Oh, just my two cents.

I need to rant about something completely unrelated to nannying, but it's my blog so I'll do what I want. And you can just deal with it.

Last night was utterly horrible. E and T didn't get back until one in the morning, after waiting out the rain at a building they own in the city that sprang leaks during that wonderful downpour. As strange and damaging as yesterday's weather was, I loved it. I had the windows open and the wind coming through the house was amazing.

Anyway, I got to enjoy it for an extra three hours while I waited for them to come back. I didn't want to go to bed, because once I am asleep, I don't hear much and J had already been up crying once by 11 o'clock. All the kids are on the verge of a cold and I didn't want to be running up and down two flights of stairs. One is enough, thank you.

So, by the time I got to bed and turned my brain off, I scored about five hours of sleep.

This morning, everyone overslept and, miraculously, we still got the kids off to school on time. E lingered around the house this morning. He handles lack of sleep like such a girl. Men are seriously such cry babies.

When he finally left, I made the baby's bottle and settled in front of the big TV for some quality Netflix time.

I watched a documentary about Sudan, specifically the Lost Boys who ran from there and sought refuge in Kenya. Some of them were later relocated through a program and brought to the United States to work.

I read a book about the same subject about a year ago and watching this brought to life a lot of the images that I had to draw myself when reading. It was pretty tough to watch. And then I started thinking.

Cue the rant.

I've run up against several practicing, believing, fruit-bearing Christians who wouldn't or won't work with organizations and charities that are not primarily evangelistic. I find that to be a despicable practice. I spent the morning flashing back to conversations with these people, some of whom I am still friends with, but I no longer respect as much, remembering how they thought it was so worthless to relocate these misplaced Sudanese orphans to a country willing to take them in and help them because they weren't also teaching the gospel.

In this specific case, my thoughts are simply that the refugee camp is certainly not designed for missions work, so our best chance as Christians of being the salt and the light to the Lost Boys is to support and encourage the programs that bring them here and become a part of their lives and BE THE SALT AND THE LIGHT. The organization doesn't have to be, WE DO.

So, naturally, because I like to argue and rant and win, I texted two of those people to strike up a debate. It was lively and not good-natured, but it ended with a stalemate because birds of a feather flock together and I am one stubborn bird, so you can only imagine what my friends are like.

Anyway, I am still pretty fired up about it, so I just had to let you all know about it.

There is an aspect of the church, of Christ's body, that is exclusive, but it's not in how we approach the world. To have our message be that we will show you Christ's love, but only through a church-run organization is pretty much the opposite of Christ's message.

In that same vein, I stand by my trip with EAC, Empower A Child, a couple of Christmases ago. They were not an OPC organization, and I felt some hesitation in various members of my support system.

Gross.

EAC is nondenominational, but I researched their mission statement, and their beliefs and practices are solid and biblical. Their goal was to go out into desperate parts of Uganda and Kenya, bring light and hope and physical comforts to children, and live out Christ's love in front of them. Then, point families who were interested into bible-believing churches without insisting that they conform to all the little nuances of one specific denomination.

I find that admirable.

And amazingly open.

And very salty and lighty.

At the end of my debate session and only halfway through my documentary, I was pretty emotionally drained. I folded some laundry to calm myself down and then children started getting home from school and bothering me and E and T had to go back to the city to clean up the remnants of last night.

Leftovers, timeouts, bed time and here we are again.

Carry on.