“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress …” James 1:27
Yesterday, as my husband and I drove to church, our kids playing happily in the back of our van, we talked about how life for us right now is just … just right. We do not have too much or too little. We talked about how we feel so blessed by the community we have surrounding us, doing life with some incredible friends from church, and having found “a village” of friends and teachers at our kids’ school to partner with us in raising our family. We even feel blessed by the smiling faces at our local Publix who know us by name. In a big city like Atlanta, we have found a small community around us that makes our home Home. We have abundant food on our table, a warm house to hold our memories and our future, a happy marriage, three healthy and vibrant children, too many beloved pets, and gainful employment. We can think of nothing else we need.
And here I am, awake at 4 a.m., surely not by accident, thinking … “We can’t take all that for granted. Too many people are suffering. Too many people need help.” You know how God just leads you to something? Only sometimes we get distracted by other things pulling us in different directions, and yet God has a way of diverting our attention back. He’s pretty good at getting us where he wants us to be, when we let him. 
Wiphan is one of those things for me. It’s amazing to me how many ways in which God has connected this special ministry to my life. First was through my sweet friend, Andrea. I actually knew about Wiphan through her work as a photographer, long before I met her. When I did meet Andrea at last, by pure random circumstance at the park one afternoon, I felt like I’d known her forever. Now we are in a Bible study together and I feel so blessed to call her a dear friend. She and her husband pour their hearts into their ministry like nothing I’ve ever witnessed. They have heard God’s call and obeyed tirelessly.
After I started reading more about Wiphan, I learned that some of the fellow parents at our children’s school are also not just a part of Wiphan, but the founders of this grassroots ministry. They are a family I admire so much. And most recently my children came home from school, anxious to gather money for the coin drive that is being organized by their PE Teacher, raising funds for …. you guessed it …. Wiphan. She is organizing a trip this summer, on which she will take a group of students to Africa to serve the widows and children in person, and my children have an opportunity to be a part of that journey simply by sharing the contents of their piggy bank.
And when I can’t sleep at 4 a.m., so I am surfing on Facebook instead, there it is again in another friend’s status update … Wiphan.
I keep getting led back here. I’m listening, Lord. I’m praying. The answer is yes, now just let me know what it is you want me to do.
While I wait for the answer, I’m buying a t-shirt. One t-shirt purchased can feed and educate an orphan for a month. A MONTH!!! Won’t you buy a shirt, too? Just click here. And while you are on the website, please read more about Wiphan, and the precious women and children they serve. Maybe God has a path for you, too … one that leads you to help these radiant children of his as well.
Much love,
Shannon
