I wrote this poem for our 30th Anniversary celebration at FFP Florida, but it includes the efforts of all.
Thirty Years of Hope
Thirty years… Thirty years… Thirty years…
Voices crying out in the wilderness,
An army of ancient knights
Trading horses for metal birds
Church, to church, to church.
Battling ignorance with awareness,
Molding awareness into generosity,
Generosity into good works.
Dear knights who validate our mission
Today, WE SALUTE YOU!
Thirty years… Thirty years… Thirty Years…
Blessed supporters – old and new –
How well you have loved from afar.
A love so pure it requires no name,
No face, no personal expression of gratitude.
You have answered the call with vigor –
Saving lives, loving the stranger, healing the sick,
Comforting the child forgotten on the garbage heap.
Obedient to His mandate; in imitation of His life.
Today WE SALUTE YOU!
Thirty years… Thirty years… Thirty years…
You, here before me and across the seas,
Whose arduous work
In times of calm and times of crisis
Is undeterred by any earthly cause,
Who labor for the poor long hours by day
Praying consistently for them at night.
Foot soldiers of Christ’s beleaguered army,
Battling unceasingly for a godly cause.
Today WE SALUTE YOU!
Thirty years… Thirty years… Thirty years…
Missionaries selflessly devoting lifetimes
Loving the invisible who have no voice,
Giving of themselves without limit,
Living no better than their beloved poor.
Sharing the heat and stench of poverty,
Sharing their grief, their sorrow and pain
You, who have comforted orphans and widows,
You, who help the dying to die in peace
Today WE SALUTE YOU!
