“What an enormous tragedy it is when children, caught up in circumstances beyond their control or understanding, must witness or constantly be on the run from the horrors of war, or even in times of peace, must carry backbreaking loads of wood or work in the fields all day. What an enormous privilege it is, then, to have a small part in bringing tangible evidence of God’s mercy and love to those who have suffered so greatly, so that men and women can regain their dignity, and children can indeed be children again.” Skip Li, Buy This Land
Several weeks ago, I got an email from Eric Parker, the publicist for Skip Li and his book Buy This Land. Eric had run across my blog review of Bob Goff’s book Love Does and sent me an email telling me that he thought I’d enjoy Buy This Land as well. He asked if he could send a copy for me to read and review on my blog…so here it is. He was right…I loved Buy This Land for all the same reasons that I loved Love Does. Buy This Land is a story about a huge vision that God put in Skip Li’s heart to serve the people of Central America in the name of Christ. Skip has a fascinating life story that began in China and took him to several countries before he finally settled in Seattle…only to begin traveling the world again to help those in need through Agros International.
I have had the privilege of traveling to Central America multiple times on mission trips. I always left with the feeling that I should be doing more. Most recently my trips have been as a part of Spring Term at North Cobb Christian School. I started Spring Term 5 years ago in order to leverage the power of a generation of students that wants to DO SOMETHING NOW. Skip’s book was a further encouragement that we are doing the right thing…and we need to do more of it.
I appreciated the way that Skip connected his own journey with that of Jeremiah from the Old Testament…especially since both stories have to do with claiming land for God’s glory and the good of others (Jeremiah 32 and 33). Li pointed to Exodus 33:19 “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and compassion on whom I have compassion.” as the impetus to join God where He is already at work.
“Until my Agros travels opened my eyes to the extreme poverty of rural people in Central America, it had never occurred to me that the depth of poverty could be measured by the absence of choices.” Skip Li, p. 261.
Our Spring Term has a great relationship with an established ministry in Guatemala and it has been a privilege to partner with this great work that God is doing in the midst of an otherwise poverty-stricken and depressed country. Buy This Land is a great reminder that we can’t solve all the world’s problems, but we can at least DO SOMETHING. Pick up a copy of Buy This Land and let Skip Li’s story inspire you to action.