Hospitality and a welcoming spirit, all display the kingdom of God here on earth.
After all we are asked to LOVE ONE ANOTHER above all.

Being the hands and feet of Jesus, means so many things. From not only hosting a family you don’t know on a zoo tour, to making a meal for a neighbor, to praying for a friend, feeding the homeless, etc… I speak as a therapist that worked in battered women’s shelter for many years, I have been where the “homeless” and “the least of these” are and can tell you I was equally blessed in giving to the Taviano family last summer.
Why should giving in one category of giving be better than another?

Beth my hope and prayer for you today is to take some of the limits off God.
ALL of life is such a gift. Animals included.
Sharing in ALL the good that God creates does bring Glory to God. Yet again, EVERY good thing comes from Him.

Aren’t you proud of this family for walking out what they felt God had led them to do?
Walking out obedience is no easy feat.
Shouldn’t we all approach life this way? Who of us is willing to pick up our cross and do WHATEVER He asks?
I am so relieved to believe in a God that is so BIG, that HE can have these crosses look so many different ways.
How I share my testimony is going to be so different than how another person does that.
What you were called to do might look totally different than what I was called to do.
We are the body of Christ after all, meant to be gifted in different areas.
I would like to encourage Beth to believe in a God that would also ask us to participate in fun and creative endeavors as well as the tough stuff.

The Taviano’s reminded me of a much needed lessons….OUR DAILY ACTIONS whatever they might be, mundane to exciting, (for me at the time it was changing diapers, for them it was visiting zoos in 52 states) ALL further the Kingdom of God! To bloom where we are planted is our daily gift to ourselves and others.

I want to communicate to Beth:
I am thankful that God remains a mystery and shows us daily his grace and mercies.
I am thankful that God loves us not because of what we “do”, but for who we are.
I am thankful that God created so much beauty in the world for us to share and enjoy.
I am thankful that we are learning and growing daily, and that I have been given this opportunity again today.
I am thankful that He sees what must seem like small contributions to family, friends and strangers around me, I am hopeful this blesses Him and others.
I am thankful we are made differently, that we have different paths to walk, because how boring life would be if we were all the same and did the same thing?
I am thankful I can appreciate your path in life, and hope Beth you can respect mine as well..

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.

I completely understand Beth’s comment but at the same time, I almost completely disagree with her.

When it all boils down to it, God told you to do the 52 zoos thing. No-one in their right minds would consider taking on such a task without God’s instruction and I remember you telling us that you told God he would have to finance the trip – and he did!

You got a lot of media exposure at the end of the 52 weeks and you’ll get a lot more when the book is published -and what I really love about you and Gabe and the opportunities that God has given you through this time is that you use those times of media exposure to stand up for your faith. Maybe not in a direct preaching the Gospel kind of way but by being Godly people and showing this world that Christians aren’t just boring bible-bashers but we’re real people who have real lives.

This culture is one which has a distinct (and quite wrong) view of what it means to be a Christian – and you’re busting that view apart every day.

You and Gabe are heroes of the faith, in my opinion and, while the zoos project may seem like a waste of time and not a great missional work to some people, I think that is just because our thinking is too narrow and we don’t see the myriad ways that God is glorified through it.

Loving / caring for people is something this culture is really confused about. Rarely do people realize that sharing our understanding of how to do things in an unselfish manner is something that can be passed on in a “discipleship way”. I’m sure you’ve already been a blessing to someone else with what God’s allowed you to learn!

In response to Beth – props to you for having a curious mind and wanting to hear (rather than wanting to enforce opinion). My desire, after driving my family 22,000 miles to 52 zoos, is that people can see that the journey of following Christ is not the same for everybody. We all don’t need to mimic what “theologians” do.

If we want to follow Christ, sometimes He will take us into a bar, a grocery store, a zoo, a new friend’s home, and occasionally a church, LOL. Only God could have made our journey to the zoos work out.

I’m thrilled that He’s allowed it to be heard / seen by you! We care just as much that God is at work in your life through it than being on television / in magazines! A big reason to be watching for Marla’s NEXT BOOK!

They came on Sunday and we had our church home group (base camp) group that night, too. Everyone that was there found themselves so honored to know the Taviano family and we all enjoyed hearing about their story. In fact the group still talks about it sometimes–an indeliable mark was made upon us!

Also? Gabe spent the better part of three hours teaching me and helping me learn about web design/ development. He didn’t have to help, but really helped form a solid foundation in my understanding. I am still so grateful!

So yeah, the Tavianos came and they blessed us way more than we could have blessed them. They epitomized the first disciples, as they went from home to home. They shared their faith openly.

We love y’all and are honored to call you friends! I still feel bad about the giraffes and my poor time estimate to get there. Come again some time, ok? You are all welcome any time!

The Zoo Project was a family adventure/challenge, not a missions trip. We didn’t ask for money from people and didn’t expect it. GOD provided money when we needed it (my husband’s work, my books and speaking, selling things we owned, huge sacrifices, etc.). People offered their homes for us to stay in, and that became the hugest blessing of the trip. Meeting people around the country, sharing God’s love with each other, making connections and friendships that have led to so many more amazing opportunities–and yes, many of them ministry-related.

I can’t explain it all here, and I’m sorry if this explanation isn’t satisfactory (I realize it probably isn’t). The bottom line I guess is this: We never claimed that it was a missions trip. And we didn’t ask for money. Staying with friends (old and new) doesn’t qualify as mooching (in my opinion)–it’s a picture of hospitality, generosity, friendship and fellowship.

Anyway. I’ll be writing more on the topic. I hope you’ll stay tuned. And again, I totally appreciate your kind response when it would have been so easy just to blast me.

Regarding the “mooching” accusations from the zoo trips… I’m going to try to say this as non-offensively as possible, because I’m honestly not trying to stir up the fire. From an outsider’s prospective, it’s difficult to understand how your zoo vacations served to “further the kingdom of God.” Now granted, I’ve never met you, I don’t know your heart, and certainly only God can truly know your intentions. BUT, that being said, I still fail to understand how visiting a number of zoos across the country did anything to bring glory to God. (Maybe if you had visited 52 homeless shelters? Or 52 missions organizations? Or something like that… But zoos? I just don’t understand…) I’m not going to call you a moocher, but I do see a canyon of difference between asking for support to fund your zoo trips and asking for support to fund an actual missions trip.

Again, I don’t know you personally, and I’m not trying to be mean. I’m sorry that you were hurt by the “moocher” comments, but I can kind of understand why those people said what they did.