Lottie Moon

Once again we find ourselves at Christmas, with all the hustle and bustle of the season. Christmas parties, baking, gift buying and giving, it seems to never end! This weekend I was remembering a Christmas I spent in another part of the world. It was such a different time and place. There was no hustle and bustle, no gift buying and giving and no baking. On Christmas these people were actually just going about their day working and going to school. Our group of 6 girls was able to give a gift that we as the givers and the receivers could never pay for or earn. We had the opportunity to tell the story of Jesus' birth for the first time ever on this campus. We read straight from our Bibles the story of His birth and what it meant. It was such a joy to us to be able to share our faith so openly to students who are lost in such an unimaginable darkness.

Lottie Moon, you may be asking what are these 2 words? Is it a person, place or thing? Lottie Moon was a missionary to China. She was one of the first single female evangelist, and quickly realized that to reach the women of China she would have to get out of her classroom and go play in the dirt of China. She had to get out of her comfort and begin to build relationships with the women. She had to physically go to them, that may have meant the field, their house or other meeting places, but she couldn't just sit in her classroom and teach. She had to go and play amongst the ones she wanting to reach. So if it meant getting dirty in the fields then that was what had to happen to build a relationship that could have eternal effects.

Within southern baptist world there is an annual Lottie Moon offering in December. The offering is to help in sending missionaries to the uttermost parts of the world. Like Lottie, these missionaries have realized they have to get out of their comfort zone and go play in the dirt! They have chosen to devote their lives to a life that will have it's fair share of struggles, but will have such great rewards in the end. Rewards that they may never see or understand. They given up all so that can share Christ with cultures that are in darkness.

I have several friends who are living this life already. They are in the uttermost parts playing in the dirt and getting dirty. I also have several friends who are waiting to go and play. So I encourage to give this year to the Lottie Moon offering. You can give at your local church, if you go to a southern baptist Church or you give at http://imbresources.org/index.cfm/fa/store.prod/ProdID/256.cfm . If you are not one who has been called to go and play in the dirt, you have been called to pray and give. So, even if you can give $5 or $500, give to the offering. Let's help send our friends out so they can go play in the dirt in the uttermost parts.