A motorcycle ride, just before midnight, in Kathmandu, Nepal, changed the course of my life.
As I climbed on the back of the motorcycle with one of our ministry partners, I wanted to see with my own eyes, the orphans on the streets of Kathmandu. My life would never be the same when I looked into their eyes and learned their names.
We did not even make it a quarter of a mile before we encountered our first group of children. Each boy was sitting inside of a small box and the rest of the cardboard was being used to fuel the fire.
One young boy answered the questions being asked of him. His name was Robin, and he was 12 years old. He told us he had been on the streets on his own, since the age of 2. I was still trying to process the fact that this 12 year old boy was out on the streets close to midnight, when I heard he had been on his own since the age of 2.
This experience brought to life a quote I had heard from David Platte, which says:
“We learned orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they’re not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes.”
On this night, everything did change for me. I was confronted with the faces, the names, & the stories of orphans on the streets, and I was not alright with it all.
And this is how, Faces With Names, came into existence.
My heart and desire has always been to make the orphan real to people, to you. Not just a statistic, not just someone else’s problem or responsibility.
Last week, I tried to be as open, honest and vulnerable as I could with you as I shared about this renewed calling I heard from God while driving a forklift at Walmart.
As I write this email, I come with the same vulnerability and humility, asking you to join us on our journey in laying the foundation of serving orphans and widows in Uganda and beyond.
Our monthly partners will be the life blood of all we will be able to accomplish, with God’s help, through Faces With Names International.
We have put together a simple chart for you to consider where you might join us:
May I share a moment of brutal honesty? I hope you answered yes, because here it goes. There is an element of my pride and ego that hates having to rely on others to do what God has called me to do.
But as God has chiseled away my pride and ego in preparation for what we are doing, I believe wholeheartedly, I have the privilege to invite you to join us in raising up a new generation of leaders, who once held the stigma of being called orphans and widows, to now fulfilling their God given purpose.
Our vision statement comes straight from the verse, James 1:27, which is the Biblical mandate to care for orphans and widows.
Our vision: To give you the opportunity to care for orphans and widows in their distress.
I truly believe that everyone who partners with us in prayer and giving is truly living out the Biblical mandate to care for orphans and widows in their distress.
Will you be 1 of the 176 monthly partners who allow us to fulfill our mission and vision through Faces With Names International?
Our goal this first week is to see 25 new monthly donors, at any level, join our team and partner with us.
If you have considered partnering with us, or been on the fence, would you jump into the deep end with us as we rely on God to provide all we need.
I don’t take for granted what it means for you to give of your resources. I give my full fledge promise, we will be good stewards of every dollar entrusted to us!
To join our monthly partner team, click the link below:
I want to become a monthly partner with FWNI
Cheering You On In Christ,
Eric Mills, President
Faces With Names International
