U2 can make a difference! But you don't have to be a "Bono" to do it!

Sections of an address Bono (fron U2) gave at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington....

A number of years ago, I met a wise man who changed my life. In countless ways, large and small, I was always seeking the Lord's blessing. I was saying, you know, I have a new song, look after it. I have a family, please look after them. I have this crazy idea...And this wise man said: stop.

He said, stop asking God to bless what you're doing.Get involved in what God is doing - because it's already blessed......

God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives. God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war. God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them.

"If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness, and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom with become like midday and the Lord will continually guide you and satisfy your desire in scorched places."

......From charity to justice, the good news is yet to come. There is much more to do. There's a gigantic chasm between the scale of the emergency and the scale of the response.And finally, it's not about charity after all, is it? It's about justice. Let me repeat that: It's not about charity, it's about justice. And that's too bad. Because you're good at charity. Americans, like the Irish, are good at it. We like to give, and we give a lot, even those who can't afford it.

But justice is a higher standard.

Praying for Mothers around the world

My friend Becky, an amazing midwife who has just returned to Canada from the Philippines, is sharing this at her church on Sunday... Her words follow...

I’m Beckie Wood. I’m a midwife. My family and I have just returned from a year in the mega city of Manila in the Philippines where we helped to establish a charity birth centre in a large slum of the city. My husband and I work with a mission organization called Mercy In Action a ministry of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship. Our mandate is to offer free quality health services with kindness and prayer to families living in poverty while training missionaries, national and international midwives and primary health medics.

On Mother’s Day we declare how important our moms are. We are so grateful for their health and their life. We know that the likelihood of any of us, or our friends and family to face death in childbirth, while becoming a mother, is so small. For this we are so grateful to God for our health and for the wealth of our country.

We also need to know that:

• Every minute of every day a woman dies in childbirth. 99% of these mothers are in the developing world.

For this fact we stand in prayer for women around the world right now, that they would have someone trained to be with them in labour. Most of these maternal deaths can be prevented by having a skilled attendant present at births. Yet so many women in the third world are alone in childbirth. They can’t access care because of lack of finances, drugs, transport difficulties, lack of midwives or a distrust the services that are available.

So today, we stand in intercession for mothers globally. We pray for women everywhere who are bringing new life into this world, becoming mothers. Each of these women have a family, they have friends, just like us. We want them to live and to mother their children with love and health.

Mothers Day Musings

Today we celebrated Mother's Day by having breakfast out at "the Dome", a pretty nice restaurant where we can eat a typical "Canadian" style breakfast complete with eggs, bacon, toast and coffee. We enjoyed ourselves, the beautiful atmosphere, the service and the food!
One thing really hit me today...
My breakfast cost what most of my patients husbands earn for a day's wage.
Our family ate what for them is an entire week's earnings.
Food for thought.
Still chewing on this one.

We feel blessed to have a day off each week where we can get out and explore the city! Often on our days off we try to go somewhere where the kids can run around! It's been very hot here lately...above 35oC! Swimming is a favourite for all of us! The kids have become more acclimatized and we are working on it too! Drinking water here is not a luxury...it's a necessity!

This past week, Richard took the medic team in two separate groups to explore Welfareville. It's always interesting to hear reactions from new people who have not been before. The experience (sights, tastes, smells, sounds) can sometimes feel overwhelming. I love when I get to go do home visits there. You see another side of life in Welfareville when you are welcomed into a family's home. Despite the poverty, and the lack of resources, these families have worked hard to have a home, no matter how small.

When walking through, women hold up their babies and say "Mercy Baby", which means the baby was born at the Mercy Maternity Center. There are countless Mercy babies in Welfareville...well over 1000!