“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’  “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’  “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’Matthew 25:34-40

How do you quantify success or effectiveness on a mission trip or in life for that matter?  Is it that everything is going well?  That things work out according to our plan?  How do you know if you are making a difference in the life of someone else or accomplishing God’s purposes?   

One measure is through the tangible.  It is easy to calculate.  We brought down 1000 pounds of supplies- crayons, glue, pencils, composition books, soccer balls, and a portable sound system, a fully outfitted media cart with a video projector, DVD player, VCR and all of the appropriate cabling; we have a thumb drive and supply bag for every teacher.  We brought Sunday school curriculum, a box of copy paper, and toner cartridges.  For the orphanage we brought baby wipes, terry cloth bibs, towels, and simple play toys.  When we arrived, we saw the 1000 book library we sent down last summer on newly constructed shelves ready to use. We met with the assistant teacher that the school has hired with funds given by members of our church.  I saw shoes on the feet of Jamaican children that used to be on the feet of your children.  These things make a difference in the lives of others.

But sometimes God’s work is all about the little things, the intangible, the hard to quantify.

Yesterday I sat for an hour in the second grade.  A little girl asked, “Would you sit by me, Pastor Steve?”  I sat next to her in a rude cramped wooden desk and helped her with language arts and cursive handwriting. I didn’t tell her that the highest grade I ever got in handwriting on my elementary school report card was a C -. 

There are 20 children in second grade at Cornwall Mountain. As they worked through the penmanship exercises their pencil points were constantly breaking. I guess pencils in Jamaica are poorly made.  Usually the children would have to stop and try to sharpen them themselves with a little hand held pencil sharpener.  For easily distracted and unmotivated children this might take 5 minutes or longer.  But today they could bring them to me.  For almost an hour I sat with a five cent pencil sharpener twisting pencils until my hands ached.  A small mountain of wood shavings grew at my feet and my sweaty hands were stained with pencil lead. Does sharpening pencils for 2nd graders really make a difference?

For the last two days Adam has led a portion of our team to West Haven, an orphanage for disabled children.  He and our team have fed, bathed and lavished attention on severely handicapped children.  At first it was hard for our team to look… children with bodies twisted and ravaged by disease, most not even able to speak.  But within minutes they were all children created in the image of God, beautiful from the inside out.  Adam thought of a great way to bring joy to these precious children; strap an IPod to them and let them listen to music. Soon others on our team followed suit and it was a thing of wonder; hit play and the joy of the Lord just flowed.  A more beautiful and rag-tag group of little dancers never existed. One boy raised his misshapen arms after the song and cried, “Hallelujah.”  But tomorrow our team may not be there and there will be no one to move these children off their thin foam mattresses.  So does it really matter? …Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

It matters to God. 

Every night we celebrate what God has done. After a full day of ministry and a great evening meal, we all sit on the veranda to catch a cool night breeze off the ocean and share our hearts- telling what we have seen, experienced and felt.   We reflect on our prosperity as American; on the ways that the rich are poor and the poor are rich.  We share scriptures and how God has moved in our midst.  Grown men cry, teens speak with zeal and purpose. We pray and worship and laugh together.

It matters to us.

Back in 2009 Diana Rich traveled with us to Jamaica.  A retired teacher, every day Diana worked in the first grade at Cornwall Mountain.  She tutored struggling students in mathematics and language arts.  God broke her heart for one student in particular named Virginiah.  She reminded her of her own granddaughter.  Before we left to go back home, Diana gave little Virginiah a pocket New Testament and wrote on the title page “Remember Jesus Loves You”.

Last year Frank and Diana couldn’t come on the trip; one of their children was getting married in the spring and it was just too much to fit it all in.  But this year both Frank and Diana are again on the team.  Diana was anxious to see the now-third grade class, even though none of them could have known that she was returning.

When Diana got off the bus on Monday morning she was instantly surrounded by third graders who were calling her name. “Miss Diana, Miss Diana!” they chanted.  Among them was Virginiah.  When things settled down, Diana shared a quiet moment with Virginiah and to her surprise; Virginiah reached into her backpack and pulled out a ragged little New Testament.  Not knowing if or when Diana would return, she had carried the New Testament to school in her backpack every day for two years.  When Diana took the little book in her hands and opened it, through tears she saw that on the title page under “Remember Jesus Loves You” was written in a childish hand- “I Love You Miss Diana”.

It matters to them.

So may God give you eyes to see the true value of your tasks today, whether great or small. They matter to God, they matter to us and they matter to the ones we serve.