Taking Children On An Incredible Journey

Have you ever been on an incredible journey and experienced God's peace, love, and joy?  When our children were young our family traveled to the Dominican Republic.  As the time grew closer, anticipation and excitement escalated as our children counted down the days until our departure date.  This was not just a vacation, but this was an incredible journey that God used to open our hearts to His peace, love, and joy.  You see, this particular trip was our families first mission trip together.

Have you ever been on an incredible journey and experienced God's peace, love, and joy?  When our children were young our family traveled to the Dominican Republic.  As the time grew closer, anticipation and excitement escalated as our children counted down the days until our departure date.  This was not just a vacation, but this was an incredible journey that God used to open our hearts to His peace, love, and joy.  You see, this particular trip was our families first mission trip together.

Our family sponsored a young girl from the Dominican Republic through the mission organization Compassion International.  Adalesa lived with her family in a small village, along the river, about eight hours away from the large city of Santa Domingo.  She grew up in a large family with very little income and no educational opportunities.

Through Compassion International sponsorship some of her needs were met.  The monthly money that was given to Compassion International to sponsor her helped provide an education, food, and clothing.  As long as we continued to sponsor our Compassion child she was able to go to school, receive one hot meal a day, and additional clothing.

What was the purpose for this trip?  Why did my husband and I take our children into a foreign country to experience this new culture?  As parents our desire was to teach our children the importance of serving one another.  If we are to teach our children the love of Christ we must teach them to love one another and put others before themselves. Through this trip our children were able to experience the needs of others, love and serve them, in an environment culturally different from their own.

Within our family unit, parents are instructed to teach children the spiritual things of the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).  They are to be godly examples, positive role models, and the hands of the Lord who guide their children towards spiritual truth.  As children's ministry leaders we are called to partner with parents in the spiritual training of a child. 

Children are important to the Lord and they deserve every opportunity to grow in their faith and their relationship with Him.  By showing expression's of God's love in actions and through words, children learn to trust and experience God's love in their own lives. Supporting and encouraging the family in their efforts to lay a spiritual foundation is essential in the spiritual growth and life of the child.

Children are a gift from God and they are important to Him.  Thus, they deserve every opportunity to learn about Jesus Christ and grow in Him.  But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" (Matthew 19:14).  

Take children on this incredible journey, they deserve the experience.