Stephen Ok

One semester, three weeks of intensive training, and thirty days later, we’re all sitting on a plane going back to O’Hare. Words cannot do justice to describe all that has happened and all that we have seen. Common themes appear, but nothing fully captures everything that God has done in Mexico.

The most prominent thing that I noticed was God’s heart for His people. That He truly loves them. This fact became so clear to me one day in Chilpancingo when we visited an orphanage. In this place of physical need, all I wanted to do was give things to the kids. But being CFC missions, we had nothing material to give them except for some pieces of hard candy. We ran through our standard VBS schedule of games, praise, a Bible story skit, memory verse, craft, Gospel presentation, and then some prayer time. During the prayer time, we broke up into groups and prayed for the kids in each of our groups. In my group, there was a 15 year old boy named Louis. We had never spoken before, and before praying I nonchalantly put my arm around him. But to Louis, that arm around his shoulder was the feeling of love missing from his life. Soon after, I could feel him sobbing. It wasn’t anything I did, but it was God showing Louis His love through me.

In the state of this child’s brokenness, I felt the intensity of God’s love. I had nothing to give this boy, but God had everything to give him. I showed Louis a very conditional love, loving because the deck had been cruelly stacked against him. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. I was reminded of what a team member said to me about ministering to others. He said that ministering to people is simply loving them. Listening to them. Showing them that Jesus loves them. It’s nothing that I do for them, it’s trusting that God is working His plan in their life. Even though I think I can do so much, I have to know I am merely a broken vessel that has the privilege of being used by God.
While playing with the kids in our first ten minutes or so of being there, they were already asking us when we were coming back. Every time I answered this question, I would have to respond with “No sé,” which meant “I don’t know.” And every time I said this, knowing full well the answer was “Probably never,” it broke my heart. I can only pray that Jesus is in their hearts, filling them with an eternal love that will never fail them. The three necessities of life are said to be food, clothing, and shelter. The love of Christ has been left off that list, but in this orphanage full of broken children, it’s what was needed most.

Two things I want to take home and apply to my life and why:
1. To always see the spiritual need of people. It’s so easy for me to see the material need of people, whether they are in need or not, but when I see a lack of material need, I don’t think of spiritual need. So in places where physical needs were met, I had trouble really praying for those people. The question probably comes down to “how much does it break your heart that people don’t know Jesus?”
2. Ministering to people means loving them. It’s not what I do for them, but trusting that God is working in them. I need to apply this in my life because I’m very pro-active in trying to do things for myself or for others, thinking that I can effectively diagnose the situation and solve the problem on my own. I’m going to be co-leading a small group this coming school year, and if I keep these self-dependent thought processes, it’s going to be disastrous.