Encountering Jesus

               

I want to tell you about a very special encounter I had with Jesus last week.  Jesus was sitting all alone in his room.  He was in pain.  He was in a specialized wheel chair, because he was partially paralyzed from the neck down due to a neck injury.  The injury impacted his voice and so he could not speak well.  Jesus sits in his room day after day, year after year waiting for someone to come and visit him, notice him, be with him and hold his hand. 

            I found Jesus sitting in his wheel chair, in room 216 at the nursing home in Abbeville, LA.  His other name is Long.  I have had the privilege of visiting Long four times now.  Every time I visit, I look into his eyes, and I recognize that I am visiting with Jesus. 

            In Matthew 25:40 , Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these lease brothers of mine, you did for me.”  Visiting the Sick, Clothing the Naked, Sheltering the Homeless…These are the ways we encounter the Lord! 

                                   

            We are leaving for General Cepeda, Mexico on Friday for a three week mission trip as part of our formation with Family Missions Company.  I am asking the Holy Spirit to give me the grace to see Jesus in those I meet, especially in the poor of General Cepeda.  I know that there have been many times in my life that I have passed by someone begging on the street, and there have been many times I have not visited the sick, because of being overwhelmed that there are just too many, so I don’t stop even for one.  Let me not pass by you, Jesus.  Let me recognize you.

            Please pray for our mission trip and pray for guidance and wisdom for those who are deciding our two year mission placement!  We will be given our placement while in Mexico!  When we return we will let you know what country we will be sent to!