In March, I traveled to Nigeria with my family (and a dozen others) on a missions trip. In the months leading up to the trip, I heard every well-meaning concern (“Are you worried about their safety?” “Isn’t it likely they will get sick?” “Is that the best way to spend money, what can kids offer?”).
We were on our way to Salvation Army Children’s Home with Ruby, one of the children we serve in Mazatlan, Mexico. It was the day of her quincenera and Ruby was nervous.
I live and work in hard stories. As someone who has been immersed in the orphancare movement for almost 20 years, I am thrilled when a student catches a vision for how God can use him or her in those hard places.
I believe that Christian mission is about joining God in His work to make all things new (Rev. 21:5). As we join God in this work, there is no greater image of the end-goal than that of the wedding supper of the Lamb, when God’s people will be one with Jesus Christ!
You are our witnesses! We want to testify to how God is moving on behalf of the Mexican orphan. We believe that God has heard the Church crying out to him and his response has been thunderous. He is mobilizing His body and it’s been remarkable to watch.
Isa arrived at the children’s home unsure of what to expect. She listened attentively as her caregivers, two Back2Back staff members, welcomed her to the dorm.
I shared of one afternoon, of a normal moment that turned miraculous, not because I woke up and did or prayed anything different, not because we earned or deserved what happened, but because God is sovereign and at the end of the day, we either submit to it or fight against it.
As children, we “practice” interacting socially with others, and with society every day. Our world naturally expands as we join sports teams, perform at recitals and plays, meet extended family and travel on vacation.
Lately, I have been talking to my kids about an outward focused life. Some call it missions, others call it outreach, I am hoping we call it normal. I have been explaining my heart for orphans as a ‘burr under my saddle’.
Joseline attends the programming faithfully. She loves craft time and thrives within the nurturing environment. For Joseline, and many of the other children, the meal at Mission Educ-Arte will be on the only one they receive that day.