Bare minimum

I have heard many, many sermons when the Pastor encourages the congregation to slow their lives down and take time for God.  This, of course, is very important, but it is also just the bare minimum of what we should be doing as Christians.

Daily Bible reading and prayer, coupled with being active in a local body and being proactive with our faith (ie: witnessing, mission work, social justice endeavors) are still just part of what we are already expected to do as Christians.  According to the words of Jesus, we have quite a mandate on our lives as His followers.  If you want to do an little exercise that will open your eyes to the basic expectations of Christianity, read Matthew 10.  When you read it, imagine for a moment that Jesus is talking directly to you.  Put yourself right in front of Jesus as He is instructing His disciples; because if you consider yourself a Christian, you are, after all, one of His disciples.

Once you have read it, you will see that Jesus was not exactly dangling the fleeting carrot of financial prosperity in the face of His followers.  In fact, He was explicitly warning them that the Lord’s work would come with great risk.  This risk, however, did not lack reward.  As a result of the Disciples’ work, thousands upon countless thousands are in eternity with Jesus forever.

Global Infusion was started by faith, and exists by faith.  The battle we fight for souls on the mission field is very real.  There are entire nations totally blind to the Gospel, and we need to get to the people with the message of Jesus Christ, and get there soon.

GEF

Imagine growing up in a place where clean water is just a dream; a place where food is scarce. A place where the majority of people who fall ill, die because there is no medicine, and there are no real doctors.

Disease is rampant, especially AIDS, and the oldest person in your village is 57, but she will die soon...she has lived longer than most.

Electricity and fuel are virtually unobtainable, yet some days you see large medicines on wheels traveling rapidly across the rugged terrain in the distance. You wonder where they have come from... where they are going.

You live in fear. Not only of what tomorrow may or may not bring, but the demonic spiritual climate around you is ever-present; the chanting, the rituals, the curses. The witch-doctor is not a figment of your imagination; he lives less than a half-mile from your family's hut.

Welcome to the village life in West Africa. This is not a scene from history, but from the twenty-first century. Hundreds of thousands of Africans live in such conditions; not because they want to, but because they have no choice. Living in the city requires a good job. A good job requires education; something that is in the formal sense the word, is non-existent in the villages. 

This past month we sent support funds out of our Ghana Educational Fund (GEF).

We are currently sponsoring the education of 217 West-African village children.  Without our support, these children would not receive an education, and they would be confined to living in their village with very little hope of ever going to high school, college, or getting a job.

Extreme Makeover - Missions Edition

Our latest INFUSION ADVENTURE team has just returned from MEXICO.  They were there to winterize a dorm that Global Infusion has helped to sponsor and build.  Currently, the dorm is being used as a group home for young girls.  These girls have come from the streets of Juárez and are younger than 15 years of age.

The dorm, which was built this past summer, is a concrete structure where the nighttime temperature was dropping below 30°F.  Global Infusion received a call from Pastor Joel Cortez, who oversees the group home, asking us to send an emergency construction team that could literally create a warmer environment for the girls to sleep and live in. 

Here is what our team accomplished:

-insulated the building

-installed a proper ceiling

-remodeled the bathroom

-carpeted the floors

-built an addition

 (new  laundry facility)

-did plumbing and electrical work

Night temperature inside the building:

Before GI team -  42°F (heater running all day)

After GI team    - 62°F (no heater on)