This is Why-You’ve Really Done It Now!

Sometimes in life, you just have to hit pause for a moment. Stop and take it all in. Stop and smell the roses. This is one of those moments for us here at Orphan’s Lifeline.

It would simply be wrong if we didn’t hit the pause button for a moment, because it has been a very busy and amazing six months here at the home office. And in taking it all in, there is only one place we can place the blame for all that’s gone on for the last six months. That “blame”, such as it is, lies squarely on your collective shoulders.

Let’s just take a quick look at what you have done so far this year. You have collectively taken 28 new children off the streets and given them a home or supported them in a surviving relatives home. But what does that mean? Well, to begin with, you probably saved their lives. Statistically speaking, you definitely saved the lives of fourteen of them, at least. For the other half, you have saved them from a life of complete and utter misery. You have saved them from a life of crime and disease as well as drug and alcohol addiction. You have saved them from the hunger, pain and loneliness that they were sure to experience in the life that orphans without care are forced to endure. You saved them from a life without God. Without the hope of salvation. However you look at it, you have saved them. God has saved these 28 children because His faithful and caring servants have followed the example of His son and have obeyed His word.  You have built houses and outdoor bathrooms, and all the while supported the lives of thousands of orphan children in our homes around the world.

You have really done it now…

But that is not all. Not even close. You have also successfully completed phase three of the David Board Memorial Training Center in Liberia. You have purchased the land for, and completed phase two of the Coulter McCall Elementary School in Kenya. And just three days before I wrote this newsletter, you successfully gave enough for our higher education fund to hit the mark for the pledged $22,000 in matching funds. And therein, we have reached our needed goal of just over $45,000! This is truly amazing and humbling. Beyond that, it means that 27 young adults can now continue their college and vocational training!

And, since we are talking numbers, let’s just take a peek into the statistical crystal ball and see what that translates into as time goes by. Let’s see what kind of return on investment you will get for sharing what you have with the “least of these.”

Based on numbers supplied by multiple sources that study the relationship of income to education and other elements within the countries we work, and where these 27 young adults are attending institutions of Higher Learning, this is your ROI for that $45,000.

The statistical averages add up to this: Of the 27 young adults, 86% will be hired immediately upon graduation. Of the remaining 14%, 75% will be hired within the following 14 months, leaving approximately 4 that will either be hired sometime later, or not at all, due to either becoming a dropout or having some other life-altering event that changes the direction of their life. That means approximately 23 students working in their chosen or related careers. The numbers are much higher in these countries than even developed nations due to the demand for young adults with degrees compared to the small percentage that ever even have that opportunity.

You’ve really done it now. You have moved them from one statistical pool to another.

In the first year of employment, these young adults will generate and spend or save $720,000 of income. Without the education, those that chose to work rather than choosing crime to survive, would generate just $17,344 in income. Not each, but in total, for a full year of hard labor from all 27 young adults. That’s just under TWO DOLLARS per day or $642 per year. Nobody can live on that regardless of where they live, let alone raise a family on such paltry income. It is indeed a cruel world for those who live in such countries unless they are given a hand up. A way out of the culture of poverty they were born into by no fault of their own.

That’s a pretty amazing ROI, all on its own, but it translates into much more than just income.

Based on averages, you have also prevented 60 children from becoming orphans. You have prevented 81 people from contracting and ultimately dying from HIV/AIDS.

You have prevented 20 divorces and 20 cases of family abandonment. All of this for $45,000. And that is just for these 27 young adults. When you factor in the generational impact of intact family units and carry it forward a few generations, the ROI is nearly hard to fathom in terms of the positive impact it will have for thousands of people, and arguably, someday, even millions.

But, the most lucrative part of this investment, by far, is the precious souls that will be added into heaven one day. Souls that would never have had a chance without God’s Word coming to life before the very eyes of these children as they watched what they could only perceive as miracles happening around them every single day!

They need only look around their own neighborhood to value by comparison. They need only to see the poverty and suffering all around them and ask themselves the question, “Why?” Why the difference between their lives and those around them? What changed? What and who, stepped in to make the difference? Why did they step in? What and/or who motivated them to step in and help a stranger thousands of miles away in what may as well be another world?

The answer is the same for every question. It is because of God and His son Jesus. It is because of His followers showing His love in their actions. It’s amazing how many times these children quote James 1:27 to us in their letters. They are living the truth of that scripture. And they are thankful. Thankful to you. Thankful to Jesus and thankful to God.

And so, I thought it was time to just hit pause and say “thank you.” To stop for a moment and take a look at all that has been done; and even smell the sweet perfume of the roses you have planted in the name of God and to His glory.

Again, thank you for your caring hearts…because you’ve really done it now.