Today I have been thinking about my missionary friends around the world.

– Kate is living in Burkina Faso, Africa. She runs a program for street boys so that every Saturday, they can come to a safe place, play games, hear a story about the Bible, eat a good meal and sometimes even get new clothing items. This past Christmas, Kate raised money to buy enough shoes so that every boy could have one new pair.

– Hugh is living in Mexico. He is working with young men to mentor them in the ways of God.

– Jeremy is in the Petan region of Guatemala. The region suffers from the lack of fresh water so Jeremy has developed a program where people can sponsor fresh water wells to be drilled to provide villages with clean drinking water.

– Eric, Heather and their children are in Connecticut. You may not think of Conn. as a big missionary field, but they are ministering to the prostitutes and drug addicts, helping them to change their lives and get off the streets.

– Matt and Carol are in Asia translating the Bible for people that have never been able to read the scriptures in their own language.

– Steve, Rhonda and their children are in Amsterdam, working with the drug addicts and prostitutes.

I could go on and on.

I miss being with these friends. I miss going on medical missions, handing out medications, such as aspirin, to people that have waited hours standing in line. We can just go to our local drugstore and think nothing of it. I miss seeing the grateful faces, knowing that they will have a better night’s sleep with proper help. I miss people that are truly thankful for everything they are given.

And then the reality of where I live settles in. We throw away food from our plates because we are too full. We take long, hot showers and think nothing of it. We drive to work in our air-conditioned cars and sit in our air-conditioned offices. We don’t have to walk 10 miles just to go to church. In fact, we don’t even bother going to church. We don’t bother with the addicts on the street, we just step over them as we go on our way.

God open our eyes to those in need around us and let us be thankful for the blessings that you have provided to us.