As we reflect on the year that has gone by, our minds are filled with images of smiling mothers, , holding babies and celebrating a new water filter arriving at their home. They are filled with the vivid sights of homes flooded with mud and water, or left splintered on the ground from a tornado. They are filled with the sounds of mourning, the sorrowful wail and the hushed sob. They are filled with the smell of molding wood and filthy latrines. They are filled with the heartache that comes with working in the midst of brokenness, destruction, and aftermath.

 

Yet, in and through these overwhelmingly sorrowful times, we have watched God open up hearts and send volunteers and resources to help heal. He has provided opportunity for us to join hands with teams from all across the country and pray with a homeowner who has lost everything, or for a family getting clean water for the first time, reminding them that they are loved and known, and to give hope through working hands and open hearts. In those sacred moments, it is an honor to represent a living God who weeps with those who weep, and promises to mend the broken-hearted.

 

As we think about this year, we are reminded of Matthew 6:33, where we are instructed to seek first the kingdom of God, and we are encouraged and inspired to continue to work in these relief settings. We are reminded of the hard places we travel, the death, the infant mortality which is so prevalent, and the cries of God’s people for such simple things: water to drink, shelter to sleep beneath, food to eat, and most importantly, hope through loving action. And yet, in these dark places, we have seen the Kingdom emerge, Jesus Christ being high and lifted up, and God bring radical transformation through simple efforts by simple servants. We stand amazed to see thousands of gallons of clean water each day flow into the cups of thousands of school children, families, and communities. We stand amazed as we listen to the testimonies of pastors and leaders who have seen economics, family life, and spirituality change in their communities. Just last month at a leader convention in Haiti, pastor Alexander shared that his community has seen a 70% rate of healing from diahreal disease since they first started getting water filters a few months ago. We were reminded in that moment, as God’s spirit spoke to ours through their simple smiles and bright lit eyes, that he can take a small filter and multiply it’s affects, like fishes and loaves. That He can and does use a small organization with a big heart to change the world for his Kingdom, and we were humbled about what He has been able to do with us and through us.

 

I wish I could sit in your living room and share a cup of coffee and tell story after story from the high mountains of Haiti, to the impoverished fishing villages, to the Bronx of New York and the plains of Oklahoma. Stories of broken, hurting people who have a little more hope than they did before we met. People who no longer have trees smashing their roofs, or water flooding their entire home, or thousands of dollars of uninsured damage, or water that makes them sick, or children lost to dehydration-disease. Stories of restoration, stories of new beginnings, stories of teams praying with homeowners and watching God do so much more in the heart of that person than we could ever do for their home. Stories of church people discovering what it is to be the Body. Stories of young and old, discovering a place to serve and finding purpose again. Stories of taking people to a foreign third-world country and showing them that those it’s filled with are just people like you and me. They are just moms wanting their hard-earned and minimal income to send their children tot school instead of the hospital. They are just dads who wonder if their sons will live to grow up and learn their trade, to work alongside them in the fields or the market. They are just people, hungry for love and desperate for health.

 

I can’t sit in your living room, not today, as travel to aid those affected by the Oklahoma tornado, but I can say thank you. I can say thank you for believing in me, and believing in what we do.  I can say that if we seek first the kingdom of God, there is so much more granted unto us. There is the ability to touch lives for Jesus Christ. The ability to bring healing, hope, and health to our brothers and sisters. I have discovered that ‘all these things granted unto you’ may mean that we get a front row seat to what God is doing in our lifetime to make Himself known. It may mean hearing the spirit call and following it into the forgotten places. It may mean witnessing resources being multiplied and miraculous provision, watching with baskets in our hands as barrels overflow with fish and our hearts overflow with gratitude.  

 

As hard as it is to get caught up and find the time to thank you, it’s even harder to ask if you would consider investing for another year. It’s a humble place to be, where others have to resource you, and yet it’s a beautiful place. A place that makes me dependent upon God and his provision. If you are not in a place to give for another year, I understand, as so many things can change in our lives over 12 months. I want you to know that I have asked God to bless you and to keep you close to his heart, to honor your sacrifice, and to whisper in your ear of the works you have helped accomplish. You are a true partner. Blessed are the feet who go to the places that are broken and bring the good news.