Recently, I had a conversation with our indigenous directors about the unique way God wove our four lives together over the past fifteen years.
James, Peter, Ezekiel, and I are all around the same age yet we have had very different life experiences growing up in Sudan, today’s South Sudan, and the USA.
However, from very early on we all felt a nudge to be a part of something impossible that God’s Love was making possible in the world.
Over the years, that took us on many winding roads as we simply sought to take the right next step in a journey of thanks-living that would eventually link us together — and now with you — in the impossible made possible ministry of protecting and empowering vulnerable children and women in warzones.
As we talked, James remembered with gratitude all those who stood up for him when he was “a little guy” — wandering in the wilderness as a Lost Boy, set free after being trafficked as a child soldier, and invested in as a young, passionate visionary with only the clothes on his back as he returned to a warzone to stand with vulnerable children from his village.
He shared,
When James was vulnerable, he was invested in and empowered by others. Overflowing with gratitude and love, he spends his life investing in and empowering the vulnerable in his nation. This contagious generosity is at the heart of thanks-living.
It’s also why we passionately champion the idea that when we empower the vulnerable, we transform the world.
This Thanksgiving who are you GRATEFUL for? And, how does your life reflect that gratitude?
All of us at LUV and all of our indigenous partners know our work of protecting and empowering children at-risk to human trafficking is also made stronger because of you.
Together, we are building The LUV Collective: a powerful force of simple people taking small actions around the world on behalf of what is generous, loving, and just. Making way for faith, hope, and love to flourish. Participating in the impossible made possible.
Practice thanks-living. Make a gift this Thanksgiving in honor and of someone who stood for you. Your generosity will give orphans in Sudan and South Sudan the protection, education and opportunities for success they deserve. We will also send your loved one a Christmas card to extend your gratitude by the gift you made in their honor.
Help us amplify Christ’s call to serve those who need it most. It is through your love and generosity, that we will see lives and communities transformed!