The older I get the younger i become… well… the younger i want to be. Not for the same reasons our culture spends millions of dollars to look and feel younger… i want to be young in a different sort of way… a spiritual way.
Coming into this month in India… i was pretty burned out. i have been going strong for several months… and this race… it seems to be divinely calculated to bring you to the end of yourself. i was done… and i knew it. it’s tough to approach a whole new ministry (new contacts, new location, new food, new climate, new cultural sensitivities, new ministry, new accommodations- if any, new foreign language… new everything!). such a change cannot be made in an already weak state… and that’s kind of what’s been happening the last couple months…
As we roll up to our new home for the month… i meet a Godsend…. an incredible blessing… nine year old Asher Singh… who God would use, in part, to fill this ole dry well up!
The first day or so Asher was super shy… he’s not used to strangers, much less white people. And must i say, in India… things are reserved a bit… but it didn’t take long for Asher to fit right in with us… he became our little brother for real!
the first thing that struck me about Asher… was his smile… his joy. it was crazy genuine. he has this child-like fascination with everything. the kid is never bored and you never hear him complain. he just seems so content.
i began watching him, just thinking to myself, “God, i want to be half the man Asher is… how does he do it?” i couldn’t help to notice the huge difference of weight that was on both of our hearts. myself… i had more weight on my heart than i could fathom (Jesus… my burden is light…).. ive lost all idea how to walk in that…. and Asher… that child didn’t have a care in the world.
i mean i wanted to be Asher’s friend… but i wanted to learn from Asher… i wanted to study him, to glean from him. maybe i could have a little of his childlikeness imparted to me. To the little ones belongs the kingdom… God, teach me about the kingdom through the little ones.
Asher didn’t worry about tomorrow… Asher wasn’t afraid… Asher lived for each moment… he trusted… he walked in innocence…
And so the lessons came often this month… and i began giving up so much of my weighty seriousness… my burdens that only Jesus was meant to carry.
But not only through Asher… our team was blessed to have some ministry with kids this month. Hallelujah!!!! a nice change from the constant preaching and teaching that has consumed our time.
We had a few days of scheduling kids camp for neighborhood kids… as well as working with orphans. the kids loved it… we loved it… you know… God never intends our ministry to suck the lifeblood out of us… His call on our lives is supposed to fill us up and bring us joy… i am so glad His heart for me, for us, is not against, or outside, our greatest joy in this life..
kids camp… they are ready to go!
skit time… i’m the beggar in the good samaritan
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Father Abraham… classic!!! kids loved it!!
The Pastor’s dream is to one day house 100 orphans… right now… no property nor money to do it… but trusting God and stepping out in faith in an awesome way!!!
Let’s all open our eyes… and our ears… to these great teachers in our midst.. who preach the gospel with their lives every day… we have so much to learn from them!!
Matthew 19:14
