Tears streamed slowly down my face as I tried to compose myself watching a preschooler softly sway to Christian music, so touched she has her eyes closed as she sings. A song we’ve listened to hundreds of times and have heard our own worship band at Connection Pointe sing.
What a blessing to see this tiny sweet child so moved by the words about calling on God and his love for us.
1 John 4:7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. (8) Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
As I write, we are on day three of our mission trip, and I have been overwhelmed trying to process all the emotions I feel. We have been able to watch the children at the Los Verdes learning center graduate, visit some of our sponsor kids’ homes and host a day of VBS.
GRADUATION
The graduation ceremony was a true celebration as most children in Guatemala don’t make it past elementary school because their families need them to start working to help provide an income. Something as a parent, I find hard to even contemplate. As I think about my fourteen year old being worried about an English test or how he’ll do at his next sporting event, I feel so very blessed and even a little guilty I don’t have to make the decision between my son’s education and asking him to stop school because our family is trying to survive and make ends meet.
I am so proud of these students for working so hard this school year to get to graduation, proud of the families for making the commitment of allowing these students to continue their education, proud of all the love the teachers pour into these kids, and proud of what an incredible impact we are making at Connection Pointe.
HOME VISITS
The home visits were even more impactful as we were able to get a glimpse of the daily lives of our sponsor kids. Some of the homes are the portrayal of extreme poverty. The visits are filled with hugs, prayer, laughter and immediate connections. These families know we love and care about their children and how much they matter. We want the children to know they are worth investing in and have the potential to make an impact in our world.
VBS AND WORSHIP
We had VBS today, which brings me back to the morning worship session. It was surreal to watch Neely, who not long ago stood on the stage at our church singing, now leading these amazing kids through worship in this little classroom but still evoking the same level of emotion.
LOVE BEING SHARED
Our church in Brownsburg, Indiana is playing such an important part of potentially changing the life trajectory of so many kids across the world. It is the perfect representation of how much loving and praying for someone can make difference.
The Bible tells us to love one another, and our church family through sponsorship is showing these children and their families our church loves big. We are showing these kids they are worth more, that they deserve the opportunity to dream and each person has a purpose, and they are capable and can accomplish great things.
Loving these kids comes in all different forms. For some it is taking that step out in faith and committing to sponsor them financially, for others it is making a commitment to pray.
No matter the way we are able to show our love for each of the children here, it is something so important to do as a follower of Christ.
What some of these kids go through is unimaginable, but they radiate joy and love. What a perfect representation of how the Bible tells us as followers to act and how lucky are we to get to be witness to it.
God is ever present at the learning center and we are playing a huge part in that by providing monetary support and faithfully praying for the children and their families. We are making sure these kids don’t give up, because we won’t ever give up on them. God is love and these kids at the learning center need just that.
NOTE FROM GLOBAL IMPACT TEAM: If you are interested is knowing more about this ministry or sponsoring a child, please stop by the Global Impact kiosk in the Lobby the weekends of…
November 2/3 | November 9/10 | November 16/17
ADDITIONAL PICTURES FROM THE WEEK:
