Three was the number.
of coconuts she gave us.
Yesterday, I sat down with the kids and explained that we were going to go on an adventure. We recently cleaned out their clothes and had 3 bags to donate. I had the idea that we would pray and ask God who we should give them to instead of giving them to good will.
So we all sat down. I asked them, “What does God say for his people to do?” They said, “obey, love, be nice” I said yes but what does he say we should do for people especially poor people. They said “Help them.” I was happy to know they have that concept down. So I said we are going to get in the car and drive to the poorest area of our town, where Mommies and Daddies don’t have enough to take care of their kids. They may need clothes and we can help them. The only problem is, we don’t know where to go, so we are going to have to have God lead us. I said, “The secret about this is, that when God’s people do his work out in the world, we get a special portion of him. ”
They were all excited, we got in the car, we drove and we waited. I had already decided that we would not stop for any men, but praying that God would lead us to a poor women that may need help. This was about modeling. So, we go to a poor area, where a large Guatemalan population live. I drove around and saw no-one except out of work men sitting outside of their house. So I said, “OK kids where do we go? What is God saying?” Jackson said, “He will show you Mommy.” Chloe said “Where is our poor family?” and Hudson said, “Mommy, listen to me! Go left, left then right.” So for lack of any other plan, that is what I did and you know what? We landed right at a house with a ethnic women outside washing her dog. I told her what we wanted to do, and she led me right to her neighbors house who had three young kids and one on the way.
She was Mexican and speaks little English. Her children were clothed in rags. They lived in complete poverty. I felt like I was in Peru or Cuba but I was 6 blocks from our home. Trash, filth, fleas, and we patiently waited outside her door to give her our gifts. Hudson wanted to go in. “Mommy we must go in. I want to be with them.”, he said. He was determined. He had some of his toys that he was willing to pass on to someone who had nothing.
I talked a bit of Jesus and the gospel with her, and she said she knew Jesus and said thank you for the clothes and gave us her coconuts. She wasn’t very open but that was not the point. The point was to go. I took 20 minutes out of our whole day. It was small and simple. But we went, we acted, I modeled the reality of what it means to follow Christ and I sewed seeds yesterday, in the woman’s heart, in my sweet children’s heart and in my own heart.
So - we are going to do it again, and again and again. Won’t you join us?
