I love when December arrives. December equals Christmas and there is something about Christmas. It is a wonderful time of the year, and it tends to bring out the best in everyone. I have so many wonderful memories from childhood during this time. Decorating the tree, hanging lights, caroling….

I also remember every year at McAdams Baptist Church Mrs. Ann Godfrey would talk about the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and I would learn about Lottie Moon in GA’s (Girls in Action, a mission organization for girls). Our church would set a goal for the offering and for every $25 or $50 (I can’t remember which) a red bow would be placed on the end of a pew. By the end of December red bows would be all over the church.

As a child I learned the importance of the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. It was an offering collected to support international missions and missionaries. It was a way as a child I could be involved in international missions. By giving to Lottie Moon I was helping to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.

It is funny how things come full circle, isn’t it? As an adult I am still helping to take the gospel to the ends of the earth only on the other side of things. Being on this side has given me a new perspective and appreciation for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. I now understand what, as a child, I was helping to do. I was helping missionaries to partner with indigenous churches to spread the gospel. I was telling the Giovannis and Francescas and Marinas about Christ. I was providing bibles written in different languages to those who needed them. I was providing ESL materials for missionaries who use ESL as a way to teach the bible. I was helping provide meals for the homeless. I was enabling teams of four to grow to a team of eight in a year. I was providing missionaries with the means to go language school in order to be able to communicate the love of Christ to others.

This is a very short list of all the things that giving to Lottie Moon enabled me to be a part of when I was a child, and how great it is to be doing these things as an adult.

When you give to Lottie Moon you are doing so much more than putting money in an envelope. You are helping to spread the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to those who don’t know Him.