Review: Same Kind of Different as Me

by Curtis

I honestly thought it would take me a week or two to finish Same Kind of Different as Me, but I just couldn't put it down.

Last night around 2:00a.m., I finished reading this true story of two men's unlikely friendship. Ron Hall, one of the authors of this book, is a high-end art dealer in Fort Worth, Texas. Denver Moore, who also authored the story, is a rough and tumble homeless man. Making friends is the last thing he wants, especially with some rich white guy. These guys end up meeting each other and a strange and exciting friendship begins. You really won't believe it unless you read it yourself.


I picked up Same Kind of Different as Me on recommendation from several people who have great tastes in books. S.K.O.D.A.M. is a story of injustice, hope, suffering, and trust that will hook you from the first few pages. Each brief segment of the story is narrated by Ron or Denver, each in his own voice. These two come to realize how the rich and poor need each other and that everyone has value. After all, aren't we all made in the image of God?

At the risk of sounding like James Lipton, host of Inside the Actors' Studio, I'll keep my praise brief and to the point: this book is phenomenal. If you are interested in issues related to social justice or if you just like a heartwarming true story to read over the weekend, go out and buy this book immediately. I promise as soon as you read it, you'll be recommending it to someone else.

***Important Note: When you read this book, DO NOT--DO NOT--DO NOT--look at the pictures in the middle section of the book until you have finished the entire book...they will ruin the ending if you look at them before you're done. Thanks, Aaron for giving me the heads up.***

World On Fire

by Curtis

Many of you have seen Sarah McLachlan's music video for her song "World on Fire", and it gets me every time. If you haven't seen it, watch the video above.

What gets me about this video is how much of the stuff we buy and pay for is completely unnecessary. When you look at your monthly budget, how much of it goes towards things that are superfluous? How much of it goes to help other people?

I don't bring up those questions to guilt anyone, but I think we can all live our lives with fewer things. Barry's most recent post really got me thinking about how much I waste compared to how much I give back. I believe we can live our lives more simply in order to free up resources so we can help others--not to hoard and keep for ourselves.

So think about it. What can be cut from your monthly spending? Do you have a $50/month line-item for Starbucks? Maybe it's time to reconsider a few non-essentials.

Review: The Twenty-Piece Shuffle: Why the Poor and Rich Need Each Other, by Greg Paul

by Curtis

If you haven't heard about Greg Paul yet, maybe now's the time to go to Amazon and buy his books.

Paul's first book, God in the Alley: Being and Seeing Jesus in a Broken World, was published a few years ago and completely wrecked me...in a good way. In it, he shares some heart-wrenching stories about his community in inner city Toronto. Paul is an author/pastor/local rock star who started a ministry called Sanctuary that reaches out to homeless (they prefer "under-housed") and fully housed people under the same roof. He started the community center/church hybrid out of a rock band called Red Rain.

I am fortunate enough to have visited Sanctuary first hand back in February with my fellow justice-seeker, Barry, and some other friends from our church. We got to spend some time walking the cold winter streets of Toronto and seeing how God can work miraculously in seemingly hopeless situations. The stories shared by Greg and members of Sanctuary's community are humbling (an understatement).


In his latest effort, The Twenty Piece Shuffle: Why the Rich and the Poor Need Each Other, Paul transparently shares the incredible stories of Sanctuary ministries and applies them to the fact that everyone--rich and poor alike--needs intimate relationships and a strong sense of purpose and identity in life. These stories are heartbreaking and often troubling, and I'm so glad Paul shared them with us. This book will change your perspective on rich and poor and how God fits into all the suffering in the mess of the world.

If you haven't read either of Paul's offerings yet, I would start with God in the Alley. It's kind of like the intro-level course to Twenty Piece Shuffle.

These books are a great way to engage your heart and your mind in the causes of justice for the poor.

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Heifer International

by Barry

When I think of cows, I picture huge animals penned up in some stockyard somewhere, waiting around to become a big-mac. I picture rustic cowboys bringing a herd home from pasture. And now, after being in India for 3 months, I picture traffic jams.

But one thing I don't picture is wealth. Cows don't evoke images of prosperity in my mind. But for more than 2 billion people around the world, that is exactly what cows represent. Riches, security, and abundance...

Cows provide nourishing milk and plentiful meat. They give birth to more cows, and can quickly become a herd. In the developing world, once you own a cow, you're set for life.

But who can afford a cow? Making 2 dollars a day, it would take years to save up enough to buy one. And so for most poor people around the world, owning a cow or goat or even a chicken, becomes an impossible dream.

That's why there is an organization called Heifer International. They take sustainability-creating livestock, and give them to people around the world who need them. And the cool part is, these recipients must agree to give the first calf or chick or kid to someone else who needs it, spreading sustainability from one family to another!

And you can be a part of this process! There is a whole online gift catalog that allows you to purchase everything from heifers to chicks to honeybees for a needy family around the world. It couldn't be easier to make a difference in someone's life.

And what an awesome gift idea! "Honey, I bought you a cow." Perfect!

So check it out, and who knows? Maybe you'll start to see cows just a little bit differently...

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Everything Small

by Barry

Here's a trustworthy saying: If you live in a Malawian village for an entire summer, taking bucket baths and hiking miles through the bush each day, you're probably going to come back a little changed.

Well, that's exactly what happened with my good friend Maeven Mendoza. She lived for two months in Malawi, and she has definitely come back a different person!

And get this... Maeven has decided to share her journey with us!

On her blog Everything Small, Maeven writes about the joys, struggles and memories she is living with as she re-enters American culture.

One recent post is about her new perspective on intelligence and another is about her recent dilemma of wanting to buy a $6 shirt. Beautiful stories, thought-provoking narratives, and a refreshing level of honesty.

And the best part of all is that Maeven's a really good writer!!!

Hey. What are you still doing looking at this boring blog? Check it out!

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Kiva.org

by Barry

Do you ever get frustrated at how huge problems like poverty are? You read stats like 1 billion people live below a dollar a day and 2 billion people on less than 2 dollars a day. A billion people? I can't even imagine what a million people looks like.

These women in Mumbai, India earn pennies to cut this grass by hand.

Or you visit a third world country and see it for yourself. Row after row of corrugated metal shacks, destitute people lying on the streets, entire orphanages filled with AIDS orphans. It's too much to handle.

We'd love to help out... to give our money to the problem. But it's just too big!

So we give nothing.

Well, for the last year or so, I've been contributing to an amazing website that seeks to change all of that: www.kiva.org. Kiva is a not-for-profit micro-loan company that allows you to loan money directly to a person who needs it.

When you make a loan to someone, you see their picture and read their bio. You see exactly what they need the money for. You're not sending $25 to some multi-national "global poverty initiative." You're sending $25 (or more) to Betty Kagwa, a Ugandan woman who runs a general store. Or to Hoeun Korng, who sells cows in Cambodia. You get the picture.

And the best part of all is that it's a loan. Kiva has had, get this, a 98.6% successful repayment rate! And when you get the money back, you can instantly re-loan it to another entrepreneur or withdraw it and use it for something else. It's easy.

So, stop being so overwhelmed... Check out Kiva and get into the game!

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