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The message this Sunday made me think why exactly I love doing what I do, and here it is:
In addition to the fact that I get to work and serve with some amazing people, there are a couple other reasons. Children are some fascinating beings. They have such imagination and joy because most of them haven’t experienced the realities of the world. I have heard them described as “blank pages that we have the chance to write the love of Jesus on.” By serving and loving on these kids, we show them that God loves them and wants to be their friend. Who wouldn’t want to act like a kid for an hour a week? And by doing so, change the lives of children. We show them that church is fun and that God relates to them. It is truly a blessing for me to even have this opportunity!
I recently read a poem written by a children’s volunteer when asked why they serve.
Because…
When I laugh with a child at something silly,
when I comfort a child and the crying stops,
when we marvel together at something amazing,
or when a child feels loved by me …
If I look in that child’s eyes,
if the child looks back at me,
if I look at just the right angle,
and if I really let myself...
I can see the eyes of Christ,
only for a split second,
but there they are.
It’s hard for me to fully understand how,
and even tougher to explain why,
but there they are.
And every time this happens,
this brief glimpse of Jesus in a child’s eyes,
I know I’m forever changed.
Because Jesus is looking back at me.
This makes all the preparation, all the prayers, all the getting up early to get to church worth it. Not only are we helping those children in more ways than we know, we are also able to grow deeper in our relationship with Him. The poem was followed by this verse:
For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. 2 Chronicles 16:9
I thank God that I have the chance to play a small part in His big story!
I recently returned from a two week trip to Brazil. I went down with an amazing team headed up by Joe Carr and the Gospel for Brazil organization to go to the little village of Ubauna and spread the love of Jesus. We traveled with a team of Brazilians from a church in Fortaleza. Not knowing Portuguese, and them not knowing much English made it very difficult to communicate. But even though we couldn’t understand each other, we had a connection. For seven days we slept in hammocks with spiders, frogs, and other critters roaming around, ate some strange Brazilian food, and had limited showering, but I would do it again in a heart beat.
Everyday we would load up the van to have a “Bible School” with 200 children. These kids were so excited to hear what we had to say. At night we would have a worship service where families would come hoping to find something that would change their lives. They have nothing, so they are searching for anything from anyone. Some practice witchcraft, which is prominent in the region. However with a new pastor moving down to start church services in the next two weeks, I know Ubauna will soon be changed for the better. I feel blessed to have been able to go down and be a part of it. Hopefully I will have the chance to go back and see a town full of people, kids, and families knowing that there is more to their life and being totally in love with Jesus.
Thank you for your support and prayers while we were there. Here are some pictures from the trip or to see more you can go to Gospel for Brazil’s blog:
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