Matt and I have been married for almost 14 years and we have been blessed with a son from Guatemala. Eli turned 5 in November of 2010 and what a blessing he is to our family. It is because of this precious gift from God that our hearts were opened to the people of Guatemala. Through the adoption process God began to stir in our hearts a desire to get involved with something much bigger than ourselves. However, we were not exactly sure what that would look like. Then Matt came home one night talking about a friend of his who was going on the mission field full time to Guatemala. Again, God was working in us but we were still in our own little world here in Georgia. The Evan's family moved to Guatemala and began working with Food for the Hungry. Matt kept in touch with them and kept me in the loop on what all they were doing.
In February of 2010 Matt, Eli and I flew down to visit our friends, as well as, seek out what God was doing in our hearts. In the two weeks we were down there it all began to make sense as we drove through communities to meet with the elders of the communities. To see the kids walking around with swollen belly's, to hear mom's cry because their kids were sick due to the contaminated water. To hear David and others from Food for the Hungry talk about the problems with malnutrition and how it's not a lack of food necessarily but more a lack of clean water and knowledge. We took it all in while asking what we could do to make a difference? What would it require of us? The thing we kept coming back to was this....without clean water the Guatemalans do not have a chance at living healthy lives. Without drinking from the Living Water these precious people will spend an eternity in hell. There had to be a way to merge two basic needs into one organization. As the old saying goes "people don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care."
It was our desire to give Guatemalans clean, safe drinking water so they can have proper hygiene, cook food without having to worry about the water making them sick but to also present them with the best gift we have ever received. The gift of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. What an amazing opportunity to be able to use a basic necessity as a door to point people to Jesus. It was this thought process that sparked our non-profit organization...Eli's Wish.
As we begin a new year it is our prayer and heart's desire that through Eli's Wish we will be able to make a difference in the lives of others. God has shown our family so much over the last year. To put away our selfish desires and seek Him with all our heart, soul and mind is simply putting Christ's words into action. Jesus has no feet but my feet and no hands but my hands. It is our job to share the gospel with all nations. It just may look different for different people.
You may be asking what can I do? I don't feel called to go out of the country on a mission trip. I have been there and this is the conclusion I have come to. It is not a calling, it is a command...if you are a child of Christ's then he has commanded you to do something. Maybe it is making a financial donation, maybe it's being a prayer warrior, I do not have the answer for everyone but I challenge you to make yourself available...do something. Become informed on the opportunities around you and then get involved!
