I am often reminded that mission is FOR children but can also be BY children.
Recently, a mother wanted me to meet her young daughter. When considering what she wanted to be when she grew up, her daughter said she wanted to be a missionary and teach children.
I talked to little Hannah and asked her if she would like to start being a missionary now. I opened my bag and showed Hannah a collection of “prayer sticks” that I happened to have inside. Note: One never knows what a Bible teacher “happens to have in his or her bag”!
Years ago, someone gave me a big box of coffee stirrers (craft sticks or popsicle sticks.) I began using these sticks for prayer activities. Participants in training workshops write the names of the children they teach on these sticks. We collect the sticks and then pass them back out again so the children can be prayed for by name. Read the full instructions for prayer sticks here.
Amongst my bag of sticks were two plastic spoons. Instead of writing a child’s name on a stick, a Bible teacher in Botswana had come up with the idea of drawing the face of each child on a plastic spoon. What a great idea! In Hannah, I knew I had found the perfect person to pray for these children.
Hannah took the spoons and took the task seriously. A few days later, her mother sent this message to me:
Hi Mary! I wanted to share with you that we have been praying for the sweet girls whose names are on the spoons you gave Hannah! 1 spoon had another name on the back so there are 3 names. Last night, Hannah prayed for Emma, Ret and Martha and then added… “And all the kids whose names are in all those bags, Lord, you know em.” I just wanted to share with you and thank you for giving her an insight to mission work!!
Thank you, Hannah. You remind me that children are part of the Mission of God. We do not have to wait until we are “old enough” to love God and bless others. Neither are we ever “too old”. This little girl approached the throne of God and confidently asked the King of the Universe to bring blessing into the lives of children on the other side of the world.
How do you think God responded?
