How do you take Hope to a third world country?
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As I prepare to leave again for my second home (aka: Liberia), I have been asking God what I need to focus on. There are so many things...way more than I will be able to accomplish while I am there...I need about a year, I will have about a week! But one of the things that haunts me are the pictures I brought back of the village across the street from the land that we were looking to purchase.
Do those dark brown eyes know Jesus? Do they know the One who is The Way? Evangelism has never been my "gifting", and ashamedly, I have used that as an excuse to not share in a bold way my Savior with other people.
I really have no fear of walking up and telling them about Jesus. My fear is doing a poor job of representing Him! I don't want to be the white woman who comes and brings gifts and talks of a man!
As I think through how to be Jesus to them, I ask do I bring rice? Do I bring Bibles? They can't read, so that would be silly! Is there something I can take with the Bible on it in audio that someone with no electricity, no batteries, etc can play? I am sure there is, but I don't know what it is and don't have time to research it! People do this all the time, why am I making it so hard?
Yet, as I look at the people around me, I see what a poor job I do of representing Hope to the people in my daily life! I have family members who don't know Him well or don't trust Him with their lives even if they say they know Him. If I can't share the Hope and Life with them that I have found when they see me daily and see what He is doing in my life, how in the world will I take Hope to a people I see for a mere hour or two once a quarter?
When your hungry, is rice Hope? When you are thirsty, is water Hope? If I take it will they see it from me or from Him? Should I send it with my staff who are Liberia?
God, see my heart! Guide me! Put me right in the middle of what you are doing so that You can shine through! Get me totally out of the way! John says I should have been black, and I kind of wish I was for this mission! My white skin, kind of makes me stick out and associate me with wealth and prosperity when what I really want to be associated with is Jesus! Have your way with me! Show me what Hope is to these hopeless people!
3 comments:
Oh boy, can I just go too? Looking at those kids, and wondering which ones you will get to meet soon. Praying God will direct your steps.
If you don't mind my saying so, it isn't all your job. You can't decide who is trusting Jesus by your own worldly observations. God speaks to people in many ways and those ways don't need to be decoded or found out. Trusting Jesus means different things to different people. A stranger could read your blog and decide that you are simply using God to feed your own desire to have lot's of kids. To some people they will believe that to thier core. Are they right?? DOes it really matter?? It isn't your job to be God. Be Kind, See the need for what it is, food, water, medicine.... Let God do his job in his time.
I wish I could come too! :)
I have no idea where you'd get them but I remember hearing about a type of radio that is run by a handle that you crank. I needs no batteries and no electricity. Missionaries often use them and put bible recordings on them. I know you don't have time to figure it out for this trip but maybe it's something we could look into for the next one?
I'll be praying for your trip. I know the need is overwhelming and everything you do feels like just a drop in the ocean. But, I believe that God will bless your work and multiply whatever it is that He leads you to do.
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