“Dream Big Dreams” – Sponsors really do matter

Darrell and Petro

Have you ever wondered what difference child sponsorships makes in a kids life.  We hear and I have taught that when you sponsor a child you provide food, shelter,

Petro’s soccer ball has notes from sponsor

education, medical needs, and reduce their vulnerability to human exploitation.  That is all true and I will blog more about that later, but there is so much more.  Having just returned from Tanzania where I was privileged to meet Petro my sponsored child I am now even more convinced that sponsorship matters.  Having seen first hand and now having met Moses, I am all the more passionate about how we as sponsors can come alongside a child and his family and make difference that can change a world.

Let me introduce you to some folks…

Petro loves to play soccer

Here is Petro.  He loves “Football” (soccer).  He is 8 and he took his first ride outside his village in a bus 10 hours to meet me.  His Mom and Aunts are so excited about me being a part of their life.  Petro has a great future.

Showing Eniot pictures of her sponsors family

She loved blowing bubbles

Here is Eniot.  She is 11 and loves life and God.  She memorize bible verses and “tries to imitate them.”  Her favorite passage is Psalm 125.  She told me that she loves that Psalm because God is like a mountain and if you believe in him you do not need to fear.  She has led her family to Christ.  My brother is now her sponsor and will be a part of her story and future.

Moses and Becky talking outside of school

But the person I want to tell you about is Moses.  Moses was a sponsored child.  He now holds multiple degrees and has taught at Cornell and has spent time with Henri Nowen.  He is now back in Tanzania working with World Vision amongst his people group and is changing his country.  We were privileged to sit with Moses and have dinner and ask tough questions about Sponsorship.  Here are a couple things we learned that have solidified in me the value and importance of relational sponsorship and your letters.

Dream Big Dreams – you can be whatever you want to be

Moses telling us about the value of this water source for this Maasai village

Moses still caries with him as an adult the letters from his sponsor.  They are letters that not only helped him as a child growing up, but helped him get through multiple degrees as an adult.  He told us that his sponsor wrote him and told him he could be whatever he wanted to be.  As a child growing up in a Maasai tribe all he could see was becoming a herdsman and taking care of goats and cows.  But that letter planted something in him that took root later in life.  As he was going through his degrees and at different times in his life he would pull out those letters and they were a source of encouragement and hope for him.  He now holds multiple degrees and has taught at Cornell.  He now is a Godly professional back in Tanzania working to make a practical difference in his country.

Sponsorship saved my brothers life

Moses and team

Moses also told us that when he was sponsored it saved his brothers life.  I am not sure the full details of his brothers physical needs but when Moses was sponsored it engaged the family and World Vision and the community development that provided for his medical needs and he is alive today because of it.

What is the value of a relational sponsor?

John with his sponsored child’s family at their home

building relationship with Petro

I don’t think we can put a price tag on the value of a sponsor who builds a relationship with a child.  Let me encourage you as a sponsor to do more than simply send in $35.00 a month.  Write letters to your child.  Encourage him or her to dream big dreams. Be a positive influence in that child’s life and be a part of giving them hope and a future.

A great kid with a great laugh

If you are not sponsoring a child and would like to be a part of changing a child’s life forever click here.

Making a list and checking it only twice… NO WAY!

I am continuing to discover how out of control I am. I have probably checked my luggage for the hundredth time. Guess what, my camera is still where I put it and I still can’t be sure whether I am missing anything or not. However, even as I write this I am thinking, “where exactly did I put my camera”. I am a mess! So why do I continue to look in my bags? Why do I wonder about where things are? Am I just a freak or is it maybe simply nervous energy? I’m going to go with the nervous energy.

As I sit in Los Angeles tonight awaiting our 9:45 departure in the morning, besides checking bags, I am spending time thanking God for all the people in my life who have been a part of this journey. Some have been encourages, some prayer warriorers, some have forever changed a child’s life through sponsorship, some have helped with financial support, and some have picked up the baton and have helped others sponsor children.

My personal goal was 100 children. The final numbers are not in and I won’t know for sure until I return, but if we are not over the goal we are very close. Think about that. There are at least 100 real children’s lives that will be forever changed. They have a new hope and a future that they would not have had had it not been for you! THANK YOU! This is the reason we are climbing this mountain, for the kids.

Put yourself in the position of a parent of one of these children for a moment. How do you feel about those who sponsored your son or daughter? What would you like to say to that sponsor? Now let those word and feelings of gratitude resonate within you because there are mothers and fathers tonight who are filled with gratitude for YOU!

Well, looks like my bags are right where I left them. I wonder if anybody took anything out while I was writing? Maybe I should check? Now where did I put my camera? See you in a couple of weeks.

A Great Cloud Of Witnesses

Yesterday I made the statement, in my preparations I have discovered how valuable others are who have journeyed before us.  It has been absolutely amazing to me the people I have met as I have begun this journey toward “the roof of Africa”.

I have had divine encounters on airplanes with people like, Lisa Roberts who taught me to give everyone an opportunity to change a life and thanked me for her new “son” that she sponsored at 20,000 feet, and Kendra Gibson-Gegelman and her family who inspired me to share my story and to keep my eyes open for divine encounters in strange places.

On Southwest Airlines you will meet people like Dr. Ben Bobrow who is an amazing medical professional who also climbs mountains.  He not only shared his great wisdom with me on the airplane but our families have now met as they sponsored two children for their children and allowed me the privilege of using whatever I needed from his climbing gear.

On Facebook you will meet African guides like Robin Mountain who, although he is not a Kili guide, has summited Kili 3 times and was full of wisdom and great advice.  The same day I met Robin on line I met Rachael Hall who that day was posting a picture she had just taken from the top of Kili. Rachael, Robin, and Ben have all climbed kili and are all filled with wisdom and knowledge that has helped to alleviate stress and concern.  Conversations with them have also inspired, encouraged, and given me a sense of confidence and added excitement as we set out for the mountain.

I have discovered that I am surrounded by a Great Cloud of Witnesses that have stories and adventures that I can learn from and hang onto that will assist me in getting to the top of Africa. I have also discovered that they don’t have to have climbed Kili to be a witness that can aid me in my climb.  For example through blogging I have met Lesley Carter who writes about Bucket List stuff and has been a huge inspiration to me encouraging me to not sit back and let life pass me by but to live it fully and make a difference in the process.

Hebrews 12:1 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.  And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

Those who have gone before us on the journey up a physical mountain are of great value.  But so are those who have gone before us and successfully navigated the spiritual mountains of life.  The question is will we encounter them and learn from them and allow them to move us to higher hights and greater depths spiritually.

What I have discovered is we fail to have divine encounters with those who have gone before us because we don’t live looking for them and live expecting them.  Possibly because we sit on the airplanes of life with our headphones on and our eyes shut instead of looking and listening for an opportunity to encounter God in and through the person sitting next to us.

When was the last time you read Hebrews 11 and 12 and listened to those who have gone before you.  Who will you meet today with eyes and ears wide open for how God might use you in their life and them in yours?

Let’s go climb a mountain, enjoy the journey and

change a life.

Jambo, Jina langu ni Petro

Jambo, Jina langu ni Petro…. (Hello my name is Petro.)

Petro is my 8 year old “son” in Tanzania, who I hope I get to see and hug this next week.

Petro is a “Hope” child. A “hope” child is a child living in a predominately Aids infested area.

World Vision Hope Initiative is an unprecedented campaign to address the needs of children, families and communities that have been devastated by the global HIV and AIDS pandemic.

Orphans and vulnerable children often do not have enough food to eat, have no access to proper medical care and cannot attend school, and face abuse and neglect. In many cases they must care for sick and dying parents as well as younger siblings.

Children like Petro are highly vulnerable.

You can be vulnerable and not be in poverty but you can not be in poverty and not be vulnerable.

When you sponsor a child like Petro you reduce their vulnerability. You connect them with a loving community and give them access to the necessities of life that give them a hope and a future.

Will you join me and our Kilimanjaro team and change a child’s life forever.

 

Simply click here and build a relationship with a child like Petro…

 

Future posts will focus on how you can build a relationship that will change your sponsored child’s life as well as you and your families lives.

Enjoy the journey

Choose Your Own Adventure

“What is your story” is a question I have been asked and am asking a lot lately. I have come to realize more and more that we are simply in the midst of a story that is being written. A great story that has many chapters before our character came on the scene. It is a story written by the Author of life and is filled with drama, excitement, adventure, redemption, reconciliation, pain, suffering, relationships, emotion and all those other elements that make for a perfect story.

But more than anything I am realizing the importance of our story and its significance. I am a character in the plot of a broader story which will interact with and have impact on other characters as my personal plot unfolds and intersects with others.

Have you ever thought about the “random” encounters you have in life as a chance for your story to intersect with another character and at that point become a part of their story potentially even changing the outcome of their life story?

Do you remember those books where you get to choose your adventure? They were popular in the 80’s and gave kids an opportunity to make choices that determined different outcomes for the story.

As my wife and I sit in this coffee shop talking about these stories and their relevance to our lives we are struck by how our choices impact the outcomes of someone else’s story. For example, as I was hiking in Yosemite last weekend we met a team of hikers on the trail. As we began to interact with them their story began to change and have options for different outcomes in their life. Our interaction automatically introduced new characters into their story. We talked about human trafficking, child sponsorship, Mt. Kilimanjaro, and opportunities to change the story of a child forever.

We are now friends on facebook and their story has the possibility for new directions, as does mine.

The major question ringing in my ears as we talk about this is, what if we had chosen to just walk on by and not interact with our fellow hikers? Their options for different routes in their story only came through our choice to engage in meaningful conversation and open the door for relationship and opportunities.

Each of us has an incredible story.

What is your story and what are you doing with it? Your story could be the connecting point between someone else’s story and God’s story of redemption. Your story has been impacted by other characters who have intersected your path and were willing to share their life and story with you, giving you the opportunity to make choices that change the outcome of your story.

So now it is your turn to “choose your adventure.” What will you decide?

What is your Kilimanjaro?

SUCCESS – When does it occur

In John Bowlings book, “Making the Climb”, he states, “more than 60% of those who attempt this climb have to turn back. Only a few stand at the summit and look down on the clouds that shelter the vast plains. Soon I will see if I have what it takes to reach the top of the mountain. Either way, it will be all right. I DO NOT HESITATE FOR FEAR OF FAILURE! To make the attempt is to succeed already.”

In a conversation with a medical dr on a plane (see blog coincidence or divine encounter) I was talking about how bad I wanted to summit on Kili. He looked at me and said, “no you don’t”. I was a little taken back and said, “that is why I’m climbing, of course I do.” Then he said some profound words, “then you will miss it”. “miss what I enquired”. “the journey” he said. “if you are so focused on submitting you will not have eyes to see what is all around you.” He began to tell me about all the major mountains he has climbed and when he changed his views on submitting. He helped me see that this climb was never about submitting anyway but about the journey and the joy of the journey and the personal growth and life change along the way.

It was just before he boarded the flight and this conversation began that I had read Bowlings words and now realized that I succeeded the day I took my first step. Success isn’t the final step but the first step. Many people miss a successful journey because they never take the first step. The first step isn’t the first step toward success but first step of success. Success is a journey of one success step after another and if in each of those steps we learn, grow, impact the world around us, enjoy the vistas and take another step we have been successful even if we don’t reach the summit.  I also wonder how many people have unsuccessfully stood on top of Kili having missed so much along the way.

But you say, “the summit is the goal and the reason for the climb.” and now I would say, “no Petro and the approximately 70 other children I have helped to sponsor was the reason for the climb and all that God wanted to teach me along the way.” If it ended today and I never boarded the plane for Africa, I would certainly be sad, heart broken and disappointed, but it would have been worth taking that first step. And if I get part way up the mountain and realize that I can’t go on, it will be disappointing but NOT a failure. I have already successfully conquered mount Kilimanjaro. Not by my picture on the summit because fear of failure did not stop me from taking that first step.

I wonder how many mountains win because we are afraid to simply take the first step.

What is your Kilimanjaro?

Coincidence or divine encounter???

On a flight a couple weeks ago I had probably one of the most significant divine encounters on this Kilimanjaro journey.  It was an encounter filled with unbelievable “coincidences” some would say.  I don’t believe it was a coincidence that the man who sat next to me had climbed Kili.  I don’t believe it was a coincidence that he was a medical dr who had answers to many of my questions about mountain climbing. I don’t believe it was a coincidence that he was investigating faith in christ and reading a book given to him by a friend about this.  I don’t believe it was a coincidence that I know his friend and that he is a Nazarene medical dr.  And that he attends a church nearby where i live.  I don’t believe it is a coincidence that he needed me and I needed him on that flight.  I believe it was a divine encounter.  God brought two lives together for each of our growth.

Out of this encounter children will be sponsored and their lives forever changed.

Out of this encounter I was educated on Kili, climbing, altitude sickness

Out of this encounter he received answers to many of his questions on faith

Out of this encounter he made some connections about human trafficking, and the difference he can make

Out of this encounter passion was stirred to make a difference here in USA as well

As our families have dinner together next week it is my prayer that what God started on a plane will move beyond us to our wives, children and ultimately to the world around us that others lives will be impacted and God will receive honor and praise.

I know this, he is excited about sponsoring some children and impacting his world and deepening his pursuit of God because of an encounter on a plane.

When was the last time you had a divine encounter?

Divine encounters are becoming a regular occurrence in my life.  I think it is because I expect them now and am always watching for them.

Thank you Jesus for showing up on airplanes and for another divine encounter.

Border Wars

But what about all the kids in our own country?

These words ring in my ears and break my heart. Do we have needs in America? Yes. Should we care about the poor, the hurting, the trafficked and homeless and hungry in America? Again a resounding yes.

However, often times the scenario looks something like this.

Me… “Here is an opportunity to change a kids life. http://www.teamworldvision.org/kilimanjaro”

American…”but what about all the kids in America. I am tired of us sending all our money overseas to help their kids when we don’t take care of our own.”

Me… So how much have you been giving and doing for “our kids”?

American… “well, ummm, nobody is really doing much here to work with and give to.”

Me… Oh so the answer is nothing. So what are you going to do about that? What ministry are you going to start for our precious children? What have you proactively looked for to make a difference?

It doesn’t surprise me how quickly this conversation is ended or topic is changed or said American angrily leaves.

I wouldn’t have a problem with the issue if people could honestly say they were involved or if equal opportunity was given that they would act upon it. The problem I have is to say “what about ours” like we somehow care and then continue to do nothing.

However, this is a deeper spiritual Issue for me.

God is not an American! I know that is a shock to some.

God’s heart is for the poor and broken, enslaved and marginalized. God’s heart is for hurting people. These folks are in every country. It is sad how geography makes us identify with a broken person differently.

If we took 100 different kids from 100 different countries, none of them personally known by you. How would you decide which one to help? What criteria would you use? Do you help the American? Which one is the American… The white one? Nobody knows. They all have the same need and they all can be helped the same way. And you have the means… How do you choose?

For us to think a hurting American is somehow more special and more deserving of my help is spiritually sickening to me.

Now please don’t misunderstand me. I AM NOT SAYING WE SHOULD NOT HELP AMERICAN CHILDREN! But an American child is no more valuable to God than a Thai, African, chinese … child.  And simply because they live in America doesn’t mean you know them and have a personal relationship or connection to that child any more than the child you don’t know anywhere else in the world.

Does geography matter to God when it comes to helping his hurting children? If not why does it matter so much to us.

I think God simply wants his children to HELP His hurting children!

So if you are doing nothing for the children in America… Please stop using them as an excuse to do nothing for children in Tanzania. And if you are “spending yourself on behalf of the poor” (Isaiah 58) in America, then I thank God for you! Keep up the great work!

It is interesting to note that many of the people who are actively involved here are also actively involved overseas… I think it is because they see the world the way God does… Without borders!

How do you see the world?

If you would like to change a child’s life forever you can do that for $35.00 per month. Click on the link below and sponsor a child.  A team of 10 of us are climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in a couple months with a desire to change 500 children’s lives. I have a personal goal of sponsoring 100 children.  I am half way there.  Please put my name (Darrell MacLearn) in the “Athlete name” when you sponsor a child and then treat that child like you adopted him/her.  It will change their life as well as your own.

http://www.teamworldvision.org/Kilimanjaro

WHAT CAN I DO?

What can I do? This is a question I am regularly asked when I teach about human trafficking and poverty in our world? What I am discovering is, many who say this really don’t want the answer?

The issues touch the heart of emotion but often times go no further than feelings of anger or sorrow for those involved.  People with these feeling will say, “I want to get involved and make a difference but what can I do?” it amazes me how many of these folks take no action beyond that conversation.  Even when given simple practical things that could make a real tangible difference.

I wonder what the sticking point is?

Would the response be different if they woke up and discovered that it was their child who had just been trafficked and was being raped 15 -20 times per night? Would their action and response be different if it was their child who faced daily poverty and vulnerability?

It is my bet, and personal experience, that action is often attached to proximity of pain.  We tend to change everything when the reality hits home.  Finances seem to no longer be an excuse, time no longer stands in our way, fear of speaking out no longer chokes us up, when it is our daughter.

Often times now when people ask me what they can do to make a difference my answer is simply, “if it was your daughter what would you want someone else to do? Do that.”

If your daughter was vulnerable would you want someone to give to reduce the vulnerability…  Then Give

If it was your son or daughter and you knew that 35 dollars a month would reduce your child’s vulnerability, provide him/her with an education, provide him/her with clean water and medicines, would you pray for someone to do that…

Someone is praying that prayer!  Will you do for one of these kids what you would want someone else to do if it were your son or daughter.

For $35 per month you can do just that. www.teamworldvision.org/Kilimanjaro

Please don’t ask, “what can I do and then do nothing.” and if it is not this find something and make a difference in your world.

Obstacles – What stands in your way?

At 20,000 feet the mountain looms with massive beauty and intimidation as it calls out, “go ahead I dare you”.  “I dare you to try and overcome the obstacles I will present and make it to the top.”

Obstacles = “A thing that blocks ones way or prevents or hinders progress.”

Some of the obstacles I face in this adventure are fairly simple to overcome while others still stand before me in the great unknown of their magnitude.  The obstacles to Kili have arrived even before I depart for Tanzania.  There is so much to do and so little TIME to get it all done.  How often does time stand in our way to accomplishing things of importance in life.  I have had to set priorities to overcome this obstacle.

MONEY is another obstacle that stands in the way before the mountain ever comes into view.  I could use all sorts of excuses like “we just moved and the account is running dry”. How often does money stop us from accomplishing the great things set before us.  Again I must prioritize my life and spending for what matters.

There are many other little obstacles that must be overcome before the mountain is seen.  Obstacles like, passports, shots, purchasing gear, physical training, etc.  However it is the mountain itself that holds the real obstacles.  20,000 feet, 5 climate zones, foreign land, physical and mental exertion, Altitude sickness, along with other obstacles I am still unaware of.

Why the blog about obstacles?

As I ponder these obstacles the reason for this climb is made clear.  I am climbing with team world vision in an aggressive effort to change 500 – 1000 children’s lives forever by helping to remove obstacles in their life.  Each climber has an obstacle to overcome and that is to engage 50 to 100 people in sponsoring children (not a simple task).

The clarity has come home to me as I look at the mountain and put the obstacles to getting to the summit in perspective with what is at its base.  At the base of this  mountain is Tanzania  where children travel 4 – 7 miles round trip twice per day to fetch water that is filled with disease.  Where children live with the loss of loved ones  due to aids.  Where children are denied the privilede of education in order that they might simply survive.  Where children lack the resources to meet their basic physical needs.   These are their obstacles to a fulfilling life and often times to life itself. The child mortality rate is very high.

Fetching water stands in their way of gettiung an education.  Lack of education stands in their way their future. Disease filled water stands in their way of health.

Perspective… I can do things to overcome my obstacles.  I can train, raise support,  climb with experienced guides, climb with a team, eat out less, give up an occasional Starbucks, etc.

The promise of Jeremiah 29:11 is as real for these children and their families as it is for me and my family and you and your family.  God says, “I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans for a hope and a future.” As I continue to ponder this I am confronted with the reality of obstacles.  What is the hope and future for these childrn and their families?   I can do something about my obstacles.

Their obstacles will continue to defeat them unless someone helps to remove them.  God has chosen to give them a hope and a future and that hope rests in our hands.  All the resources are available.  God has provided everything needed.  The problem isn’t its availability it is its release.

If you would like to help remove the obstacles in a childs life, lessen their vulnerability, provide them with clean water, education, medical resources etc., please click on the following link and for less than you probably spend monthly on entertainment, coffee, dining out etc, you can give a child a hope and a future.

What obstacles stand in your way to making a difference in your world.  can you overcome them or will they keep you from the joy found at the summit.

Click here to make a difference … Team World Vision – Kilimanjaro Climb – Athlete Name… Darrell