Although I came on mission to share God's love, I have been overwhelmed on at least two occasions by reminders from Him of His indescribable love for me.
On Wednesday, I met a mom who was bringing her daughter to our afternoon VBS. She and her daughter were noticeably thin. My new friend, Chris Gupton, our VBS Director, had also noticed them and made arrangements with one of our Haitian translators to go to store to purchase some food for them. Chris asked me to come along with her while she talked to the mother and distributed the food. This mother shared the distressing details of her daily life and her inability to provide for her daughter after being abandoned by her husband. She shared that she could not pay the monthly tuition at school either. After getting to know a little more about this mom's picture of who Jesus is and how she had desperately been crying out to him for help, Chris gave her the food in Jesus' name. She also told her that we would cover the past-due tuition. This mom reared back, covering her face with her hands, demonstrating with her body language how overwhelmed she was by this unexpected gift. As I watched her inability to even collect herself enough to verbalize her gratitude, what came to mind immediately was that this situation was a modern day reenactment of a story in the Bible which demonstrates God's love for a mother and child. God heard the sobs of Hagar as she put Ishmael under a bush to die of starvation. God heard their cries and opened Hagar's eyes to the miraculous relief He was providing. He continued to be with Ishmael as He grew and made him into something great. Next, to my surprise, God instantaneously flooded my heart with thoughts of the love that He lavishes on me too. He saw me in my spiritual poverty and heard my cries. His love continues to lead and prosper me, giving me hope and a future. Being here provided time and space to ponder this indescribable love and to rededicate my life to a more passionate love for Him in response.
Today it happened again. Our agenda for this morning was to invite the children who are sponsored by the people on this mission trip to come to the camp to spend time with their sponsors. None of us sponsor a child but Scott and Katherine Burnotes, who were here in Haiti last year, have a little girl they sponsor. Arrangements were made to bring her from Joineaux to spend time with us and for us to give her the gifts sent from the Burnotes. We learned while here in Haiti that our group could purchase a goat for her family and we decided to do this as a team. In Haiti goats provide tremendous value to the poor.
When she arrived and we began to play with her and give her the Burnote's gifts, God allowed me to see myself in this precious child. He flooded my heart again with the feelings of being so loved and chosen by Him. He reminded me of the precious price paid to call me His own and my part, like this little girl's, was simple; accept this indescribable, unmerited favor. By the time she left the camp she had a soccer ball, an adorable pink canvas bag filled with goodies little girls love, and essentials for her family-the goat and a large quantity of rice and beans for the future. She had so much she needed multiple people to help her load the Tap-Tap for the trip back to Joineaux. I was so filled with joy to be able to express love to her in this way. If I have this much love for her, I can't possibly fathom the love that God has for me. I know His love is a love big enough for the whole world and today I am basking in my portion!
Ginger Mokher
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