Megan: Hope from a Teddy Bear

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It can take years of ministry to children to learn the lessons of patience, diligence, and faith. Just ask Angel Tree volunteer Pat Hartman of San Antonio, TX.

“I about fainted when I saw we had 30 children,” Pat recalls. “I asked for 25. Each year I battle fear…what if we don’t have enough ‘gifters.’ Every year God reminds me that this is His part…to move in the hearts of our rather small congregation. And every year, I’ve seen every child ‘adopted’ in the first 2 weeks.

“Some of our families were hard to track down. But I persisted! One Mom thanked me for my persistence! I think I have called some of them more than 10 times. And I hate to use the phone…but when God is in it, it’s different.”

Pat sows the seeds of the Gospel each year with Angel Tree children at the annual Angel Tree Christmas party. At the party they watch the children’s edition of the Jesus film, play a game based on the film and then give out and open the gifts.

As she and her church cast out the seeds of the Gospel and Christ’s love, they see some wonderful responses.

They see children like Deandre hold his remote controlled car tightly in his grasp as a huge grin dawns across his face. They see the gratefulness of his grandmother as she thanks everyone she can find for making Deandre so happy.

They see six moms pray to receive Christ at an Angel Tree Christmas party after watching the Jesus film. They see six more indicate that they wish to rededicate their hearts and lives to Jesus. And they see all of them tuck a precious gift, a bible of their own, under their arms as they leave to go home.

They also see a precious little toddler like Megan Rutledge grasp her new teddy bear tightly with little understanding of the meaning behind it all, but with so much joy in the present moment.

But most of the gratification of Angel Tree is further off in the distance. Like the farmer’s harvest it waits to be seen. Pat nurtures the seeds with Valentines through the mail, or an evangelistic puppet show at the worship service, with follow-up calls, visits to a nearby apartment complex where many of the children live and Easter egg hunts.

She sees the sprouts of growth as children like Megan now entering preschool sit at a table coloring a picture from a bible story she’s just heard. They’ve just shared the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. It’s a story Megan is still too young to fully understand. But the fact that Megan is there two years later, being exposed to Christian love and biblical truth is undoubtedly a sprout peaking out from the ground. It is a sprout that brings volunteer Pat Hartman much joy.

Please pray for volunteers like Pat Hartman that they would not become weary in doing good. As Paul tells us, “we reap what we sow.” And in due time, in God’s perfect time, we will “reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Pray also for children like little Megan. Pray that the faithful love and kindness of Angel Tree volunteers will make a lasting impression on her young heart and that as she grows she will continue to grow in her knowledge and understanding of Jesus Christ.