Contact Us Home

God can't bless us until we launch out. October 25, 2003   My kids and I were up to our elbows in chocolate chip cookie dough. It was so hot in the kitchen that the chips were almost melted by the last batches. But we had a mission to complete. We live in an upper middle class neighborhood where lots of homes have high walls so it is really hard to casually get to know people. Add to that that we are Christian missionaries it makes it even harder as some are Catholics and Spiritists who are threatened by our presence. We were looking for a way to serve our neighbors so we thought of making cookies. We wondered what to put with our cookie plates. Should it be some sort of outreach? We decided to put our names. I clearly wrote "Pastor Tomas" and the rest of our names so they would know for sure who we were and “what” we were. I also put a little card from a Christian bookstore that said "Jesus gives us peace" and the recipe for the chocolate chip cookies. I was a bit nervous about delivering them as I felt like we needed a “reason” to hand them out. I spoke of my hesitancy to Sandi Todd and she encouraged me by saying, “Do you ever need a reason to be kind?” That was all the push I needed. We headed down the street, Anna (10) and Hudson (8) and I, with our tray of goodies. The toughest neighbors lost their indifference and even chatted with me a bit. We continued down the street and stopped at a Catholic lady’s house. She has always been sweet to me. We were chatting and for some reason I mentioned that my kids were taking horse-riding lessons. She asked me if we needed some riding boots. I could not believe her question because in fact we did. We had taken Anna to buy boots a few weeks ago but they did not have any in her size and had to order them. It would take more weeks for them to arrive. Our neighbor invited us to sit inside while she rummaged for the boots. When Anna put them on they fit! The lady said she was looking for someone who needed them but been unsuccessful. Riding boots were not an item that many people needed. What if we had stayed at home, which would have been much more comfortable? What if I had let my feelings of insecurity get the best of me? It was an amazing lesson for the children and me. Jesus wants to bless us but He can’t unless we launch out. It is out serving Him that He can touch our lives and shower us with His love and a few surprises. Grace Ensz