Mo money mo problems.

It has been over a month since I've done a blog entry. My apologies--I was out of the country! I love saying that. It has a nice ring to it.

Folks, there is just too much to say. Point blank: I think I could sit here on this PC and type for the rest of my life and still have much more to blog about. As I tell my story about my trip, it seems to lose its luster to me. Every time I explain our run-in with a wild elephant, it is as though it's something of a story. Something that now only exists in a memory or a picture.

I got back to the States from S. Africa a little over a week ago. To be honest, words really don't do justice to what we experienced while there. Not even close. This is quite the predicament we are in, being I am forced to use only words to communicate to you on this blog. This is troublesome to me because I really want you to understand fully what happened while in S. Africa. Until I get the opportunity to share in person, this box I type words into will have to suffice.

For this post, I will share my thoughts on one of the cultural differences that seems to be really close to my heart. In my prior post, I talked about my experience visiting the children in a high-poverty area. Although I may be slowly forgetting some things about the beautiful country, the pure joy on those kids faces is one memory that will be hard to forget. It's ironic to me. Consider these two extremes of humanity:

1) owning nothing of material value
2) owning everything that money can buy

In my experience, extreme #1 has got it figured out. They are truly, purely joyful beings, yet they don't have a dollar to their name. On the other side of the spectrum (#2), they have everything they could ever want on this earth, yet they search for true happiness. They are still on the pursuit of understanding what this 4-year-old girl in S. Africa has already figured out. Huh? What? It's funny to me. As Americans, we see these people in poverty and feel bad for them and their state in life. All along: they get it. They understand life at it's most basic form. It's simple to them.
The bible says in Psalm 116:6:
The LORD protects the simple hearted; when I was in great need, he saved me. I have also heard simple hearted referred to as "childlike."

A few days ago, someone asked me this about the trip: where did you see God the most? That's easy. In the orphans and the homeless. The smiles they had were the most genuine smiles I have ever witnessed. They had next to nothing and I saw Jesus in them. God blesses those who are pure in heart, for they see God. I believe that this is true for them--they have the purest of hearts. These orphans are experiencing what most Americans seek their whole lives: happiness.

Matthew 5 states:
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.

The orphans have it figured out. We all could learn a lesson from them. I will leave you with this verse. Stay tuned, ladies and gents. More posts to come. May God's face shine on you. May you know His love more and more each day.

James 1:27:
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.