rebuilding

As one team leader said, "Refugees already have their own solution. They just need help getting to it." 

Listening to the refugees, finding their gifts, helping them hope again, seeing their eyes light up with the potential of rebuilding their lives ... this is what the teams do. And this is how a town or city is rebuilt from the ashes. No two people are the same; each one has a unique gift and call; a special purpose and design. These people see ways to take very little and turn it into something. It can be as simple as wax to make candles; clay to make bowls; ashes to make soap. Just like you, they are intuitive, ingenious, creative and want to respond to life with Hope, if given a chance.

Because they move from having lost all to gaining back, sometimes they are closer to genuine thanksgiving that I am. Not having a bomb fall in the night; not having to worry if there are rice and beans; knowing that the well has been cleaned out and is working ... these become points of praise. 

And praise is rising. People are making choices. When they compare the sources of the various powers that have touched their lives, they are making choices. One source brings death and war; the other Life Eternal. The choices are pretty obvious.

And we're so thankful for teams that are there; listening, honoring the personal choices and dreams of individuals who want to rebuild their lives!