Tuesday, July 17, 2012

One of your feet should go here.

My daughter, Jayme, and I were talking through treasures last night. 

Bracelet from China, coffee from Ethiopia, scarf from Cambodia, necklace from Belize, earrings from Africa, picture from Scotland, bag from Mexico. 

Gifts from friends at church who have gone out to tell the world about Jesus. 

My son just returned from spending a week with other teens who were shining the light on a Blackfeet reservation, and tomorrow I’ll drive to the airport to say goodbye to another group heading to the Czech Republic to shine the light of Jesus in that beautiful country. 

A missionary who had spent a lifetime in Africa once visited our home.  He was fascinating to be with.  Told stories about the entire school where he taught getting lice and how they sat out on the porch taking turns combing lice out of each other’s hair.  (He laughed out loud, as if it was a precious memory.) 

He taught us how to sing Jesus Loves Me in Swahili. 

Over dinner we talked about the world and how it needs Jesus.  He looked me in the eyes and said, Everyone should have one foot in another country. 

“For God so loved the world…”  (John 3:16  NIV) 

Somehow, despite the difficulty of life right in front of my face, I have a growing love for the world.  The atheist in the Czech, the boy with no mother in Haiti, the 5-year-old, Native-American girl in Heart Butte who fell in love with my son, the Asian women who can’t afford personal sanitary supplies.  I care about their eternal souls. 

And in seeing their faces and their struggles, my perspective on all that is difficult in my life has changed.   

Instead of focusing on our own hard stuff today, I would love to hear what country or people group God has put on your heart.  Do you have one of your feet planted somewhere else around the world? 

Part of my heart is here:


5 comments:

  1. I'm not sure if I have a particular country, but particular missionaries at times, Chile, Spain, Africa. But I do like that missionary's perspective, I need to keep my foot in another country more often I do think.......and pray for missionaries more than I do :)

    thanks for sharing!

    betty

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  2. my heart breaks easily for those without access to clean water and sanitation. The solution is so simple, and the lack of it is devastating. It effects everything. Thankful to be a part of changing lives through Clean Water via Brown Water Coffee.com :)

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    1. Me too! I'm soooo thankful for the blessing of clean tapwater on demand.

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  3. Our oldest daughter (11) and myself just got home yesterday from a 10-day trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with Project 61 (www.p61.org). I was thinking on the flight home that not only should every parent send their child on at least one mission trip before they graduate from high school, every parent should GO WITH their child. What an amazing experience!

    And with so many friends living all over the world, our prayers circle the globe daily.

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    1. That's awesome! I would love to go serve somewhere with my kids. Glad you made it home safely!

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