Nine years ago my heart broke for the people of Peru. It was in that country that my heart broke for the nations. I knew that I wanted to do something to help the people, but I cannot change the world.
This past week I was reminded of why I came on this trip. I was reminded of what breaks my heart. I was reminded that I loved seeing people smile and knowing that they are loved. I had the opportunity to do village ministry this past week, which entailed travelling to different houses and praying for whatever they needed.
On the way to one house we walked passed this little boy that stared at us all with a blank stare. Just from looking at him, I could tell he just wanted to be notice, he couldn’t just get up and walk and chase after us like the rest of the kids. He was naked from the waste down and I had the feeling that I should talk to him. I continued walking, but his image never left my head. As the group walked into the house, I stayed outside and stared at him, my heart was breaking.
One of the guys decided to give him a bottle of water and knelt down to his level and started talking to him. This was my sign and I walked over to him, knelt down and started praying. He couldn’t talk or even understand exactly what I was saying, but I knew the Lord had put him on my heart for a reason. I opened the noodle package that we got for him; he held it and didn’t want me to take it away from him. I continued to pray. I then opened up a package of crackers for him.
I prayed for healing that this little boy would be able to get up and walk, or say a few words. As much as I wanted this boy to be healed, it didn’t happen. He didn’t get up and walk or talk, but he gave me a beaming smile. God was telling me that he was there and that he was going to stay with this boy even when I left.
I can’t fix poverty, I can’t give homes to the homeless, I can’t save every woman stuck in the sex industry, I can’t change the way this world is. One thing I can do, though, is love. I can love the people of the world, I can bring hope to the hopeless. I can change their lives because I have a God that will stay with them even when I leave.
I can’t change the world, but I can help build God’s kingdom. I am not here to fix the communities I am in, but to bring hope and love into them.
