ONE

This week we had the first team conference call. She talked about how Visiting Orphans is based off of James 1:27, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." She said we'll go and we'll visit orphans; we'll love on them, hold them, sing to them, play with them, meet their needs.

This trip is a vision trip. We'll see many different ministries and serve them. Some are doing really well and others really need the help. Jesus is already in Africa. We are not bringing Him there; He's there. But we are going to LOVE them as Jesus loves them.

Something the leaders spoke into was the ONE. If we can go and change ONE life, love on ONE child, then we have succeeded on this trip. We will see extreme poverty and we can't change it all, but we can impact ONE. We can take each moment and be present and be Jesus to these orphans.

This reminded me of something Katie Davis posted. She says, "He is teaching me to stop for ONE. And it is hard and it is ugly. Because every time I stop for that ONE sick child, that ONE hungry old man, that ONE new baby girl, my mind races with the statistics of how many more there are that I am not touching, not feeding, not saving. God whispers every time though that this ONE is enough. That this ONE is feeling His love and that is eternal. ETERNAL...I think of 14 little girls who have a home and food and a Mommy and know Jesus. I think of 600 Karamajong children, modern day lepers in Uganda, singing about God's love for them and leaving with their bellies full. I think of 400 sponsored children who sometimes show up on Saturday in new clothes because now that Amazima is providing them with all their basic needs (food, education, medical care) their parents can afford to buy them a NEW DRESS. I see thousands of deep brown eyes and feel thousands of little brown hands and I know that even on the hardest day, stopping is worth it. A life changed is worth it, even if only ONE. God's love made known is worth it, even if only to ONE. I will not save them all. But I will keep trying. I will say Yes. I will stop for that ONE no matter how hopeless. Jesus, give us the strength to say yes to whoever you put in our paths today." (www.kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com; October 3, 2009)

I want to live like this. On my trip and beyond my trip. I want to stop for the ONE and know that it's making eternal impact. What a blessing it is to be part of what God is doing! This is His Kingdom at work! Lord continue opening my eyes to this. Show me how you want me to live this out.