James 1:27

 

“Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” 

James 1:27

 

The day to day life of a missionary is not always the exciting moments we read about in books, some days are just downright dreary. It’s easy to get into a routine to get things done for the orphanage, for your supporters, for the school, or for around the house and forget about the reason you are even on the field. Not every interaction, deed, or minute of life will directly affect the ministry in the way God laid it on your heart. Some days are stuffed full with administration responsibilities, or fixing the car, or running errands in town to hours away, or cooking for unexpected guests, or doing laundry (with limited water and electricity), or a number of other things. The past two weeks have not been like that at all…God’s vision for Mission of Love is to build up the community with the love of Christ, so that they can help the orphans and widows and be Christ’s hands and feet to those whom we are called to be. We had two Saturdays where the community committee (created by MOL) sent out notices for all the double and single orphans in Chief Nawya’s area to come here if they need assistance. We already had notice (applications) of 30 double and 30 single orphans that are being assisted through MOL with clothes donations, school fees, food, and other necessities when possible. We expected these 60 children to be here between the two Saturday’s and hoped others would come for help as well…we had a lot of clothes, blankets, shoes, etc. to give away. To our surprise, we helped over 135 families (ranging from 1 child to 9 children in each family) with clothing, blankets, and toothbrushes; keeping all their information on file, so when funds come in for school fees and food, we can send it their way. The committee worked very hard interviewing each family and seeking out the ones with the greatest needs, so that we could help them first. The first Saturday was only for double orphans and the second Saturday was for the single and double orphans that hadn’t been helped yet. Both Saturdays were extremely long days, but the children and care givers were so happy when they received new clothes, blankets, shoes, socks, underwear, hats, gloves, and anything else we had to give them.

I know I have to remember not to take days like these for granted…it is a rare privilege to be able to be Jesus’ hands and feet so evidently in the lives of orphans and widows. Each and every day we should be looking for opportunities to fulfill God’s commandments of loving others and blessing them out of the abundance God has given us. I am looking forward to the next time I get to team up with the committee members and the community to help those living right around me.