In the States, I hear the word "give" a lot, and I mean, a LOT, "give" to tsunami victims, the children's hospital, the starving children in Darfur, Sudan, Kenya, people displaced by wars in Pakistan, hurricanes in New Orleans, and earthquakes in Haiti. There's so much need in the world, and America honestly gives away billions in aid money every year, that's why we hear so many charity ads in the first place.
I have a kind of giving in mind that's hard for me to understand; giving of yourself, giving away yourself that's a hard thing, that's sacrifice, I don't do that very well or very often. I'll explain what I mean though;
Homeless kids in Romania freeze to death every winter, in order to survive they crawl into the sewers, and huddle around steam pipes. Some people give, by sending 10-20 percent of their income to fund blankets and education opportunities. Others give by crawling down that septic hole and huddling with them, they learn the language, and they get involved in those kids lives in a way that a charitable donor on the other side of the world could never dream of. Both gave, but who's gift communicated love? Who's gift said "I value you."
Maybe that's what Christ did, he showed up when we had nothing to offer, he gave us a gift of himself, of his time, of his life, instead of solving our problems from a distance, he came to us, involved himself in our lives, in our temptations, our suffering. And then he sacrificed, communicating to us that he values us, for no reason other than that we had a pulse.

So that's what's on my mind.

Here's what's going on down in Haiti;
We had a clinic today, kids and moms showed up, we treated a guy with large 2nd degree burns spotted all over his torso and face. Helped a lady about to give birth, handed out a ton of meds and vitamins.
Favorite quote so far: "I'm here to love babies."
I didn't get that sentence at all yesterday, before I'd seen the kids, before I could understand their need for people to just love them.