Father, give me your heart for the children of Pedro Juan Caballero in Paraguay!
1 – In Paraguay
At the end of the last trip to Paraguay, on December 5th, 2018, in the Pedro Juan Caballero dump, a visitation of compassion, unexpectedly once again flooded and marked my heart. In those days, I was praying to God to reveal to me what was in His heart. We were finishing another missionary trip and implementing relief operations, in partnership with the Actos de Justicia Ministry, and on the last day, at the end of the afternoon, we went to take a donation from a Brazilian godfather to one of the Paraguayan children in our program and something special happened in that place. Something that has impacted my life.
2 – The reality of compassion
We can not do anything without the compassion of God in us. Compassion is an indispensable reality. Without compassion, we are people with a hardened heart, insensitive, and indifferent. The word compassion is linked to entrails (STRONG, 2013), ie our interior is deeply troubled by the situation or condition of the other. True compassion does not come from us, but God, and I prayed in Paraguay, crying out to God that He would pour out again in my heart, what was inside His heart.
We can not receive the compassion of God in our hearts if we do not pray. We can not be filled with this compassion, without developing intimacy with the Holy Spirit. Nor can we conquer anything from God without our availability. The life of prayer and intimacy, especially for moments of drought, will make us more sensitive to God and people. The presence of the Spirit removes the heart of stone from us. We may even be physically in some mission field or some relief operation, but if there is no reality in us willing to give and serve, we will probably leave that place the same way it was when we got there. It is important to know that the greatest work of God will always be within us.
God’s compassion marks our journey. I have been marked by the compassion of the Father from time to time in the nations I have visited. In the last two years or so, especially in the last days of travel, unexpected events have flooded my heart and God has ministered that I can not forget the places and situations I have seen.
3 – We cannot forget
On our last trip to Cambodia, just in the last days of the trip, we saw the reality of young people selling their bodies in the tourist area of the capital. On my last trip to Haiti, on the last day, I walked for hours through the capital Port-au-Prince and once again saw the despair of many people in that country. On the last day of the trip to Paraguay, in Pedro Juan Caballero’s dump, an image of children at the end of the afternoon, seated on the floor, very dirty, especially their hands and feet, totally devoid, some smiling and others down, has not left of my mind. I can not and do not want to forget. I need to remember them! We need the remembrance and compassion of God to persevere in faith in the face of difficulties, and to be a voice to those who have no voice!
There is no way to have compassion in our hearts without selfishness being plucked from within us. A sense of urgency, despair, brokenness, and satisfaction characterize God’s compassion in us. We feel the pain of those who are in pain, but we are filled with joy when we present ourselves to do the will of God (Rom. 12: 1-2). It is no use to be thorough connoisseurs, without His compassion in us and the determination to do His will (John 7:17). It is no use declaring that we have faith, if we are not an answer, with practical actions of justice (James 4:14). It is no use talking about what we love if we do not leave our comfort zone in favor of the other (Jn 21: 15-17). We can not save our lives, for we will lose it. We must give up ourselves, our selfish interests, to do the work of God on earth (Matthew 16:25).
I want to finish showing the photo of the moment we saw the children of the Pedro Juan Caballero dump.
I also want to leave some challenges:
- Pray to God that He will place it within your heart, what is inside your heart.
- Pray to God and ask Him if He wants you to participate with us in this work in Paraguay.
- If the above answer is positive, sponsor a child, or donate to our projects. Find out how in the links below:
https://en.nationshelp.org/sponsor-a-child/
https://en.nationshelp.org/donate-now/
Leonardo Paulino
