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Bystander Effect

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The Bystander Effect is a most horrible principle of psychology. The bystander effect refers to the phenomenon in which the greater the number of people present, the less likely people are to help a person in distress.

Meet Kitty Genovese.

In 1964, Kitty was entering her apartment at 3:15 am after work. She was stabbed twice in the back. Kitty screamed, “Oh my God! He stabbed me! Help me!” Neighbors reported that they heard her screams, but decided it wasn’t worth getting involved. Kitty tried to stagger to safety, but was stabbed and raped by her attacker. Her attack lasted for half an hour. It was only after the attack ended that someone called the police. Kitty died en route to the hospital.
Meet Hugo Tale-Yax. He stepped into protect and save a woman who was being mugged. He in turn was stabbed by her attacker. Watch his story.
We ALL are at risk of suffering from the bystander effect. And have we not all fallen prey to it? You’re in your car, and there he is. He’s standing on the side of the road in his dirty, ragged clothes. He’s holding his cardboard sign. He is all the way on the other side of the road. Traffic is think. You really do not feel like turning around. So you keep going. “Someone else will stop. I’m too busy. It’s not very convenient. I don’t want people to judge me. He probably did something to deserve where he is. He’s too scary looking.”
But meet another man. He was walking along the road when he was suddenly attacked. He was beaten and robbed. His attackers left him for dead. People passed him, but no one stopped. Until finally, one man saw him lying there broken. He had compassion on him. He bandaged his wounds and gave him a place to stay. (Luke 10:25-37)
And Christ did the same for us. There we were on the side of the road in our filthy rags, wallowing in our sin. We smelled. We were broken. We were whoring ourself out to the things of this world, desperately searching for something to fill the void in our heart.
But God looked down upon us and saw our need. He came in the form of Christ to be the ultimate atonement. He sacrificed everything. He humbled himself to the lowest level. And then He gave His very life. He gave His life for me, and you. He looked through our filth and saw something beautiful. He bandaged our wounds and gave us a home.
I don’t want to be a victim of the bystander effect. I want God to break my heart. I want Him to open my eyes to the need all around me. I want to be filled with compassion to the point of action.
“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
-Philippians 2:4-8
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My Motives

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I hate fundraising. I hate that fundraising is so public. I hate having to bare my heart to the world, plead my case, and pray for support. I have really struggled with my journey so far for this mission trip. I have been so worried about not giving God due praise. I have worried that people will think I am only praising myself. I have worried about the way I am sharing Christ.

I know worry is not of God.
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.” Matthew 6:34
But, I still worry. I don’t want people to think this is about me. Or that I think it is about me. IT IS NOT ABOUT ME. It will never be about me, or you. Even when we think it is about us. We are wrong.
When I brag, I am not bragging on behalf of myself. I am bragging on God.
“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 10:17
“Thus says the Lord: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 29:23-24

Please do not think for a second that I am proud of myself. I am nothing. It is my desire that if I am going to have to lay my heart on the line to fundraise, that people would really see my heart. I want people to see it all. I want them to see that I am a wreck. I want them to see my true heart.

I know that I annoy people with how much I talk about the mission trip. I know that the more public I am, the more open I become to judgments. I know that those closest to me know my heart. I pray that everyone does. In the end all I can do is follow Paul’s heeding.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Philippians 4:8
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Uganda Yard Sale…A Chance to Love

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“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.” -Psalm 37:4-6


What? HUGE Yard Sale!!

When? This Saturday, April 1st beginning at 7:30 am

Where? Manly Street……Dalton, GA

Why? To raise funds for Uganda!!


I know God is going to provide in a HUGE way this Saturday! Thank you to all who have donated items already. If you still have anything you would like to donate, I would love to come pick it up. You can comment below if you have anything.

Now, I am asking all of you who read this to join me in prayer this week. Pray that God shows up in a big way Saturday. Help me pray that He would send people in droves and that we would have NOTHING left at the end of the day. Most importantly, help me pray that God would use me, and the rest of the awesome people helping out Saturday, for His glory. I am praying that God would “open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ” (Colossians 4:3). Because, yes, I am having this yard sale to help me get to Uganda, but I am not going to Uganda for me. I am not going to Uganda for the orphan. I am not going to Uganda for the broken. I am going to Uganda for God.

God has given me the responsibility blessed me with the opportunity to be His hands and feet. To make His love known world-wide. So when He places before me an opportunity to love, I will follow Him whether it be in Georgia, Tennessee, Nicaragua, Africa, or Antarctica. So really, Saturday is simply another opportunity to love, any funds raised are just a bonus.

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It’s not about me

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This past Saturday I had a date with this guy…


And he took me here…

And then this happened…

And he gave me this…

And let me tell you, I am so stinkin’ excited I can barely contain it sometimes! I will get to say I do to him on September 24, 2011. Blessed does not seem like an adequate word to describe how I feel.
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinithians 10:31
But no matter what, Christ is our first love. Our relationship is not about us. I don’t ever want it to be. I love my fiancé and am so excited to spend the rest of my life with him. Yet, it cannot be about us and our happiness, but about us finding our joy and strength in the Father. It’s got to be about us running after Him. About us pouring our hearts at His feet and responding with obedience when He calls. It’s got to be about us committing to each other by first committing to seek God.

Watch out. God called us to marriage for a reason, and he’s got something so HUGE planned that we’re going to rock this world.


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I am Peter

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I am so Peter. I am the girl on the boat saying, “Take me, Jesus! Can I go? I’ll walk on the water!” I run head first, out onto the water with no doubt that the impossible will be overcome. Then, I see the waves. I see the dark sea beneath me. The doubts begin to mount. I feel myself sinking. So, I scream out, “Jesus, you lead me out here! Will you let me fail? Don’t leave me alone! Jesus, I am afraid!”

And as always, He reaches out and scoops me up. “Why are you screaming, my child? Why are you fearful? Where is your faith? I called you out onto the water. You are with the creator of the universe. Will I not provide and care for you?”
It does not matter how many times he answers and provides; I still doubt.
I had a Peter moment this morning. I was doing some PR work for my mission trip, and then it happened. The doubts started flooding in. “What if I don’t raise enough money? God, you won’t let me down, right? I probably am just annoying people anyways. I have so little time left. It’s not going to be enough.”
And then, I just got nasty. “God, I know people working to raise $30,000+ for their adoption. I just need $3,000. Why is it so hard for me? Why aren’t people giving more? Why is it so easy for them to raise money?” (I hope you didn’t think I had it all together and am always found in the dust of my Rabbi. I most certainly am one, big mess!)
But just as He was with Peter, there was Jesus, quieting me. In less than 3 hours of my melt down, God provided $145. I could feel Him whispering to me, “See? I will provide. This is my plan, and it is perfect. I will never leave you.”
No matter how many doubts I have or how nasty I get, He is always there, calling me further out into the waters. Just two days ago, I was encouraging all of you to fight for something. I was so excited for the task ahead. Today, I took my eyes off of Christ and began to sink. But He was still there to scoop me up, and He will always be.
His love amazes me. His faithfulness leaves me breathless. I know the doubts will rise again. I will feel my fear overtaking me, but I never want to be too afraid to face the waves. I want to always be the girl leaping off the side of the boat calling, “Take me, Jesus! I’ll go!”
*2/18 I received $615 in the mail today! God is too good to me. Why do I ever doubt?
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My Revolution

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For me, it is the orphan. That’s what pulls my heart. The thing that I can no longer turn away from. The thing that I have to do something about. The thing I have to fight for.

The orphan crisis is what God has broken my heart for. According to latest UNICEF (2007) estimates there are 145 million orphans worldwide. An orphan is defined as a child who has lost one or both parents. It is estimated that approximately 15 million of those children have lost both parents. That number is growing daily. According to the CIA World Factbook, there are approximately 2,255,157,957 professing Christians in the world. That is 33.32% of the population. Now, I have never loved math, but 2 billion > 15 million.
When I read Matthew 25 and James 1:27, I have NO doubt that it is our responsibility to care for the broken. So what is the church doing? Why aren’t we fighting? Why are there AT LEAST 15 million children without a family? Why are there children starved for food, water and love?
Yes, this is what God has broken my heart for. This is what makes me angry. This is what I will be a revolutionary for. This is what I cannot leave unchanged. I am determined to cause change, even if it’s just for one. I will do SOMETHING.
I would love to recruit you all to this fight. I think it is appalling that we have allowed this to go unnoticed. But it’s not just the orphan crisis…

According to recent estimates, there are 126 million child laborers engaged in hazardous work. 14 million adolescents age 14 to 19 give birth each year. 1.2 million children are trafficked worldwide every year. 250,000 children are currently serving as child soldiers. Of 1.39 million people involved in forced commercial sexual exploitation, 40 to 50% are children. 130 million women and girls have been subjected to female genital mutilation/cutting.

So, you see, there is NO EXCUSE. If you didn’t know, now you know the numbers. There are plenty of other injustices in the world. There are so many people that are broken and crying out for help. There are so many things that need to be changed, need to be fought for. We have NO excuse.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 reads, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” You know the numbers; God has equipped you with EVERYTHING that you need. What will you fight for? What will you allow God to break your heart for? What will you be a revolutionary for?

It is my prayer that I never again become complacent. It is my prayer that God will continue to break my heart for the injustices in the world. I want to be the hands and feet. Will I fail? Certainly. Do I care? No. Because once you start a revolution, you don’t stop fighting until the war is over. Why? Because when you are a part of God’s army, you fight until He tells you otherwise.

I’ll leave you with one final quote that I stole from the awesome lady behind eXile International, “Awareness without action is an empty breath to a dying man.”

Don’t turn away. Don’t be still. Fight. Start a revolution.


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Restless

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Who am I?

I am a daughter to amazing parents.
Girlfriend to a wonderful man.
Roommate of an amazing girl.
Sister of Sigma Alpha Omega.
Student at Georgia College quickly approaching graduation.
Member of the Dance Minor program.
Employee at the Georgia College Phon-a-thon.
Psychology intern at the Life Enrichment Center.
Teacher of dance to individuals with developmental disorders.
A dreamer.
Someone with crazy ideas that no longer surprise her mom.
Someone with a passion for people with special needs.
Someone with a passion for the orphan.
The widow.
The poor.
The enslaved.
Emotional.
Someone who cares entirely too much about making other people happy.
Someone who will push everything else aside, even when that means her relationship with God, to ensure her peers are happy with her.
Someone who cries over everything. Everything.
Stubborn.
Someone who fights to get her way with all that she has.
Someone who will fight for the passions of her heart to no end.
Impatient.
Someone who is not always a fan of God’s timing.
A worrier.
Someone who wants control over everything, will stress to no end when that control is taken away, and will forget God’s sovereignty.
A procrastinator.
Someone who lets herself get way behind in her Bible reading plan.
Forgiven.
Someone who is miraculously living within God’s grace. Ephesians 2:8-9
Healed.
Someone who was told she would never be normal, but God had greater plans. Psalm 30:2
Called.
Someone who knows we ALL must fight for the least of these. Matthew 25:31-46
Humbled.
Someone who Christ made himself a servant for and then died for. Isaiah53:5
Adopted.
A daughter of the Mighty King. Romans 8:14-16
Often, it’s easy to forget where my true identity lies. So many other things pull my attention. People, class, work, responsibilities, passions. I allow those things to become my gods. I work myself to exhaustion for those things. Yet, the whole time God is calling, “Come, my love. Find rest in me. Find value in me. Find purpose in my glory.” He knows this is what I need, what I truly long for.
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Meet My Friend

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God is just awesome. I love how I somehow managed to stumble upon Katie’s blog over a year ago, and God began to tug at my heart. I love how months later I clicked through blog, after blog until I eventually found Visiting Orphans and am now going to Uganda. And I love how God has used those families I stumbled upon to feed my soul.

Like this precious family.


Meet the Maser’s. I have never met Melissa in person, but she is an amazing woman of God. She has four precious kiddos already. She and her hubby are adopting another precious one from Ethiopia.

For my birthday Melissa shared a link about my trip to Uganda and donated to my journey. How awesome is she?! I love how despite the big cost of adoption, she is still giving freely. I am so excited to see how God continues to use Melissa and her family. And I just can’t wait for them to get their referral and bring their little one home!
Melissa is having a giveaway over at her blog. I already have one of the glass bead necklaces, and they are BEAUTIFUL! Don’t you want to win one? Or why not make a contribution to their adoption? The Maser’s will need $8,000 when they get their referral.
God is AWESOME and WILL provide the funds they need. He called them to adoption and He will see it to completion, but wouldn’t you love to be a part of their journey? Christianity is a community of believers. It’s not a thing you do alone. We are all a part of the body, and it only works when we are fighting for and encouraging each other.
So what are you waiting for? Go support my sweet friend!
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Uganda, June 2-11

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There have been lots of questions about what exactly I will be doing in Uganda. So here are the details as of now…

I will be traveling June 2-11 to Jinja, Uganda. The trip is being organized by the organization Visiting Orphans.
The vision of Visiting Orphans is:
*To enlist Church volunteers to visit orphanages so they may meet physical, emotional and spiritual needs of orphans.
*To develop relationships, provide comfort and to share the Gospel with orphans.
*To provide financial aid for child sponsorship, medical assistance and construction to improve the living conditions of orphans.
*To mobilize Christian churches to help orphans experience the blessing of family.

I will be traveling with a team of about 30 people. The team will be lead by the wonderful Kari Gibson and Michael Smalley.
Here is our team website.
While in Uganda, we will be working with:
The trip will cost approximately $3,000-$3,200 depending on the cost of flights. This does not include extra fees such as required vaccinations.
You can support me and my team in several ways:
*You can make a direct donation to my Paypal account.
*You can purchase one of my awesome t-shirts. There is a link to the right.
*You can purchase some yummy coffee.
*You can donate any unwanted items to a yard sale I will have in the spring.
*You can be my billboard. Tell your friends, family, enemies, whoever about our work in Uganda. Advertise on Facebook or Twitter.
*You can make a tax deductible donation through Visiting Orphans. Just be sure to select the June 2-11, Uganda trip. Select “yes” when asked, “Would you like to designate this donation to a specific team member?” Type “Amanda Smith” in the box provided.
Most importantly, remember to PRAY for my team over the coming months. I am so excited to see how God is going to use us!