"By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" -John 13:35
ABOUT
Hello! I wanted to share something that spoke to my heart actually long before we started our Mexico missions but definitely led me to want to serve children in some way, and a lot of what we do in Mexico has to do with children. This is a prayer called "We Pray for Children" by Ina J. Hughs. When I was exposed to it the idea was suggested that every time you read "we pray" include the promise "I take responsibility for" with the idea to take responsibility not only for your own child/children but for all children or at least for one child who may not be your own. Thank you!
- Michele
We Pray for Children By: Ina J. Hughs
We pray for children
who sneak popsicles before supper,
who erase holes math workbooks,
who can never find their shoes.
And we pray for those
who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,
who can't bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers,
who never "counted potatoes,"
who are born in places we wouldn't be caught dead,
who never go to the circus,
who live in an X-rated world.
We pray for children
who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,
who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money.
And we pray for those
who never get dessert,
who have no safe blanket to drag behind them,
who watch their parents watch them die,
who can't find any bread to steal,
who don't have any rooms to clean up,
whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser,
whose monsters are real.
We pray for children
who spend all their allowance before Tuesday,
who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food,
who like ghost stories,
who shove dirty clothes under the bed, and never rinse out the tub,
who get visits from the tooth fairy,
who don't like to be kissed in front of the carpool,
who squirm in church or temple and scream in the phone,
whose tears we sometimes laugh at and whose smiles can make us cry.
And we pray for those
whose nightmares come in the daytime,
who will eat anything,
who have never seen a dentist,
who aren't spoiled by anybody,
who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,
who live and move, but have no being.
We pray for children who want to be carried
and for those who must,
for those we never give up on and for those who don't get a second chance.
For those we smother...and for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer it.
Please offer your hands to them so that no child is left behind because we did not act.
TEAM
Jason & Michele Potter
MINISTRY LEADERS
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. I’m a great place for you to tell a story and let your users know a little more about you.
Peter Scott
MISSIONARY
Ministry quickly became a passion for me at a very young age. I enjoyed helping local homeless shelters when I was around 7 years old. That passion for helping the poor and needy kept growing. It soon extended from helping those locally, to helping those in 3rd world countries. I began connecting with ministries in Ecuador, as well as ministries in Mexico. My goal as a believer in Jesus is to live out Acts 20:24. To spread the good news of God's grace, as well as love on people the way Jesus would love on them. Nosotros amamos porque él nos amó primero.
1 Juan 4:19
Paul Coonrod
MISSIONARY
Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely. It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good.
Gracie Garcia
MISSIONARY
Hey, I'm Gracie! I first went to Mexico on a small mission trip to Rivers of Mercy Orphanage in May 2019. I fully thought that I was going on that trip to show the kids there love and care, but instead I ended up feeling them loving and caring for me so much more! I quickly got pulled into wanting to spend all my free time with my newly made friends in Mexico and also wanting to display Christ through me. Places like Rivers of Mercy and Point Zero have been perfect opportunities to share Christ's love to people who have not yet found their purpose in life. My continual prayer for my friends' and my mission work in Mexico is to be a display of who Jesus is, what He has done, and to live out His perfect purpose for my life and also point others to the perfect purpose that Christ holds for their lives!
Jaden Sobieski
MISSIONARY
The reason I became a Short-Term Missionary is not near as important as why I continue. While our purpose is to serve the people of Mexico, I am the one who is changed and filled with God's love with every trip. I was once told that life should be lived with J.O.Y. Jesus, Others, You. In that order. Everything I do with By Our Love Missions helps me to live with J.O.Y. and to be joyful.
David Sears
MISSIONARY
Hi, my name is David. I am originally from Indianapolis. My journey to missions has taken a longer and more complicated journey than most. When I was a kid, I did not want to leave the comfort of the midwestern United States. I remember thinking what a good life I had in central Indiana. And it continued for many years, but then it changed. In 2019 I came to the Rivers of Mercy for the first time, and between the natural beauty of the mountains that surrounds us, and the hospitality of the children I knew that there was something special here. But I had come to show the kids the love of God that is bigger than what ever they had been through. They in turn show me everyday the love of God that is bigger than anything we can ever expect or even imagen. That is why I am here. That is why I am grateful to be a part of this team here.