No Room At The Inn

No Room At The Inn

The hungry planet bible project
Produced by Hungry Planet and Tyndale

What is it?
No Room at the Inn is part of The Hungry Planet Bible Project. No Room at the Inn is an Advent devotional experience that helps readers prepare their hearts to celebrate the birth of Christ. Through compelling stories, Scripture readings, and application, readers will learn what it means to “love your neighbor.” But what is The Hungry Planet Bible Project? The Hungry Planet Bible Project is raising awareness of the plight of the homeless and hungry. It will mobilize the church into action on behalf of the poor. The Hungry Planet Bible Project is traveling 10,000 miles across America to dozens of cities and rural communities, giving a face and a voice to the hungry and homeless. Using cutting-edge interactive multimedia, the experience they bring utilizes video, audio, print, photography, an interactive travelogue, social networking, forums, prayer walls, and donation sites to inspire us to put our faith into action on behalf of the poor. Along with their recitation of Scripture, the homeless and hungry will bless and teach us through their emotional stories of failure, life, and faith. This major initiative brings together retailers, churches, the media, food pantries, homeless shelters and other organizations to help us as Christians achieve the ministry goals God has laid on our hearts.

My Thoughts
Today it’s January 5th, 2010 and I have just received this item to review. Unfortunately, I didn’t received it before the Christmas season simply because it was shipped late from the US and it took longer to get it because of the holidays.

So I sat down with my son, who is 8 ½ years old, and watched the DVD that came in. The DVD opened my eyes, and hopefully my son’s eyes as well, to the fact that 10% of the homeless are what they call chronically homeless. So what are the 90% that compose the homeless community? Believe it or not but half of that 90% are women and families with young children. When you start thinking of that, it hurts.

Also included in this little item is a CD that contains the reading from Luke 1-2:20 featuring the homeless and hungry. Another track of the same reading of the Christmas story made by Haley DiMarco can also be found on the CD.

Sometimes the recording was hard to listen too because I think the authors have not used the same microphone for every interviews.   But the stories are touching even if this video is not perfect.

I so wish I had received this in early December. But on the bright side, I think I am blessed to have the opportunity to pray for the homeless families throughout 2010. And my prayer is that their path cross the path of people who will help them get back on their feet, that they will trust God to care for them and that they will see the light shine through the darkness. It won’t be easy. Some days will be plain hard but my hope is that these families will trust God with every aspect of their lives. May we come in contact with people in need and we don’t hesitate to help them.

Personally, I think that every now and then we need a reality check. And this special project is something that everyone should watch. Resources are also included to help you pray and give to groups or people who might need it. Tools are also included to help you create your own initiative or to work with a partner in your city. Don’t let anyone fall through the cracks. Step up to the plate. Yes sometimes it might change your plans but in the end you will feel good about it. How do I know? A while back we opened our home for a young woman who was pregnant. She wanted to give her baby to adoption. So she moved in with us for her last month of pregnancy. She showed me the families that were selected and after she made her decision told me about it. We talked. I was there to support her – not to help her make decisions and so on. It turns out that she moved in for about two weeks because she had to be induced since the amniotic fluid was leaking. I was present when she gave birth. After discussing with her case worker, she decided to keep the baby. So her family came to get her and she went back to her city. I sure hope that she is doing okay and that the baby boy is growing well. Like I said, it’s not easy to support someone through something and then that person comes back on her decision. But in the end, I found that I have grown in this experience. I’m there to show God’s love to others and that’s what I did. Plain and simple.

So please do yourself a favour in 2010. Watch No Room At The Inn and open your eyes around you.

To get more information about the hungry planet bible project, simply visit http://www.hpbp.org/ .