We try to be generous with what God has blessed us with and last year we bought a well through Samaritan's Purse and never expected so much to come out of it. They have been so amazing about keeping us informed and updating us on what is going on in certain parts of the world without asking for more money. We even had a visit at our house from one of their employees who gave us all kinds of info and tailored it to the kids. We were invited to a reception for the Franklin Graham California tour and I thought, why not? So, last night we drove to Berkeley and what a blessing! We got to hear stories from Franklin Graham about his 2 organizations that are changing the world. He had a couple of shoe box stories that were amazing! And to hear what they do medically during disasters was really eye opening. I think we were all filled up just from that, but that wasn't even the event. There was a large, free event with Jeremy Camp. We weren't quite prepared as we saw people packing in their camp chairs and that didn't even occur to me, so we had to sit in the grass. There were a bunch of people already camped out but we managed to find a place where there were others who didn't have chairs (they blocked the view). There was still plenty of time before the event, so Ainsley and I walked around to see if we could find anyone we knew and we ended up at the very front and there was plenty of room for us to sit, so why not??? The boys didn't want to move...their loss (they did end up joining us at the end)! Jeremy Camp came out not long after and sang my favorite song, Word of Life. There was so much energy and the words he spoke were powerful. After a couple songs, he looked over in our direction and said, "What's your name." We didn't know who he was talking to because there were a lot of people, but he then said, "You, young girl." And Ainsley was the only kid in the area, so she told him her name and he repeated it and asked how old she was and then gave her a message. I wasn't quite quick enough with the phone (would have missed the whole message if I still had my Iphone), but I got most of it...a message for all of us:
As if the night wasn't good enough, that was amazing! I guess the boys were freaking out in the back because he was talking to us :). Then, Franklin Graham spoke again and called people to stand if they wanted to accept Christ and there were so many people who did! So moving and unforgettable. When we were going back to the car, I said how that made me just want to go and share Christ with everyone and the kids agreed. It was such a powerful reminder of our purpose here on earth, our one and only purpose, share the good news and love of God!
It also reminded me that we have to put ourselves out there in order to do this. It might be uncomfortable and take us places we never thought we would go or do things we never thought we would do, but just maybe we will see God at work and have just one or two stories like Franklin Graham. I think a lot of times we don't see the fruits of our labor, but to be obedient when God calls is all we need to do. If we're lucky, years later we'll understand why certain things happened or why we were on the path we were on. Maybe that won't happen until eternity, but God gives us what we need and I was reminded of that when I read my Mother's Day card from Khalif. Definitely, the most challenging thing I've ever done in so many ways but to know that Khalif gets it, makes it worth it!
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