How Dare I Whine? - Christianity 101

The other day my brother and I got going on our own little pity party. He was complaining about his job and his investments, I was whining about our investments and my income. The day after we talked on the phone, I was filling in as a small group leader for our son’s youth group. A woman there showed slides from her trip to Ethiopia last fall with our Pastor and two more parishioners; they went to visit the Consolata Sisters who are helping the poorest of the poor over there, and our church helps support their efforts.

Talk about a dose of guilt

Here in America, most of us are so removed from the poor in our everyday lives that when we’re hit in the face with it, it’s almost unreal.

People really live in mud huts? There are schools in the world that don’t even have books and are mostly empty anyway because the children are needed to work at home? If they do get to go, it’s often where they get their only meal that day? When many of us are researching what water filtering systems to invest in, many others in the world walk miles for their water every day, for real?!

Look at this picture of a little girl carrying a heavy jug of water, probably weighing as much as she does, for who knows how many miles to get it back home.

We have water that comes out of a faucet with only a little turn, in SEVEN rooms of our house, cold AND hot! How dare I whine…about anything!

Here’s something easy we can do to help

As I was watching the slides and wondering what the Lord would have us to do help, I heard something that floored me. A new well over there only costs $1000! Cutting miles off a trek for water could make a huge impact in these people’s lives!

I think it must have been God who whispered, “$1000 might seem like a lot, but can you spare $333? Because I’ll bet you could easily get two more to do the same, and there you have it.”

Can you be one of three to give $333?

So of course it occurred to me that it just might be possible to get more than a couple more people to give $333. That’s where you come in. For many of us with taxes and college bills, car repairs and mortgages, $1000 is out of reach, but $333 is doable, isn’t it?

For some of you, maybe not. $10 might be all you can spare for now, and that’s enough. For others, $1000 isn’t that big a deal. Whatever you can do.

If you can help, here’s how…

Mail checks to Our Lady of Consolation Church, 4865 11 Mile Rd., Rockford, MI 49341.

In the memo section, write: “Consolata Sisters – Toward New Wells in Ethiopia”

That’s it. Thank you so much for making a difference.