“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” JOHN 13:34, NIV
A few years back, several families decided to organize a mission trip to Honduras. Of course, the enemy is not happy when we serve others, and he tried to create stumbling blocks for us.
When our group of about twenty-five arrived at the airport in Chicago, our flight had been canceled for no apparent reason. As we waited for a resolution, we prayed often. God prevailed, and the next day our group was able to get safely to Honduras. Most of the work took place at a daycare center in the city of Santa Barbara. Sadly, in some countries the poverty level is so high that parents go to work and leave their very young children at home all day to fend for themselves.
The kids don’t always stay home, and though it’s hard to imagine a four –year-old wandering the streets looking for something to eat, than was the reality of the situation. This daycare gave the poorest parents a place for their kids to be safe while they worked. The daycare provided care and food and kept them to be safe off the streets till their parents could get them. The daycare existed as a ministry, and they did not charge for this service, so over time maintenance of the property had been neglected. Our group came to do a handful of things: paint, repair broken downspouts, patch the leaky roof, build new playground equipment, and clear out a rocky area.
We also built a concrete wall around an exposed side of the property and spent lots of time playing with kids, teaching Bible stories, clothing them, cleaning them, and simply loving them.
God loves everyone. He doesn’t care what we have, or how we look. God values individuals, not things. Remember that as you interact with people today!