Three Cups of Tea - Locally

I've been listening to Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Thank you to my cousin Jodi for recommending the book. I checked it out from the library and have very slowly so slowly listened to it. (As an aside, I listen while running and since running has not been on my agenda much in the last few months it's taken quite awhile...and itunes was not cooperating either.)

Very briefly - Greg Mortenson through the Central Asia Institute (http://www.ikat.org/) has been building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan since the 90's. He was a climber who failed at climbing K2 and got lost on the way down. He wandered into a village and realized the lack of education that was available to the kids there. Read the book, it's really quite interesting.

With the events that lead up to September 11, 2001, he was seeing that a moderate education was the way to fight terror, one student at a time. He has sacrificed so much to build schools and has a passion for that part of the world.

I think it's wonderful what he has done and I hope to read his next book too to learn more about what has happened post 9/11.

A few weeks ago it dawned on me what is happening at Camp David of the Ozarks (www.campdavidozarks.org) is something very similar to what Greg Mortenson is doing right here in my town. It clicked for me that Ben and Grace are really trying to change a culture as well one child at a time. They are trying to change a culture right here in Missouri! I've always been supportive of Camp David, but this book has given me much deeper significance to what his happening at camp.

Camp David provides hope for children of prisoners. There are 40,000 children of prisoners in Missouri alone. Unfortunately most of these kids are not growing up in homes with loving and devoted parents. Many of these kids are in the foster system or living with a relative because their parent is in the system. The statistics for how many of these kids will be in the system is baffling.

During their 5 day camp experience at Camp David, each child is surrounded by the love of Jesus Christ as well as lots of people who are caring for them and giving them hope. After a week each year, they can have hope that they have a Savior and life can be different. I'm in awe of all of the teenagers and other young adults who give of themselves for these kids every week.

This year, in each of the six weeks of camp, at least one camper chose to follow Christ! What a great privilege to be able to work with this ministry that is making inroads into a culture that does not have much hope. Camp is a big undertaking and lately I've realized how much of an impact that it can make. They are not touching every child of a prisoner in the state - not even close. They have touched the lives of about 160 children this summer but we can hope and pray that's 160 kids who have way more hope than they have had before and will have the ability and courage to break out of the mold of their family!

One kid at a time by one meal at a time for me! It all makes that early alarm clock to go make breakfast worth it!