In just a few short days I will be taking a group of graduating seniors on their senior trip. This is the second year that a group of our seniors have asked to go, opting for this trip to work at the Rose of Sharon Orphanage, rather than spend a week at a beach somewhere partying with friends. I don’t know if this is becoming a Calvary tradition, but I love it.
We’ll be pouring a lot of concrete, planting a lot of strawberries, fixing bikes, and playing a lot of baseball. I’ve been going to this orphanage off and on since 1999, and I’ve had the opportunity to see some of these young boys grow up at the orphanage.
Every year, someone asks the question: Can I adopt one of the boys? What kind of life will he have unless he gets out of the DR, out of the orphanage? How much better would his life be if he came to live in the United States?
The simple truth is that the DR doesn’t allow adoption as a general practice. But the bigger truth is that Pastor Wiggs (the founder of the ministry that runs the school and orphanage) has a vision that trumps adoption.
He believes that God wants to transform the Dominican Republic, and we get to be part of that transformation process. You see, as we pour God’s love into these young men–showing them the love of Jesus, teaching them what it means to be a follower/servant of the Most High God, helping them rise above circumstances and begin to live as Godly men, their lives will be transformed. As their lives radiate the glory of God, their communities will be transformed. As their communities are transformed, eventually the Good News of Jesus Christ will have a transforming effect on the entire country.
How about that for a vision?! Don’t pull them out of the country; help them see who God is calling them to be in the country.
I can get behind that vision. In fact, I believe that God has that same vision for the Centre Region.
The circumstances are different, but all of us are in need of transformation. And the places we live are in desperate need of the touch of God. Once we begin to live in the power and grace of God, our lives, our families, our neighborhoods, our communities–every place that we have influence–are touched by the transforming power of God.
Now wouldn’t that be something?
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