Every so often, I see my kids getting a little ho-hum about things. Like “Yes, I guess I’ll eat spaghetti again tonight.” Versus… “Mom! Thank you so very much for the amazing spaghetti you made for us… again!” Hey, a mom can dream, right?
I want my kids to be thankful and rooted in a grateful spirit. I want them to know that what they find normal or routine is not routine in most of the world. One of the things that fits in this category for us is going to church. For our family, that is a regular thing. On Sundays, we go to church. Not only that but during the week we talk about Jesus. We pray for our food in public. These are things that are very normal to my kids, but very not normal in various parts of the world. I want my kids to understand the uniqueness of this gift and to be grateful for it. But how do we encourage this way of understanding?
I was recently introduced to a new app that has been really helpful in sharing with my kiddos what it looks like to be a Christian in certain parts of the world, where Christianity is far from routine… where even admitting you know Jesus is dangerous. This app is from the Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), and I would love to tell you about it!
VOM is a nonprofit, interdenominational Christian mission organization dedicated to serving persecuted Christians worldwide through practical and spiritual assistance.
Their goal is to encourage and empower Christians to share the truth about Jesus in areas of the world where they are persecuted for sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. They provide support to the families of Christian martyrs and equip persecuted Christians to love and help those who are opposed to the good news of the Bible in their part of the world.
Missionaries supported by the VOM experience living conditions on a daily basis that we can’t imagine and they need consistent prayer and encouragement. That’s where we can come in. 🙂
You can quickly download the VOM app on your phone and you will receive prayer requests from missionaries around the world who need prayer. Every day, a specific prayer request pops up and you can engage your kids in the experience of praying and clicking “Prayed for” on the app. You immediately see how many others around the world are praying for this request. And, best of all, the missionary sees the tally and can experience immediate encouragement!
In all honesty, some of the stuff is so hard to hear. Every day may not be suitable for a kiddo’s heart to take in. So pick and choose what is right for your people. But adults, let’s engage in platforms similar to this to broaden our kids’ awareness of Jesus and how he is working around the world.
It sounds like a little thing to do, but prayer makes a big difference. Let’s teach the importance of this to our kids. It’s an easy thing to do and a great way to think globally about our friends in Christ. I encourage you to check this app out. It has led to great conversations in our home and has helped us realize some of our routines are more precious than we thought. HLLF –
