Dear Friends and Family, I do not often do something like this, but have recently felt a burden on my heart and mind lately to change the way I look at the poor and oppressed of our world and to do something about it. He has come at me by so many different angles, that I feel I have to respond in some way. The huge but solvable (with radical changes) problem of poverty and the call for us to be the Church as I believe Christ called us to be and was demonstrated by the early church has been a big, ongoing subject in Bible study. The church I have been attending also been doing a series on finances and responsible spending. (Did you know that if you make $40,000 a year or more you are in the top 1% wealthiest people in the world? And you didn't think you were rich!) Then these emails came yesterday and so I decided to forward them on- not to make anyone feel guilty in anyway for the blessings God has given you, but to make you aware of some of the things going on in our world that I have just become aware of myself and to give you an opportunity to be a part of something great and to joyfully share those blessing with others.

Below is part of an email I received from a friend as well as the latest newsletter from World Vision, a wonderful Christian organization whose goal is to help those most in need around the world (mostly children) and to end world poverty. Again, feel free to get involved or not- donate, sign the petition through Amazing Change, and/or see Amazing Grace.

Thanks for bearing with me and prayerfully see how/if you want to get involved.

Love, Amy

In Luke 4, Jesus read the scroll from Isaiah 61, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

There are more slaves today than in the history of the world. (More than the 400 years of the Trans-African slave trade.) This is serious. It is estimated that there are 27 million slaves today and that 1 million children are being kidnapped, coerced, raped into become sex slaves each year. The population of Austin, TX is 690,300 not even 1 million.

Many of you know that the movie Amazing Grace was released in theaters last night. This is the biography of William Wilberforce who helped abolish slavery in the UK in the early 1800s in response to His faith and understanding of the gospel. You can also help be a voice for the voiceless as Christ was for us and sign the petition at   ^{http://amazingchange.com/index.html}  as we hope to end modern-day slavery throughout the globe. May we as the Church represent our God correctly and may the world see our light shining before men and our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16). From what I know, the Amazing Change campaign will go to Capitol Hill and before global leaders next week to show the movie and show the petition of the hopeful 390,000 signatures (the same as Wilberforce’s).

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In This Issue		Featuring	February 2007
:: Cambodia: Children Sold for Small Change :: Mozambique: Tropical Storm Favio :: Amazing Grace: In Theaters :: Uganda: Troubled Talks :: Zimbabwe: Sweet Memory :: Zambia: Pedal Power :: Annual Report: Rave Review :: Eastern Europe: Youth Bible Curriculum :: Ohio: Experiencing Famine :: Indonesia: Flooding Causes Illness :: Darfur: Unprecedented Violence :: AIDS: Critical Assistance Approved Web Site Highlights :: E-mail Your Sponsored Child :: You're a Child Sponsor … Now What? :: Create a Sponsorship Page Online :: Video of the Week: Maggie's Story :: Photo of the Day: Romanian Child Art Audio: One boy, enough water for 435,000 people		Cambodia: Children Sold for Small Change A young girl, enslaved and brutally raped repeatedly, finds help and hope at a World Vision-operated sexual trauma recovery facility. (INTERACTIVE - HUMAN SLAVERY) Read full story ... In the News Mozambique: Tropical Storm Favio In the wake of ongoing, heavy rains that resulted in Mozambique’s worst flooding in six years, at least 40 people have died and 120,000 have been driven from their homes. Read full story ... Amazing Grace: In Theaters More people today -- some 27 million, most of them children -- are enslaved than during the entire 400-year period of the transatlantic slave trade. World Vision and the Amazing Change Campaign are working to change this sad fact. Read full story ... Uganda: Still Hope for Peace Deal Hopeful for a peace that would allow the return of captive women and children, World Vision facilitates a teleconference between warring parties seeking to reach an agreement. Read full story ... Zimbabwe: Sweet Memory Minnesota singer/songwriter Jason Gray finds inspiration and pens a new song after he visits his sponsored child. Read full story ... Zambia: Pedal Power Meet the Ohio students who plan to bicycle across America for an AIDS-hit village in Africa. Read full story ... Annual Report: Rave Review World Vision’s Annual Review reveals big revenue gains and greater impact in the fight against poverty, thanks to generous donors. Read full story ... Eastern Europe: Youth Bible Curriculum World Vision and Gospel Light are celebrating a 10-year partnership which has equipped churches in the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and Lebanon with age-appropriate, culturally relevant Sunday School curricula. Read full story ... Ohio: Experiencing Famine Hearing impaired youth at a Christian school near Cincinnati learn about the plight of the poor through a special weekend of sacrifice and service. Read full story ... Indonesia: Flooding Causes Illness World Vision's emergency team has successfully provided relief support to some 50,000 people affected by the deadly floodwaters which inundated Jakarta recently. Read full story ... Darfur: Unprecedented Violence Relief operations are at a breaking point, humanitarian agencies warn. Read full story ... AIDS: Critical Assistance Approved The U.S. Congress courageously approved a $1.3 billion funding increase, the largest in U.S. history, to fight the world's three leading killers of children ... AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. Read full story ... To keep up on late-breaking news, go to www.worldvision.org.
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