Son Shine Valley

“I am pleased when you spend yourself on Me.”  Those are lyrics to a song.  I’ve been thinking a lot about how I spend my time and how we spend time together as a family.  On the mission field overseas, we know it’s just as important to ministry to our own kids as it is to go out and share Jesus with others.  I am passionate about teaching my kids how to live a life of love and freedom fully surrendered to the Lord, and the best way to do this isn’t through “preaching” – it’s through example.  So, for the past 2 weeks we’ve changed how we spend our family time together to make it less “us” focused and more “others” focused.

On Tuesday, July 14^th, we planned a surprise day for the kids.  However, rather than the primary focus being on how we can entertain ourselves, we first chose to focus on how we can love on others and give away what we have – LIFE IN JESUS!  So, we took the kids to the grocery store to buy some candy.

Then we drove them to a township called Sonskyn Village (translation “Son Shine Village”) so they could give away their candy to the children that lived there.  At first Christian was a bit nervous of the idea to approach people he didn’t know, but we told him we’d be right by his side and that it will be fun and easy.  Once we started, it didn’t take him long to warm up and start walking up to kids on his own. 

Even though I prayed that the candy would multiply, we ran out towards the end as kids started spreading the word that free candy was being handed out! ;-)  We are so proud of Christian, Gracelyn and Josiah, as none of them complained about there being no candy left for them.  When they saw how happy the other children were to get candy, it put smiles on their own faces, which melted my mama’s heart!  At the end they said they had a blast and wanted to do it again.  We were able to talk to them about the condition of homes that most of these children live in and how sometimes they can go without eating meals or have very little.  We pray that their hearts were opened to those less fortunate and that their hearts become more thankful for just how blessed they are.  We also want them to learn that they don’t need all this “stuff” to be happy and full of joy in the Lord.

Our family hopes to visit this village on a weekly basis to start building relationships with the people there.  We were going to visit again this week (Tuesday is our family day) and bring some sidewalk chalk to draw pictures with the children, but it rained most of the morning and was terrible weather into the afternoon which prevented us from doing so.  So, instead we spent our family time making cards for the Gagers….because we love them too!

After walking through the township, we surprised them with a spontaneous trip out to the land that we’re hoping to purchase.  The lady that cares for all of the animals on the farm was there to guide us and teach us about the animals.  Christian befriended a dog named Nikita and is hoping that we can keep her when we move onto the farm!  This was a big deal for Christian in conquering his fears because sometimes he gets nervous around dogs.  He also suggested that we get a German shepherd because that’s what Jade would want.  They miss their big sister!  We toured one of the houses and the kids began telling us which room they’d like and which beds they want.  We explained that the furniture wouldn’t be staying with the house, although the current tenant is willing to offer us some good deals for some of his furniture because he is downsizing and doesn’t want to move it all.  Wouldn’t you know – we’re in need of at least one more bed because our boys have been sleeping on the floor.  We could also use another fridge/freezer.

We then ended our family day with lunch out and a movie.  Although it’s fun to eat out on occasion and watch movies, the greatest memories I want to build with my children and husband are times where we can have fun together spreading love to others!  Those are the moments that will build strong character and conviction in living a selfless life and loving the Lord with all their heart, mind, soul and strength!  So, the next time you think about entertaining yourself or your kids (if you have any), ask yourself how you/they can bless someone else in the midst of it!  It is better to give than to receive [Acts 20:35]!