Let me start with an update on our travels. We appreciate your prayer as our family looks forward to a series of meetings in NYC and Delaware next week. It will be our first journey with the trailer so many new lessons will be learned i'm sure. We had a real blessing the other day when a pastor in Delaware that I had reached out to originally in April and then left a message for in May contacted us just a few days ago asking about meeting as we pass through that area. We praise God that he has invited us to present/preach next Thursday, that was an unexpected blessing.
I also wanted to share a testimony/blessing that I just learned of last night that touched my heart in a great way. My family has a history of working in bus ministry - my dad drove buses for years, my uncle Dave and aunt Dee are still faithful to the bus ministry to this day and my late uncle and his wife Elaine also worked in bus ministry for many years. So I got a call from Elaine last night and she was just thrilled to share what the Lord was working in her heart about. In her years of bus ministry, she always loved doing the "little things" (which we know are not little in God's eyes) to touch the lives of inner city/poverty stricken kids for Christ. Singing songs, story boards, crafts, candy etc. - things to show the kids her love for them and more importantly - the love of Christ for them. Well for years now she has been making various handmade ornaments etc to be a blessing to people and she wanted me to know that the Lord impressed upon her to start making them in abundance for use in ministering to kids in the Philippines when we go! If you have never worked with kids in an inner city or third world country, it is an incredible and humbling sight to see them brought to tears over something as simple as a piece of candy, an article of clothing or a small toy. From Juarez Mexico to Zambia Africa to Manila Philippines - the reaction is the same. To realize that someone loves them, that they would get a blessing they otherwise would not have touches their heart and opens their ears to the Source responsible for the love that was shown them. My aunt went on to share with me how she wants to put John 3:16 on each of these ornaments and that he already has nearly 50 of them made, what a blessing - every one of them made with love and prayer. Until glory I doubt that any of us will know the true eternal impact of the softened hearts, willing hands, creative minds and prayerful lives of many saints like this who have a burden for the souls of others. Praise the Lord for the example that is to all of us, amen?
About five years ago I heard a message on being creative for missions. The preacher gave testimony after testimony of all the ways in which God has touched peoples lives in different areas for missions. There were stories of people giving up certain activities or foods or trips or hobbies in order to do more for missions, stories of those who sold off many belonging and others of people finding creative ways to contribute more to the work of the gospel. I was rebuked and challenged by it and shortly after had the opportunity to challenge the Sunday school class with this concept of "getting creative" to raise money for Bibles to go to Africa. The Lord worked on hearts and a class of about 60 kids and their counselors through prayer, creativity and work raised nearly $5000 in just 3 months. It was because God was in it, He got the glory for it, His purpose of getting His word to Africa was being done and the faith of those kids were increased that this happened. God has taken many of those kids now and grown them into teens that are serving God. Some of them will be in NYC next week preaching on the streets, witnessing and ministering to kids. Be it going to a foreign field, giving "sacrificially", being creative for the comission etc - it is a privilege to serve our worthy King and it is for all of us - our Reasonable Service.
Souls are on their way to hell all around the world and God's will is that none would perish - what more can we do before the harvest is past?
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