Princes & Princesses of The King

If I was in church at home this Sunday, I would be hearing Pastor Eric preach about Acts 2 and the work of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.  Knowing that that was the text that he was going to be preaching on while I was gone, I spent some time reading it yesterday morning so that while I'm not there, I would still stay connected.

Today is my first full day at Shepherd's Field Children's Village in China.  It is an amazing place led by some amazing people, who have a heart for the Lord and for serving orphaned children who have a wide (and in come cases serious) array of physical and developmental challenges.

If you've ever spent time doing cross-cultural missions and ministry, you know that sometimes communication can be challenging...you use words, you use smiles, you use gestures, and sometimes, as a last resort (which really should be the first resort) you put it in God's hands to help the message get across.

This morning had the potential for chaos - and briefly it was.  I went to one of the children's houses (here at "the village", the children live in 5 different houses) armed with foam crowns and stick-on jewels (some of which, as would be expected, ended up not on the crowns but stuck to their faces).  My message to the kids was that because they are God's children, and He is the King of Kings, that they are Princes and Princesses.  Once everyone got the color they wanted and the jewels which had been flung into the air by one of my very excited little friends had come to rest, I felt it was like in Acts 2:7-8, "Utterly amazed, they asked: 'Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it  that each of us hears them in his own native language?'"  My Chinese language skills are nominal at best.  Some of the kids have a few English words in their vocabulary.  Yet somehow we were able to connect, communicate, and share some special time together.

I guess that when your heart and intentions are right, and you've placed your work in God's hands, the message that you're desiring to share can be heard regardless of the language that you speak. 

Here are a few of the Princes and Princesses: