"..Once you do, everything changes."

"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.

-From the book Radical by David Platt

Do you realize that there is an estimated 145 million orphans world wide?

Does that number sink into your brain or even seem real? Do we take time to really think that, that number is real? Do we take time to imagine all the faces that make that number a reality?

The answer to all of those questions were "no" for me before I ventured to Lesotho in 2009. I would read in various books or see in slideshows at conferences, these kinds of numbers or statistics, but they always seemed distant and cold. To maybe put it into a little better perspective, an estimated 145 million people populate the country of Russia. So, imagine Russia being fully populated....with orphans alone.

Before I went to Lesotho, I admit I felt pity for orphans, but the pity never really sank in or stayed in my mind for very long. Besides, I would always think to myself, those numbers couldn't be real...could they? The reality is, the numbers are real. I saw only a glimpse when I was at Ministry of Insured Salvation. I saw the faces, the lives, and the hearts of only a small percentage of these orphans. I was a part of their lives and they were a part of mine. I showed them new things, and they definitely taught me many.

When I came home, it was impossible for me to forget them. It was impossible for my heart not to break when I read the numbers and statistics. Because I knew, that the kids I have grown to love so much, and have a passion for at MIS, where part of those mind blowing numbers. It was impossible for me to do nothing. Suddenly that number hit closer to home than ever. Those were my kids. And everything....changed.