Sharing God’s Heart

Submitted by Michelle…On December 17, our Riverside team had the opportunity to do a community service project with some of our students.  Unbeknownst to us, Riverside has a community of special needs homes for children who were born to parents who suffered from substance abuse.  These children range from newborns all the way to teenagers and older.  They live in a home and are taken care of by nurses 24/7 because their parents are unable to care for them.  I think many of us didn’t know what to expect when we first entered these homes.  Personally, for me, it was quite a sobering experience as I saw how these kids, though they are about 14 or 15 years old, are unable to communicate and are socially at about the same level as a toddler.  It was such a stark picture of the effects of sin and how our mistakes and bad choices really do impact future generations, especially our own future kids.  It was a clear warning that I need to be careful of the choices that I make today and how I choose to live my life.  I am thankful that we had this chance to visit these special needs homes and try to even bring a little bit of joy into these children’s hearts. During our stay, we were able to give a short bible presentation, sing some songs as well as make some snowflakes with them.  It was so precious to see how the kids really responded to the music and how little by little their eyes lit up and smiles started appearing.  We are not sure if these kids were able to understand the gospel presentations, but if anything, we were able to brighten their days with our songs and through our interactions with them.  I think all our students and team members benefitted much from this visit and gained a new perspective on life as we saw how much we have been blessed with.  All in all, I am thankful for this experience to go out and be God’s hands and feet, and hope that we can visit these kids soon again!