.aiming to love like Him.

In May of 2009, I was in Johannesburg, South Africa and had the amazing opportunity to spend 4 weeks befriending some boys that have a few things in common with the children Not Forgotten aims to serve. The next few posts will reflect some of the ways the Lord has changed and challenged us through this ministry, and I thought this reflection summarized some of the ways it has impacted me. Not one of us is forgotten.

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"Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love me like You have loved me.

Break my heart for what breaks Yours.

Lord, everything I am for Your Kingdom's cause.

As I walk from earth into eternity..."

They line up against a wall smelling of earth and sweat. Their faces are streaked with dirt and scars, and glue dries in streams beneath their noses. They're hungry, broke, and filthy. They've probably stolen something from you, mumbled some crass remark when you avoided them, or sang you a jingle asking for cash. They'll tell you their story, but it's rarely the truth, and many of them have mastered manipulation even though they never passed the 7th grade.

They're the unlovable of Johannesburg, South Africa. They make you hold your purse a little tighter when you walk through town, and they're a large part of the reason you avoid the city streets at night.

They're street boys. 

For the last 2 weeks, my teammates and I have been working alongside Melville Junction Church developing possible programs that serve the homeless men, women and children of Jo'burg. In researching needs and ideas, I met Ricardo and friends begging on the street corner between McDonald's and KFC. They're street boys who beg from sun up to sun down, and take a break in the afternoon eat some soup with my team. We caught looks from everyone coming in and out of the restaurant. They would just gawk at the 4 Americas chatting with the street boys through the McDonald's window. Some of them would even speak. They would ask if we were naive, scared or just crazy.

Crazy? I'd think. For talking to a street boy? ...  At first, I was angry and hurt by their comments. But, as I started to think back to who I was before Christ, I began to understand the looks a little better. I knew I would have been the one munching on French fries and passing judgment 5 years ago...I still have moments where I sit back and judge without even attempting to understand. This time I just happened to be on the other side.

I remember hearing stories about the company that Christ kept when I first became a Christian. "Lunatic," I thought. Who pursues the prostitutes, beggars, and thieves? Aren't you taught to avoid people like that as a child? Great example, Jesus. Why don't I run down to the red light district and have a quality chat with the lady on the corner of 3rd and Peachtree? I'm sure she won't mind me stepping between her and this month's rent. And that thief over there? I'm sure that he won't steal from me because I have a cross, a smile, and good intentions. Wrong. Thanks for the example, Jesus. I'll stick to Birmingham suburbia. Much neater. Much safer. Much more expected.

But then I find 40 boys in the Amazon jungle, Hueso in the Dominican, Wesh in Haiti, Teekah in Botswana, and now, Ricardo in South Africa. They're all the types of people that Christ would have loved, while onlookers shook their heads in confusion. And before I can stop myself, I am loving them too. Relationships like these teach you to love with Christ's eyes, as titles fall to the ground and nothing but laughter and love rise to the surface. It's when they become more to you than the orphan, the prostitute, and "some street kids." Instead, you're changed; when through Christ's power they become your friend, your teacher, and your family. Christ molds you through these relationships. He challenges you to serve, pray, and love way past what is comfortable. You love with no guarantee that the love will be reciprocated, and it doesn't deter you from loving harder. You're reminded that the Creator of the Universe adores YOU, and that's all the Love you need for fulfillment.

As I fast forward from my original opinion of Jesus' company, I can't help but laugh at how He has reinvented my opinions and heart. He is teaching me to love through His eyes so much more this year, and it's transforming my attitude towards just about everything. While I once believed Christ a lunatic for seeking out the "unlovable," I now feel a divine calling to love them out of darkness. Befriending them no longer seems strange. We are loved so perfectly and abundantly by God, how could we not strive to pour that out on everyone we see?  

                                                                                                                                                    

I pray that the Lord continues to open my eyes and "break our hearts" for what breaks His. It's scary at first. Uncomfortable even, but the conviction and obedience to love never return void. 

.new years update.

Each journey to the jungle is full of its own unexpected blessings. Each trip is different as the teams shift, the children grow, and new children enter the home. But, I've never left without being amazed by the greatness of our God and the wonder of His constant provision. 

I wanted everyone to have an insight to this last trip, but I wanted it to come from someone who was experiencing Puerto Alegria for the first time. The following blog was written by one of my teammates from the World Race: Shannon Higgins. Up until December 28th, Puerto Alegria had been nothing but stories. Check out Shannon's perspective now that it has become a reality!

-Kristen

Shannon's Blog:

I usually spend the week between Christmas and New Year’s hitting up the after-Christmas sales and relaxing with family, but this year was different. Instead, I ditched the malls and headed to the jungle where I had the chance to impact the lives of 39 boys with Not Forgotten in Puerto Alegria, Peru. I've been all around the world, but the 6 days I spent in Puerto Alegria will be imprinted on my heart forever. I had never been to the jungle before. I had only heard of its beauty and of those boys for 11 months from my World Race teammate and Not Forgotten’s Kristen McKee. 

Well, I was not disappointed. 

It was an amazing week. I was able to meet a whole new group of friends through the Not Forgotten team, help build stairs for the gazebo, and help construct a dock. I swam with piranhas, bathed in the river, and ate jungle grub worm (suri).  I celebrated New Year’s Peruvian style, which is loud, colorful and full of crazy flying fireworks...that weren't always facing up. :-)

However, the most impacting part of the trip was getting to know the children that live in Puerto Alegria. At first I struggled through my lack of Spanish skills, but as the days went on I began to find those boys that the Lord had picked out for me to connect with. Even as I am writing this, I can see their bright smiling faces, and it makes my heart hurt that I am so far away. It is amazing how the Lord's love, photos, spanglish, sign language, music, and games can develop relationships that surpass language barriers. 

I am not sure I will be able to let another Christmas pass that doesn't have me heading to the jungle. Undoubtedly, I have left a part of my heart in that place. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to have served in Puerto Alegria. It's not an experience I'll soon forget.

.poverty.

So, I love to write and you're going to find that I use this blog as a platform to megaphone the cries within my heart and the hearts of my Not Forgotten comrades. :-) Cries relating to the needs of the people in the world around us, frustrations we experience when we can't provide for those needs immediately, and encouragements on how we continue to press on amidst those frustrations. I frequently read a blog written by a missionary in Costa Rica. She's honest. Sometimes shockingly so...and this particular post put picture to how we feel sometimes when we try to tackle an issue that we could never begin to conquer ourselves. This week she talked about poverty. The poverty that so often sends the children we're fighting for to the streets. She acknowledges it's overwhelming size and how the Lord calls her to face it. Remembering that only He is big enough...


Feeding the Ducks

I'm gonna go fight poverty for two and a half hours. 


2.5 hours on a Tuesday morning to solve the biggest problem in the world. What a joke. 


We will show up with a bag full of brad and an armload of bananas, and the children will clamber around us like ducks at a pond. A bunch of little ducklings, falling all over each other for a bit of bread and a soft pat on the head. 


And for 2 and a half hours we will laugh and play and eat, and we will talk about Jesus. And when we leave, they will be just as poor as when we arrived. Poverty taunts us as we drive away. 


It's overwhelming. 


The problem is so big, and we are so small. It feels ridiculous.... showing up to war wielding a loaf of bread. 


Of course that's how David showed up. Just a shepherd boy with some bread for his brothers, a kid who was quick with a sling shot. He chose for battle against a giant, not a sword, or the kings armor, but five smooth stones. And he won.


He said to the giant:
"You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God is Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's and he will give all of you into our hands." -1 Samuel 17


I kind of love that.


I'm going to feed the ducks, now.

And then, with all my might, I will hurl a tiny pebble at their giant enemy. And I hope it hurts like hell.


-Jamie, The Very Worst Missionary

Welcome- Kristen McKee

Greetings all Not Forgotten followers...

In order to take advantage of all growth opportunities in the future for Not Forgotten, a new member has been added to the team. As that new member, I thought I'd take a minute to introduce myself! My name is Kristen McKee and I'll be joining Not Forgotten as the Director of Administration and Development, aka Tyler's relief worker. I have been on numerous trips to Puerto Alegria, and share Not Forgotten's heart for the street children of Iquitos, Peru. 

I went on my first international mission trip to Saltillo, Mexico when I was a sophomore in college. I met a little girl named Fanny and spent ever possible moment with her family. Never in my life had I experienced such urgency to share the gospel as I had with Fanny's family. I loved them and I ached for them to believe in His peace, His grace and more importantly, His sacrifice and resurrection. I was surrounded by nothing familiar in that tiny Mexican shack, but I knew I belonged in that house, and that this trip to Mexico had forever changed my passions and redefined my purpose.

Less than two years later I had another opportunity to serve overseas. While spending a summer abroad in Spain, the Lord brought two dear friends into my life: Allison and Tyler. We had toured all around Spain together: learning what it was to be Americans in a foreign country, talking about missions, and discovering our mutual love for Latin America. Tyler kept talking about his love for Peru specifically, and how much he wanted us to come on one of his mission trips to this orphanage in the jungle. Frankly, as much as I trusted Tyler, I thought that he'd lost his mind. I wasn't exactly jungle material. The Lord's plans were a little different than my own however. So, a year and a half later Allison and I were jungle bound with deet and chacos. :)

Prior to this trip I had never had any interest in leaving the United States permanently, and was intimidated by the unknown. After this trip to Peru though, and the 8 that shortly followed, I was truly changed. I learned what it meant to truly be a new creation in Christ, as I discovered a new confidence and talents that I never knew I possessed. Tucked away in the middle of the Amazon jungle are 42 children that have captured my heart. Each journey down there brings James 1:27 to life as the orphans I'm called to care for aren't just children, but friends. They are unique. They each have different personalities, interests, idiosyncrasies and dreams. I want so badly to give them the hope and love that Christ has given me. I want to radiate with Christ's love so much that those children hunger for it and seek after it themselves. 

It was these relationships that triggered my desire to serve overseas as a missionary for AIM for a year.  I wanted to testify to God's grace across all nations, not just in Peru, but now the Lord has called me back to the ministry and home that first captured my heart. I'm willing to do whatever I can to ensure those children are being served, loved, and nurtured in a way that equips them for the future as servants of our precious Savior. They will know they are loved. Lord, let us be the difference...


I'll be available for any questions regarding Not Forgotten's mission, involvement opportunities, and upcoming trips! Feel free to contact me at kristen@notforgotten.org. 

          


Blessings, Kristen McKee

Celebrating the Holidays in Peru

On December 27, 2008 our group of 8 from Alabama began the long trip down to Puerto Alegria. As much as I hate to fly, stepping off the boat the afternoon of the 28th to see 38 of my favorite faces was completely worth every second of our trek.

Our group and a group of 5 from Nebraska spent the week making repairs around the home. The screens on the boys’ rooms needed to be replaced and trash around camp needed to be picked up. Every morning we would wake up with the roosters, eat breakfast with the boys, and then begin our work. A small group of “gringos” would lead Bible Study for the older boys in the morning, and then separately for the younger boys in the afternoon after lunch. We taught the boys that God’s Word is a treasure and that it is our responsibility to share our knowledge of Christ with our community. Late in the afternoons we would swim in the river or play soccer with the boys and then clean up for dinner. After dinner we would play games and sing songs together or watch a movie before bedtime.

New Years Eve included burning “the old self,” shooting fireworks at the “gringos,” a piñata filled with whistles, and fruitcake. The boys were dressed in their best clothes and were all wearing their new shoes that they had received for Christmas and had saved especially for this occasion. Probably the best New Years ever.

The Friday before we left, we spent the day in Iquitos. We started the day with a walk through the market in Belén, where a lot of the boys are from, and a visit to Scripture Union’s Medical Center. We spent a few hours at the “beach” and the zoo and then took the boys for a movie and popcorn. That night we introduced S’mores to Puerto Alegria with a bonfire in the rain.

All week, we were constantly looking for ways to show the boys we love them, God loves them; they are not abandoned. It was only my second time to Puerto Alegria, but those boys have taken up permanent residence in my heart. Through this, I believe that the Lord gave me a glimpse into how much he loves his children.

On Saturday morning, I was not ready to leave. And now that I am home, I want to go back. A feeling I am afraid I will experience in increasing measure with each trip I take to Peru. ~ Claire Davis

Christmas in Iquitos!

Here is a video taken of the Christmas party we were able to provide for the kids in Puerto Alegria and 350 other children that Scripture Union works with in Iquitos, Peru. After enjoying an afternoon of songs, skits, dances, and clowns, all of the kids sat down to enjoy the traditional Christmas meal, panettone (a type of bread) and chocolatada (a chocolate drink). At the end of the clip you can see some of the boys from the home in Puerto Alegria handing out Christmas gifts to all of the other kids at the party. Thank you so much to all of you who gave and made Christmas possible for all of these children!

From God's Word...

"O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more." ~ Psalm 10:17-18

"Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation." ~ Psalm 68:5

"Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." ~ Psalm 82:3-4