The Reward

I have a little girl...not a biological one (and NO we don't know if the peanut is a boy or girl yet!). I adopted her as my F.A.N.S. kid through church. As you can see she is beautiful on the outside - and just as beautiful on the inside. It has been so much fun to do things for her and watch the pure joy and excitement she gets from it. It can just be a card in the mail, or a hug when I see her - and because she so thoroughly loves everything it makes me want to do more and more for her. I like to pick out cute little pencil sets or purses and then watch her face light up when she realizes that I actually care enough about her to get her these little (useless) trinkets.

She has a rough family life. Living with grandma, Auntie and some cousins while mom is in prison.

But... because one day some youth at this church decided to do some local missions work in the neighborhood... and because that one event turned into a monthly event... and that turned into bringing these underprivileged kids to the church for some special events... and that turned into them coming to Wednesday night activities... and that experience was so positive for her... and because she has encountered key people who show her Christ's love - she made a decision.

She asked Jesus to live in her heart.

So now, I get to be the excited one.

And relieved.

I am relieved and happy to know that after all the hard work and frustration that we have put in to this ministry...it was worth every minute. It was worth every frustrating moment, every scramble to get things done, every moment of uncertainty, every noisy bus trip to pick these kids up and take them home again. It was worth listening to every negative comment by all the "haters" who felt like we should just give up on these unruly kids, it was worth hearing some of my very own friends bash this program, and it was even worth every night that I went home feeling totally defeated and wondering if there was any hope for these kids.

So for anyone out there who wouldn't believe, or participate, or try because it was hard work and uncomfortable at times - I just want to say how sorry I am, because the reward in the end is so much bigger than the journey...and it was worth every single minute.