I drove out of the parking lot of our base yesterday and saw a beautiful 3-year-old girl who is part of our program, standing in the yard to my right as I passed. She began running, so I thought she was running across the lot toward someone or something else. But she was running to me. I just met her last week, butpositive attention leaves a positive impression. The food feeds more than the belly, the words more than the mind and the affection more than the self esteem. Souls are nurtured and hope becomes a real possibility. She remembered me with eagerness.
The sooner we reach them, the better.
When I saw her, I saw them. I remembered. I paid a mental visit to one of the first impressions made upon me when I came to Village of Hope as a visitor, over 20 years ago! One of my most vivid first memories of "Carver Village" is watching kids chase behind our van as we left the neighborhood, not wanting us to leave. Now those kids are the moms and dads and a whole new generation of little ones are chasing our cars. Tears near my eyes as I ponder the complexities of this subject and its many "branches" as I write. But to get to the branches, you must start with the roots. For ministry to extend into teens, families, adults-you must start with the children. To begin to change the problem of poverty or generational sins of addiction or unwed pregnancies, you must care a great deal for the ones who are not yet acting upon those sins, but are pre-disposed to them...the children. To see an end to fatherlessness, you must invest into fatherless sons, who will become the fathers they don't have. And so on. You might call it "Spiritual Preventative Care."
For months, God has been speaking to me through dreams, confirmations from others and ministry circumstances, that I need to re-center my heart and efforts back where they belong. I need to simplify. I need to go "lower still," ...again. I need to pour more time and resources into ministry and education for the faces of the future; the little feet who chase my car. The ones who stare at me through my window when I've barely parked, like I am a rare exhibit to be studied. Those precious sponges of truth, love and knowledge.The roots that become the trees. My beginnings! The children.
After writing the above portion in a coffee shop, I stopped at a gas station on my way home. Just outside of the door, a markedly needy man was asking people for change. As soon as he saw me approaching the store, he called out to me, "Mom! Mom, can I have 50 cents?" "What did you call me?" He answered by asking for 50 cents again. I clarified, "No, what name did you just call me?" He said, "Mom." Just as I was explaining that I didn't have cash to give but could buy him something to drink, another man walked out with a huge bottle of cold water and a dollar for him. When I left, he said "Thank you" as I passed by. (Even though I didn't directly help him.) Maybe just stopping made a small difference. Some people ask for money when what they are really asking for is dignity.
He was not a literal child, but was very child-like in his vulnerability and dependency. A total stranger who called me Mom. A boy who got older but never grew up. This was not a coincidence! I got in my car and wept. I wept at the immediate confirmation of what I had just written about, and the reminder of the calling upon my life to be a spiritual Mama. I am called to the child and the child-like. The poorest and most vulnerable. Those at the "bottom" of society, but at the "top" of God's kingdom! The forgotten. The "roots" under the ground that no one sees. (Everyone wants fruit, but from what foundation?)
Truth is, I also wept at the hardness I felt around my own heart compared to how soft and broken it used to be for precious souls like this man, or the little girl who chased my car. A hardness that has built up over the last few months and even years. Slowly and subtly I fell into a rut. Busyness, weariness, health problems...and lack of discipline in the most important root of all: intimacy with God. Our Iris Global mama, Heidi Baker, proclaims this truth:
"All fruitfulness flows from intimacy." Prayer and worship are to be the deepest roots of all. How can we pour into others or keep compassion and perspective alive if we are not constantly watered with the word and the spirit, ourselves? When I first began doing street ministry and Village outreach many years ago, it wasn't because of an organized plan or business model that had been drawn up. It was birthed out of who I already was-a worshipper. I had led worship and written songs and gotten "wrecked" at a revival that lasted 5 years and out of that awakening unto Jesus, came an awakening to the lost, the addicted, the homeless and the forgotten children around me.
It's who I'm called to reach.
But it all began with intimacy with Jesus and will only be sustained by the same.
"What is obtained through prayer must be maintained through prayer." Sadly and interestingly enough, when I reflect back on the last year or so, I can see a correlation between a decrease in my personal time with God, and an increase in my personal disconnect with the heart of my calling and sense of clear direction for our ministry in this season. So? I am going "back to my roots" in this area as well. Whether that is getting up before sunrise to read God's word and soak in His stillness, or "setting up shop" in my office with my keyboard so that I can release the song of the Lord that has been caged up in me for a while...I am taking off my shoes and letting my feet sink deep into the soil of Holy Ground. It's time. It's time to be brave and make changes. It's time to re-commit to Him and reconnect with You- the heroes behind the scenes, who faithfully donate, pray and volunteer, even during dry or silent seasons!
THANK YOU! Thank you for fueling all that we have been able to do this year, including feeding programs, after school groups, field trips and events, prayer nights, outreach, missions training, art and education.
I also fell into a limited schedule for quite a while, and mostly worked at the Village while the neighborhood kids were at school. (Even though we do have long-established after school groups that run every week for kids and youth, thanks to our amazing group leaders!) But as my own family recently transitioned into homeschooling, and my husband's job schedule changed, things have become a little more flexible. But more importantly, my heart, time and passion for ministering to and educating children was forced back into the light! Truly, Motherhood IS education, both for the child and the mother.
As I have worked with my owns kids more, I have started working with our Village of Hope kids more. I am re-aquainting myself with them as much as I can. I even totally dropped our long-running Tuesday cafe and pantry times off of the schedule for now, as I knew it was time to shift our focus and re-channel our main resources toward the children and youth, including food and nutrition education. Don't misinterpret, we are still available to our community as a whole and able to help with other needs.
(We are, by the way, re-establishing our "Second Saturday" monthly community outreaches, like we did years ago...talk about going back to roots!)
In fact, when I tell people how I would sum up everything I'm about, our ministry's "DNA," I only say 2 things:"Worship Jesus. Stop for the One."
You might say, "Love God, Love Others." But this is a given. And out of Worship flows love for whosoever. I even have a particular drawing and anointing for certain "adults." But I have a unique responsibility and need to give extra attention to the little ones, and must never let them fall behind the boat just because its filled with bigger fish, or because I am too busy "fishing for men" that I have stopped fishing for children, too. (Particularly in our base context, where changing the trajectory of the children is the only hope for where the future of the neighborhood as a whole, is headed...including the parents and grandparents.)
As our school-calendar year comes to a close, (I'm excited to attend our end-of-the-year party for the little ones this afternoon!) I want to ask you to hold me up in prayer like never before. We need a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit to breathe on Village of Hope/ IRIS, Bartow. We also need many more volunteers and missionaries to hear and obey the call to "GO!" Not only to go into All the world, but into our little part of it. My heart's desire is for our base to truly become just that. A full-time Missions Base, where a missional community is raised up, homes, medical clinics and classrooms are built, gardens are grown (we have started our first one already!), Church is organic, prayer is constant, and new missionaries are sent from the Village into the neighborhoods as well as the nations! And the best part? Many of them will be the very children who grew up here. I am re-comitting and re-announcing my original life goal regarding children's ministry and my partnership with Iris Global:
To help Mama Heidi reach her "1 Million Children goal" by reaching 100,000 inner-city children/youth through Village of Hope! New York City is one place I feel called to open a center, but let's strengthen our home-base and "prototype" first!
There is much work to be done. This is the best time to get involved as a new volunteer or re-established volunteer, as we are ending a year of programs and will begin training and preparing for the new year very soon! Please e-mail me at villageofhopemin@gmail.com for more information, or call/text 863-838-5294. Also, keep an eye on our Website for upcoming events, or to donate online at www.
More information and e-mail updates coming soon, and "JUNE" calendar of events...
Thank you for hearing my heart and supporting this adventure!
With MUCH gratitude, Love, Jessica Goodman ("Mama J")
