Shelter International Ministries is our missional community dedicated to social justice, particularly involving widows and orphans.
Being a Christian can very quickly transform into being a Churchian when you take the social ramifications of the Gospel out of it.
The good news to the hungry is bread.
Shelter has become the number one support for our mission in conjunction with IMI in Guatemala. We feed over 900 kids every single month as of right now. And our mission is to feed even more.
So much is taken for granted here in the States but I think that the thing that we take most for granted is our salvation. We were saved with an “unto” attached to us. And the “unto” is not singing, it is not becoming a big name, it is not our cars or houses either. We were called to be the hands of God in this world.
Feeding children who would otherwise go hungry is different in a third world nation than here in the States. There are needs here, to be sure. But we have programs to insure that kids don’t starve to death. So long as the child is not neglected, they can find food here. But in our target countries, it is not so simple. In Honduras, the kids scavenge through a public garbage dump for sustenance. In Guatemala, they can resort to crime, prostitution and other things too horrible to mention.
When we get a child in there, oftentimes they are on the brink of death due to severe neglect and malnutrition. And so this is, in a very real sense, a case of life and death for them. And the answer that they need is you and I. Ask yourself this; Does God care if a child goes hungry? Then why doesn’t God create a plate of food for that child? The answer to this is very simple, God has no hands but yours. We are his hands, his feet, his mouth and the image of His heart on this earth.
Someone said that if a child starves while a Christian has extra food, the Christian is guilty of murder. Basil wrote in the 4th century that “The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; the coat in your wardrobe belongs to the naked; the shoes you let rot belong to the barefoot; the money in your vaults belongs to the destitute.”
Being a Missional Christian is not a catch phrase, it is the most desperate need that we face as a spiritually bankrupt American church system. There is an “unto” attached to each of us, a mission that adds purpose, drive, clarity and calling to our lives. Being a missional activist requires dropping pettiness at the door and no longer living for yourself, but for the cause of Christ.
This is our goal.
Recently, we were given responsibility for the most incredible opportunity of our lives to this point.
This is Wendy.
We have a half finished Eden Center in Guatemala City, Guatemala. There is both a church and an orphanage in the works that has been sitting empty as the funding dropped off for it. And as of right now, we have 20-25 girls aged 6-9 who are in need of intervention and placement.
Why? Because they are being used as sex slaves, prostituted and abused right now.
Please think this through. 20 – 25 little baby girls are being used by their families as prostitutes in order to bring food into the house. Some are orphans and literally have no other recourse. But every one of them is a precious thing in the sight of God. His eyes watch as this tragedy happens every single night. He alone knows their terror as dirty old men hurt these precious kids.
And every night that we lay down safe a secure here, their night will go much differently.
We have gladly taken responsibility for finishing the orphanage there and allowing the healing to start in these little girls lives. No, more than that, we have taken this as our primary mission; to raise $15,000 to finish that building and create a sanctuary for those who have no one to protect them.
And we are asking for your help. 100 percent of every donation designated for this mission in Guatemala will go to these kids. And you can help in several ways:
1. Write a check. Isaac’s Well 17518 SR 23, Darlington, WI 53530 attn: Guatemala
2. Organize a fund raiser. Get creative! Sell baked goods, make an auction, have a yard sale. But get some other people to add to what you can do alone.
3. Tell your friends and family and make this your missional action item right now. The power of networking and families is awesome. If you get excited about rescuing these girls, other people will as well.
Friends, can you think of anything more important than this? If so, please go do that and do it with your whole heart. But if you can’t, make this the mission of your life right now.
God bless you.
J.
P.S. Here are some pictures of the building.
