Finding Joy in Reaching Out

Today’ s post was meant to  be a Fearless Friday post, with a focus on fighting for hope on behalf of others, or as the page on my blog says, Fighting For Those Who Can’t.

Whenever I say that phrase, I think of a person who is stuck, unable to change their situation or circumstances without someone stepping in to help. People without the physical or emotional ability or means to fight for hope on their own.

Sometimes God places these people right in our path. He isn’t hindered by geographical location, so the people He places in our path could  be  literally on the other side of the world.

The Lord placed the children of Galette Chambon in my Aunt Roxie’s path. It didn’t matter that they were in Haiti and she was in Mississippi.  God gave her the courage to step out of her comfort zone, and to step into the brokenness of a  community in need.

I am so excited to have her as a guest today.

So here is our Fearless Friday post….but on a  Monday.

 

Finding Joy in  Reaching Out

by Roxie Ewing

In 2015 I was blessed with the opportunity to go on my first mission trip to Haiti. I will be honest. That first night in Galette Chambon  I wondered, What have I gotten myself into? I left a week later with a God-given heart for the people of Haiti and its children.

On my second trip we were performing a skit about Jesus healing the blind man for a group of orphan children. A two year old boy named Davinski fell asleep on the bench and I had the joy of holding him while the older children colored a picture of Jesus and the blind man.

I discovered that there is no language barrier in a smile, hand holding, hugs, or with the smallest ones, holding them in your arms.

When I went to Haiti on my first trip, I knew I had to do something.

I have a bed to sleep on, they have dirt floors.

We have water in the tap. They take a bucket to a well and haul it back on their head.

We have grocery stores. Food is scarce in Haiti..

A job with a paycheck? None in Haiti.

But what could I do?

I prayed about it, and the Lord provided the money to sponsor a child through But God Ministries.  For  $37 a month or $440 a year sponsored children can go to school. They get uniforms, books, paid tuition, and a hot meal every day, which may be the only meal they get that day. When a child is sponsored, there  is a domino effect. Teachers have jobs and the ladies that cook have jobs also.

The first child I sponsored was Jackson, a shy 15 year old young man. I met him in 2016. This past year I was told that he dropped out  of school due to his parents moving.

I now sponsor a 10 year old little girl named Modelaine.

I met her this past August on my third trip.  I send her a small  package twice a year with items like clothes, gum, candy, a doll, and pencils. I located a Haitian Creole Bible so I was able to send her one of those as well.

 

Words cannot express the joy I feel each morning when I sit at my desk and look at her picture or when I send her a package. She is in my thoughts and prayers daily. With my help, she can get an education and become what God wants her to be.

God gave me something  to do that is life-changing for her.

Will I  go back in 2019? Yes! Because in Mathew 28:19-20, Jesus said go!

If you are interested in finding  out more about sponsoring a child, visit            But God Ministries  at butgodministries.com

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What I love  about this is that Modelaine.is helpless to change her situation, but God is using my Aunt Roxie in a behind-the-scenes way to provide for her needs.

There is Joy in His Presence

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I love this picture of my dad. I love the joy on his face. He is a kid just enjoying being a kid.

I love seeing that joy on my children’s faces, too. I love it when they forget I’m around, and they are in their own world, just being kids.

I also love it when they snuggle on the couch with me in the mornings. Sometimes we just watch the sun rise, transforming the darkness outside our windows. Sometimes we talk about the dreams they had during the night. And sometimes they whisper big questions into those quiet moments, questions about life in this broken world.

I love the privilege of speaking truth into their lives. It gives me joy to be with them.

The longer I am a parent, the more parallels I see between children and being a child of God. Just as my children draw security and comfort from these early morning visits with me, I draw security and comfort from time in God’s Presence.

I have to admit that I haven’t always viewed time with God as being a joy-filled experience. There have been times in my life when being in His presence has been uncomfortable. There have been times when I’ve been nervous and prayed loud-and-fast-and-got-out-of-there-as-soon-as-I-could. I could still say I had time with the Lord, but I didn’t really spend time with him. I threw Him my list of needs and got out before He could say anything.

I was fulfilling a sense of duty, but it did not nourish my soul.

But God has a way of wiggling His truths into our hearts, even when our fingers are in our ears. He has a way of bringing us back to our senses when we stray off His path.

Why does He do this? Simply because He loves us. Because He wants us to experience the joy found through a relationship with Him.

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11

The more I spend time with Him, the more I see this as a lifeline, and less as an item on my to-do list.

I wrote this poem years ago, as my view of time with God began to change:

As I sit at Your feet and lean upon Your knee, As I read Your Words to me,

A hunger fills my lonely heart. It is You I desire to see.

When I’m with You I catch a glimpse of what this world should be.

Haziness clears, what is important appears, And it is You I desire to see.

In Your Presence is peace and fullness of joy, Unlike any other place I can be.

As Your loved daughter, a child of the King, It is my Father I long to see.

As I sit at Your feet and lean upon Your knee, As I read Your Words to me,

A hunger fills my peaceful heart, And with you I long to be.

The search for joy brings us to the feet of the One who loves us beyond measure.