Written on July 9, 2008:

"Tonight, I met a woman more noble than I could ever hope to be.

She only has one leg because she lost the other in some kind of accident three years ago. I don't know the extent of the accident or what happened exactly, only that it was enough of a traumatization to take her leg and leave her with huge scars all over the rest of her body.

She lives in the most make-shift of shelters that I have ever seen with eight children- some, her own grandchildren; some, no relation to her at all- because their parents either can't or simply won't take care of them themselves.

Most of their mothers work in the bars in Bangkok. Most of their fathers are nowhere to be found.

They have very little rice for every meal and only a few of the children get to go to school because that is all she can afford.

This woman makes some of the most beautiful silk I have ever seen.

Prang and I bought some from her tonight. Most likely the entire sum of what we gave to her for it will go towards food for the family alone because of the number of mouths to feed and the dire need of their circumstance.

Tonight, I met a woman more noble than I could ever hope to be and it was my humble honour to be in her presence.

Blessed are the poor for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen."

I am starting to understand more of what I am doing here.

I am starting to understand better my role in this world.

I am starting to understand that I understand everything and nothing at the same time.

Two questions had been posed to me not so long ago by whatever source you wish to call it... conscience, thoughts, Holy Spirit (I will call it the latter)... and they are questions I hadn't really completely understood at the time, but have been wrestling with non-stop since that night that I wrote about above.

You see, we cry and cry and cry for God to come to the oppressed and to set the captives free. We call to Him to come down and meet us and them in our darkness. But the part that we seem to have missed is the part where we agree to work for it... in our waiting. We do His will in the knowledge of faith that He will come and join us and complete the task.

He has asked me, in the same way that He asks all of us:

Will you suffer with them?

Will you suffer for them?

Poverty is captivity.

Poverty is a robbery.

Not of money, but rather of dignity.

Of love.

Of hope.

Of restoration.

And not just for those that are in it... but also for those of us that refuse to run to their resuce as well because we miss out on the beauty of being one.

What am I doing with my time on earth if not setting captives free?

"To loose the bonds of wickedness..."

"To undo the straps of the yoke..."

"To let the oppressed go free..."

Will I suffer with them?

Will I suffer for them?

I pray that my answer will be yes. And not just now as these visions and truths are fresh. But that it will always be yes even after I have left this place and these realities are back on the other side of the world. I pray that I will always remember them and always respect them enough to live my life in such a way that honours them, even from afar.

I pray that I will always continue to fight back the darkness and set the captives free, for it is within our obedience that He comes and rescues. It is within our hands that His healing touch is found. And it is from our lips that His life-giving words come. If we allow it.