Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Leaving the 99 to find the ONE

WONDERFUL NEWS! We only need one HUNDRED valentines to send to China, NOT one THOUSAND!
Okay, so even though this news is such a relief, I had a hard time feeling "happy" about it. I wanted to pray and thank God that we only had to provide one hundred valentines, but it didn't feel right. I wanted valentines to be provided, I did NOT want to "get out of the work". I feel like when a little kid is whining about cleaning their room and their Mom says in a soft voice, "Okay, don't do it. _I_ will." You feel even WORSE! You don't want THEM to have to do it! I feel like there are so many orphans (an estimated 140 million, actually) and giving out 1000 valentines was a big deal! It was a way to reach out to so many and show them that they are loved.
At the same time, I also have a different take on this situation. There are big orphanages in China that many people know about, from which many children are adopted. Foreigners set up foster homes for the children in these orphanages, and when a child needs a surgery, the foreigners have the connections needed to obtain financial aid to cover surgery costs. On the other hand, Hainan is a small island in the middle of Nowhere-South-China-Sea. The orphanage is not fancy and they don't receive much help. They don't have a bunch of fancy equipment or a bunch of financial sponsors covering the cost of the children's food, daily life and medical needs.
But GOD knows them, and Jesus knows them, just as much as they know the children in the larger institutions. And He will leave the ninety and nine to go find the one.
In this project, we are serving the one.

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