Last month Partnership Macedonia was featured in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's magazine! If you haven't had a chance to read it, you can follow the link below to check it out.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
A Reflection for Earth Day
By Jeff Lee
“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it; for he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers.” (Psalms 24:1-2)
The earth is in a fragile condition. The earth has amazing ability to heal itself, but currently we are putting too much of a strain on the fragile systems that are in place that regulate the environment. Humanity is uniquely gifted with the ability to affect the environment for good and bad.
We are not living together in unity with one another. We have the ability to meet the needs of those who are around us. Poverty is an environmental issue. Those living in poverty are forced into living in the worst environmental situations. They are faced with the highest health risk from the environmental degradation that is occurring while at the same time they are the group that is the least responsible for the current situation.
There are common misbeliefs that since the poor are living in the worst conditions that they are the cause of the situation in which they live. There is a direct correlation between the amount of resources that we consume and the health of the environment. It is the consumers that are the main source of environmental degradation. It is our responsibility to practice appropriate care for the environment.
The first thing that we need to recognize is the source of the situation. The more that we consume resources the worst the environmental crisis becomes. We must take responsibility for our actions as individuals, communities, and even countries. If we do not see the earth as the precious gift that it is then we only have ourselves to blame for the continuing of the environmental crises that is occurring.
There is hope for the future, but only if we act. Too often we do not act because we think that we cannot make a difference in changing the current situation. We might think that what we do is too little to help. But we can help. Little things done by many people over and over again have a tremendous effect on the environment.
There are things that we can do on a small scale that can help curb the current environmental crisis.
The first thing to do is to learn about the environment.
List of things to do:
“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it; for he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers.” (Psalms 24:1-2)
The earth is in a fragile condition. The earth has amazing ability to heal itself, but currently we are putting too much of a strain on the fragile systems that are in place that regulate the environment. Humanity is uniquely gifted with the ability to affect the environment for good and bad.
We are not living together in unity with one another. We have the ability to meet the needs of those who are around us. Poverty is an environmental issue. Those living in poverty are forced into living in the worst environmental situations. They are faced with the highest health risk from the environmental degradation that is occurring while at the same time they are the group that is the least responsible for the current situation.
There are common misbeliefs that since the poor are living in the worst conditions that they are the cause of the situation in which they live. There is a direct correlation between the amount of resources that we consume and the health of the environment. It is the consumers that are the main source of environmental degradation. It is our responsibility to practice appropriate care for the environment.
The first thing that we need to recognize is the source of the situation. The more that we consume resources the worst the environmental crisis becomes. We must take responsibility for our actions as individuals, communities, and even countries. If we do not see the earth as the precious gift that it is then we only have ourselves to blame for the continuing of the environmental crises that is occurring.
There is hope for the future, but only if we act. Too often we do not act because we think that we cannot make a difference in changing the current situation. We might think that what we do is too little to help. But we can help. Little things done by many people over and over again have a tremendous effect on the environment.
There are things that we can do on a small scale that can help curb the current environmental crisis.
The first thing to do is to learn about the environment.
List of things to do:
- Replace incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent bulbs.
- Recycle anything that can be recycled.
- Reuse old things that still have value.
- Unplug appliances when they are not in use.
- Decrease the amount of water usage.
- Support beneficial environmental regulations.
Saturday, April 19, 2014
The Love Shown by a Crayon
A blog by Jeff Lee
For the
last few months we have visited an orphanage near our house as a family. We spend Saturday afternoons playing games,
coloring, playing with play dough and other really simple things. The first
time that I visited with the kids I felt a little nervous. Alicia had been going for a number of months,
so the kids were used to her, but I was a new person, and I think more odd was
that fact that I was a guy. They did not
talk to me. I tried to interact with the
kids, but it was difficult. Over time I
have seen a slow change in how these children have begun to interact with
me. I began to truly care for these
kids. I still get nervous every time I
go and visit them, but that is a lack of confidence on my part. I also have noticed them see me in a
different light. I think that they can
see that I care about them. They know
that I cannot understand them very well, but that does not stop them from
speaking to me and asking me to draw them a picture.
Today they asked me to draw a rabbit and an Easter basket
for them. They did not care that I am
not a good artist and my rabbit is just a smiley face with big ears. While I was drawing rabbits one of the little
girls came over to show me a picture of a heart that she drew. I told her that it was beautiful, in poor
Macedonian, but she repeated herself a few times, and on the fourth time I
finally understood what she was saying to me.
She told me that she drew it for me.
It was amazing! It blows me away
that they would want to gift something to us!
The orphanage needs many things. Many of which require tangible
or monetary donations. We aren’t there
to meet those sorts of needs. We know that to some, what we offer is of little
value but we aren’t there for them. We are there for the children and it means a
lot to them. Showing love to a child is
simple. It’s not about the crayons we bring. It’s coloring WITH them while they
create masterpieces. It’s not about the
play-doh we bring. It’s about sitting RIGHT next to them while they design
works of art. It’s about being consistent
in spending time with them. It’s about BIG hugs just because they need one, or
two. It’s about showing love to the “least
of these.” Being the presence of Christ
is about being present.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Culture Shock: A Two-Way Street
We were asked to write a piece for the CBF blog this week about “Culture Shock.” It wasn't hard to find enough to talk about as we experience culture shock on a daily basis! Click here to read it on the CBF Blog. Don't miss the blog contributions by our dear friends and colleagues, Jon and Tanya Parks in Slovakia and Matt and Michelle Norman in Spain!
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