Pure and Undefiled Religion

My time in Armenia has come to an end and I am actually back in Romania for our last country of the race. A kind of redemption of round 1 of Romania. But I want to talk about the ministry we were working with, in Armenia. We spent our month working at a special needs orphanage. It is the largest orphanage in Armenia. 

Going into it I was very nervous. I’ve never worked with special needs people before and the thought of caring for them scared me. So before we started going there I was praying that God would give me a heart for them and help me to love them. 

He also reminded me of James 1:27, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

He did answer me and I fell in love with working at that orphanage. We fed kids breakfast in the morning. Then we would sometimes take kids that are in wheelchairs for walks so they can get fresh air. If it was a rainy day, we would play games with them inside. On other days we would take kids to the orphanage’s clay pottery room so we also got to play with clay with them. Then finish our time that day by feeding them lunch before they took naps.

My favorite part was getting to feed the kids. I fed the same boy breakfast and lunch almost every day that I was there. He didn’t speak at all and was in a wheelchair but he was a fast eater. Every time I was feeding him I would be spending my time talking to him or praying for him. I remember praying that I would be able to see him be able to move on his own just a little bit more than I had. Then the next day when I walked into the room to feed him he gave me a smile, and I had never seen him smile before. So I continued to pray that God would give him more physical and mental ability. 

I also shared the gospel with him. I told him that Jesus died on the cross for his and wanted a relationship with him. Do I know what happens to someone who doesn’t have the mental ability to understand most things when they die? No, but I hope in God’s mercy that He would let those with mental disabilities be able to be with Him. But I also know there are verses like Romans 1:20 and Romans 3:23. So why just depend on what I hope God does when I could share the good news with him as we are told to do. I don’t know if he was able to understand what I said because I don’t even know how much Armenian he understands but how can they know if they have not heard (Romans 10:13-14). So I told him and I prayed that the Holy Spirit gives him the ability to understand and have a relationship with God. I won’t know what the fruit of that was this side of heaven but I had to share it with this amazing kid. 

As scared as I was going into it, it was one of my favorite months of ministry on the race if not my favorite. I just wish I hadn’t spent a week of my time in Armenia sick so I could be there more. Caring for those who can’t for themselves is such a gift from God. You get to see God move in so many amazing ways. Also, He’ll move in ways that you’ll never see.