"What about me?" (missions trip part 1)

This week I am on a missions trip with Sharptown youth group (which I love so much btw). This trip is basically right in our back yard. It really is a shame that I haven’t done something sooner to help Hurricane Sandy victims in some way. These people only live about 2 hours from my home (in South Jersey), and I’ve always pushed off doing something because is wasn’t “my problem.” 
As I was thinking about this, I started wondering about what “my problems” are.  And I came up with about three things... school work, student loans, and finding a job to pay off the loans. 
Thinking about these things while standing in a 70 year old, Christian lady’s home who lives alone with several cats (that she rescued during the storm) on the second floor of her house, because there was 20 inches of water that destroyed the first floor, as well as her car and everything in the garage, put a new twist on my thoughts.

How have I never thought about this as my problem before?

As followers of Christ, we’re supposed to “bear one another’s burdens” to fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2). Our home owner who is 70 years old, is also a believer. 

Why haven’t I been bearing this burden of hers a long time ago?

In the book of Acts, shortly after Pentecost, the church was described as very giving. Acts 2:45 says, “And they were selling their belongings and possessions, distributing their proceeds to all, as any had need.” And then it goes on to say these things were done with glad and generous hearts.
I have a lot of things this 70 year old homeowner needs. Like water. Food. Money. Clothes. Shoes. Safety. Shelter. A Job. A Car. Education. Life Insurance. (Seriously...life insurance? Don’t even get me started on that one. Just throw me off a boat. It won’t hurt. I’m dead anyway.)

But listing these things and then thinking about how some people in other countries have to walk 2 miles a day in the heat to get clean drinking water for their families. Or thinking about how some people in other countries, and in our country, don’t know when or how they’ll get their next meal. Or don’t know if they’ll have somewhere safe to sleep at night, or if they have anywhere to sleep at all. Thinking about these things make me realize how insignificant my problems should be to me, and how I should be focused more on others. I don’t mean I shouldn’t do my school work, or pay my bills. I still have to prep for those things. I'm not sure how to explain it, but it's a feeling that hopefully you understand!

I know God will provide.

This makes me realize I have so much more than I need. I knew this before, but maybe now the realization is “What do I do with all this stuff? How do I help? Who can I help? Who is in need? What is my problem?”

Bear each other’s burdens.

That doesn’t mean I should watch a fellow believer struggle, and then say “Awe, I feel so bad.” and then walk away. I would have actually just made no difference at all in that persons life. I only said that to make myself okay with walking away without doing anything to help that person.
 
What do we do about fellow Christ followers in Haiti who depend on God for meals?
Do we ignore it and pretend like it’s not happening?
 
What do we do about the street kids who have no warm clothes in Africa and sleep wherever they can at night?

What do we do about the children who are being abducted from their homes and forced to kill others and fight in a war they want no part of?

All these examples are different, but they’re all fellow believers in need of something. Whether its guidance, love, wisdom, water, money, or food.

Maybe you can’t afford to sponsor a child, 
but I know you can pray. 
Maybe you can’t take a trip to Africa to love on some street kids and participate in a VBS program, but I know you can pray. 
Maybe you can’t protect all the children being forced into a war, 
BUT...I know you can pray.

Praying leads to so many things...
Opportunities will open up for you, and you may find one cause you are overwhelmingly compassionate about. It might be a problem in Africa, or right in New Jersey. But wherever it is, I encourage you to find it and make a difference in one life, or a million lives. 

And that is possible through prayer.

It may seem like a small thing to us sometimes, but if it’s God’s will, it will be answered. We have Jesus Christ on our side, who says “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:14)

I know the passion God has put in my heart. I know what I need to do. I know what I have to give up in my life to pursue this and help those in need. My prayer is that you find yours too.


FYI
Tomorrow, we are gutting our home owners whole kitchen. This lady spent the whole winter in her house with no furnace and she’s been living in this home with no running water since Sandy hit. This lady is a trooper. She didn’t give up, and I don’t think she will anytime soon, even after recently being diagnosed with COPD. And she gives God all the glory for her survival. I haven’t had the privilege to meet this lady yet, but our team leader, Sarah, says she always says how she couldn’t have gotten through it without God.
I will post more soon!




-Erika