Vincent & Sierra

I met six year old Vincent and seven year old Sierra during a lunch that Crossway's local mission team put on at a motel in Costa Mesa. They're the oldest of four kids in a family that's been living there...

I played Jenga with Vincent. I think he was more interested in setting the blocks up then he was playing the actual game. A little later, we played Operation. Vincent never said much, but he sure smiled a lot.

When lunch started, Sierra joined us. She too had an infectious smile. She told me about her love for ice cream and for Candyland. Sierra told me a little bit about her family, like how her younger sister was a troublemaker. I asked her what school she went to and she said she didn't. I don't believe Vincent goes either.

We had to wrap things up right after the lunch. I said goodbye to them before they went back to their motel room. Our conversations were brief, but I remember their faces as clearly as if I was still there.

The time I spent doing local missions work with our team was brief. Two weekends to be exact. I'm not sure what kind of good I did or how God was able to use me at all, but I do know the impact that it's had on me.

You don't need to go far to find people in need of help or have been forgotten by the so-called nameless/faceless "system." They're all around us, and they all have lives filled with hurt, hopes, worries, joys, and fears much like our own.

I'm not the only one that's have gone through a thing or two.

As I continue to work towards fully realizing the gifts/talents I have, I pray that I'll never forget the people living just outside my door, or Jesus' commandment that I must love my neighbor as myself...