There are still moments when I pause and think, God is this really my life?
Though I've completed one month on the Race, the life of a missionary still feels new to me.
I love it!
This month my team and I are serving at New Life Children's Home. It's an orphanage for children who have either been taken from their homes by social services or their parents have willingly given them away.
For the past two years, husband and wife Ron and Annette Thiesen have been running the orphanage after taking over for Annette's elderly parents. Though this couple has birthed four children of their own, they've given new life to the 47 children living at the orphanage. The children range in age from toddlers to teens and are all full of joy. Every day when we arrive we're greeted with bright smiles and heavenly-sounding hola's! The children are always excited to see us and we are just as excited to be with them.
Because Ron and Annette are short staffed, our team has had the opportunity to serve in many capacities – from building shelves and countertops to hanging posters in the school and organizing storage rooms. But before our team came to serve, many of the girls caught head lice. So most of our ministry has been combing through their hair, killing the live bugs and pulling out eggs to prevent its continuous spread – that is when we can get them to sit still! We sing worship songs and teach them English as they teach us Spanish.
But what amazes most about these beautiful little souls is how trusting they are especially knowing all of what some of them have been through. Each day I'm around them, I understand more why Jesus urges us to become like them.
"At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, 'Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: 'Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.'" Matthew 18:1-5
In this new year with this new month of ministry, I'm thankful for the opportunity to start from the beginning like a child, trusting my Abba father with my life no matter what it looks like – having that child-like faith.
The children at New Life Children's Home haven given me a great example of what that looks like.
