One Heart

“There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.” Ephesians 4:4-6, NASB.

Disaster relief work is intense. The pain and needs of the people pressing in around you can become overwhelming. On occasion volunteers have to be encouraged to pull away and take a physical and emotional break. Jessie* was at that point. She had been working at a medical clinic in a remote village on the earthquake torn island of Nias, Indonesia.

She found a little hut behind the building where the clinic was being held. There was no place to sit, so she stood with slumped shoulders and put her hands over her face to block out her surroundings for a moment. As she stood there she felt an arm come around her waist. She looked over to see a Nias woman who had worked along side her as a translator for the medical volunteers. She said, “It’s okay, Jessie. We are one heart.”

Jessie drew strength from this sister, and she had to smile as the thought occurred to her, God is doing the same thing. He is coming to the tired, hurting, overwhelmed people of Nias, putting his arm around them and saying, “It’s okay. We are one heart.” And He is doing that through us!

*Names changed for security reasons.

Pray that:

Disaster relief volunteers will see God’s hand at work through their service.

The seeds of love sown at this medical clinic will result in transformed lives that bring glory to God.

Pacific Rim is a region of the International Mission Board, SBC.