Heart of
by Karen Unternahrer
Missi ns
Short-Term Missions
Kimberley Streeter serves with
Students International in the Dominican
Republic ministering to women and their
children in the small and very poor community of El Callejon just outside the city
of Jarabacoa.
More stories from Kimberley may be
found at meetingjesusinelcallejon.blog.
In the following article, the students Kim
refers to are short-term mission groups
from the United States:
As we pray for the new day and share
testimonies, we start to hear giggles.
Standing in the doorway, poking heads
up at the windows, little ones come.
Another day has started in El Callejon.
Why do these kids come day after day?
We don’t have video games or television.
We aren’t giving them money or other
stuff. We aren’t feeding them. Why then?
Because the students pay attention to
them, even with limited Spanish, the
students talk with the children, they play
with them, they pick them up and swing
them around, they cuddle, they laugh,
they are happy to see them, such small,
simple things.
But, for kids whose moms don’t
understand parenting beyond providing
some food and clothes, whose dads are
either absent or ignore them, this love
and attention draws them to come.
Sometimes people look at the cost of
a short-term mission trip and think that
the money would be better invested if it
was just sent on. There may be ministries
where this is appropriate. But, for us,
it’s impossible to show the love of Jesus
without being here.
God showed us how important we
are to Him by sending His Son to live
among us. His feet got dirty walking
dusty roads, His hands full of germs from
touching diseased and leprous people.
The sun beat down on His head, He
became tired and thirsty. He moved from
place to place, reaching out, teaching,
loving and being present with those He
came to save.
Immanuel, God-with-us. In His coming, in His being not just for us, but with
us, we are transformed. In our transformation, we are able to reach out with His
love. Watching the faces of the little ones
of El Callejon light up as the students
play with them, we see the possibility of
transformation. In the students’ love, we
see the love of God-with-us.
When Jesus left, He commanded us
to go out into the world, to be a part of
God-with-us through the power of the
Holy Spirit. We are humbled and blessed
that these young women accepted God’s
invitation, God’s command, to come and
share God-with-us in El Callejon.
Paraphrasing the familiar Forest
Whitcraft quote:
“A hundred years from now it will not
matter what kind of car you drove, the house
you lived in, how big your bank account was.
But, El Callejon, the Dominican Republic,
and maybe even the world, may be different, maybe a little better, because you were
important in the life of these children.”
We praise God for bringing students
willing to come and be important in the
lives of the people of El Callejon. When
students come and play with the little
ones, share their stories, their love for
Jesus, they let the precious people of El
Callejon know that they, too, are important, important to us, but most of all,
important and beloved of God. That has
the potential to change the world.
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The Hometown Treasure · August ‘12 +rr3p??