An Overlooked Mission Field
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to teach Sunday school for a group of 3rd-6th grade girls. This particular church runs a bus ministry, and each service, they pick up several busloads of kids from the surrounding neighborhoods. These children come from all types of homes and families. Some of them had never heard the name “Jesus” until this church reached out to them. It’s a beautiful ministry, and I applaud the church for its outreach.
During our Sunday school time, I mainly shared my testimony and my call to the mission field of Wales. I told the girls about my initial apprehension over being a missionary and confided in them about my tendency to worry and be fearful. Then I explained how God had worked in my heart and helped grow within me a desire to go to Wales. My purpose in sharing all this was to help them understand how much God cares for each of us and how we can confide in Him, and He will help us.
At the end of the lesson, I gave each young lady a small piece of paper and a pen and asked them to write down something they were fearful of or a feeling or emotion they were afraid to admit to anyone else. I had hoped that since they didn’t know me and I didn’t know them, they would be willing to share their innermost secrets with me on paper. I encouraged them to leave their name off the paper so no one would know who wrote what. I wanted to provide a safe place for them to be honest. . .and they were.
After church that Sunday morning, I went through those slips of paper one by one, and my heart broke. I can’t tell you the specifics because I promised the girls I wouldn’t, but I can tell you this: a single idea ran through the majority of those comments—“No one loves me! I feel so alone.” Tears streamed down my face as I read heartache after heartache. I took each need to the Lord, but I still couldn’t find peace in my own heart. This was a small group of young girls with problems the size of mountains. How many more feel the same way? How many kids out there are under the impression that no one loves them? For that matter, how many adults feel the same? With social media and technology giving us so many ways to stay connected, how is it that so many people feel they’re all alone?
I don’t understand it, my friends, but I cannot deny the truth of it. I see it all around me. I hear it in the cries of those suffering from anxiety and depression. I see it in the eyes of those who have contemplated (and even attempted) suicide. I read it in the testimonies of those reaching out for help. It’s everywhere. So many people are hurting. So many individuals feel unloved. So many are looking for acceptance and a sense of belonging. It’s devastating.
And yet, what are we, as Christians, doing about it? Are we showing the love of Christ to those around us? Are we telling our friends, neighbors, and coworkers that God loves them? Are we spreading hope and cheer or doom and gloom?
So many are falling through the cracks. We’re so wrapped up in our problems and our own lives, I fear we’re failing to notice those who are ready to end it all. They need to know they’re not alone. They need a gentle hug and a friendly smile. They need someone to reach out, to show an interest in them, to love them. They need to know about the love of Christ that is never-ending and never-changing.
I regularly pray over the requests of those young ladies. I don’t know their names or their family situations, but I know they’re hurting. And while I’m praying for their needs, I also pray the Lord would open my eyes to those around me who feel alone and unloved. I plead with Him to give me a heart of compassion and an unselfish attitude so I can be more in tune with those who need my help. I don’t want to be so consumed with my petty problems that I’m blinded to those suffering in silence.
Oh, Lord, please open our eyes to the overlooked mission field around us. Help us to have a heart for the hurting!
“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.”