Down Syndrome, Society, and the Heart of God

Over the last few weeks I have been doing a lot of reading about disabilities, the church, and how we can become more effective at reaching out to not only the people who have a disability, but to also their families and the people close to them as well. Through the coarse of my reading however my heart has become deeply saddened as I have read about the statistics of what is happening within the arena of Down Syndrome. According to the National Down Syndrome Society there are over 400,000 people living with Down Syndrome. Unfortunately now because woman are able to have a test done to determine whether or not their unborn child will have Down Syndrome, 90% who test positive are choosing to abort. This statistic just broke my heart in that as I already believe abortion to be absolutely wrong, doing so because the unborn child is seen as less than perfect because of a test that suggests him or her as such is a tragedy. It causes me to reflect on people within our ministry such as Arturo, Mike, Trevor, Calano, Laura, or Debbie, all whom have Down Syndrome but also have amazing personalities and are filled with an over abundance amount of love and joy. They bring so much blessings to the ministry that I couldn't imagine them not being here. So my prayer is that God will reveal to me His Will and the direction He would have for me, the ministry, and our church, with regard to what is happening within our society and the unborn children with Down Syndrome. We as Christians who represent the voice of God, need to advocate for them, so that rather than being seen as a burden or a tragedy, they will each be seen as a blessing whose value is no less than any other unborn child. I mean, just look at the faces below - they are priceless and truly have and display the heart of God.

The Blessings that come from Serving

        One of the most important aspects regarding people who have any form of a disability is that they are a person first. They, just like any one of us have been created in the image of God and are of no less value than any one else. Unfortunately, so many elements within our society is causing an inequality for people who are affected with a disability. But for us as Christians, and us as a Church, we are not to fall into or even step remotely into this arena of inequality. We are to see all people as being valued by God, created by God, and specifically made for a purpose. And when we look at the Bible and what Jesus had to say about how we are to treat people with disabilities, I was reminded of Luke 14:12-14 where Jesus said the following, "when you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers, or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blinds, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous".

        Wow!!! Jesus really knows how to hit at the heart of what matters. It is so easy for any of us to be drawn towards only doing for or hanging out with those that we are most comfortable and know how to communicate with. But taking the time to get to know and hang out with those who may not have much, as the world defines much, and hang out and get to know them, the blessings are endless. They more often times than not give more than what I could have ever imagined, and I would even go so far as to say that most people who volunteer or have volunteered within the disability ministry at Crossroads feel the same way.

        In fact, just yesterday, I and a key volunteer, Sharon Bautista, were able to spend time with the autistic boy that we were with the previous week. Only this time we were able to have him in the plex. The beauty of this time however, was that four people from Generate, who are also volunteering on the concierge team came and volunteered as well. Therefore, we had 3 girls in the classroom assisting within our 2 classes, and the one male, assisting Sharon and I in the plex with the autistic boy. What a blessing, to not only be able to give unselfishly of ourselves, but to have a few new people come in and not only give of their time as well, but to fall in love with it so much, that they all said that they would be back next week to help again. That is the kind of blessings that many of us have received within the disability ministry. Where we receive so much more than what we are able to give, and can't help but have desire to come back and serve again!!

One of God's Special Friends

One of the things that I love about Crossroads is the extra distance that people will go and do in order to serve others. This past Sunday was one of those moments, where I had the privilege to be a part of it. I, and a key volunteer, Sharon Bautista, had gone to introduce ourselves to a mother of a 17 year old autistic boy, who often times hasn't been able to fully enjoy the Sunday Service because of having to tend to her son. But on this particular day, after introducing ourselves, we offered to stay with her son so that she could quietly enjoy service. This experience although challenging for us, I know from her response, blessed her abundantly, as well as the two of us. And it is definitely in moments like these, where we are truly able to see, feel, and experience God's unconditional love for all people.

Calendar

Blessings are meant to be shared, and here in the disABILITIES Ministry, blessings just seem to come regularly. Therefore, in order to help keep everyone up to date as to what is happening within the ministry, i have added a calendar link to the right with everything going on over the next few months. So if anyone would like to come and volunteer for any of these events, please just shoot me a message or email letting me know. The volunteer door is always open and we would love to be able to share in the blessings that so many of us are already receiving.

Friday Night Live

I am forever amazed by the amount of love that comes from within our Friday Night Live disABILITIES Group. A couple Fridays ago I was out of town, and one of the volunteers, Veda, had a great idea for the group. They decided that rather than be a group who is viewed as taking, they decided that they wanted to be a group that gives. Therefore, they all decided that the following Friday they would all bring in non perishable food for our Food Pantry ministry at Crossroads. When I heard about the idea and the decision, I was thrilled. Then, this last Friday night I was even more thrilled as each person walked in with a bag of food and the excitement that they each had with being able to give. And then, as if it couldn't get any better, they had also decided that out of the donation money that they give to help offset the cost of our Friday night meal, 1 dollar would be taken out, and whatever was collected a gift card would be purchased as well to give to the food ministry. We collected 25 dollars and just today I went to Vons and purchased the card, and now look forward to going in tomorrow morning and bringing in all that the disABILITIES Friday Night Live group gave in order to bless others. God's presence is definitely moving withint this group and I am so thankful to be just a small part of it-:))