The Unsung Heroes

This past weekend, I set up my very first missions table at the Alabama Ladies Conference.  I met some very interesting people and made new friends.  I absolutely love talking to other people about missions.  It's not just about raising financial support.  It's about inspiring a young person to pursue her dreams.  It's about encouraging someone who gives sacrificially to continue.  It's about receiving strength from unknown sources.

I met an 18 year old young lady who dreams of going to Uganda someday to work in missions. I was happy to give her some information about the AIM program and a CD about finding God's will for her life.  I pray that God will use her mightily as she pursues her dream.

I also met an older lady who works a full-time job for the sole purpose of financially supporting missionaries.  She could easily stay home in retirement.  Instead, she chooses to sacrifice her time and money for the sake of God's kingdom in another country.  I encouraged her to continue giving because it is as equally important as those who actually go to the field.

Then, there were those precious ladies from Mississippi who circled me in prayer.  I was feeling a little weary with the overwhelming tasks that lay before me as an AIMer when they approached me.  They circled themselves around me, lay their hands all over my body and began to pray.  I felt the heaviness lift and a spirit of rejoicing take its place.

I felt so honored to meet these precious people over the weekend.  These people are not in the limelight, but a missionary could not exist without them.  They are the ones who dream, give and pray.  They are the unsung heroes of missions.

Pray for Orphans

This morning, I did a presentation in childrens' church entitled, "Pray for Orphans."  I talked to the them about orphans in India explaining that many of the children do not have homes, food, water, clothing, or toys.  I briefly mentioned AIDS and how people were dying from the disease, causing some of the children to become orphans.  Then, I told them about Happiness Home, a shelter in India for people with AIDS.  I described how the orphan children living there were happy because God was taking care of them by providing them with a place to live, people to love them, food to eat, water to drink and filling them with the Holy Ghost!

After we watched a short slideshow of orphan children in India, I told them how God instructs us in the Bible to pray for orphans.  Defend the weak and the fatherless (orphans); uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Psalm 82:3.  Take up the cause of the fatherless (orphans); plead the cause of the widow. Isaiah 1:17.  We then prayed for the children.  Oh my, it was so touching to see them pray so sincerely on the behalf of other children!

Each child was given a picture and information about a child in Happiness Home, along with scriptures and prayer points. You know how kids are always leaving their Sunday School papers behind for the teachers to clean up?  Not this time!  Every child held on to their picture as if it was a prized possession.  I'm happy to report there are now 27 children in Bessemer, Alabama praying for children in India.  They were really touched by the needs of these children and accepted the call to pray.

Missions Table

I will be setting up my very first missions table at the Alabama Ladies Conference next week.  I am so excited! Humbled too when I consider the missionaries who've paved the way before me.  I want my table to be special because you never know how it will impact another person's life.  I know those interesting tables have influenced my life over the years.

I recall one missionary's table where I signed a pledge to pray one minute a day for them.  This introduced me to praying for missionaries on a daily basis.  At another missionary's table, I filled out a Partner in Missions form.  This taught me to give financially to missions.  And then there was the tiny book I bought about a little lady in India who had suffered a lot in her childhood but was mightily used of God to win souls.  Reading the book gave me hope that I too could overcome a difficult childhood and be used of God.  Then there was the missionary who wrote a very transparent blog about life on the mission field.  Reading her blog gave me insight not only to pray for missionaries, but HOW to pray for them.

To this day, I still have bookmarks, keychains and various other small items I picked up at mission tables over the years.  Most of what I have is from the continent of Africa.  (Isn't that where ALL missionaries live?!  LOL)  Imagine the shock I felt when God placed a call on my life to missions.  And imagine the additional surprise when He called me to India instead of an African country.

You know, it's all part of missions in God's Kingdom, whether it's prayer, finances, or going.  A missions table provides an avenue for all three areas.  I pray that something on my table will influence other people to have a heart for missions and get involved, however God chooses to use them.