Your Right Now Is Not Your Forever
If you had an emergency today and could not watch your kids, who would you call? If they could not help, who would be your next call? It is likely you have quite a few people on your list. Maybe you even have someone on your list that is not what you would consider a good influence, but who, in a pinch, you would still ask to watch your kids in an emergency.
Compassion
How many backup plans do you have? How many plans have to fail before you are completely out of options and would want even that undesirable option? There are a lot of people, especially in Alaska, that have only one backup plan. And then they are out of options. Can you imagine the terror and panic of dealing with a severe crisis while also knowing you have nowhere to take your child that is safe? What if you had literally no one to watch your child?
Mercy
Our missionaries often see firsthand the pain and the struggle that these families go through. Many of our missionaries show the love of Christ by being available and helping at-risk families by taking care of children for short-term periods or even sometimes long-term. Our missionaries do not do this because they believe they are themselves perfect parents. Instead, they simply desire to serve and show kindness where there is a great need.
While this type of help can be done on an individual basis, several of our ministry workers are involved with a ministry that helps facilitate this sort of mission on a larger scale by connecting families in crisis with churches and volunteers willing to help.
Love
A family in crisis is not a pretty sight. The situation is always messy, and there are many reasons why it is easier to not get involved. Their life may be in shambles. They might not have food for the table. They might struggle to care for their kids properly and fear losing them to the State. As followers of Jesus, why do we step into these difficult situations? One of our missionaries tells families in crisis and new volunteers, “We do this because we love Jesus and He loves us.” The love of Christ is what allows us to care and help without stipulation. The love of Christ is what allows us to pour themselves out at all hours of the day continuously laboring to bring these families back together.
Your Right Now is Not Your Forever
One missionary recounts this story of a child his family temporarily cared for:
“One night, I had sent [this child] to bed because he had made some bad choices. Now, it was hard to be frustrated at him. He was very young, yet he already knew how to make breakfast, change diapers, and prepare formula with the correct number of scoops. He clearly had grown up in a difficult situation where he was expected to do far more than he should of at his age.
After I sent him to bed early, he was crying and upset and long after everyone else had gone to bed, he was waking up the whole house wailing. I went into his room and found him in the dark gnawing teeth marks in his wooden bunk.
I rubbed his back and said, out of sheer exhaustion and totally accidentally, “Bud, you know, when you wake up tomorrow, you won’t be in trouble. The consequence is just right now. You need to go to sleep. But my wife and I will be happy to see you when you get up and you WON’T be in trouble.”
He was tired too. But he stopped gnawing on the headboard and said, “Really?”
“Yeah, bud, it’s just a little consequence. Just for right now, not forever.”
He let out a deep breath and went to bed.
This is the very heart of the good news of the Gospel. This is the news that Christ has brought to us. Our current state or even our future on this earth is not our forever. He has given us a new forever if we believe in Him and claim His Name as our Lord and Savior. Like a gentle father, He loves us and is totally committed to us. Hebrews 12:6 tells us that the Lord disciplines those He loves. He allows consequences into our life to teach us, but He will never abandon His children!
“People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Mark 10:13-14
Do Christ’s words resonate with you? Do you have a heart to share this good news? Do you have a heart bursting with compassion, mercy, and love? The North needs you! These families need you to come and share Christ with them. These children need to hear that Christ wants them and is calling them to Himself.
There are many ways that you can help or get involved in children’s ministry work. One way you can do this is through volunteering with our Project Caribou Youth Outreach Team. You would be a member of a team working to create outreach opportunities to the underreached youth in isolated villages.
During the summer, many villages and organizations put on summer camps to reach youth coming in from many different villages. This is a great way to reach many kids from a variety of locations with Christ’s love. Another opportunity that is available here in Alaska is volunteering with Child Evangelism Fellowship. This ministry is focused on putting on camps and clubs for children with a strong evangelistic goal.
Another way you can always be involved, from any location, is through prayer. Prayer is the most powerful tool given to a believer. Please be praying for these families and the children here in the North. Pray for their lives to be transformed through the life changing work of the Gospel. You can also sign up here if you would like to receive our monthly prayer updates.
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