Use What You Have

This video has been circling the web for a few weeks now and it is truly inspiring. You usually see it with the title:

 

"What Would You Do If Someone Offered To Sell You A Baby For Fifty Bucks?

This Guy Took Pictures."

 

 

The guy is Tanner Wendell Stewert, a photographer from Seattle. 
In 2012, while in Bulgaria volunteering for the The A21 Campaign he began taking pictures of a baby that had captured his attention.  A conversation ensued and the man holding that baby offered to let Tanner buy his baby for a mere $50. 

That conversation is what led Tanner to start the Shoot The Skies project.  The goal was a 2013 daily photo project that would be turned into a book with every bit of money donated to or raised by this project to be given in its entirety to A21, and to fighting the war on trafficking.

A while back I attended a conference on human trafficking.  The goal was to bring together people from all types of organizations and stand united in the fight against trafficking.

They shared with us a verse that you probably wouldn't normally relate to this subject.
It was Judges 3:31 which reads:

After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines

with an oxgoad. He too delivered Israel.

An oxgoad was an instrument used for driving the oxen.  It would have been eight feet long and pointed with a strong sharp iron head at one end.  It was the only thing he had.  So with no other weapon, Shamgar was able to stand strong and defeat 6oo enemy men in battle.  Shamgar used what he had and relied upon the Lord to sustain him.

In the same way, Tanner used what he had.  A talent.  A talent given by God and now being used to give back to God. 

So often we think we have to do something big for it to matter.  We become paralyzed by the thought that this is such a huge problem.  Instead, we should plan to:

1. Use what you have.  Time, Talent or Treasure
2. Start where you are.  Be bold and take that first step.  You will gain momentum from there.
3. Do what you can.  You can't do it all.  But when we link arms and stand together we create change.
4. Ask yourself "What is one thing I could do as an individual?"

To purchase Tanner's book please visit Shoot The Skies

Would You Risk?

Here is another post inspired by our weekend service at church.  We heard different stories from the gospel of people who took a risk and the huge impact it had on those around them. 

Many times when you hear people speak on the subject of human trafficking you hear the warning not to get caught up in the numbers.  Tell the story not the stats they will say.

That is because these statistics are more than just numbers.  They represent real people.  Each and every one of them has a face and a name.  They have a story.  Each and every one of them matters to God.  Their story matters to God.

We can hear the statistics and become frozen with hopelessness.  We are unable to act because we can't possibly see how we could make a difference.

But let's focus on the numbers for just a minute.

The current estimates are that there are 30 million people in the world living in slavery.  The number is staggering.  It's hard to comprehend.  To give you an idea of just how many people we are talking about...

The largest NFL stadium is the FedExField. Home of the Washington Redskins.  Official seating capacity of 85,000. 

This stadium would have to sell out every night for 352 nights to reach 30,000,000 in attendance.  That's each and every night for almost an entire year. 

For me, that really puts the issue into perspective.

30 Million. 

The number is overwhelming. 

 BUT...

There are 2.2 Billion Christians in the world who can do something to save them.   The job is risky, but there are lives at stake.  People who are living in darkness.  Who have no hope. 

30 Million. The harvest is plentiful, but the risk takers are few.  People who need to know the meaning of freedom.  People who need to know the love and hope of Jesus Christ. 

Would you risk that God might use you?