April 25 is World Malaria Day. My overseas trips have often taken me to areas impacted by malaria. Malaria is a disease we don’t think about much in the United States. However, it claims over one million lives each year. 750,000 of those are children in Africa. For each one that dies, there are hundreds more who are sick.

Much of this suffering and death is preventable. Nine out of ten of these cases could be prevented with mosquito netting. 

I am writing this to encourage you to join with me in making a difference. So, what an you do? First, you can learn more about the problem. Second, you can provide support through Compassion International. Compassion is a solid Christian child development organization that works in many areas where malaria is a huge problem. I wasn’t able to do much, but if we all give a little, together we can make a big difference.

I just completed my fist seminary course, a New Testament survey. I am pursuing a Master of Arts in Theological Studies at Liberty University. I was a little nervous going in, because I haven’t been in school in quite a while, but I did well. I learned a lot and enjoyed the experience.

I am doing this to improve my ministry. I want to do programs of substance, that do more than just entertain.

I have to take a break from classes for the summer. There’s no way for me to keep up with coursework during my busy summer camp season, but I’ll pick it up again in the fall.  

I have been following the ministry of Answers in Genesis for a long time. In case you aren’t familiar with them, they are an organization dedicated to helping Christians defend their faith and proclaim the Gospel. Their primary focus is dealing with questions about the book of Genesis. If you have questions dealing with the creation/evolution debate, or if you aren’t sure why it matters, I’d encourage you to visit their site and learn more. 

Last year, they opened their Creation Museum near my hometown. I finally got a chance to visit. It really is impressive. It includes multiple theater experiences, interactive exhibits, life-size animatronic dinosaurs and more.

It deals with much more than just creation. It is about promoting a Biblical worldview. It begins with creation and continues through the Garden of Eden, Noah’s flood, all the way through the cross and redemption. I’d certainly recommend visiting if you have the chance.  

Today is World AIDS Day, designed to raise awareness, and more importantly action, about the AIDS epidemic. It is estimated that over 33 million people around the world are living with HIV. Over 6,000 children are being orphaned by AIDS every day. In the face of numbers like that, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. As a Christian, it can be difficult to know how to respond. We want to help, but we want to be sure that we do it in a way that is consistent with a Christian worldview.

I have a suggestion, Compassion International.  Compassion is a sold, accountable, Biblically based organization that works with poor children around the world. You can partner with Compassion to make a real difference. You can make a one time or ongoing donation to their AIDS initiative. You can even choose to sponsor a child who has been affected by AIDS. If you can’t afford to do it by yourself, then perhaps you can sponsor a child as a group. For example, a Sunday School class or small group could sponsor one child.

Go to Compassion’s AIDS Orphan Information Page now to learn more and make a difference.

I recently joined ShoutLife, a social networking site. It is sort of a Christian MySpace or Friendster. As a general rule, I’m not a big fan of Christian “walled gardens,” but I’ve been impressed with ShoutLife. It has a lot of nice features.  It also eliminates the objectionable material found on sites like MySpace.

 I’m not saying that Christians should abandon sites like MySpace. Both have their place. For example, if you want to have an outreach oriented Church presence, you want to be on MySpace. If you want to meet and mingle with fellow Christians, then ShoutLife is a good choice. Personally, I have a presence on both.

You can visit my ShoutLife here.