World Changers...

We recently took our youth to World Changers in Trenton, MO. The idea of this "camp" is for the students to serve people in the community by doing construction work while also taking time to witness and visit people in the neighborhoods surrounding the job sites.
What I wasn't expecting from this trip was the blessing of watching these kids bloom into disciples of Christ. For those who don't know, this was our last trip with this group of kids. We resigned from our church and our last Sunday is July 4th.. It was a hard decision, but one we knew God was confirming in our hearts.

Anyway, I was so blessed to see these kids work from 7 to 4 and never complain. They found joy in serving people around them. They took great pride in the work they were doing for complete strangers. They were leading Bible studies, and looking for opportunities to share the love of Jesus everywhere we went! (and by everywhere, we went to McDonald's for a late night ice cream treat, and one of our girls was witnessing in the line while waiting to order!)

Seeing these kids grow so much has restored in me a joy that has been missing in my heart for a long time: the joy of my salvation. I've long been saved, but I've lost that joy of knowing Jesus died for me. Watching our youth be so excited to share reminded me that I should be taking every opportunity to share the love of Jesus with every person I come into contact with!

Pray that our students continue to fan the flame that has been lit in their hearts. Pray they set this tiny town of ours on fire!

Is it Worth it?

Yesterday, my husband and I put our sweet boy on a plane back to his home. I knew it was coming when we signed up for this, but it didn't stop the tears or the hurt. When we got home, I began to look around the house at the things he left here and there, and I thought, I would do it all over again. A thousand times over.

We've made this decision twice in our life to open our home to kids who didn't belong to us. My heart has been broken twice to see them both leave our home to continue on with their lives. But what I realize is this, we've done just what God asks us to do. We planted the seed of God's love in both of their lives.

Loving another person always requires risk. It always requires some sort of sacrifice on your part. But the risk and sacrifice are worth it. The hurt and the sadness is worth it. To know that you have shared your life and have made memories that will last a lifetime, it's worth it.

When God asks us to do things, He never assures us that our hearts won't be broken, or that we won't be disappointed. But even in the hurt, there is such a joy in knowing we are obeying our Father. So, yes, it is always worth it. Always.