Being Lavishly Loved
2 days of traveling had me weary. I'm an 8 hours-of-sleep-kind-of-gal. Honestly, 3:00 in the AM and me have not seen one another in a lot of years.
But, oh the conversation.
I arrived in Columbus around 11:00 p.m; not knowing where I was going to stay or who exactly was meeting me, but trusting that God had a plan for this trip. There was also this immense trust of the ladies who brought me here, so I knew that it would all be good.
We had a 2 hour drive to Parkersburg, West Virginia; me, another missionary from Honduras, a dear friend from Dallas who is on the Women of Purpose team, and Jen... well, what can one say about Jen?
Jen is a young woman who spent 7 years in the capital of Honduras loving needy children and youth. She raised a family of little boys while their dad was in prison. One day, the government came and said 'it is time to give them back to the dad, who is out of prison.' The boys were settled, in school, at the top of their respective classes and loved by a Gringa Mama. She had literally 2 hours notice that the boys were leaving. The boys still call her Mama, see her when they can and dream of going to school again. They live on a mountain, in poverty.
Jen spoke last year at a missionary retreat that Women of Purpose put on for US missionaries in Honduras. Jen is actually one of the leaders of the Women of Purpose team. 4 missionary women from La Mosquitia were blessed with a scholarship and travel expenses for this event. To say that it was spectacular would be an understatement.
Every year, Women of Purpose puts on a US conference for 600+ women in the Ohio River Valley area. Conference attendees can sponsor a missionary woman in Honduras - to cover their expenses to get to and attend the conference.
Last year, Jen spoke in the US about the 4 of us in La Mosquitia; our isolation from the rest of Honduras due to geographical barriers, our desire to worship in English and be taught from the Word in English, our need to fellowship with other Christian women. She raised our travel expenses.
This year, the team brought me here so that the conference ladies could see, in the flesh, what their financial sacrifice provided. I get to share that tomorrow at the 2012 Women of Purpose conference.
Meanwhile, since my arrival on Wednesday night, they have lavishly loved me. From the beautiful hotel room, the flowers, huge gift bag, words of encouragement and love, deep conversations, delicious food... they have loved on me like I was a long-lost sister. I feel Jesus through them.
My mom loves me and my sister this way... always picking the most special gifts out for holidays, bringing me a lovely sweater and jacket with a scarf so that I can shake off the dust of La Mosquitia and stand before a group of women looking a bit stylish.
All of this has me thinking. Do I love on people like that... so outrageously that they see Jesus through me? Oh, how I want to! Shocking, over-the-top kind of love - not just with tangible things, but with words of encouragement, with grace and mercy, with a concern for the individual heart?
Let it be so, Lord. Let it be so.
But, oh the conversation.
I arrived in Columbus around 11:00 p.m; not knowing where I was going to stay or who exactly was meeting me, but trusting that God had a plan for this trip. There was also this immense trust of the ladies who brought me here, so I knew that it would all be good.
We had a 2 hour drive to Parkersburg, West Virginia; me, another missionary from Honduras, a dear friend from Dallas who is on the Women of Purpose team, and Jen... well, what can one say about Jen?
Jen is a young woman who spent 7 years in the capital of Honduras loving needy children and youth. She raised a family of little boys while their dad was in prison. One day, the government came and said 'it is time to give them back to the dad, who is out of prison.' The boys were settled, in school, at the top of their respective classes and loved by a Gringa Mama. She had literally 2 hours notice that the boys were leaving. The boys still call her Mama, see her when they can and dream of going to school again. They live on a mountain, in poverty.
Jen spoke last year at a missionary retreat that Women of Purpose put on for US missionaries in Honduras. Jen is actually one of the leaders of the Women of Purpose team. 4 missionary women from La Mosquitia were blessed with a scholarship and travel expenses for this event. To say that it was spectacular would be an understatement.
Every year, Women of Purpose puts on a US conference for 600+ women in the Ohio River Valley area. Conference attendees can sponsor a missionary woman in Honduras - to cover their expenses to get to and attend the conference.
Last year, Jen spoke in the US about the 4 of us in La Mosquitia; our isolation from the rest of Honduras due to geographical barriers, our desire to worship in English and be taught from the Word in English, our need to fellowship with other Christian women. She raised our travel expenses.
This year, the team brought me here so that the conference ladies could see, in the flesh, what their financial sacrifice provided. I get to share that tomorrow at the 2012 Women of Purpose conference.
Meanwhile, since my arrival on Wednesday night, they have lavishly loved me. From the beautiful hotel room, the flowers, huge gift bag, words of encouragement and love, deep conversations, delicious food... they have loved on me like I was a long-lost sister. I feel Jesus through them.
My mom loves me and my sister this way... always picking the most special gifts out for holidays, bringing me a lovely sweater and jacket with a scarf so that I can shake off the dust of La Mosquitia and stand before a group of women looking a bit stylish.
All of this has me thinking. Do I love on people like that... so outrageously that they see Jesus through me? Oh, how I want to! Shocking, over-the-top kind of love - not just with tangible things, but with words of encouragement, with grace and mercy, with a concern for the individual heart?
Let it be so, Lord. Let it be so.
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