Sometimes it would be so much easier to not get involved! Have you ever found yourself in the middle of someone else's problem and wondered, "What was I  

thinking? I should have just minded my own business!"?  Often it is compassion that compels us to action.

The Greek word for compassion is splagchnizomai  {splangkh-nid'-zom-ahee}, which means to have the bowels yearn, that is, (figuratively) feel sympathy, to pity:--have (be moved with) compassion.

Throughout the New Testament we find examples of compassion causing Jesus to get involved in the difficulties of those around him. When he saw a mourning mother, his stomach knotted up and he knew he had to help her. When he saw a multitude of clueless, lost souls, he felt it in his stomach- he had to do something to help them. When a leper screamed his name, knowing that Jesus was his last chance of ever being healed and allowed to return to a normal life, Jesus knew he had to help. We are clearly taught in God's Word that we are to have this same type of compassion.

Not everyone appreciated Jesus getting involved. They berated him for healing on the Sabbath. They accused Jesus of working on behalf of Satan. Ultimately, they killed him. That's a high price to pay for helping! Little did they know that Jesus' death was for their benefit, too.

A few weeks ago, we invited three homeless adult orphans to move to Sibiu with the promise that we would help them start a new life. They arrived with all of their belongings and a

Dana, Emil, and Magda arriving in Sibiu

hope that things could be different. After weeks of hunting for jobs and housing, all three have a place to call home, and two are working full-time. We work continuously on social skills, budgeting, integrity and many other issues which they were never taught. And we pray. We pray with them and for them that they will learn to accept the help of the One who can really change everything for them.

Recently, this post appeared on Facebook:   

 

"I was RAISED; I didn't just grow up. I was taught to say please & thank you, to have respect for my elders, lend a helping hand to those in need, hold the door for the person behind me, say excuse me when it's needed, & to love people for who they are, not for what you can get from them! I was also taught to treat people the way I want to be treated!"  

   

There are thousands of adult orphans in Romania who were not "raised", they just grew up. They weren't taught how to follow rules, but rather how to break them. They weren't taught empathy, but rather selfishness. They learned this from the older kids, their only "teachers". With no parents to teach them, they never matured, they just grew up.

 

Often we wonder if we can really make a difference.

We desperately need your prayers for wisdom, grace, endurance, and a lot of love.

We feel inadequate in all of these areas often. Sometimes we want to give up, call it quits, and just go home. But that's not God's direction at this point. We will follow His plan! Thank you to those of you who make it possible for us to continue.

 

Going for Him,

 

Leslie and Stephanie