the essence of missional

I saw something recently that really rang my bell regarding sharing with others. Most of you know that my daughter and her husband are missionaries to Guatemala (their blog). They are currently in the States raising their salary for the coming year. They have been visiting churches, presenting their work and building relationships.

On Sunday, they were invited to Salem Community Church in West Palm Beach, FL. This church was founded and is led by Serge Jerome. Serge is from Haiti and the vast majority of the people in his church share his heritage. I was struck by the profundity of a Haitian/American church financially supporting North American missionaries who work in Guatemala. Having just returned from Haiti two weeks ago, I can attest to the fact that their country is in absolute dire need for every penny they can get. The people of Salem Community Church have every reason in the world to form the opinion that they have obligations at home. No one would blame them if they sent every spare dollar back to families in their homeland. They all lost loved ones in the January earthquake. They all have family that are homeless. They all know people that are hungry and helpless. Yet they chose to give to two 20 something missionaries who are taking care of orphans in Central America. Astounding!

This elicits several emotions in me:
Gratitude for people who have little, but give much.
Anger at people who have plenty, but share little.
Shame at how much more I could give away.
Passion to help Haiti more.

One thing for sure I know: God will bless the great people of Salem Community Church!