38 Windows!!!

After about six weeks of selling the beautiful notecards (click on the title of this post to see the Story of the Notecards) I am so totally humbled, amazed and grateful to be able to say that we have funded 39 windows for the psychiatric hospital in Azerbaijan. Actually, I said it all wrong. WE did not fund the windows. We were simply the vehicle that God used to get the story out about these precious women, their talents and gifts, and the way that God is present and active even in places that are beyond our comprehension. This hospital, as one of my friends who has visited it says, "is not a place you would want to stay for five minutes." This is mostly true, although I find it to be the kind of place that God seems unbelievably present. More about that later. The reason I cannot take credit for the windows is because there are all these generous people that heard the story and opened their hearts and gave their resources to make life better for women who live on the other side of the world. One couple decided that they wanted to give a Challege Grant - and fund half....HALF! of the windows as a way to get others to give over and above the price of the notecards. There were many dear friends in our Community at Asbury who bought far more notecards than they will ever use because they wanted to be a part of this. One Asbury member gave us $500, another $1,300, and the United Methodist Women gave us $1,000. Every time we sold cards we heard "keep the change" (the notecards were $8...we received tens and LOTS of twenties). When we asked for Crocs for Ethiopia people gave over and above what Kyle could carry. And people are still buying the notecards, so we will continue to sell them and fund over and above the amount for the windows. There are so many needs at the hospital, so we are going to fund another project - to be announced.

And why do I feel such a strong sense of God's presence in the hospital? It's hard to explain, and I'm not really sure I completely understand it myself. I think, however, it has something to do with who we're supposed to be inviting to the party. In Luke 14:13, Jesus is talking to the Pharisees, once again turning their world upside down about who matters in the Kingdom of God. This is what he says: "But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed..." In the previous verse, he says that if you invite your brothers, your relatives or your rich neighbors, they'll just invite you back, which means that you get repaid. There is something about inviting those who can't repay - who can't invite you to their party because they can't have a party - that pleases God. Maybe I sense the presence of God in the psychiatric hospital because serving these patients pleases God. He is present in that place, with the least of these...and He is present with us when we love them and serve them. It has been an honor to provide windows for the women - and to invite them to the party.