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I have recently returned from an amazing adventure. An adventure that taught and challenged me in new ways. The challenge: Love deeper, give more.

John 13:12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked.

A team of volunteers and I spent a day at a program site, painting a day care center, and building a shed at the bottom of a mountain made entirely of garbage. The smell wafting from the mountain was something I could never get used to. It was like sitting inside of a New York City garbage truck on a 90 degree day. Every time the breeze blew it would just get worse and there was nowhere to hide from it. The students, four and five years old, clung to us so tightly I could barely breathe. As the day progressed the day care center became filled with street kids who were so enthralled with the foreign visitors they joined in the repairs and painting.

At the end of the day we piled back into vans, lathering our hands with hand sanitizers and longing for a shower. I could not help but think what they might think of us. How many white faces come through there for a day or two and then disappear never to be seen again. At the end of the day, it is so much more important and effective for the local people to be doing this work. It is so important for these kids to receive big bear hugs and warm smiles from the local people. The children need to hear it from them that there is more; they can rise above these circumstances. They need to know that even though they have been rejected there is hope.

That evening we sat over dinner and the question was asked, "What do you have in common with them?" I couldn't help but think, "The desire to be loved." We all desire to be loved. We have all faced and felt rejection. We harden our hearts over time and let rejection embitter us. But these children still long for love. They need it. They are willing to ask for it, reach for it, and be vulnerable to receive it. I saw what I had in common with them. I also saw what I needed to learn from them.

John 13:13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.

People take service trips to the other side of the world or neighborhoods that might as well be foreign lands to them all the time but often return and don’t translate the very lessons they were taught into their own back yard. I was the student of these children and they were my teachers. They reminded me of a greater calling. They will be most impacted by those in their community who will take the time to work, to invest and love them. However, it is the foreigners who will be impacted by them every time they come. It is us who were taught, softened and convicted by their resilience, hope, and purity. These children had nothing, but gave us the most precious gift they could: love. It impacted us the same way it impacts everyone - profoundly.

John 13:15-17 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

I learned many lessons on this trip and gave in ways that were incredibly uncomfortable and yet felt so right. I returned home, to my neighborhood, my community and you know what? The very first service representative I had to deal with over the phone I spoke to in a cold, and condescending tone. The very same woman who was hugging children across the sea and building sheds in filth was now standing in the comfort of her air-conditioned apartment feeling bothered and getting irritated with a stranger on the other end of the phone who was only doing his job and trying to help.

The lesson: The hope I was reminded of on my trip needs to translate right where I am, wherever I happen to be. The God who has not rejected those children, has not rejected me and has not rejected the very people I see and speak to every day, right here (wherever here may be). The true test of kindness, compassion, patience and love is not when we are away, when our senses are heightened or our context is different. The true test is here and now. This trip illustrated to me how much more I am capable of, how much more each of us is capable of. There are people in my life who need me. I have to ask myself, what will it take for me to give more? There is a difference only I can make. I need to seek out needs because of how my needs have been met by God. It does not take faith to see someone's sin or faults, it takes faith to see Christ in them.

Romans 11:32-33 (The Message) In one way or another, Go makes sure that we all experience what it means to be outside so that he can personally open the door and welcome us back in. Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? It’s way over our heads. We’ll never figure it out.

"God's Words For US" from Cecelia Lester

Renew a Right Spirit