DC - 2

Today at the Washington, D.C. forum on faith-based initiatives, we had the privilege of hearing several passionate speakers all talk about the plight of the homeless, the hungry, the underprivileged, the diseased and the uneducated in America.

It was a gripping time for everyone to hear of the depth of the problems right here in many of our own backyards. We are just beginning to understand the full scope of it in our own relatively small community of Kenosha.

We are not immune.

The speakers were Jedd Medefind, special assistant to the President and acting director of the White House Office of Faith-based Initiatives -- Dr. John Cook, director of the Department of Homeland Security Center for Faith-based Initiatives -- and Alison Young, director of the Freedom Corps.

We took a tour thru the White House, which is always moving and spectacular no matter how many times you've done it. We then went across the street to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, one of the most beautiful buildings in all of D.C. (and that's saying a lot) and had several meetings to hear about the above issues.

Over lunch our speaker was Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church here in Washington, D.C. (http://www.theaterchurch.com/). His church sponsored a CONVOY OF HOPE event here in D.C. this past year that drew and helped almost 9,000 people. Eighty-thousand pounds of food and goods were passed out to people in need.

After that, I had a chance to zoom over to the Holocaust Museum and take a quick run thru it - not the way to visit that particular sight, but I didn't have much choice given the hectic schedule.
Be praying with me about how God wants us to be "Jesus with skin on" to our community.

And be blessed.