11 Month Old Baby Dies from Being Raped

This is sick, sick, sick. World AIDS day is on December 1st, and if the story does anything, it should spur you to action. Do something! Pray, join 5 for 50, buy Saint's coffee - Coffee that fights poverty. If this doesn't wake us up, what will?

An 11-month-old baby girl has died in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo a day after she was raped, the UN says.

The alleged rapist, a man aged 20, has been detained by Congolese police  about 140km west of Goma. He faces a life sentence.

The BBC's Arnaud Zajtman heard the harrowing story of one young victim.

A six-year-old girl named Mushika told our correspondent she was looking after goats in her village when a soldier grabbed her and abused her.

"He laid me on the ground and lifted my skirt... I was trying to shout but he put his hand on my mouth. After he had finished, he ran away. When I tried to walk, I was dizzy." Read the entire article here.

Podcast

I was interviewed today on, "Along the Way ," a radio program out of Minneapolis hosted by Kim Jeffries. If you would like to listen to or download the podcast, click here and look for Tom Davis, author of Red Letters. For those of you who don't know, World AIDS Day, is coming up on December 1st. This podcast focuses on the issue.

The 12 Days of Christmas...

This Christmas, 5 for 50 is going around the world, giving away $1,000 a day to 12 different orphan care outreaches around the globe. We’re doing this because 5 for 50 has been an enormous success. Our first shipment of food has already arrived in Swaziland, another is on the way. We’re ready to roll out a global Christmas party for orphans through 5 for 50 and we want you to come along.

Here’s a look at where we’re going this Christmas…

1)      Russia

2)      Swaziland

3)      South Africa

4)      Romania

5)      Uganda

6)      Ethiopia

7)      Peru

8)      Mozambique

9)      India

10)   Kenya

11)   Namibia

12)   Cambodia

Through our network of orphan care partners, we’re helping support special Christmas outreaches to orphans around the globe. We hope to reach over 1,000 orphans with the true message of God’s love during Christmas.

Some of what we’ll do includes:

-          Supporting Christian concerts and outreaches

-          Providing special meals and celebrations

-          Honoring a child with a Christmas gift

-       Providing orphans with the blessing of family

I’ll be posting stories from each country as well as reports and pictures when they come in. Along the way, I’ll provide you and your family with special ways to pray for orphans and incorporate them into your holiday celebrations.

If you want to support the twelve days of Christmas, make a $12 gift today (please put “12 days of Christmas” in your note). We already have $12,000 for this project, anything that you add will make an even greater impact in the life of an orphan.

Stay tuned to the blog for more details.

HIV Cases Rise in Europe

Very interesting article here. FYI, Estonia is the new capital of the Rave and club scene. People travel there from all over the world to dance all night and "hook up" with members of the same sex, opposite sex, and anything in between. Obvious correlations.

Rise in HIV/Aids cases in Europe

                                                                                    

Cases of HIV are rising in Europe

The rate of new cases of HIV/Aids in the European Union has almost doubled since 1999, a report shows.

Estonia has by far the highest rate of diagnosis, followed by Portugal and the UK, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

The ECDC says that the proportion of new cases reported per million inhabitants went up across the EU from 28.8 to 57.5 in 2006.

In Estonia, the rate last year reached 504 per million people.

Estonia epidemic

The Estonian government says that, six years ago, 90% of new HIV cases diagnosed by Aids consultation clinics involved drug users who were injecting, but that proportion fell to below half by the end of last year.

It suggests that the virus has started to spread from drug users to their sexual partners. Read the rest of the BBC article here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Quick Update

Yesterday i finally finished the first draft of Scared, a novel that will release in the summer of '08. Without question, that was the most difficult thing I've ever done. Rewarding, but hard! The next step is the completion of the 2nd draft which is due in December. I'll post some excerpts from time to time.

Emily's sister, Hannah comes back today fro the World Race. She's been gone since January and to quote her, "Has had the best year of her life." We're super excited to see her.

It's also Hudson's birthday today, he's a whopping 2! Pictures coming later.

Hope you all have an incredible, relaxing, and memorable Thanksgiving. Wish we were spending it all together.

Live Out Those Red Words in Your Bible

Crosswalk has written a great article on Red Letters: Living a Faith that Bleeds. Thought you might enjoy it:

Editor's Note: The following is a report on the practical applications of Tom Davis' new book, Red Letters: Living a Faith that Bleeds, (David C. Cook Publishing Co., 2007).

The words that Jesus spoke Himself are set apart from the rest of Scripture by red ink in many Bibles so they’ll receive special attention. Those red words reveal that Jesus placed great importance on helping people who needed it most – like the poor, the sick, the orphans, the prisoners, the disenfranchised, and the weary – and He urged all those who follow Him to do the same.

Jesus’ words recorded in the Bible weren’t just meant to be read; they were meant to be lived out. If you respond to Jesus’ words, your faith will bleed into the lives of those you help and point them to the hope they need.

Here’s how you can live out those red words in your Bible:

Look for Jesus all around you. Ask God to help you recognize Jesus in disguise as you encounter people who need help. Remember that they’re not just statistics; they’re real people who God has made in His image and who Jesus loves completely and unconditionally. Pray for the compassion you need to reach out to them in the ways God wants you to do so.

Embrace your global citizenship. Stop thinking in terms of “us” and “them” when you think about the world’s neediest people. Instead, realize that you’re connected to every person on the planet. Ask God to help you see how much you actually have in common with others who live in faraway places.

Read the entire article here

Pastor Walter Video

Pastor Walter is one of our partners in Swaziland. In this 12-minute video, he explains the impact that HIV/AIDS has on his community, and shares some of his dreams for orphans in Swaziland. Walter is an amazing man who responded to God's commandment to care for orphans and widows in their distress.

Canadian Police Kill Polish Immigrant with Stun Gun

You have to watch this to believe it. The man does nothing to deserve this.
Video footage has been released in Canada showing the last moments of an immigrant who died after being stunned with a Taser by police.

Robert Dziekanski, 40, of Pieszyce, Poland, was restrained by police after becoming agitated at Vancouver International Airport on 14 October.

Mr Dziekanski, who spoke no English, was declared dead at the scene by an emergency medical team.

Click here to read the article and see the video.

Real Life Wave of Sorrow

This is one of the saddest things I've heard in some time. Thanks to my friend, Hannu for this story.  My last post talked about the tragedy many people experience who live in extreme poverty. This is real life for a young mother infected with HIV:

“At least I held and loved her once”
Little Esther did not have the chance to grow up. She had already been underweight for a long time. Even though she was a year and 2 months old, she weighed about half of what was normal for her age. We heard from her grandmother, Paskalina that Esther had been sick for one week. She refused to eat. We also heard that her mother Molly had given birth this week to a boy child. We were concerned of this young mother, her sick child and of the newborn baby. Molly is HIV+ and last time we saw her, she had lost a lot of weight.

In the afternoon we received a telephone call informing us that Esther had passed away. We did not make in time to help her. My assistant, Rian said “At least I held and loved her once.” Esther’s mother, Molly is one of our ladies that makes beads. Last time Molly came to sell the beads she had made, she came carrying Esther on her back. When Rian had seen them, she felt that she had to treat Esther especially well. She had seemed so weak and pitiful. Rian had carried Esther around for a long time.

She was given medicine but it was too late, nothing could be done any longer. On the way home from the doctor, the grandmother realized that her grandchild had died in her arms as they waited for their scooter ride. She bravely rode silently home with the deceased Esther in her arms. The driver would not have given a ride if he had known that the child had died.

That week two visitors had visited in that small room: life and death. There with the assistance of her mother, Molly had given birth to a boy child. Now she was sitting on the floor beside the lifeless body of Esther. As we drove home, I was thinking how could we have helped. Molly needs besides nutritious food, people around her who love and care for her and the whole family. She needs God, who is full of grace and loving.

“God is in the slums
In the cardboard boxes
Where the poor play house
God is in the silence of a mother
Who has infected her child with a virus
That will end both of their lives
God is in the cries
Heard under the rubble of war
God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives
God is with us
If we are with them.” (Bono)