When my wife and I met Donna, she was an 18-year-old single mom with two children. As we talked with her, we found out she had grown up going to church. But Donna ended up on a destructive path when she hit her teenage years. When we asked why, Donna said she was molested multiple times as a child, and her mother abandoned her when she was 13.

Donna eventually got into the wrong crowd in school, getting involved with boyfriends, alcohol, and drugs. Yet, deep down she knew that it wasn’t right.

It was heartbreaking to hear Donna’s story. No one should have to endure what she had gone through!

We shared with Donna that Jesus Christ not only will forgive her sins, He’ll also help her to forget the incest, the rape, and the hurt. We shared this beautiful verse with her from Hebrews 9: “The blood of Christ will cleanse your conscience from evil works so that you can serve the living and true God.” Donna said that’s what she was looking for. We rejoiced as she surrendered her life to Jesus!

Do you know a struggling teenage mom? Instead of judging her, try reaching out to her. Offer to watch her baby so she can have a break. Ask if you can bring her a meal, or treat her to coffee. Your simple act of kindness can be a powerful example to her of Christ’s amazing love.

Recently our team got a letter from a young girl – I’ll call her Anne. Anne wrote that her parents had divorced because her mom had been cheating on her dad. Not only did her mom want nothing to do with Anne, but her sister was in the hospital, and her boyfriend had just dumped her.

“My only friends are alcohol and marijuana,” Anne said. “So there’s my story.” It was so sad to read that letter! Can you imagine what she’s been through?

It breaks my heart when I hear about children who come from broken homes. When these kids are neglected and unloved, they can sometimes act out in pretty crazy ways. But deep down what they’re really wondering is, “Does anyone care about me?”

When you see a young person who seems hardened, and perhaps into drugs and drinking, remember that you don’t know their story. Pray for those teenagers who seem the hardest to love. Find ways to connect with them. God says in Isaiah 49, “I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” That’s a powerful message of God’s love to share with young people.

Through the cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we can offer children like Anne a different ending to their stories. Is there a youth in your life who needs you to reach out to them? Do it today, and point them to Jesus.

We all want to reach our world, don’t we? Well, sometimes it can be very lonely. Verse 3 of the hymn I’ve been sharing with you this week says, “So send I you to loneliness and longing, with hearts a-hungering for those we love and know. Forsaking kin and kindred, friend and dear ones so send I you to know my love alone. ”

There are some people who are called to remain single- and some of them are called to remain single and go to a foreign country to give the Good News of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Yes there is loneliness, yes there is longing and hungering to be with those you love and know, yes you want to be with family, with friends, with dear ones, but you know, somebody has to get out there and preach the Good News of Jesus Christ.

I have one wife, four sons, four daughter’s in-law and ten grand children. And for all of our lives, we’ve had to be separated from each other week after week, month after month, year after year. One day we calculated we’d been separated for 15 years, to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But somebody has to do it, somebody did it to bring me the Gospel down in South America, and I love those missionaries who did it.

So yes, there is loneliness, and there’s longing and hungering for those we know, but in the end, the result of people going to Heaven, and knowing Jesus Christ is worth all the sacrifice and all the effort – on behalf of the one who died on the cross all by Himself.

There’s a woman in our home church who is passionate about making a difference in the lives of hurting and abandoned children. That’s why she decided to open up her home to foster kids. Now this is quite a task for her because she’s not married. But this young lady, with the help of her parents, has had many foster children in her home.

What’s most exciting to me is that she’s led many of these children – and their parents – to the Lord! She uses foster care as an avenue to share her faith with each child who comes into her home. Isn’t that fabulous?!?!

It’s certainly a huge step of faith to become foster parents, or adopt a child. It’s definitely something that’s out of many people’s comfort zones. But God calls His followers to unprecedented action. Not just social action, which is important – but spiritual action!

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus challenges His disciples to take care of the needy, the poor, the strangers – the helpless. Because, He says, “Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me.”

I can’t think of a better example of “the least of these” than hurt and neglected children. So, pray about it, won’t you? And remember, by opening up your heart and home, you can make an eternal difference in a child’s life.