LITTLE CHILDREN

"Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, red and yellow black and white, they are precious in his sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world." Do you remember that song? Little children are precious to Jesus. "But Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven'"(Matthew 19.14). I am thankful to God for ministries and people who protect children and help them toward living better lives, and especially those ministries that share with those children the Good News of Jesus Christ their Savior . I am thankful to God for our local ministries to children such as Rose City Kids, Eagle Wing Ranch, Faith Tabernacle's outreach in local schools, and our evangelical church Sunday schools.

As I pray my way through Operation World I have noticed the worldwide impact of Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF website). How grateful I am to God for the work of CEF in poor countries where children have little hope for the future but can find hope in Jesus Christ.

I am also much impressed with the Dalit Freedom movement in India. The 250 million Dalits are outcasts, the untouchables of India, who because of their cast are downtrodden and oppressed with no hope to better themselves. Dalit children are given an education, which for many would not even be possible, in English, which provides them with access to higher education which in India is in English. They are also taught a Christian worldview and many become believers. Visit the Dalit Freedom website for more information. God's work with the children of India is one of the great movements of God taking place in the world today. Praise to God.

Dalit school

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) Jesus is loving the little children through the church. Congo is a poor country, with little infrastructure due to much civil war but the church is growing and maturing. It is rolling out a Bible curriculum called Christian Life Skills - The Committed Christian, for school children in all the Protestant primary schools with a goal to reach all 17,000 schools, covering grades 1-6. Training seminars are being held for teachers.

While we were in Guyana we had open and free access to give the Jesus DVD (children's version) and a tract to the primary and middle schools and a special packet including a New Testament at Guyana University and one satellite campus. In the future a fine young man or woman will stand up and say, there was a day when some Canadian Christians came to my school and gave me a DVD about Jesus and a little booklet to read and invited me to pray to Jesus and I did that and today I am serving Jesus in missions.

A little old lady, Miss Moore, gave the neighborhood children candy and invited us in to hear stories about Jesus and prayed for us. I am following Jesus today because of Miss Moore's love for Jesus and the little children. Jesus loves the little children and so should we.

THE FRUIT OF PERSEVERING LOVE

Since my return from Guyana I have been encouraged by a couple of people to continue writing this blog and I would be delighted to do that. The question in my mind is "would I be writing to myself or would I be encouraging and insightful and beneficial to the readers"? So over the next couple of weeks I would like your feedback to determine if this blog should continue on a weekly basis or lay dormant until the next mission trip. You can leave comments at the end of blog articles or email me.

I heard a great true story last week that showed me once again the power and fruit of persevering love. This young lady, I will call her Rose, came from a very dysfunctional family, her mother an alcoholic and her father a drug addict. Rose was not abused but neglected and undisciplined and left to make her own way as best she could. FACS was involved but "her parents were good liars" and so she was never taken out of the home. Her school, to their credit, knowing her circumstances found her a big sister from the Big Sisters organization and they began to meet regularly. This big sister, I will call her Amanda, was a faithful believer in Christ and became a loving big sister and friend to Rose. As Rose says, Amanda taught me how to eat with manners, how to dress, about discipline, helped with schooling, took her places and also took her to church once in a while. Rose admits she was not very interested in church but went along with Amanda because of what Amanda's love and care meant to her. I am sure Amanda prayed regularly for Rose.
Well Amanda got sick and this sickness led to her death. Amanda's persevering love for Rose continued through some financial gifts to Rose from her estate. Rose by this time was engaged and was pregnant and was no longer living at home. Amanda's mindset at this time was far from Christianity.
By this time Rose's mom had terminal cancer and was put into hospice care. While in care another servant of God shared the message of the saving love of Jesus with Rose's mom and she came to know Christ. As a result Rose's mom asked her to forgive all the neglect and poor example and pain she had inflicted on Rose and the family. Rose was moved by the work of God upon her mother and by the past influence of Amanda and today she is a new Christian beginning her new life in Jesus. Rose and Amanda's daughter continue in friendship to this day.

This is a wonderful story that illustrates the power and fruit of a life lived in persevering love toward an unbeliever, and the power and fruit of a Christian witness that led to a transformed parent at the end of life that God used to effect an eternal change in her daughter.
God has enabled each one of us with persevering love in Christ and we need to be conscious each day of loving those around us for the sake of the Gospel. "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." Galatians 6.9,10