In Memory of Sebastian... And All The Others Like Him

While I was living in The Republic of Congo (ROC) I visited Baby Crèche Orphanage. 

I had waited to go, because I knew what would happen when I did.

The first time I went I spent the whole time with a baby boy named Sebastian. He was withdrawn, somber and weak.  He had long, skinny legs, just skin and bones, sad eyes, and a disproportionately large, round stomach. 

I’m a sucker for the ones who you have to work to get a smile out of – I take it as a personal challenge. And with Sebastian, it was sure a challenge.

I went back to the ship, and what I had feared would happen took place. After a few days of thinking about and praying for Sebastian, I began to research the adoption process for Republic of Congo. Several weeks of emails to anyone and everyone I could find who knew anything about international adoption in ROC eventually led me to the conclusion that it wasn’t possible for me to pursue adopting little Sebastian at this point.

The Republic of Congo doesn’t allow single adoptive parents under age 35, and even then only allows same gender adoptions for single parents. It would cost over $7000 just to put together the paperwork to even ASK a judge to make exceptions to both these rules. Not only that, but being in the country with him actually made it harder, if not impossible to start the process. I’m pretty sure the US government wouldn’t accept a home study of my 6-berth cabin.

I visited Sebastian and the other babies at the Baby Creche orphanage a few more times before I left. As we were leaving, some of the other Mercy Shippers would say things like, “Doesn’t it just make your day to hold those babies?”

“No”, I would think to myself, “it absolutely ruined my day.”

How can I go about my day normally - where there’s no question in my mind about whether or not I’ll have supper, or if something happens if I’ll have someone there to support me - when I’ve had this fresh reminder of all those without their basic needs met and without anyone to look out for them?

“Defend the weak and the fatherless;

uphold the cause of the poor

 and the oppressed.”

Psalm 82:3

Today I found out that Sebastian passed away this past Friday. Malnourished, abandoned, and with no one to make his problems their problems, he slipped out of this life.

Grief, guilt, and sorrow coalesce somewhere in the depths of my heart. You all will tell me not to blame myself, and really, I know it's true.

But I can’t help but wonder how many kids just like Sebastian died today.
And I can’t help but wonder if there’s something I could have done about it.

According to the World Food Programme, "poor nutrition causes nearly half (45%) of deaths in children under five - 3.1 million children each year." 

Let me do the math for you - that’s 8,493 a day.

EACH DAY 8,493 CHILDREN LIKE SEBASTIAN DIE BECAUSE THEY DON’T HAVE ENOUGH FOOD.

There is no getting around the sheer injustice of this. 

How many of us, had we sacrificed something that we “need” or want, could have made a difference in the lives of one or more of these helpless children? When I compare the value of spending $28,000 on the new car I'm looking at versus putting my resources towards LITERALLY SAVING LIVES, the car doesn't seem like as much of a necessity. 

“Christ has no body on earth but yours,

no hands but yours,

no feet but yours.

Yours are the eyes through which

Christ’s compassion for the world is to look out;

Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good;

And yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now.”

-Saint Teresa of Avila

I've seen it. 

I've seen lives transformed by the generosity of people willing to put other's needs above their own comfort. 

I've seen lives saved by surgery on a big white ship funded by donors and staffed by volunteers. 

I've seen orphans become sons and daughters of men and women who understand Christ's love so deeply that they're willing to do for others what he did for us. 

“'He defended the cause of the poor and needy, 

and so all went well. 

Is that not what it means to know me?’ 

declares the LORD.” 

Jeremiah 22:16

Far too often the hugeness of the need for justice in this world paralyzes us, stopping us from doing the things that we can do to make a difference. Relief organizations like Compassion International, Mercy Ships, The Hunger Site, Charity: Water, and so many others save and transform lives. Development programs like Plant With A Purpose and Trade As One create sustainable resources in a community, break cycles of poverty, and lead to lasting change.

It starts with denying ourselves more excess (or reevaluating what we perceive as needs), so that others in the world, like Sebastian, can have their basic needs met. 

“If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,

 he too will cry out and not be answered.” 

Proverbs 21:13

 Let's make a difference, friends. 

From Monday

It's Monday now, and tomorrow morning I leave for Sri Lanka. Today I was able to do the last of the health education and teach them how to use the medications and supplies we brought. I pray they will bring some relief. 

Nick taught a classes all day at the bible college on the Holy Spirit. They spent time praying together to close.

I leave thankful for the full time we've had here, and praising God for at how much we were able to accomplish in such a short amount of time. >

*Betsy has safely arrived in Sri Lanka! Continue to pray for endurance, health, and safe travels.

From Sunday

As I write in my journal we are sitting in front, behind the pulpit at David's church. I'm hoping it looks like I'm taking notes.  Nick just started preaching, wearing his "longyi" (skirt). I don't think they quite know what to do with his sense of humor.

We've already had almost 2 hours of worship, special music by the students and children, and 15-20 minutes of simultaneous prayer. 

 Pastor Doug from Wisconsin just leaned over and said to me "the children can't stop staring at you, they've never seen a woman so tall!"  It's true, Burmese people definitely are not tall.  It's hard to tell if children and adults alike stop and stare (even take pictures of us) because we are white or because of my height. At least they're entertained!

 The city is busy and crowded, yet there's a certain innocence about Yangon - it seems less scathed by western influence and the depravity of modern society than many other capital cities in Southeast Asia.  

But that is quickly changing. It's only been in the last 6 months to a year that the country has opened to change and with it tourism, increasing presence of embassy's and products from outside the country - like new, tiny cars.  

We visited the Schwedagon Pagoda (Buddhist temple) last night. It's the biggest in the world, and is also home to some of the largest bugs I've ever seen! 

Walking around barefoot was a little gross with cockroaches and who knows what other kinds of bugs a scittering around on the ground. Nick, Kate and I had a contest to see who had the most dead bugs on the bottom of their feet when we left.

It's bizarre to see how people come from all over the world to this place for enlightenment, and all they find is smiling cloned statues covered in gold leaf, neon lights, and disgusting bugs. 

The highlight of the weekend was, for me, spending some time at the children's home. They are precious. We were admiring their new triple tier bunk beds, and some of the little girls came up and started fanning me. Kate translated for me that they were talking to each other about how much sweat was on my face! 

Update & Graduation

Yesterday I was able to complete assessments of all 70 children from the children's home! This is a huge answer to prayer, as our time here is so limited. 

Some of the problems we've been able to help with by giving them some health and hygiene teaching, using the donated  medical supplies we brought, and today venturing into the Burmese pharmaceutical world to get some medications for some of the conditions that are fairly easily diagnosed. 

While there are several students and children with more serious problems, the most prevalent problems that I've seen are dental and vision conditions.  These are areas we would like to focus on for future trips and training here in Myanmar, and are beginning to have conversations about how best to help in these areas, in both short term and long term capacities.

Today we had rehearsal for the bible college graduation, which will be tomorrow morning.  "Reverend Nick" is going to be commissioning the 18 graduates. 

I think the awesomeness of these photos speak for themselves: 

The days are flying by!  3 more full days and then I'm off to Sri Lanka! 

Please pray for wisdom as we continue conversations here about what we can do now, and strategize for future trips and relief work here.

Faces of Myanmar

Below are a few of the 45 bible college students we assessed on the first day. They are wonderfully joyful, love music, and are being taught to make bunk beds by an American named Nevin who is has been here for about 3 weeks.  The bunk beds are going to the children at the children's home, and there is potential that they may be able to start somewhat of a business selling beds and over furniture.

Ming Alaba!

Feeling nice and sticky as we head to have dinner at a missionary coffee shop here in Yangoon.

I just finished a FULL day of assessments - 32 bible college students! It's great to have a better idea what the needs are, and I'm hopeful that we will be able to treat some with medical supplies we brought and medications we buy here.

Please pray for wisdom as we are making decisions about what to address now, and what to focus on for future trips.

Tomorrow I start assessing the 70 children from the children's home. It's definitely a tiring way to spend 8 hours, but we are being blessed and well hosted by our Burmese friends here.

Around the World in Twenty-Two Days

In just one week I leave for what has become the trip of a lifetime.

What began as an eight-day mission trip to Myanmar has become an around the world adventure. 

I am unbelievably excited, and, yes, maybe just a little nervous. 

Let me explain. 

A few months ago I was brought into a email correspondence with a pastor in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) named David, in an effort to help them to best use some medical supplies that had been donated to them. As the conversation continued between Pastor David, one of my elders, and a businessman from my church (who chairs a foundation called Kingdom of Love), it became clear that more help was needed than we could give from afar. 

So the three of us, along with another pastor who has a close relationship with Pastor David, will be headed to Myanmar on October 28th. We will be doing community assessment, with the long term goal of starting a clinic in the area. The men will be looking for viable business opportunities to train Burmese women and men in to eventually support the clinic. I will be performing physical assessments on all of the children in the orphanage that Pastor David oversees. 

It's a lot to do in eight days. 

As I started planning the trip, I realized how short it was going to be, and how expensive it is to fly all the way to southeast asia. 

So I started looking for opportunities to extend my trip and make use of all the money being spent on airfare. 

Enter Sri Lanka. 

I have a wonderful friend from Biola, Thilini, who is from Sri Lanka. She recently graduated and moved back to Sri Lanka, and is graciously hosting me for 6 days after I leave Myanmar. 

Her dad is a pastor and they have all sorts of ministries in Sri Lanka - an orphanage, girls home, widow's home, and a recently opened clinic, to name a few.  I'm looking forward to seeing the ministry they do there and experiencing such a beautiful country!

An unexpected change.

Until two weeks ago, my plan was to come home after Sri Lanka. 

However, my good friends Shawn and Melissa Gorham got a great deal on tickets and booked a spur of the moment trip to South Africa for the first few weeks of November. 

She text me and told me they had booked, and immediately I realized that I had yet to book my return flight from Sri Lanka, and the dates would be perfect for me to fly down and join them in South Africa for a few days. 

South Africa. 

It's been the #1 destination on my travel list for at least six years - even before I started going to Southlands Church, where South Africans are more common than palm trees in Huntington Beach. 

I'll spare you the play-by-play, but let's just say, God is so gracious, and I managed to add on a week in Durban, South Africa, for only $350!  

To say I am excited is a huge understatement. 

To go to South Africa is incredible, and to go with such great friends (who are graciously letting me crash their vacation) makes it ten times more exciting. 

Hopefully I come back with all my limbs. 

I've watched enough shark week to know there's a lot of great whites over there, and Shawn expects me to jump off a pier and stand up paddleboard (we'll see about that). 

Just the facts:

8 Days in Myanmar

6 Day in Sri Lanka

7 Days in South Africa

67 hours on airplanes

86 hours total travel time

3 layovers in Beijing, Bangkok and Abu Dhabi

1 trip all the way around the world

If you pray, 

I'd love for you to pray for:

wisdom and discernment in medical assessment and treatment

an individual for me to give basic medical training to

a viable business opportunity to pursue in Myanmar

lasting relationships to be built

safety and favor in travel

health

Check back for updates on my trip!