Giving to the Needy

I was reading in Matthew today and there was one passage of scripture that stood out to me.

"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' in front of others, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." -Mathew 6:1-4

This passage speaks a couple of things to me. The first is to help the needy. A tangible way that I can help the needy is through Compassion International. I sponsor a couple of girls through Compassion. Giving up a few dollars to pay for their food and education is such a small sacrifice. And the best part is that they develop a relationship with Christ. I write letters to these girls and they write letters back to me. These letter have become very special to me. I have sponsored one of the girls for six years now. What a blessing and honor it has been to watch her grow into a beautiful young lady. I can have a relationship with these girls, encourage them, and speak life into them from halfway around the world. Compassion is truly an amazing ministry and it has changed my life.

Another thing that this passage speaks to me is about serving. I think sometimes it is easy to serve to get attention. I think people should get recognized for their sacrifice but we shouldn't get caught up in it. The best way to serve is so that no one knows it was you.

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Love Changes People

A couple of summers ago I had two campers for that week. Now for the Camp Daniel staff, it can be hard to match up the campers and their counselors. There is a LOT of prayer that goes into this. Tony, the director of Camp Daniel, is switching and matching people up until the day of camp. It is quite a long process to match campers up with counselors especially if you have two campers. The campers can have such different personalities. The staff does their best to match up campers who will get along with each other. But I know without a doubt that you get the camper you are supposed to get.

My campers for that week were Amy and Patsy. Amy was in her 30's and Patsy was in her 50's and had Down Syndrome. I knew both of them because they had been to camp before. Amy was pretty tough and had some behavior issues. Sometimes she was kind of aggressive toward others. I found out later that week that she had a background of abuse. She was so rough and closed off from others. She always seemed like she was mad.

Patsy was sweet and quiet. When she got ready for bed I would sit on the edge of her bed and pray for her. Every night she would cup my face in her and hands and say I love you. She made me feel so loved. Patsy greatly changed the outcome of that week. Amy didn't like being told what to do. If I had just had Amy I fear that there would have been a lot of confrontation that week. Patsy completely changed the situation. I had Amy help me with Patsy and she responded really well to that. The two of them got along well because Patsy loves everybody.

Patsy's sweet personality and love changed Amy. Throughout the week Amy seemed to relax and open up a bit. I had never seen Amy like that before. Amy is not one for affection. By the end of week I was praying with her and she hugged me which kind of surprised me. I can't imagine the pain that she has been through. Patsy never said much but love doesn't need words. Patsy was the key factor in the outcome of that week. Patsy showed love to Amy and that changed the week and made it wonderful. Had she not been there, I fear the week would not have gone so well. This is why I know you get the campers that God intended for you to have.

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