Again, I turned to those worn pages to seek answers, and was once again surprised by what I found. As I read, a specific theme was highlighted to me over and over again, and is summed up well in James 1:27-
“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”
In this verse, I believe that James explains the basic tenets of what it means to be a Christian: to love those who have no hope, and to seek holiness. The list of verses that agree and comply with this one is extensive and clear, and so the answer to all three of my questions seemed to come in one swiftly transformative blow: If Jesus is going to live through me, I must surrender my life to loving and caring for the hopeless.
And so I come to the most important life update (one that may shock and surprise many of you). I have decided to move to Lusaka, Zambia this Spring and care for the incredible needs of orphans with intellectual disability in sub-Saharan Africa. Most of you will need to stop and reread that sentence, and then check to be sure this is a blogpost from Beth Bailey, and not someone else you know. I assure you, this is something I never planned, never dreamed, never even considered- until God stepped in, changed everything, and made it the most profound desire of my heart.
I know there are potentially and approximately hundreds of questions being raised in your mind, and so I will do my best to answer them in a few broad categories in the next post…(some of you may be thinking I have really gone off the deep end, but this should reveal that I am still the same organized and structured Beth you know and, hopefully, love).
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