I can remember that heart-wrenching moment like it was yesterday. Seeing his face stare back at me, tears welling up in his eyes-it took all my strength not to jump out and grab him. I never knew I could love someone so much or feel love like that, but something about him was different. I’ll never forget the way his hand fit in mine, the way he clung to my side never wanting to leave. I remember the pain I felt as I discretely lifted his shirt so we could see just how sick he was and the relief I felt at what wasn’t there. I remember the soft touch of those little fingers, the way he combed them through my unkempt hair. And I remember the way I longed to see that smile of his-the one I knew was hiding deep inside.
As I walk down the muddy path, I can’t hear a word anybody is saying. I’m on a mission to find a boy I love-a boy I simply need to find. With each passing person, the answer’s the same. Nobody knows who he is. My heart starts to race, anxiety sets in. Please God don’t let it be true. When I left him last year, he was sick for some time. I couldn’t be sure he was even still here. Someone must know him, I keep telling myself. There’s no way that little boy’s gone. So with each person I pass, each person I ask-someone is bound to know! As we turn the corner and speak with the woman, she smiles and points down the way. Standing right there before me is my little buddy in the same blue shirt I know oh so well. I slowly approach him, quietly calling his name, clinging to all hope inside. Will he remember my face? Will he remember at all? I don’t even have time to question. Before I can answer, he does it for me-leaping into my arms with a smile.
I seriously remember this like it was yesterday. The little boy is named Michael and he lives in a slum next to a village we worked in with Gawad Kalinga in Bacolod City in the Philippines. This little boy means the world to me. I learned so much through him and I still continue to think about him and pray for him, despite the fact that I met him 2 years ago. The second part of the little story above was about my second meeting with Michael. I was blessed enough to have had the opportunity to see him one year after having met him for the first time. Despite the fact that he was only 2 years old the first time we met or that we only spent about a week and a half together, Michael remembered me. He ran into my arms with a gigantic smile on his face. It was the smile I had longed to see the year before from this boy who carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. This little boy spoke immensely to me of God’s love and showed me that it is so worth it to go out into this sometimes dark and scary world to seek out His children.
I would travel the world barefoot over broken glass to see this child again. That is how much I love him.
As I think about the year ahead of me, I think of all the Michaels out there. I think of all the children of God waiting for someone to help lift the weight of the world off their shoulders. They want to smile; they want to have fun-they simply can’t at this moment. They are waiting for me and the other World Racers to answer God’s call and to find them. They are waiting for us to note the perfect fit of their hand in ours. They are waiting for us to remember.
I am ready to go out there and find them. I made a promise to Michael 2 years ago that I would always love him and he can always count on some silly white girl in the U.S. caring about him. Well, I may not be in the U.S. the next year and I may get a bit tanner (though I’ll still probably remain ungodly pale…), but I will never break that promise. Whether I ever see him again or not, I feel one of the best ways I can live out this promise is by going out there and finding more Michaels. They are waiting for me. They are waiting for you. Are you ready to join me in this?
If you are, great. If not, pray about it. As fellow World Racer Grant Tarjick explains, there’s a time for everything. There are many ways you can join me in this. If you are a World Racer reading this, you can literally join me. You can decide to follow God’s call and go out and find the Michaels of this world. If you are not a World Racer, that’s okay too. It is not your time for that. It may, however, be your time to send. You can help send me to find the Michaels of this world. You can do that by clicking on the Support Me! tab to the left or simply clicking this link here. Perhaps God is calling you to pray for the Michaels of this world at this time. Will you join me in this?
- Please pray for the lost, the broken, the weak, the lonely, the sick, the hurting, and most importantly, the forgotten, of this world. May the comfort of the Lord be upon them now and always, assuring them of their worth, purpose, and identity in Christ.
- Please pray for the called and the sent. May the strength and courage of the Lord our King be with us as we “go forth and make disciples of all nations.”
