Blessed are they that mourn....

I have to say I find Jesus teaching REALLY hard. I know some people think of Christianity as a luck charm; "if you send in this much $ you shall be blessed" idea, but is this what Christianity is all about? Isn't the real definition of being a Christian being a follower of Christ? ...and if this is true I have to admit; following Jesus is HARD because His teachings don't say everything will be easy; and what is this "Blessed are they that mourn..." (check out Matthew 5)

Is there any comfort in this at all???? I've just come from a community where there are over 6,000 orphans, no orphanage, a programs co-ordinator, one social worker, a secretary, some pastors and a bunch of adults who could say I have enough trouble of my own... yet some of these adults are helping to make the difference in these children's lives.

The needs are huge yet we can make a difference. $30/month will pay for a teen's room, board and tuition. I heard a story of one female orphan. She begged to stay in school even though she didn't have the money for her tuition. Wow, how do you say no to that; yet the need is real. You can't take the food from a paying kid and give it to a non-paying kid. So for this particular girl she ended up dropping out of school and going into prostitution. We talk about stopping the international sex trade...well here's one way you can do it; sponsor a kid! $30 in Zambia is about 2 weeks pay and for us it's about 2 weeks of Tim Horton's coffee!

The other way we can make a difference is to enable the local leadership. I have 5 adults that have significant influence in the community and I want to send them a package of books that will help them counsel individuals who are grieving.