The flute ministry

A mission team I served with visited an IDP camp. Living conditions had become increasingly deplorable here over 17 years since the residents had to leave their comfortable homes. The place was caving in. Rodents bit people during the night. Water poured in. Sometimes they had water and electricity, sometimes not. No jobs, little health care, no transportation. No hope.

One of the older ladies implored us to consider the young people with nothing to do and no future. Can we help them find a better life?

I had left for the mission trip with pressure from the home front to come up with a new flute for my daughter. I didn't entirely understand this need because she already has a (best I could tell) perfectly good flute.

So after my experience in the IDP camp, I had an overwhelming desire to do one thing:

I emailed my wife and told her: we have to get that flute for our daughter.

I wish I could explain it.

I wish I had of emailed my wife and said:

That money we were going to use to buy that second flute: we need instead to donate it to these people in this IDP camp who live on less than US$0.50 a day.

But I didn't. In the moment, I concluded the best thing I can do to help the young people is to make sure my daughter had what she needed (as best she understood) to fulfill her hopes and dreams.

I'm not saying it's right, exemplary, or a sign of good character.

I'm just saying, that's what happened.