Seeds of the Kingdom
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Seed Sower Award
The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man
which sowed good seed in his field. Matthew 13:24
And let us consider one another to provoke
unto love and to good works. Hebrews 10:24
In this series, we intend to highlight the work of those who are currently busy introducing the seeds of righteousness, peace, and joy into this sin-filled earth, with the hopes that at least a few lives will receive the Word and be eternally changed. The purpose in turning the spotlight on these works is not to glorify those men and women who are actively advancing the kingdom of God, but rather to stimulate YOU, the reader, into doing YOUR part in YOUR corner. Neither is the purpose meant to be that of asking the readers to donate financially or personally participate in these projects, although that is certainly an option in some cases. Take these ideas, tweak them to fit your situation, and begin to plant the kingdom of God in your environs. The inclusion of any person or church in these articles is not an endorsement by The Heartbeat of the Remnant of every doctrine and practice that the spotlighted individuals or churches may represent in other areas of their life. As well, the spotlighted person/group may not endorse all aspects of The Heartbeat of the Remnant.
This issue features an interview with a brother from Ohio who reached out in compassion in the recent Haiti earthquake. He prefers to remain anonymous, so that God be glorified, and not him.
(The Heartbeat of the Remnant) Hello, brother. I understand that you went to Haiti to help in the aftermath of the recent earthquake. Could you share with us what you experienced down there?
(Brother in Ohio) Well, I don’t want to lift up myself.
(THR) Well, that is not our intention either. But you are just a common brother that tried to do something for the kingdom of God, and we are looking for practical, real-life examples to encourage others that they can have a part in spreading righteousness, peace, and joy in this world.
(BO) I went with Christian Aid Ministries (CAM). It took us a couple of days to get there, and a couple of days to get back. We were actually there about six or seven days. Things were pretty well cleaned up by that time, as far as dead people. I think I saw one or two dead bodies and occasionally there was a bad smell, but for the most part that had been taken care of. There were still a lot of collapsed buildings around, and people just wandering around. People were living in homemade shelters, etc. We saw a lot of people with wounds, not real bad where we were at. And we saw a lot of improvement in that area while we were there. My wife was able to go with me, and we divided up into teams of about half a dozen people and went out during the day to help.
(THR) I assume that since you have some medical training that you were involved in cleaning wounds and that sort of thing?
(BO) Yes, at the beginning we were involved in a lot of that, but toward the end it involved just some general sort of medical things as well. We could see quite a bit of improvement in the wounds that we saw, while we were there.
(THR) Did you get involved in trying to dig people from out of the rubble?
(BO) No. We stayed at the CAM base, where we were well taken care of. We went in the morning and returned in the late afternoon.
(THR) Did you get involved in any amputations, or was it more basic things that you were doing?
(BO) No, we didn’t see anybody that needed any amputations. There were quite a few clinics around. Actually there seemed to be quite a bit of help there. The worst cases seemed to have already been taken care of. Anchored nearby was a 1000-bed hospital ship, and I think the worst cases were being treated there.
(THR) In these articles, we are trying to focus on common, everyday sort of people like you and me, and what we “little folks” can do. What would you say would be something that people like us can do in terrible scenes like this earthquake? I am thinking of suggestions you might have for someone who wants to help the next time something like this occurs.
(BO) I think one of the best things is to show them kindness, love, and respect. I cannot speak Creole, so I used an interpreter. But just to look people in the eyes and give them a smile, and show concern and to let them know that they are valuable; those things are very important. And we had opportunities to pray with people. These are things any Christian can do. Just let people know that they are important. Especially in a case like this earthquake, where so many people died in a 30-second time period. Dead bodies were everywhere, and bodies—human beings—were being just loaded into a big dump truck and dumped into mass graves. Just to show them that God loves them and counts them as precious individuals probably meant a lot to the people we worked with.
(THR) And that would be something anyone can do. A person doesn’t need medical training to show compassion.
(BO) Showing compassion is more valuable to them than dressing a wound.
(THR) Was there any personal lesson that you learned through your experience? Something that God spoke to your heart through it all?
(BO) Well, I suppose just the joy of seeing up close God reaching out in compassion. It makes you fall in love with the Word more, just seeing Him reach out in love to poor people. And also, another thing again, it encourages one to be thankful for what we have and puts shame on us when we complain about stuff.
(THR) I thought about that very thing, especially while this was going on. We complain about food that doesn’t taste just the best; meanwhile there were people who literally did not have any food and would have been very, very happy for our “yucky” food!
(BO) That’s right.
(THR) I assume there is still a lot a common person could do in Haiti, in the reconstruction. Even just being there and showing that smile of compassion?
(BO) Yes. There were more people that wanted to go through CAM, but they were limited in how many they could take, so our group was basically limited to those with medical training.
(THR) So do you have any plans to go back down?
(BO) I don’t know. I just want to be obedient to what He shows me, and follow Him and be faithful each day where I am at. I would be very open to going back. Working in situations like that is the very kind of thing that is so meaningful to me.
(THR) Would you have some pictures of your experiences there that you could share with us?
(BO) No, I didn’t take a camera along. I figured that there were so many pictures available on the Internet, etc, and it would just take time and trouble for me, so I didn’t even take a camera.
(THR) That’s good. They needed your time and compassion shown to them, not pictures taken of them.
(BO) Yes, that’s right.
(THR) Well, thank you for your time. We are just looking for examples of how a person can do some good in this world. One person cannot change the whole world, but he/she can change or touch a few lives around them. If you sit back and think, “Since I cannot do much, I am not going to do anything.” Then I sit back and say, “Since I cannot change the whole world, I won’t do anything either.” And on it goes. But if you bless someone, and I do my part, and the next Christian does his/hers, the accumulative effect is enough to indeed make a noticeable change.
(BO) Yes, that is where it is at, all of the church doing their little part. It is not about one person being “the hero” and changing the whole world.
(THR) Thank you again for sharing with us. Another brother told me that you went down to Haiti, so I thought I would share your story. God bless you, and be not weary in well-doing! ~
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