The Easter story is the crux of the Gospel, and what a joy it is to see the power of it touch the lives of children. It's easy to think that children don't fully grasp the magnificence and miracle of the resurrection, but I'm convinced they do. They're sharp and boldly faithful and indiscriminately loving, which is exactly what the Gospel is all about. Last April I had the priviledge of witnessing thirteen little children devote their hearts to Jesus, and oh what a joy that was.
One night as I was half asleep in bed, God suddenly flashed the words "Project Love" in my mind. Then I received the thought: "make scarves for Russia.' My first reaction was, "Whoa where did that come from!? Really God? Is this something you want me to do?"
It was, and I did.
When we were in Haiti this summer, we had the opportunity to go to a mountain community and do a Vacation Bible School for the kids there. We spent two days climbing up the mountain, putting on the VBS, and spending lots of time playing with the kids and telling them about God's power and love. It was amazing! We had just finished climbing up the mountain on the third day, and we were all exhausted from the two full days before. We had no idea how we were going to get the energy to do it all one more time, but we prayed and God certainly answered that prayer.
One of the lessons I've learned through ministry is that when you're open to the Word and call of the Lord, things don't always go the way you expect them to. And thank goodness they don't! For the plans of the Lord are always so much sweeter. There was one time my partners and I brought a group of students on their first mission trip. One of the days we were scheduled to work with a Somali tutoring program in the inner-city of Minneapolis, but when those plans fell through we decided to do a prayer walk in South Minneapolis. Little did we know that God was just intervening and revealing his plan for us.
Read more: Prayer Walks & Playgrounds: Finding Joy in Unexpected Places