Every Day is Joplin

I was listening to the news, and I heard a reporter who had also been to the Middle East say, "It looks like Afghanistan. It looks like Bagdad, everything is leveled. It looks like there was an attack against Joplin." I had an epiphany after he said that. I am in no way discounting the pain and trauma that those in Joplin went through, and will continue to go through for quite some time. They went through a traumatic experience that will impact them for the rest of their lives in some cases. Their anger, their depression and their loss is horrific and no one should have to go through what they went through. Yet still, I had a thought.

The thought I had was probably pretty common for some people. That said, it was instantly profound for me. It may be profound for others. Once I had the thought, I could not believe that it had not dawned on me earlier. That thought was this - There are people who live through the carnage, fear and loss those in Joplin are experiencing on a daily basis. Seriously, think about it. Not a one time incident, but every single day they live in areas that are ravaged.

Think about the kids that live in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, the Ivory Coast, Uganda, Kosovo, Darfur or the Congo? In fact, what about all of the people who live there. Not knowing whether or not your home will be destroyed when you get off work. Not knowing if some government, or independent/gorilla/freedom/republic/people's army will take you or your family hostage. Not knowing if you will get kidnapped into an army on your way home from school, or kidnapped and sold into the sex slave industry.

I heard a father from Joplin talk about it taking him 4 hours to get his family reunited. He recounted the fear that was slowly eating him alive when he was unsure if they were all safe. Until he got them all together he did not know if they were all alive. Then he recounted the relief that he felt when he knew they were all alive. I thought of the parent who has a job in some of these countries that have to go to work each day and never know if their children or their home will be there, or if they will get arrested or killed on the way to work or home after. He goes through the same intense feelings as the man in Joplin. The difference is he goes through those feelings every day.

We are ready to run out and volunteer time and resources to help out those impacted by the tornado in Joplin on Sunday or in Oklahoma on Tuesday. That is commendable, and your resources and your time are greatly needed and extremely appreciated. It is even Biblical:

Matthew  25:5, "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in."

1 John 3:17-18, "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."

Sadly, it seems that some of us take a stance that is much akin to what George Carlin talked about in his stand up. He called it NIMBY, or not in my back yard. If it isn't NIMBY, then we do not really care about it. Or we may care, but we let other people take care of those situations. It seems to not be that big of a deal to some. The outreaches that I am seeing are occuring all over the place in the Springfield area. It makes me happy to this kind of support.

There is something that is bothering me about it, though. I do not remember seeing this kind of support when 230,000 were killed in the Indonisian tsunami in 2004, or when there were between 250,00-300,000 killed in the Haiti earthquake a little over a year ago. Nor did I see this kind of support when there were almost 140,000 killed in Myanmar during a 2008 cyclone.

Ther are other places outside of the United States that need help also, and there are resources like Convoy of Hope that get that help to them. I am a huge fan and supporter of Convoy of Hope and will some day do a blog on their organization for those who do not know. I hope that anyone reading this blog will listen to my recommendation here, I will even put it in all caps so it sticks out!

WHEN THIS MONTH IS OVER, AND YOU BEGIN TO FORGET ABOUT JOPLIN....... PLEASE DO NOT FORGET ABOUT THE FACT PEOPLE NEED HELP ALL OF THE TIME. SUPPORT THOSE WHO GIVE HELP SUCH AS CONVOY OF HOPE, WORLD VISION, THE RED CROSS OR THE UNITED WAY BY A COUPLE OF TIMES A WEEK/MONTH/YEAR GIVNG THEM DONATIONS OF EITHER YOUR TIME, YOUR MONEY OR ASKING THEM WHAT THEY NEED AND BUYING IT!!!!

Keep up the good work that you are doing and do not ever stop. Teach your kids that community service is something that is done all of the time by setting that example for them!! God Bless you, and continue praying for those who were affected by the series of tornados we have experienced, as well as for those who are in war torn areas, where those who have faith are persecuted and also for those poor children who are getting kidnapped and sold into a lifetime of sexual slavery. Pray hard and pray often!!