Break my heart for what breaks Yours // Testimonies from my India Travels

It is Christmas time! For me that means snow falling, it means Christmas music playing in the background, it means the only light in the house coming from the kitchen where mom is hard at work and the tree all strung up with twinkle lights, it means marveling at "Emmanuel" and the gift of His presence. Christmas time means shopping when no one knows and wrapping special gifts to shower my family with on Christmas day, it means knowing the delight of giving. Christmas time means that the gift catalogs from World Vision, Compassion Intl., Gospel for Asia and Samaritan's Purse have come in the mail, it means I am spending my free time pouring through those pages looking for how I can best bless people who have so much less than I do during this time of sacrificial giving and abundant blessings.

I just returned from a trip to India. There is a lot of need in India, for physical things like food and water and shelter and medical care, for emotional things like rehab from trafficking or abuse or abandonment, for spiritual things like breaking free from the bondage of Hinduism. Everywhere I went we were bringing ourselves, bringing our time to pour out as an offering before the feet of Jesus, bringing our voices to sing songs and speak blessings and tell testimonies, bringing what we could to bring physical relief such as a meal for a community or first aid supplies for people with burns and no access to medical care. Everywhere we went, as grateful as the people were for our fellowship and our gifts, what their hearts gnawed with hunger for was prayer, was Jesus.

Here in the U.S. we sing, "Break my heart for what breaks Yours, everything I am for Your kingdom's cause" and while I was in India I prayed the Lord would show me what it is that truly breaks His heart. I was actually surprised to find that it is not the physical poverty these people find themselves in that breaks His heart... His heart is for the impoverished souls. I saw a lot of need, an overwhelming amount... but I was not overwhelmed by it. Far from it. What my senses (spiritual and physical) were overwhelmed by was the undeniable presence of God hanging thick in the air everywhere I turned. I was overwhelmed with a spirit of rejoicing as I saw hungry hearts for Jesus and open hearts for truth all over the place. I was overcome with praise as I saw so many who want to hear and believe and live in the Good News, and that no matter how few messengers of that News there are it is Jesus who mobilized them and uses them and makes them effective. Jesus is doing this work and whatever part He has us play in it, accomplishes His purposes.

So, with that reality burned into my heart and mind, I believe very strongly that the purchases I make from gift catalogs this year ought all to be Bibles. The request I would like to set before you, as my readers, is to pray about sponsoring a missionary. The workers are few, but Jesus does provide workers and they have needs to be met while they work. You can be sure that they are taking no thought for their life as they spend every day ministering Jesus, ministering life, to hungry souls all over the world. A small financial gift each month is hardly a sacrifice for us, but it would mean a world of difference to them. Take my word for that. I have seen the tremendous impact monthly sponsorship brings to lives. So there are two ways to get involved in the kingdom's cause this season once your heart has been broken by what is currently breaking our Lord's heart:
1) Purchase a print. One for one: each print purchased provides a Bible for a hungry soul!

2) Sponsor a missionary. GFA is at work in the desperate streets of India (and all over Asia) and your monthly gift is key to reaching hearts that are just waiting to hear Jesus' name!