~ To Love Is To Go

Even though the work is hard,

And the conditions are difficult,

And the area is in turmoil,

TO LOVE IS TO GO!

Even though you don't know the language

or the people

or their ways,

TO LOVE IS TO GO!

Even though others have stopped going,

TO LOVE IS TO GO!

In July, my oldest went to Mexico to build a house for a family who had little more than a broken down shack. I was scared to send my son into a country with so much unrest, where thousands of people have lost their lives due to drug-related killings, but I knew God would honor his desire to serve the poor. More importantly, I knew God would BE honored by his obedience. God loves the poor. And God calls us to love the poor. And in that moment of trying to be a parent and make the hard call to send him or not, I could not deny the truth that sometimes to LOVE, you have to GO!

Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God. (Proverbs 14:31)

If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. (I John 3:17-18)

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard... and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. (Isaiah 58:6-8, 10)

Pictures are from Josiah's trip to Tecate, Mexico: working at the house site, finding ways to make friends when you can't communicate (soccer in the streets), dedicating the family's new home, and giving a new truck to a lady who is tireless in her efforts to help her people - God's ambassador in Tecate! (The second week, our volunteers and youth pooled their money and bought a truck for this special lady and her incredible ministry to the area.)