The hand of Diana Rose…

On Sunday, a lovely teenage girl from our church gave one of the most beautiful testimonials about God among us that I have ever heard.  Not because she was polished, rehearsed or educated in theology. But, because the words she used glowed from her heart. She was absolutely radiant with the Spirit!

Last week, Susanna traveled to the Philippines on a Compassion International youth mission trip.  The mission focused on just one Compassion center, located in an old, run-down church building in the middle of one of the poorest and congested areas of Manila. The mission was to help refurbish the Compassion church, which serves over 300 children;  the tools–teenage muscle. The Compassion church had been praying for just such a mission for over twenty years. Their prayers had finally been answered. Our church youth joined together with Compassion sponsored youth and their families for almost a full week of exhausting labor in the sweltering August heat.

Every afternoon, the youth from our church would break into two groups, each visiting the home of one of the children they had met and worked with at the Compassion center. There was much excitement about traveling to the homes in motorcycles with side-cars; a special treat for teenagers. For Susanna, that excitement was quickly replaced by the reality of the moment, when she arrived at the entrance to a narrow alley that meandered through a crowded slum leading to the home of one of her new friends. It is not easy to witness true poverty with sights we have never seen, smells we have never smelled and living conditions we can’t have imagined in our worst nightmares. Fearfully, Susanna marched with the nervous group towards the home of a teenage girl, who was about her same age. Susanna quietly prayed that God would give her strength to overcome her fears and anxiety. Her stomach churned as she stepped through puddles of garbage, sewage and ducked to avoid damp clothing hanging on lines above the narrow thoroughfare. As she prayed, she felt a warm hand gently grip hers, immediately giving her comfort and alleviating her fears.  It was the hand of Diana Rose, the teenage girl whose home they would visit. The two held hands as they walked through the maze of poverty in silent understanding–joined by the Spirit. Diana Rose introduced the group to her sister, grandmother, nephew and other family members. Diana Rose, in her crisp, clean school uniform, was elegant, dignified and poised; a direct contrast to her surroundings.

God sends His vessels of love and mercy in many shapes and forms. For a small, run-down church in an impoverished neighborhood in the Philippines, it was an energetic group of teenagers.  For Susanna, it was the hand of Diana Rose.

Advertisement