When I set out to raise money for a charity I am always certain that I will either meet my goal or come pretty close to the goal. I always try to gear the raffle prize to attract the people who I think will feel close to the cause I am supporting.
This latest raffle has been quite different from my African Orphan raffles, and I knew it would be different and challenging. North Korea is hidden from view. North Korea has a leader who is hated and despised by any person who has even a shred of morality or compassion. North Korea is only in the news when it concerns a nuclear weapons matter. I did see Greta Van Susteran a few months ago in North Korea on Fox News to cover the extreme famine, but only lush, green fields with healthy Koreans were shown. It didn't look so bad from that perspective, honestly.
So I wonder, how do I show the extreme famine, brutal tortures, and unbelievable oppression in a country that hides it so well from the outside world, from us? I can't.
How can I help the millions of people who are trapped behind that wall and suffering in North Korea? I can't. I can't help everyone, but I CAN help ONE. WE can TRY and help.
Here's the deal. We KNOW that people are tortured and starving and forced into labor camps in North Korea. We KNOW that there are orphans and people who want to escape, they want to be free, they want to have a voice. We do not have to see it all in order to believe it. There are people who DO escape, often times leaving their family behind to suffer the consequences. These refugees spend their lives in FEAR of being sent back home so they do not go on TV and tell everyone who they are or how they got here. These brothers and sisters do TELL others about their lives in North Korea though, and it's worse than what any of us can imagine.
There is disparity that allows me and others like myself to have been born here in the USA. I have food and clothes and freedom and everything I could ever need. Halfway across the world in North Korea there are those who are born and live their life starved, beaten, and silenced. Why is that? What is the purpose for that huge difference in life?
Have you ever wondered why you were born here and not there? Was it just luck?
If you are from South Korea, have you ever pondered how your life would be different had you just been born across the border instead? What do you think your purpose is as a free Korean?
Friends, I will be blunt and put it all out there because this is a cause that weighs heavy on me. This has been a cause that I have been wildly surprised to have NOT affected more of my friends and associates than I expected.
We are in an economic recession big time, I know. I also know that many of you have taken more than one big vacation this summer. That is great, I am not saying we shouldn't take vacations. I AM saying that I need $10 from you. This cause needs the amount you spend at Starbucks a week. This cause needs the amount you were going to spend on pizza tonight. 318 Partners has North Koreans ready for a rescue, an escape. They need your $10 to pay for the brave mission. 318 Partners has orphans waiting in China, fearing for their lives, waiting to be brought to a forever family. They need your $10 to help pay the way.
It does not matter if you are white, black, purple or Korean. You need to ask yourself this question: Was I born with all of these privileges and blessings so that I may help those who were not? Can I sacrifice a little more?
The horror that happens in North Korea is beyond our full comprehension, but you can save someone and it will only cost you $10.
Will you ponder this for just a while? Then after you donate and enter the raffle, will you please consider spreading the word? The only thing better than helping 318 Partners fund their missions is spreading the word about the crisis in North Korea. I do not only want to give money, I want MORE people to fight, more people to speak up and educate others.
I want world peace, but this is a nice start.
Blessings,
No comments:
Post a Comment
Send some love....leave a comment!