The Least of These

before i begin my seven weeks at mission of hope, i am staying two nights at new life childrens home in port au prince.  this is an orphanage that is an oasis in the middle of a broken city. when you enter the gates, you are met by green grass, playgrounds, and well fed children.  miriam fredericks, who began the home over thirty years ago, provides a haven for the orphans she rescues.  many come on the brink of starvation or severely handicapped.  one of the most recent additions to the new life family, louvens, was found at only fourteen pounds at the age of five.  he was almost mistaken for a dog.  he now is learning to walk and is smiling. a life transformed.  the name of this place is fitting... new life.  indeed these children have been given a new life, a new hope, the dignity that god intended for them.  somehow, although i rejoice and thank god for the miracles that take place here, i cannot help but think of the countless orphans that no one will rescue, both here in haiti and all over.  the words of the book of james echo in my head...

religion that god our father accepts as pure and faultless is this... to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

my question then is, if so many orphans go uncared for, starving, reduced to something subhuman, unloved... where am i? Where is the church?  How can we better use the gifts and wealth we are blessed with in order to fulfill the calling to take care of those counted as the least of the world?

lord, you have shown me all this.  reveal to me how i can be a part of your plan to love the world and make all things new.