I have heard this quote many times before and it makes a lot of sense when talking about helping the poor. But is it that simple? I have been thinking how to be helping the poor like many African nations.

I am warning you that this will turn into an advertisement for African Children’s Choir but not apologizing either, because I believe the vision ACC has really worked and is working, and will continue to work.

OK. Let’s talk about different levels of helping the poor. When there is a famine or because of civil war, there might be time for the global community to act quick to bring emergency relief of bringing food and supplies. But giving food and money will not change people, or nations.

There are some great NGOs that dedicated to bring emergency relief and I really appreciate their effort. And also there are great ways to teach people “how to fish” like giving goats to family and teach them how to take care of them and breed them and sell milk and meat. When I first heard about that, I thought that is brilliant. This way of helping the poor works in many places. But I heard of a story and made me feel sad. A relief worker went into a village in Africa and gave them 2 goats, spent a week teaching them how to do all that I mentioned. The family seemed very appreciative. The worker came back a month later, and found that this family no longer had their goats. It turns out that the day after the workers left, the family took the goats to the market and sold them for meat.

What went wrong there? I believe that the lack of education and generational poverty thinking prevented this family from seeing in long term welfare of themselves. They are living day by day.

So what else can we do? Education is the key; not try to educate the old but change the mold-able young minds to grow up to make a difference. Education is not just teaching them how to read and write. Through good education, they can gain big perspectives, lean to use their God-given talents.

That is what the African Children’s Choir is doing. Children from poverty stricken families or no family at all, would come to people who have abundance and show that they are the hope of the future for Africa. They can change Africa’s poverty mentality.

This effort started in 1984. Children who were supported to go all the way to college have not gone back to poverty. They learned to be professionals in different fields and they are helping the next generation.

So not just teaching people “how to fish”, ACC is building up a new generation of “fisherman” who not only fish for themselves but teach another generation how to be fishermen.

The founder told me that one of the successful former choir member said they consider themselves as new Africans. I am routing for those new Africans from my heart.

My grandmother did not finish grade school, but she was a smart lady. She taught herself many skills like sewing, farming, cooking, art. She did not read many books but she read the Bible. I still remember her big Bible with a cover that I think she wove. She knew her God.

She had a hard life, so hard that she left her house and decided to take her own life. As she stood in a pouring rain, God spoke to her. She realized God would take care for her and her family.

“Search 7 times before accusing someone.” She used to say this. I thought it was for when you lose something. But this applies to many things in life. If you need something, go find it because if you really need it, God will give it to you. Don’t blame not having what you need on others and don’t demand from others.
She was truly mother smart.

My mother did not go to High school. She is from a complicated family, too complicated to explain. She saw many prejudices in her life but she met God who loved everyone in the world. She is a giving person, praying mother and faithful grandmother.

She used to say, “Don’t judge people for what they can not change.” I thought she was saying about people’s outside appearances, like height, race and gender. But this applies to life. If others need your help seeing what they should change, we should help them but it is not right to judge people for how God made them, because that would be judging God. She was also mother smart.

I hope to be mother smart like them.

If there is no maternal instinct, the human race would have been extinct long time ago. But maternal instinct is a God given necessary thing. I have it, mothers have it, all girls have it.

Is it a gift or curse?
I think it’s a gift but when you think about it, it could turn into a curse. It’s like money. You can use it or be used by it. If you run your life controlled by maternal instinct, you can make your and others’ life miserable.

Monster parents
Being so protective of your children turns you into attacking people, school teachers etc.

Burn out
Self sacrifice is a big component in maternal instinct. It tells you to ignore your own need to give. Giving is great but you need to recharge, too.

Hikikomori
Big problem in Japan when so many young healthy people not being able to go to school, get a job, scared to talk to people etc. I wonder about their mothers role in that. Your children are not hikikomori but we might have problem in small ways that we cannot let them go.Is it unbearable to see them fall? I hear you but in the long run it’s best for them.

So how do we get the maternal instinct in check?

• Accept it as a gift.
• Know your boundaries.
• Know that children belong to God.
• Trust in God to take care of them.
• Use your instinct when it’s called for.
• Let go and let God

Well, I am learning to let go. Both of my kids might move out this year. In a way my motherhood is over but actually my motherhood is being redirected. I think I have a new a different assignment from God to use my maternal instinct.

When I went to a conference a few years ago, I heard of a pastor who went into a meeting to ask a question and left the room.  The question was, “What will you quit doing?”  There are so many things to do in life, so many destruction that we are not accomplishing what we should be accomplishing. I need to decide to quit doing certain things.

1. I quit complaining.

There are so many things to be thankful for and complaining will just rob of things I should be enjoying.

2. I quit pity-party

I hate self-pity and yet I found myself slipping down to it too often.  I quit that.

3. I quit denial

This is the hardest one to quit because it is so easy of a trap.

4. I quit blame-shifting

When I don’t have peace, I tend to blame it  in on everything but myself.  It goes hand in hand with denial, I think.

5. I quit self-reliance

Just the total opposite of  faith in God.  I need to quit trusting in myself. God, please help me!

Signing this resignation letter.   Anyone care to join me?

Fifty one years from today, according to Roddenberry, we will have visitors from Vulcan for the first time.  Today I am publicly admitting to be a Trekkie.   Anyway, I got to thinking about this day and the day to come  that is very special to human kind.

In Star Trek world, there is a rule called the prime directive, which is to contact a planet, they have to first research and observe if the people on the planet are ready to receive outer-world influence.  I was wondering how God decided when and how to send Jesus to earth.

First of all, the difference is that Jesus came to earth which He created, when Vulcan were supposed to come to introduce us to be part of a bigger community.  We were His but we were lost.  He came to save the lost.  And to save us, He had to be one of us and talked, ate, laughed, cried like us and died on the cross for us.  He gave everything to us so that we can be more than just mere mortals on earth but to have eternal life.

The Bible says there was no way that death could hold Him.  He is risen to live forever and lives inside of whoever believes in Him.

That is a far superior, epic story and it is non-fiction.  That’s kind of cool.  What is not cool about this whole thing is that People get excited about fiction stories more than this non-fiction story that could change anyone’s life.

I did have first contact with Jesus in my life.  He changed my life.  He is with me ever since will never want to be apart from Him.

Happy Easter!

3rd day of my visit there was Sunday.  I went to stay at Bob and Sharon Wagar’s the night before so I could attend the church they pastor in the morning.  Life Church in Kampala just started having 2 services on Sunday 3 weeks prior to my visit.  I went to the first service.  This church was founded by Sharon’s parents. She grew up in Uganda.  They have a big facility filled with wonderful worshiping people.   I was so moved. I met a lady from the first African Children’s Choir there.

After the service, I went to a town called Luwero.  Luwero is famous for its production of sweet pineapples. Music for Life foundation, which is the parent organization of the African Children’s Choir, has a school there.  It was about one hour drive.  The name of the school is the Ambassador of Hope Academy.  Here hundreds of students get their Christian education.  There waited for my arrival was Rebecca, who I am privileged to support with her education since 2010.   Then I went to visit her home.

Her father has passed away 3 years ago and her mother who works at a nearby hospital is very poor trying to raise 9 children by herself.   The house they live in is sturdy yet very basic. I cannot imagine 10 people living there.

On the way to Luwero, Byron who is in charge of sponsorship in Uganda told me an important thing.  He said that I would see Rebecca’s brothers and sisters who could use help to go to school. But it is great for the family that one of the children are able to go to school.  Don’t feel bad for them and if I would want to support more children, you should support other families.

One child in one family at a time, elimination of poverty has to start that way.   I hope there will be a day that every child in whole Luwero, Uganda, Africa and the world  have same opportunity to get education and same opportunity to grow up to be able to give back to society. I am very hopeful about Rebecca and hundreds more in the school who are getting support from abroad.  They will have a fighting chance to build up their world a better place.

I am safely returned from my trip to Africa.  Thank you all for your
prayer and support.

I don’t know where to begin so I will start at the beginning.  I
visited Uganda and South Africa.  Uganda is close to the equator, but
the altitude is about 1000m, so it was not as hot as I thought it
would be.  2nd day of my visit, I went to see the children at the
choir training academy.  20 children ages 8-11 live there.  These
children were selected from the slum areas.  They started living here
2 months ago.  When I got there, they were in the middle of dance
lessons outside. Three of them are drummers.

I had lunch with them: casaba, beans and avocado. The children do
chores like cleaning and dishes.  When the lesson was over, every
child came to greet me with hugs.  I was able to tell them about
Japan.  They enjoyed origami, kendama and daruma-otoshi.

I was so happy to meet these children.  The adult chaperons and
teachers are former choir members.  Because of the work of the African
Children’s Choir, they were able to come out of the cycle of poverty
and are giving back to society.  They are the next generation of
powerful Africans.  I realized that to support this ministry is to
give to the children of Africa, not because of pity but because they
have a future worth investing in.

More to come…

So many faces without hope.  I could almost hear the chorus of deep sighs.

I told my guide how I felt about the people living in the slum.  He said, “Don’t feel bad for them.  They are happy enjoying today.”  That was unexpected coming from a man who dedicated his life to help children get out of these kinds of places.

A downward spiral of poverty is at work here.  People born here have no hope of bettering their lives.  There are not enough jobs to support their families. Children are too poor to get any kind of education.  Only one thing seems certain; their children will grow up poor.

How about Japan?  The economic situation is not the best right now yet you would have to say that there are very few starving, very few homeless. Education through junior high school is free for all. Yet more than 30,000 people take their own life every year.  The downward spiral of poverty here is not material but psychological and spiritual. A hopelessness born of not knowing the meaning of life is here.

What if these two places exchanged something?  What if places like Japan with material abundance send support for children to go to school in Africa? What if poor children who realize that they have smiles to share would come to places like Japan?

In fact my guide used to be one of those poor children.  He was chosen to be in the African Children’s Choir and toured in America.  He was supported by people who were touched by the message of hope brought by the children.  He is now a successful social worker in Africa.  The exciting thing about this is that the cycle of poverty stopped with him.  He now has a beautiful wife and a baby.  He owns a beautiful house in the suburbs.

For we are God’s handiworks; created in Christ Jesus to do good works.  Ephesian 2:10

When my children were little, I used to tell them that they were my “daiji.”  Daiji means very important, precious, protected and charished.

My son who is the oder, he often felt angry feeling that we loved his sister better.  We had to tell him over and over again how “daiji” he was to us.  The younger one on the other hand, she had a good self image, I think.  There has to be something wrong with a person who doesn’t like her and she didn’t meet anyone like that up to now.

Everyone is “daiji” to God, because He made us all so special.  When He looks at us, He cannot stop smiling.  He is so happy when we are happy.  He loves us because He made us and we are His.

I heard a story about this boy.  He made a miniture sail boat.  It took him a long time to make it.  When finally finished, he let it float in a lake.  Wind came and blew the boat away out of his reach.  He has lost his boat.  About a year later, he was walking on a street and in a window of a store, there was his boat! It has his name on it and had a price tag, 100 dollars. He went into the store and told the owner of the store, “That is my boat.” But the owner said, “I found it and it’s mine, but if you pay me 100 dollars, you can have it.” “But Sir, I don’t have that kind of money.” “OK. I will keep it for you if you work everyday here for a year.”

So the boy worked after school everyday 5-7pm for a year. At the end of the year, the owner gave the boat to him.

He was so happy to have the boat back and said to the boat, “You are mine.  You are twice mine.”

Do you think he took care of the boat very well?  I think so.

God made us and we got lost and Jesus bought us back.  We are twice His. We are His “daiji”

Now my consciousness is in the baby.  I was held in Jesus’ arms, safe and comfortable.  Then came 2 more individuals, both in robes and a hood.  The three of them took turn holding me as they rejoiced over me as they have waited so long to hold me.