Taking the Call

Kara went to El Salvador on a mission trip and fell in love: with the entire village of El Sunza, not just one boy. Kara was only fifteen years old, but she needed to give more to these people.

David was fifty years old. His job at an advertising firm paid the bills, but he had a passion for fine art. The world was so beautiful, he needed to paint it.

Both Kara and David heard a calling from God that demanded radical faith.

Kara determined to give Christmas gifts to every child in El Sunza. Along the model of Franklin Graham's Samaritan's Purse, she asked her church youth group to fill 500 shoeboxes with gifts for a project she called Manos de Christo. By Thanksgiving she had only 50 boxes.

David joined a fine art studio in a small Texas town. He didn't expect to make much money, but his wife had a job that could support them both. Neither of them counted on her being laid off from work just two weeks after David moved into the studio.

Both Kara and David prayed like they had never prayed before.

During a Wednesday night service, a minister told the congregation about Kara's struggling Christmas project. The church united behind her and three weeks later Kara mailed 591 boxes to El Salvador. That Christmas the youth group returned to El Sunza to share the story of Christ's birth and to hand out beautifully wrapped shoeboxes. Many children thought at first that the pretty box was the gift.

David's wife found a new job. Their income was much lower, but David remained faithful to his new calling.

As he painted, an amazing thing happened. Through the act of obedient creation, David began a special dialogue with the Great Creator . . .

Every Christmas, Kara and Manos de Christo return to El Salvador. This year she expects to deliver 2,000 gift shoeboxes to four different villages.

David just opened a new art studio north of Dallas. Although he makes little money, he continues to honor God's call for him to paint.

When God calls, we must listen. Where God calls, we must go.

And be ready. Because God is always calling.


Questions for discussion:

• Describe a time in your life when God called you to serve Him. How did you recognize His call? How did you respond?
• Consider Proverbs 21:31, "The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the LORD" (RSV). What are you doing to prepare for the day when God calls you into battle?