Things fall into perspective when you start off the day with a pastor looking you in the eyes, and in no uncertain terms tells you that you are going to die, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday you are going to rot in the ground and become nothing more than dust.
So as I sat somewhat sleepily in church today, coming to grips with my mortality, I day dreamed about my final exit. Would I die at the hands of Somali pirates, after saving a group of blind and deaf leper children. Or will I die anonymously... in a Turkish prison after I single handily bring down an army of neo Nazi, puppy eating, militants that have access to nuclear warheads. The point is, I don't know how I am going to go out.
Sure, the real point of Ash Wednesday is to start lent, a season of sacrifice and repentance. But the ashes are also a stark reminder of our mortality. With this reminder, I could not help but think about what is really important.
I am not a really morbid individual, however I think about a death allot. How can you not when you work for an agency that works with senior citizens. Every day I get phone calls from people telling me that so and so died and they would like to donate all of their old unwashed clothes and Readers Digests.
To die with grey hair is a luxury. I have said it before and I will say it again because it is a number that I think about all of the time.
26000. Roughly the population of the town I grew up in. Also, this is the number of children that died today of starvation and diseases that we in the west have been curing for the last fifty years. This is also the number of children that died yesterday, and will die tomorrow.
Compassion International is a tremendous organization. They have scored very well on Charity Navigator's website, a website that reports fiscal responsibility among nonprofits. Compassion's CEO, Wes Stafford is passionate about the organization's mission and has written a great book about his life and the impact that Compassion has world wide. Compassion has three programs. The first seeks to rescue pregnant mothers by neo natal care, as well as clean and safe deliveries. The second and most well known program is the Child Sponsership Program. This program, children are sponsored for $38 a month. The costs help cover education, nutrition and family support. The third program and probably least known is the Leadership Development Program. This program takes a select few young adults that have grown out of the Child Sponsorship Program and helps pay for their university schooling and living needs.
To die with grey hair is a luxury. I have said it before and I will say it again because it is a number that I think about all of the time.
26000. Roughly the population of the town I grew up in. Also, this is the number of children that died today of starvation and diseases that we in the west have been curing for the last fifty years. This is also the number of children that died yesterday, and will die tomorrow.
Compassion International is a tremendous organization. They have scored very well on Charity Navigator's website, a website that reports fiscal responsibility among nonprofits. Compassion's CEO, Wes Stafford is passionate about the organization's mission and has written a great book about his life and the impact that Compassion has world wide. Compassion has three programs. The first seeks to rescue pregnant mothers by neo natal care, as well as clean and safe deliveries. The second and most well known program is the Child Sponsership Program. This program, children are sponsored for $38 a month. The costs help cover education, nutrition and family support. The third program and probably least known is the Leadership Development Program. This program takes a select few young adults that have grown out of the Child Sponsorship Program and helps pay for their university schooling and living needs.
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