july 29, 2010

“to belong to Jesus is to embrace the nations with Him, that He will one day rule entirely…your heart was made for this.” -john piper

july 29, 2010 is a day that will forever be etched in my mind. it was on this day that the Lord revealed his heart to me through three orphaned boys. i, along with two members of a mission team from texas, was making my way through nueva esperanza orphanage delivering a coke (a rare luxury) to the workers. as i opened the door to one of the rooms i heard mumbled yells coming from the corner. the room was separated by a locked gate. i opened the gate to find three severely mentally retarded orphaned boys. each one of them was painfully malnourished and each of their heads were full of lice. they had no food, no toys, no sunlight, and what seemed like no hope. i could feel the heat rushing to my face; i was so angry. why weren't these boys getting the care they needed? why didn't anyone fight for them? why were they not receiving the love they so desperately needed? although i couldn't find the answers to any of these questions, i found peace in knowing that "the LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." i didn't have much time with them, but i am so thankful that the Lord allowed me to love them and pray for them. the Lord used these three little boys to bless me more than i could ever bless them. i felt such a strong love for them, and i didn't even know their names...

in his book Radical david platt writes: “Orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they’re not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes.” my friends, i take comfort in the fact that God knows their names, He has seen their faces, and He has held them in his arms. i must tell you what a humbling experience it is to hold something so dear to His heart in my own arms.

"Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy." Proverbs 31:8-9