2021 Daily Devotion - Day 418

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I wasn’t ready to go. My children were little, 5 and 8. How can I leave them for three weeks to go to Africa? Jesus, please, pick someone else! But there was no one else at the time. It was my call. The directors of the children’s home in Namibia were in need of a child psychologist. Some of the children showed psychological and behavioral problems that needed to be identified and treated. The children were safe, sheltered, and fed, but most had experienced an early childhood of neglect and abuse that had left deep wounds. I prayed. I talked with my husband. I went.

My plan was to go and help, assess each child, give advice, be His servant. I didn’t expect to receive anything back. Oh, how wrong I was. The 35 children at the children’s home didn’t have any personal belongings. There was never any extra food. They had one soccer ball and played barefoot in the dirt. Yet they found joy in the smallest things. They praised God and thanked Jesus Christ before each meal and throughout the day. They smiled, they sang, they danced. In one of the poorest places on earth, I found a feeling of purest joy and overwhelming peace. I felt Heaven touching Earth. That feeling has never left my heart.

What I experienced in Namibia has transformed my life and that of my children. So often, we think we know it all. We think we have a plan. But God’s plan is so much bigger and better. I went back to serve the orphaned children in Namibia twice more, with teams that included my teenage children, and we are ready to go again. I cannot speak enough about the joy of serving. It transforms you. It humbles you and makes you grateful. My children call it their happy place. I call it Holy Spirit alive.

Acts 1:8
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Pray with me:
Heavenly Father, it is not easy to step out of our comfort zones. Help each of us find our call to serve You and be Your witnesses. Your Great Commission asks us to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). May we spread Your love for us, near and far. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Andrea Karsh
Missions Ministry
Mount of Olives Church
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