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The Collision of Brokenness

March 20, 2014 By Mike Farag Leave a Comment

I spent last weekend leading a trip to Haiti for one of my favorite nonprofit organizations, The Global Orphan Project.

What I witnessed there this trip was freakishly amazing, I mean that.

Let me set the stage a bit for you.  We were taking a group of “struggling” teens from a therapeutic boarding school to Haiti.  We had over 20 kids ranging from 15-18 years old along with some staff to help them while we were there. These kids aren’t your run of the mill kids.  They’ve experienced brokeness in some profound ways. On this trip for instance we had more than one rape victim, some addicted to drugs, two young men had lost their dads, one of which to suicide.

They look just like the kids going to your kids school, but they are broken.  Shelterwood is putting them back together with care and Christ. So why take them to Haiti you ask?  I did too.  Seems pretty risky.  I mean you are taking kids who sometimes struggle to function in a regular school because of their behavior and you are going to send them to Haiti?!!  Why?

Because when broken kids meet kids who were once more broken but redeemed by Jesus, magic happens.

We can all debate a bit of what it means to be broken and how that effects our world view but the fact is in some way or at some point we are experience brokenness.

The CEO of this school is doing nothing less than risking it all for the sake of the souls of the children in his care.  Think about it, what do you think would happen if something happened to one of these kids on a trip?  Lawsuits galore, press onslaught.  You bet, all calling for an end to this lunacy.  But instead, he leans in.  In his words, “our trips to Haiti are one of the best therapeutic tools we have in our bag because they encounter Jesus”.

That’s the collision.  Jesus shows up in the middle of that meeting. The orphaned children we interact with on the trip are cared for by the local church, that’s how GO Project works.  It’s transforming lives through orphan care and prevention.  Transformed lives on both sides of this equation.

When we left Kansas City one of the kids had asked the CEO to baptize her off the coast of Haiti; however by the time we made it to the beach 13 kids were ready to do the same.  Thirteen who left KC broken, were healed and baptized.  Freakishly amazing.  It’s hard to tell when the shift happened, it was like a swell of positivity.  It was amazing to just be there, watching it.

I really didn’t just spend last weekend in Haiti, I spent it seeing a small glimpse of what the power of Jesus can do.  I was a bystander to real leadership and all the others who serve. I was in the stands cheering as Jesus showed up in the lives of these kids.

We all experience brokenness to some degree or another, we are all in need of colliding with Jesus to truly heal. Sometimes that means encountering him in strange places, like Haiti to do so.

When broken worlds collide, magic happens. I can only hope to be a part of that more often.

 

Filed Under: Advice That Matters, New Experience Tagged With: Global Orphan Project, Mike Farag, Reflection, Shelterwood

Everything is Always Running Out

October 9, 2013 By Mike Farag Leave a Comment

Everything is Always Running Out.

  • Time
  • Job satisfaction
  • Feeling appreciated
  • Satisfaction with current income
  • Marriage satisfaction
  • Enough retirement dollars
  • Our health (or health insurance)
  • The number of good miles left on your car
  • Friends

Except Jesus.  After adding Him to the equation, anything is possible.

Filed Under: Advice That Matters, New Experience Tagged With: Advice, Mike Farag, Reflection

Little Brothers, Family Ties, Fear and Making the Most of Today

June 24, 2013 By Mike Farag Leave a Comment

Family bonds are some of the strongest many of us will experience.

Brothers and sisters, mothers and sons, husbands and wives, you name it.  Families can be our greatest source of strength or one of our greatest challenges, sometimes both.

Today my younger, but not so little, brother is moving to Hawaii.  It’s causing reflection and emotions I wasn’t expecting.  It seems like just minutes ago we became friends.  With 11 years separating us, it wasn’t until his college years — my recently divorced time — that we connected and began what I now cherish.  My family is close; I am blessed for that.

So today I realize that good family ties are rare and strong. They cause you to grow and they keep you grounded. They give you the strength to punch fear in the face when the time is right. Fear is what keeps most of us from trying anything new. From writing that book, from moving to Hawaii, from taking the test, from being generous when the person looks different.

Fear isn’t what God intended for us. But making the most of today, is. He wants families, healthily and strong. He wants courage, in our actions and our words. He wants our connection to traverse across an ocean, a country or even down the street.

Selfishly, I’d love for my little brother to hang around for me to enjoy and do life with everyday. But I know that we will do life together in new and different ways . . . beginning today.

Filed Under: Advice That Matters, Change, Featured, New Experience Tagged With: Advice, Change, Do Something, Learn Something New, Mike Farag, Reflection

Maple Syrup

February 22, 2013 By Mike Farag Leave a Comment

The call to come help make maple syrup came about 10 minutes after they started.

Just 3 guys, 3 beers, 2 cigars (yeah I was totally left out) and about 3 hours of what my friend Andy would say…”bro-in’ out” time.

It was good for my soul.  First, these guys speak truth to me no matter what. Second, we were outside  in the cold hauling wood into in the this little shack with a furnace cranking out 900 degrees, doing something that I have never done before. Learning something. Creating something. Talking and challenging each other.

It occurred to that in an era of specialization we forget how important the art of learning something new can be.  What might even be more important is the courage of letting those you know lead you in that.  How much knowledge must be stored in our relationships just waiting to be explored and shared.

I wonder.

For me, this was inspiring and just what I needed.  I’m so glad I dropped everything and went when the call came.  I needed the new experience  I needed the beer, but more importantly I needed to be challenged.

A few pictures from the experience:

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Filed Under: New Experience Tagged With: Learn Something New

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An Ex Corporate Climber turned Entrepreneur (Founder of Fervor). An Adventure Junkie. A Reader. A Passionate Advocate for Change and Impact. Married to Kim and Coffee. On A Mission of Self Discovery...
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