But when Jesus had sent them all out, he took the child’s father and mother, along with his companions, and entered the child’s room. He clasped the girl’s hand and said, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, get up.”  At that, she was up and walking around! This girl was twelve years of age. They, of course, were all beside themselves with joy. He gave them strict orders that no one was to know what had taken place in that room. Then he said, “Give her something to eat.” (Mark 5: 40 – 43)

Scott Neeson was living an abundant life. Born in Scotland, he came to Los Angeles in 1993 and became a successful Sony Pictures movie executive. Then, in 2009, while on a backpacking trip to Asia, he stopped in Phnom Penh. There he encountered a common sight in many poor cities: crowds of children begging and picking through garbage bins.

Lots of these children were orphans, or had been abandoned by their parents, or suffered abuse. Neeson quit his Hollywood job and established the Cambodian Children’s Fund. At first the organisation provided shelter and food for the street children. Now it has developed health care and education programs, as well.

“The one thing it’s really taught me,” Neeson told Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, “… is the resilience of the human spirit. What these kids have been through is remarkable … with 170, 180 children who are going through the process of changing their lives, how can you just walk away from that?”

Though many of us worry about money and having enough, most of the time we have so much more than we need. What can you share with others?