When I see the cute little faces of my students at Los Angeles Christian School, my heart fills with love. My class is small, only ten students, but full of personality! It also ranges in ability by a good four grade levels, some lower and some higher.
All live in inner-city LA, where the land is covered by asphalt, packed with buildings, and cars and people are everywhere. All experience the chaos that city brings. Even so, some are “poorer” than others.
Over Thanksgiving, my housemate Christine and I had one of my fourth graders over for an overnight with her second grade brother and their single mom, who normally works from afternoon to late evening. This family is new to our school. We had planned a trip to an animal park a couple hours south by car, and figured that having them stay overnight was the best way to have a good start on the next day.
Our place is tiny—but so is this family—so we housed them in our living room on two couches and a love seat. After dining on pizza (the kids) and beef stew (the adults), we enjoyed some movie time together. I loved having this family in our home! The next morning we chowed down Mickey-shaped waffles, then rinsed dishes and loaded up the dishwasher. The kids began to ask questions about this amazing machine. They wanted to know how it worked. I was amazed, too.
Our plans had changed, so we were off to the LA Zoo. The Lord blessed our time there. It seemed that each time we arrived at a particular enclosure; the animals would come out from the shadows or do some outrageous behavior. The mom seemed to enjoy the grounds as much as the animals. She found them green, beautiful, and peaceful. Then the rain came, just as forecasted, at around 1:00 pm. That was an adventure in and of itself! When we got home, we made a fire in the fireplace, and wet shoes were placed in front of it, along with cold toes! As the fire crackled, the kids lounged on our rug, playing with an item or two that we had bought them at the zoo. It was warm and oh, so peaceful. The mom relaxed, rested, enjoyed. We had shared our hearts and our home. Then we headed out in the rain for an hour drive back to their home in LA. This family is in my heart and I am in theirs. This is what ministry with World Impact is all about.
