Pushing Back Darkness

Yesterday someone asked me, “How did your wife’s trip go?” The question caught me a little off guard. You see this person was not looking for a ‘good/not good’ response. They wanted to ‘KNOW’ how it went. After past trips I was able to answer this question with quick, powerful stories. One time I was able to say, “4 babies that were going to die, lived instead.” Another time I was able to say, “A whole polio village that was starving (in Sierra Leone there are no emergency food stamps) was provided with food for the rainy season.” This time I could not think of a big story so I just said, “Good.” Many people have questioned me about why people go on these mission trips. It is not always easy to quantify. Many people think it is not a wise use of money. For most trips at least I can tell these people, “Well, she (using gifts donated by friends) fed a whole village and saved a few babies. Is that enough for you?” But that is not the real value of any of her trips. I think this trip has really shown the most important of all the reasons that she goes. This reason is ‘simply to share a bottle of water.’

Later that night as we were going to bed Shanna brought a stack of letters the kids wrote to her into our bedroom. She has been reading 2 of them a night to me. I was really tired this night and put up a little bit of a fight. She told me it would only take a few min so I agreed just to pacify her. One letter really stuck out to me. One of the girls wrote her saying how special a walk they took together was to her. The girl specifically thanked Shanna because as they walked and talked Shanna shared her bottle of water with her. The girl said, “No one has ever show me love like that.” Wow! “No one has ever shown me love like that!” What???
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I realized that I had heard at least 20 kids say basically the same things to her in letters I have read. “When you shared your food with me…When I asked you to do a bible study with me…When you held me when I cried…When you took care of me when I was sick…When you bought me clothes in the market place…When you wrote me a letter and sent a picture.” No wonder probably about 30 to 40 of the kids call me Dad now even though most have never talked to me. I am going to be honest, when I go I will want to stay at the Hotel. When she goes she stays in their rooms with them. When I go I will give them food. When she goes she will share a plate with them. What most people do not understand about orphans is that their greatest desire…the pinnacle of their desire is not for food and water. The pinnacle of their desire is for SOMEONE to provide food and water. If they were hungry and you gave them the choice of food or to be held what do you think they would choose? If they were sick with a fever and you give them a choice between a bottle of water and someone to hold them and pray for them (as Christina Parker did and almost lost her life doing it) what do you think they would choose? Why does Shanna raise $3600 to leave her kids and life for weeks at a time? Why doesn’t she just send all that money over in cases of food, drink and medicine? I will tell you why…because IT IS MORE IMPORTANT for her to share one bottle of water as she walks and talks with a girl who does not have a mother. It is more important for her to sit and hold a girl as she cries and recounts the story of her parents’ deaths. It is more important for a little boy to be able to show his friends his ‘Mom Shanna’ and brag about how she comes 5-6 weeks every year to spend time with him.

Let me tell you who my God is! He is THE GOD that will travel thousands of miles and spend thousands of dollars to share a bottle of water with an orphan! He is THE GOD who will hold a child with TB even though it will almost kill Him. He is the GOD who will leave his own spouse and children so he can Love those who have no family! How my heart burns for Him! How beautiful HE is!

You see, Shanna did many things on her trip. She helped with the education program, she clothed many of the kids and she provided food for the hungry but the most important thing? How did her trip go? What is the greatest thing she has ever done?

‘SHE SHARED A BOTTLE OF WATER WITH JESUS’

Was it worth the $3600 that was given? Was it worth 2 weeks without physical contact (you know what that means)? Was it worth my kids having to suffer a little? Was it worth…is it worth risking her very life? Is it worth risking my kids maybe living with no mom? HELL YEAH! If He risked the cross for me…and I believe that…why would I not risk anything just to give him a drop of water? Why would I not show others a love they have never seen? It will all be worth it to hear someone say to me, “No one has ever shown me love like that.”