The reason behind it all

I read a startling UNICEF statistic today: each day, 26,500 - 30,000 children die as a result of poverty - starvation, thirst, and disease. I don't know about everyone else, but when I hear statistics like that (and stats like the tens of thousands of disaster-related deaths in China and Myanmar) I tend to skim past the death toll and move to more pleasant reading. It is simply too many fatalities to wrap my mind around. 26,500 - 30,000 kids every day. 26,500 - 30,000 as I go shopping, enjoy my airconditioning and eat more food than I can handle. Trying to comprehend such poverty can make you feel inadequate and unable to make a dent in the massive need.


Another UNICEF stat says that nearly 3 billion people in the world live on less than $2 each day. You can't even buy an iced mocha at Starbucks for $2! So what can we do? First, we can go where there is need and serve. Josh and I are blessed to be able to personally serve the people of Guatemala, but not everyone can drop their daily duties. Those that cannot go can give. $5, $100, $1,000....God can use any amount, big or small, to make a difference in the lives of the needy. And most importantly, you can pray. Pray that those in need will be blessed by God with the dignity and resources to overcome their need.

These stats aren't meant as a guilt trip....more as of a wake up call to you and to me to affect change in our own way.

~ Jessica
(http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Facts.asp)