Warning: This post is long but worth it!
As I’m writing this I am on a plane headed back from my second missions’ trip to Belize.
My pastor announced the opportunity to go serve in a 3rd world country in 2014 and as I prayed about it I felt God tugging on my heart to go.
I went and I fell in love with the country and the people immediately. They are very kindhearted, open, and extremely giving despite the fact they have very little to give.
There were a couple of people that really caught my attention.
The young man was about my age and named Prince.
He was a young man struggling through life similarly to me. He had a daughter out-of-wedlock, and I had a daughter out-of-wedlock.
He had been in church most of his life, and so had I. We both knew the same God, a God that can save us from our mistakes, a God that can heal our pain, a God that loves us no matter how broken we are, and a God that is perfect even when we are not.
I was only in Belize a few short days for a youth camp in 2014. During the last night of the camp I was talking with Prince, and he mentioned he did not have a Bible of his own.
It just so happened that I had brought two Bibles on my trip. I knew God was telling me to give him one.
I did and it wasn’t too difficult to give away the bible that I didn’t read on a daily basis. He thumbed through the pages with joy and eagerly read the Word of God.
It was a blessing for him but a much bigger blessing for me to see his face light up and that smile that didn’t leave his face all night.
Now let’s back up a few moments to when I met a little boy who changed my life even more drastically.
Alex was a five-year-old boy who sat next to me during the last night of service. His smile was a smile you never could forget from the first instant you see it.
His demeanor and personality were unbeatable. Before service he came up and immediately asked to look through my favorite Bible. Of course I said “yes.”
He just had that face I couldn’t say no to!
As he slowly reached to hold my Bible, his eyes got bigger. He gently picked it up out of my hands and turned every page like it was falling apart. It was not; it was actually in better shape than I would like to admit, meaning it was not used as often as it should.
The interest he took in my Bible continued to grow all throughout the service.
I knew what I had to do and I argued with God and told him all the excuses going through my head, “God this is my favorite Bible, I am already giving one Bible away and if I give this one away I won’t be able to read your Word.” Of course God had an answer to every single one of my arguments and basically said “you can buy another one.
This child of mine is not as blessed as you are and I know it is painful to part with something that is of great value to you but I have a greater blessing in store.”
I gave away my favorite Bible, the Bible that had the verses I cherished highlighted, the Bible I had spent hours studying, the Bible I honestly never wanted to part from but I did.
What happened next will forever be stuck in my mind.
Similarly to Princes’ reaction Alex’s face lit up.
His smile could not be contained.
He was more proud of that Bible than I had ever been. I will admit it felt good and awful at the same time to let those Bibles go and bless that little boy and young man in one night.
As mentioned earlier I have returned from Belize for my second missions’ trip. This year was a year that I truly saw the fruit of the blessing I had planted the year before.
I arrived with a team from my church and a team from Alabama, in Unitedville, Belize. I knew what to expect from the previous year.
Nothing that happened in 2014 could have prepared me for what I was about to have the privilege of witnessing in 2015.
I went to the local church, pastored by Amilcar De La Rosa and his family.
We unpacked and got ready for service that night. When I was walking across the yard from the cabana to the church I saw a little boy who looked familiar.
It was Alex; I couldn’t believe one of the first people I saw was the little boy had given my favorite Bible to.
He immediately recognized me and came running up asking if I remembered him.
Of course I did!
How could I ever forget the boy that I gave something so dear to me?
He smiled and I asked if he still had the Bible.
He did and ran back to his house to get it. His house is on the church property so he was not gone for much time at all.
He handed me the bible and asked if I would read some scripture to him. I nearly broke into tears right then and there.
Instead, I smiled and asked him what he wanted me to read. Daniel and the lion’s den was his response.
As I thumbed through the pages I saw some of the verses I had highlighted that had touched my heart at one time or another in my life.
I arrived at the page where the story of Daniel and the lion’s den started, I prayed a silent prayer that God would use this Bible to touch Alex’s life as much as it had touched mine.
As I was reading aloud to Alex his entire family came up smiling and wanted to listen. His mother and father who understood very little English were just as attentive as Alex and his sister Katie who understood it much more.
I realized in that moment that God had used my favorite bible to bless not only a little boy but his entire family also.
The next day, our ministry teams split up and went door to door inviting families to come to the revival being held at the church later that evening.
The day was hot, we had walked miles already, and I was starting to become irritable. When we came to a house with a young lady outside, we asked if we could pray with her and her family, she said “yes” and invited them all out to pray with us.
As her family came around the corner I recognized the young man, Prince. His smile, curly dark hair, and the way he carried himself was unmistakable.
I met him halfway in the yard with an enormous bro hug.
We talked briefly, and I reminded him about the revival that night. He said he would be there, and I told him I would hold him to it.
The rest of my day passed by with much less irritability and it seemed to be a little cooler. It definitely was not, but that quick moment changed my outlook for that day.
Later that night I met up with Prince and started talking with him and catching up. I felt God nudging me to tell Prince about my recent struggles in life.
I was embarrassed and ashamed but I listened and once again just like God always does he blessed me.
After I told the story of my recent failures, Prince opened up to me and told me all about his struggles and sins.
He also told me how the Bible I had given him has helped him and brought him encouragement all along the way. He let me know he still reads it every day and desires to be closer to God.
Those words were more encouraging to me than he will ever know. I was only able to visit with him for one more moment the next day before he had to go back to work for the week.
I didn’t see him for the rest of the trip but his words have stuck with me.
I write all of this to simply say we are all on a mission.
Whether it is an actual missions trip or daily going to work, we never know what God will do while we are accomplishing and working towards our mission.
Just like I didn’t know how God would use 2 bibles to change not just 2 lives but several lives. There is only one way to find out what God can and will do if we allow Him to.
We are all called to a mission to reach the lost and dying in this world. Now is the time to step up and start working towards that mission. Do not miss your chance to be blessed so you can be a blessing!
If you desire to be a child of God and join the mission all Christians are on, I would love the opportunity to pray with you.
Do you need help accomplishing Gods mission for your life? You can follow me on Instagram @wesleyKLittlefield and reach out to me via DM or tagging me in your post! Don’t forget you can sign up for the Manhood Maven email list!