Thankful Thursday~Love is a GIFT from above!!

1 Corinthians 13:13

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.


Most of my post for Thankful Thursday actually comes from another blog. If you have read some of my earlier posts, then you already know about the mission trip that some of our church members are on to a Childrens' Home in Ongole, India. One of the guys on the trip created a blog so that we could all see the awesome things that God is doing during their time there. I would love to be in India hugging on all those sweet children, but Wes' blog from earlier this week was the next best thing! Be sure to pay close attention to the ways that these children with so little, shared love with so many. I am thankful for their example of how to reflect God's love with others. Here is what Wes wrote...




Children Receive Their Gifts From Their Sponsor Families

Ok, if you ever feel the need to experience first hand what it means to appreciate what you have and see God move in a significant way, give a child who once had nothing a ziplock bag of $1 items with a photo of yourself. . . It was the best 2 bags we checked out of all our luggage by far :0)





Late this evening (Monday), we gathered the children upstairs in the room where the boys sleep. They sat patiently as we called each child up to the front . . . and when I say “called,” I really mean announced with great vigor as the room went crazy nuts for them. They came up and were presented their ziplock bag including things like gum, pencils, stuffed animals, small t-shirts, and little toys. In hindsight, I should have taken a picture of their face as they sat waiting for their name to be called. You would have thought that they were waiting on the last number in a 10 digit lotto ticket that had just matched the first 9 numbers. When their name was announced the smile that came alive inside of them wrapped around their face several times. They then took a picture with Rocky or their respective sponsor if present. For a brief moment, they were Rock Stars! The smile on their face only became brighter as they searched the inside of the bag like it was a ransomed buried treasure. If that were not enough to send our hearts into sensory overload here’s the two kickers from these incredible children:





1. The most treasured possession for them was any and every picture their sponsor family had placed in the bag. They lit up with excitement showing off the picture of their American Mom, Dad, sisters, and brothers. They ran up to everyone saying, “this is my mom, or my sister’s names are. . . . “ So excited to have people to call MY FAMILY. My eyes fill with tears as I recall the experience in my head.





2. Before I write the specifics of number 2, I want you to picture in your mind what this scene would look like in a big city’s inner city, or any places of poverty you ever been, or even better yet Christmas at our own homes. Children who have nothing are given something they absolutely love. These incredible children began taking things out of their new treasured ziplock bags and tried to give some of the items to our team who they have drawn close to. Kids were taking candy out of their bag and literally putting it in our mouths desiring to share with us what little they had. They would take out two pieces of candy and seek out someone to share with. Some of them were even trying to give us the biggest and brightest toys out their newfound gifts. Aside from the Chintapalli family themselves it was the most selfless act I had ever experienced. Truly these children teach us twice over what we are trying to teach them.





After posting the last blog with all the inside jokes, I could not go to bed until I balanced it out by sharing this experience with all of you. Again, the prayers are felt in a powerful way and the e-mail notes of encouragement mean a great deal, so keep ‘em coming!





Love to all --





wes

You can read more about this fantastic and uplifting journey here.

For more Thankful Thursday, visit Iris at Sting My Heart. By the way, I have been "tagged" and I promise to complete that post soon as Spring Break comes to an end.