Mexico

My heart was changed in Mexico! The Lord sent me on a mission trip to Mexico, although I thought I was going so that my son could go. I thought it would be fun to play with some kids and love on them a bit, but I really just wanted my son to have this opportunity. I was wrong, God sent me on mission. I was nice and comfortable here, working at my church, leading groups, homeschooling. Now, I see how important it is to get out of your comfort zone and view things from another perspective, an eternal one. From the moment I arrived in Mexico my heart was in the process of breaking and it's a break that was definitely for the better.

I looked around at the city and the orphanage and couldn't help but think about how good we have it and how much we complain. And it made me feel a bit ashamed. We took a moment to settle in and then we went to meet the children. Oh the children were amazing! They embraced us with so much love and acceptance! And their love for God and the understanding of the Scripture really amazed me! I tell you, there are some adults who could take lessons from some of these kids. There were two women who sacrifice their lives daily to care for these 36 children. They are their mothers, and they love them dearly. They were truly amazing and I will pray for them always.

There were so many kids that touched my heart, a few in particular I would have loved to have brought home with me. They were innocent and sweet, loving and accepting. They impressed me. I spent the weekend with these kids and when it was time to leave, I left a piece of my heart with them. I know that I cannot come back from a weekend like this and just leave it in the past. God loves these kids and so do I.

I learned that sometimes God will take you out your comfort zone so He can show you His heart. His heart breaks for these children and so did mine. His heart loves these kids, and so do I. His heart sees these kids and so many more. But one group can't impact all the people God cares about. How many people call yourselves Christian? They will know we are Christ followers by how we live. Are you representing Christ well? There is a world of people out there. Some don't know Christ yet and need to know Him. Others, like these children, know Christ but need to see His love for them in action. Are you really being active in your walk for Christ. At the end of every message on Sunday, Pastor Chris says, "Go out there and be the life of Jesus to your world". Are you really being the life of Jesus. If people looked at you would they see Jesus in action?

I saw on Max Lucado's twitter page this morning statistics about how many orphans there are worldwide. "159 million Americans call themselves a Christian and there are 132 million orphans worldwide. US Christians alone could house every orphan in the world". Are we really doing enough for the cause of Christ or are far too many of us caught up in our own life and our own to do lists and stuck in complacency?

James 1:27 says "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." To keep ourselves from being polluted by the world we have to live by Christ's value system. He isn't distracted by money, power, pleasure or stuff. He cares about people, and as this verse mentions, he cares very much for the widows and orphans, people who are at a disadvantage. We need to stop focusing on the world and focus on being Christ in action, serving others without hope of receiving something in return but merely because you are a follower of Jesus.

God's heart breaks for these kids, and in Mexico, my heart was broken and I was forever changed.