Book Review: Take Your Best Shot

At a conference last year, I met Austin Gutwein, a 15-year-old with a God-sized passion and vision for AIDS orphans in Africa. The amazing thing was that God had birthed this vision when Austin was only nine! Take Your Best Shot: Do Something Bigger Than Yourself details his journey. While watching a World Vision video about Maggie, an AIDS orphan in Zambia, Austin realized she wasn’t any different from him except she was suffering. Austin felt God calling him to help orphans like Maggie using something he loved – basketball. On World AIDS Day in 2004, he shot 2,057 free throws, one basket for every child who would be orphaned during the hours that he was in school. With friends and family sponsoring him, Austin raised $3,000. Those funds were used by World Vision to assist eight orphaned children.  But Austin didn’t stop there. He founded Hoops of Hope to inspire and mobilize other kids to act on behalf of orphans.

Take Your Best Shot reinforces the idea that God uses young people, even children, in his kingdom. The book is perfect for tweens and teens who are seeking to serve in ways that express their passion and utilize the gifts God has give them. Each chapter closes with a scripture passage, questions, online experience, and a take action activity. Written by Austin Gutwein with Todd Hillard (Thomas Nelson, 2009), the book is available from Thomas Nelson or Amazon.com.

The Hidden Homeless

In any major city throughout the United States, you will see the homeless on the streets.  But, there is another group of people who don’t have a home – and you will never see them on a street corner; they are the Hidden Homeless.

And, while they might have four walls and a roof – they don’t always have a home. They are consistently in transition, constantly living a life of survival. They live in cars. They find temporary beds in church basements or abandoned buildings. They sleep on somebody’s couch. They are seniors on fixed incomes. They are adults with full-time jobs. They are single mothers. Many are children.

I was invited by my friend Donna to attend a fundraiser called Night in a Box, Friday December 3^rd.  The fundraiser is for the Hidden Homeless in Denver.  If you live in the Denver area, consider participating.  For those outside Denver, find out about the Hidden Homeless in your area—there just might be an opportunity to help in your city.

December is a cold month!  Our Take a Stand Opportunity for December is to prepare a Jesus Cares  Kit.  I would encourage you and your family to make a few bags, and have them ready for any homeless you might encounter.

Tabi’s Journey

November is National Adoption Month, and Saturday November 20 is National Adoption Day!

I thought it would be great to share with you a video about the journey of my adoption of Tabi.  I never get tired of telling her story because it is a testimony of God’s incredible love for orphaned children.

Psalm 68:5 says, “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families.”  I love this verse because it describes who God is.  He is Love, He is Holy, and He is a father to the Fatherless.

I give praise to Him for his relentless love of orphaned children and that he will move mountains for the love of one child.

Microfinance Book for Kids

I found a great book that introduces grade-school children to the concept of microfinance and how small loans assist families to escape the cycle of poverty. It’s One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference by Katie Smith Milway, (Kids Can Press, 2008). Inspired by true events, One Hen tells the story of Kojo, a boy from Ghana who turns a small loan into a thriving farm and a livelihood for many in Ghana. You can buy it from Kids Can Press or from Amazon.com.

One Hen has an interactive website for children to explore after they’ve read the book.  The website includes games related to the story, a video of the real Kojo (now all grown up), and lesson ideas for educators. Kids can earn beads by playing interactive games on the website. Each bead (equal to one cent) donated at the end of the game turns into real money. “Bead money” is saved and goes towards real microfinance loans.

I’ve used this book with several groups of children. We even acted out parts of the story. Then I challenged kids to work together to earn money to buy a chicken, pig, duckling, or other animal that will help provide a livelihood for a family in poverty. You can go online to find gift catalogs from organizations like Compassion International, World Vision, Samaritan’s Purse, Partners International, and Heifer Project. I printed out pages from several of these gift catalogs to show the children how much these animals cost. The children were amazed that they could order animals from catalogs and excited about this unusal way of helping the needy.

Day 1: Afghan Children

Day 2: Indonesian Children

Day 3: Indian Children of Patna

Day 4: Nepali Children

Day 5: Caquinte Children

Day 6: Yanomamo Children

Day 7: Turkmen Children

Day 8: Children Affected by HIV/AIDS

Day 9: Street Children

Day 10: Child Laborers

Day 11: Pakistani Children

Day 12: Han Chinese Children

Day 13: Thai Children

Day 14: Tibetan Children

Day 15: Syrian Children

Day 16: Children Without Access to Education

Day 17: Malay Children

Day 18: Mongolian Children

Day 19: Fulani Children

Day 20: Children Without Clean Water

Day 21: European Children