Compassionate Joy: "There is joy in serving Jesus."

Hello!

Last week, I had the pleasure of going with a team of amazing people, to a small town in Washington, called Grandview.

Our main mission was to help the Sanchez family, ( a wonderful family who have started a church up there, and also run a Good News Club for kids ) with any needs they have, and run a VBS.

It was SUCH an amazing experience, and I thought I would share some of the things I got to see and do!

Probably the most life changing thing I got to experience, was being used by the Lord to lead 4 of his children to Him.

It was an experience I'm sure I will never forget. My faith was strengthened so much through that experience. Best part? Not only did I get to lead kids to the Lord, but some of my other team members did as well. In total, 11 kids accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.

That, my friends, is an amazing thing.

These are the 4 kids I led to Christ.

Now, I'm gonna tell you a story, about the little boy in the last picture. His name is Kaleb,

He stole my heart from day 1!! He's 5 years old, and he has the sweetest heart.

We would talk about soccer, McDonalds, and how cool God is.

On Wednesday, I was told that we were going to be having a invitation to salvation the next day. Before I went to sleep, I prayed and prayed that God would let me see my Kaleb get saved.

So, on Thursday, during the invitation, when Kaleb raised his hand, indicating that he wanted to accept Christ as his Savior, I couldn't believe it. Then, I was blessed to be able to have him in my group that I counseled, and ultimately got to lead him to the Lord.

What a blessing that was. When I finished up with them, I couldn't help but feel overcome with thankfulness for all God has done.

Now, a personal story.

Leading up to this trip, my only prayer had been that God would let me feel His true joy. Because, I'll be honest, true joy isn't something that comes too often anymore.

But on this trip, I have come to find, that true joy is in serving Jesus. Not in something of my own intentions, but truly serving Jesus, and letting him work. I remember, Thursday, after we came home from VBS, I had a quiet moment to myself and I cried out to God, tears of happiness, thanking Him for all he had some. For the love He had shown me. For the healing He had done in my heart.

For the JOY He had given me.

Those are just a few of the many stories I have to tell. All I can say, is God is good.