Onward We Go – CAMA Services

Last Christmas, Chloe and I found ourselves in St Paul, MN, spending holiday time with Chloe’s brother and wife. We are all fans of Garrison Keillor, whose PBS radio show heard nationally on Saturday nights, hales from St Paul. We had heard he was opening a new book store so we set out through the snow and cold to see what books he had for sale. We found the store in a trendy neighborhood section of St Paul and enjoyed browsing and buying his goods. At checkout, we were given a holiday card with a poem written by Garrison for Christmas 2006. I reread it this morning and it struck me its message captures the plight of all people around the world.

“A little girl is singing for the faithful to come ye
Joyful and Triumphant, a song she loves,
And also the partridge in a pear tree
And the golden rings and turtle doves.
In the dark streets, red lights and green and blue
Where the faithful live, some joyful, some troubled,
Enduring confusion, old age, and symptoms of the flu
While taking out the garbage and keeping the walk shoveled.
Not much triumph going on here – and yet
There is much we do not understand.
And my hopes and fears are met
In this small singer holding on to my hand.
Onward we go, faithful, hopeful into the dark
And are there angels hovering overhead? Hark.”
GK 12/2006

Two thousand years ago, three wise men said, “onward we go” as they set out into the dark to find the Messiah with angels hovering overhead. When they arrived they were filled with joy. They worshiped the Child and gave Him gifts from their treasure chests.

Today we can be filled with joy by opening our treasure chests to people through the services of Compassion and Mercy Associates (CAMA Services), http://www.camaservices.org/.

CAMA provides a variety of relief and development ministries that flesh out the good news of God’s love for people—body and soul. CAMA is associated with the Christian and Mission Alliance as an organization that focuses on specific projects meeting holistic needs of people.

Please visit CAMA’s webpage and then click on Projects at the top of the page. There you will find 15 projects (currently today) where you can provide specific needs to people in all parts of the world. Three projects to consider this Christmas 2007 are:

1. West African Flood Relief
2. Kindergarten Renovation (school renovations)
3. Church based Community Development (hpc development)

This is a great opportunity to go online and easily make a difference in someone’s life.

Onward we go! May you be overflowed with joy this Christmas 2007!