of this to support these brothers and sisters and see the Gospel grow in this part of Africa, please see our Sharing With the World page at Lifestream. You can either donate with a credit card there, or you can mail a check to Lifestream Ministries • 1560-1 Newbury Rd #313 • Newbury Park, CA 91320. Or if you prefer, we can take your donation over the phone at (805) 498-7774.

But please enjoy this letter and know you all have my heartfelt thanks for the prayers and contributions many of you have made to help touch the lives of these dear people in Kenya:

Living loved and loving others is only the answer which gives us to know the image of Christ, and the Bible says in John 3:16 God loved the world so much and he sent his begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but will have eternal life. In verse 17, says God did not send his son to judge the world but the world to be saved through him. I thank God through his servant who has really touched our lives, Bro. Wayne Jacobsen for his books, Authentic Relationships and He Loves Me which have truly encouraged us.

A powerful force—the God who wants us to be loved! God is changing the lives of many brothers' and sisters' life's and transitioning us not to have religion but instead to have relationship. One of the great changes that has occurred in us was to separate the African pastor from religion, organization and institutions. I can start with myself. But right now I thank God that the stronghold of religion has been now broken down, and I am free to love, to care and to serve. And a hundred other brothers have now responded and God has transformed their lives. We have come to realize and repent for requesting you to be our mentor or spiritual cover, when we have Jesus already as our mentor, friend and our cover, we have come also to repent our titles of Bishop, Apostle, Pastor, Prophet or any other title rather than to live and accept our brothers and sisters and care the way Jesus cared for us. I repent for being a director of people without seeing Jesus Christ as the director of the whole church universal and the overseer of our souls.

God connected us with Wayne for the purpose of my spiritual transition so that I may be instrument to help others, I have come now to know that the love of God will guide us. I love this God. We understood him in wrong doctrine that God is angry with us wherever we mess up and that he is holding a very big sword ready to kill and punish us. Many have said that famine, poverty, disaster, and all kind of calamities are the sword the of God's punishment upon us. Even African pastors still believe that HIV/AIDS is the plague of God. So we repent to think that God is angry with us. We repent that the missionary who came in Africa taught us how to obey title, leaders, and structures and also taught us that God can be only be found in building institutions.

So we are not praising or honouring brother Jacobsen but we thank God who used him to help us become instruments of God. Everybody wanted Brother Jacobsen to come back again next year, but he told us that we don't need Jacobsen or Lifestream. We just need Jesus Christ and have the fellowship with him so that we may live loved and love others too. Wayne, you may or may not come but what you left here for your trip in Kenya, I can agree with you that surely we don't need you, but we need Jesus who will help us to live loved and to love others.

I can remember while Jesus was on the earth he loved the people, he associated with the sinners but he hatred the sin, he did those who are hunger, and clothed those who are naked he touched many lives. This same ministry the African church has seen in you. You stepped into the post election violence and in every port you rescued the lives of those who were in refugee camps, provided for the unschooled children, helped the homeless, and stood with the widows and orphans. Micro-finances are being given out to help people be self-reliant. This is not a denomination that you have started here Lifestream Ministry or because you partner with IGEM, but you and the brethren over there have helped us as an African Church to realize that your image of the church is true.

We're finding out now more about helping find some land and a facility outside of the slum for the dear women and children pictured above. You can't believe the conditions they live in. An open sewage drain runs through the play area. They have almost nothing to live on. They've been praying God would provide them a home. We're praying about helping them relocate. This will cost a significant amount. If you're interested in helping us do that, please write Sara from our contact page and let her know. We'll put out details when we get them if we think we have enough people who want to help. Thanks.

David's Sense of Character

This is a delightful follow-up to what I wrote in the previous blog. I appreciate David's heart here for that which God desires, and to stay far away from that which God does not. Again, as a performance standard, it probably isn't too helpful, but as a way to live in his freedom, these are some awesome thoughts.

Taken from Psalm 101 in The Message (Emphasis mine):

My theme song is God's love and justice, and I'm singing it right to you, God.

I'm finding my way down the road of right living, but how long before you show up?

I'm doing the very best I can, and I'm doing it at home, where it counts.

I refuse to take a second look at corrupting people and degrading things.

I reject made-in-Canaan gods, stay clear of contamination.

The crooked in heart keep their distance; I refuse to shake hands with those who plan evil.

I put a gag on the gossip who bad-mouths his neighbor;

I can't stand arrogance.

But I have my eye on salt-of-the-earth people—they're the ones I want working with me;

Men and women on the straight and narrow—these are the ones I want at my side.

But no one who traffics in lies gets a job with me; I have no patience with liars.

I've rounded up all the wicked like cattle and herded them right out of the country.

I purged God's city of all who make a business of evil.

Character Makes Life Easier

see previous blog post) got me thinking a lot about character, love and redemption. People often wonder how it is that God speaks to me. Certainly he inserts thoughts into my mind, or nudges my heart in directions he wants me to go, but there's something larger going on behind the scenes. As Jesus sets me increasingly free to live inside his love and care for me, it changes the way I treat others. The grid through which I respond to people changes. Instead of being focused on my needs, either maximizing my benefit or minimizing any potential pain, I'm able to see them and care about them for who they are. This allows me to think in a clearer space where his nudgings and insights are not so hard to notice.

By no means do I attain all of this in every situation, but these statements describe how I'm learning to live inside his love for me. Please don't think of these as a set of obligations to follow, but as the space that defines the freedom Jesus invites you to live in. Obligation will not produce this. Only by learning to live loved will we be free enough to sense his heart in our unfolding circumstances and be able to treat people with honor and grace.

Be yourself, no more and no less. Pretense is not your friend and deceit darkens your own soul.
Let your yes be yes and your no be no. Follow through on your word, even if you regret giving it.
Put relationships above things. Be kind and gracious to everyone, especially those you don't think deserve it.
Live at the intersection of authenticity and compassion. You don't owe everyone all you know, but make sure that what you do share is honest while it also gives grace to the hearer. Remember character is measured by how you treat people with kindness when you're absolutely sure they are in the wrong.
Unless people are harassing or abusing you, you are better off hearing them out and working through their pain rather than cutting them off to protect yourself. Only those who want to hide in the darkness, cast aside relationships just because they become difficult. The best relationships are won through difficulties and misunderstandings.

It makes life so much easier when you treat people kindly, honor your own words, and trust that God is bigger than any mistake you can make. That's a list of the things I've been thinking about. Feel free to add to it if you have other simple statements of what it's like to live in God's love toward others.

Les Miserables: Living by Law or Love

YouTube video a while back of Susan Boyle singing "I Dreamed a Dream." The words of that song haunted me and so I read the full lyrics on-line about being used by others, abandoned, and living with disappointed hopes in this age. Then Sara and I got to see the play this summer while we were in London and the full story suddenly had more meaning. When we returned home we rented the movie again and watched it. Over the last month I have been reading the book to immerse myself in the story. Surprisingly my daughter had decided to read it at the same time, so we have enjoyed talking through it together. She finished the book last night, I this morning.

As with most stories, the book is so much richer than can be put into a movie or a play. Only a book allows you to get in the mind of the characters and their internal struggles. The poignant closing scenes of the relationship between Jean ValJean, Marius, and Cosette undid me. Here's a man that was so hungry he stole some bread as a young man and served 19 years in prison for it. He gets out only to steal again from a bishop, but instead of demanding justice the bishop shows grace to Jean by his personal generosity. His act of loving sacrifice weaves its way into the fiber of Jean's being. He becomes a different person and learns to love others and show grace to them even at great personal cost to himself.

His loving is often tragic, because his first thought is not to protect himself and thus he gets used, abused, and tormented even by the people he treats with grace. Rather than defend himself, he simply keeps loving even when it costs him most dearly. He is misunderstood and doesn't try to clear the record. He forsakes his own personal happiness to ensure it for others. And because people only want to use him, they take advantage of his graciousness and miss who he really is.

What I love about this story is that while it is true that those you love the most will often lie about you and misuse you for their own gain, loving them anyway puts grace into the world to counteract all the selfishness already there. In the end, love changes lives and calls into question the way people live in their own self-interest. Grace is worth sharing, even when the objects of that grace don't understand it. In the end love wins—not everyone, of course, but enough to make it glorious all the same.

The law is a cruel taskmaster, often used by those who wish to exploit others to make themselves feel important. It often weighs heaviest on the most marginalized in society and is used to dehumanize them. But love is the anti-matter to law! Love is the more powerful. It has the power to transform people and lift them out of their misery. Live by law and you become mean and empty; live by love and even when painful a greater purpose transforms your being.

In a note to the Italian publisher Victor Hugo wrote about the universal application of his story. Here are some excerpts:

The sores of the human race, those great sores, which cover the globe, do not halt at the red or blue lines traced upon the map. In every place where man is ignorant and despairing, in every place where woman is sold for bread, wherever the child suffers for lack of the book which should instruct him and of the hearth which should warm him, the book of Les Miserables knocks at the door and says: "Open to me, I come for you."

At the hour of civilization through which we are now passing, and which is still so sombre, the miserable's name is Man; he is agonizing in all climes, and he is groaning in all languages. Your Italy is no more exempt from the evil than is our France… Like us, you have prejudices, superstitions, tyrannies, fanaticisms, blind laws lending assistance to ignorant customs. Have you not indigent persons? Glance below. Have you not parasites? Glance up. Does not that hideous balance, whose two scales, pauperism and parasitism, so mournfully preserve their mutual equilibrium, oscillate before you as it does before us? What is the amount of truth that springs from your laws, and what amount of justice springs from your tribunals? …This book, Les Miserables, is no less your mirror than ours certain men, certain castes, rise in revolt against this book,– I understand that. Mirrors, those revealers of the truth, are hated; that does not prevent them from being of use.

As for myself, I have written for all, with a profound love for my own country, but without being engrossed by France more than by any other nation. In proportion as I advance in life, I grow more simple, and I become more and more patriotic for humanity… Whether we be Italians or Frenchmen, misery concerns us all. Ever since history has been written, ever since philosophy has meditated, misery has been the garment of the human race; the moment has at length arrived for tearing off that rag, and for replacing… the sinister fragment of the past with the grand purple robe of the dawn.

The law can so easily be manipulated by the wealthy and abused by those who lie without conscience. Into the misery of our world, God speaks his love in the language of grace. Only those who are truly changed by that reality become a light in the world, treasure all of their relationships, and offer hope to those who are lost in the darkness.

After reading this book, I want even more to be that simple light, a voice of grace, to the next person I meet today. There is nothing more real, more significant, or more transforming than love freely offered, especially when it costs us something.

All the Help You Need

I am often asked if I know of a retreat or a workshop that will help people find the joy of living loved and connect with the Father, especially for those whose father's betrayed or abused them in some way. They have never had a flesh and blood example of a loving, trustworthy father in their own lives.

I was just asked that this morning. What I wrote back is something I'd want to say to so many others who struggle with the same thing. They look for a resource to help them find a...

Movie Opening: Like Dandelion Dust

I got a ringside seat behind the scenes to watch this little movie grow up. I've known producers Bobby and Kevin Downes for years and watched them craft this Karen Kingsbury novel into a first-rate motion picture as an indie production. It has been well-received at film festivals and opens this weekend to the general public in selected cities around the U.S. and you can get all the details and watch a preview here.

My part was incredibly small, but I did have the chance to read and...