Pour

Several times in the past few months a visitor has asked if their coming to Missions of Hope really matters. Is it really worth it they ask.  And of course we say yes, because it is worth it and it does matter.  The last person to ask this really wanted to know why and how.  How their team made a difference when so many others have been here doing VBS, a medical camp, Bring the Light, etc.  And to that I replied that it seemed like a big container that was being filled one small teaspoon at a time.  Every drop of water fills the pitcher slowly by slowly, and at times it can be hard to see how one small amount makes any difference.  (Disclaimer, those words must have come from the Spirit because I had never really thought about it that way before-thankful He gives me words to speak).

Every time someone comes and plays games, shares Bible stories, songs, snacks, hugs with these kids, it matters.  You pour.  When people share the light of Christ in the homes and the community, the pitcher fills a little more. When teams spend time with the staff washing their feet, encouraging them, training and assisting them, getting to know them etc.  Another teaspoon goes in.  When you eat in our home and allow us to see this place and this ministry through your eyes, you pour.  When teams return to their homes and share about their trip and ways to get involved, the water in the cup rises a little. When you leave and are never the same again-you guessed it-more pouring.

For those of us who remain, there really isn't a day that goes by where we are not aware of how much the pouring in matters.  We see happy children who are still excited by your visit.  Kids who remember the songs and memory verses you taught them. We see new schools being built as a result of your giving.  We see gifts and such sweet letters being sent to the students as sponsors build a beautiful relationship with them.  We see the Business department work tirelessly to keep up with all the new businesses and loans happening because of BigDent.  We see people finding hope in hopelessness.  Living in the light of Christ.

As Americans, many of us tend to be task oriented.  We want to see the end results, a project completed, some numbers to share.  I know this very well.   Kind of embarrassingly, I delight in my to-do list being completed.  I even give myself little check marks as I complete a task.  I am really finding the beauty in the slowness of the cup-filling. The planting seeds but perhaps never seeing the harvest.  This isn't about what I or you can accomplish. What we can tick off a list, but about going and just doing. Allowing God to complete this. A reminder that He has the control.  Long before we came and long after we are gone, He is still about the cup running over. About fruit. About eternity.

Keep pouring.  We may not always see the pitcher filled, the fruit harvested, but it's happening.  Slowly by slowly.  Drop by drop.