Uncle Ed

October was an extremely busy month - obviously, I didn't have much time to post (for the 3 people that read my blog)! :)

One thing that happened in October was my great Uncle Ed passed away. He was like a grandfather to me. He had been sick for awhile, but had gotten better. So to get the news that he was gone, was quite the surprise. Family from all over the United States traveled to NC for the funeral. It was bitter sweet to see some family that I haven't seen since our wedding over 4 years ago.

There is one story I must share about Uncle Ed and his wife Aunt Billy. 12 years ago, their daughter, Betsy, died in a car accident. Right after that, the Lord brought Ed and Billy a "ministry", even though they had no clue it was a ministry. A family from China moved in next door to them. The husband spoke a little bit of English and the wife (Jennifer) didn't speak any. They came to open a Chinese restaurant. Uncle Ed and Aunt Billy reached out to them and helped them in any way they could.

Jennifer shared at my Uncle's funeral and I was brought to tears. She told how Pop-pop (Uncle Ed) and BiBi (Aunt Billy) treated them like family. Pop-pop would wait up for Jennifer to come home from work late each night and make sure there were lights on and she got into her house safely. Anytime they needed something fixed, Pop-pop was there to help them. Soon after they moved to the United States, Jennifer and her husband found out they were expecting a child. Jennifer was scared to death, being in a new country away from family. But as always, Pop-pop and Bibi was there to help. They treated the baby (Eric) like he was one of their grandchildren. They helped Jennifer care for him while she was at work. As Eric grew up, Pop-pop and Bibi took him to church with them each Sunday. Eric became a Christian and shared Christ with his parents. A few years later, Eric's parents also became Christians. This family saw the love of Christ shining through my aunt and uncle and wanted to have what they had.

A few years ago, my aunt traveled with Jennifer to China. Jennifer's mom was on her death bed. Jennifer shared with her mom about Jesus and before she died, she became a Christian. This is so exciting to me. It is not easy going to China to share the gospel. But through simply acting out the love of Christ to a neighbor, my aunt and uncle had a part in a family from across the world hearing the good news of Jesus.

This is extremely convicting. How often do I take the time just share the love of Christ with my neighbors? The Lord has allowed me to work with children from all over the world. I know I am restricted in what I can say, since I work in a public school. But I can share volumes through my actions. My prayer is that my eyes are open for opportunities to share with those around me the love of Christ.

I know right now immigration is a "hot" topic and there are many opinions about it. But I can't help but think how the Lord is bring people from all over the world to our door step. Are we taking advantage of the "world missions" right in our back yard????