When my daughters were teens, each summer we participated in a mission trip with our local church. As a single mom, these trips were a less expensive way to make sure my children were exposed to other people and places, and frankly, they were our summer vacations! As it turns out, some of our fondest family memories are of the people and experiences from these trips.
For many years, my youngest daughter wore a t-shirt that said, “I left my heart in Marvell, Arkansas.” When she was in high school, we’d spent about a week in Marvell on one of these Mission Trips. Marvell is a town of just over 1000 people, and its sits in one of the poorest counties in the nation. During the day, we served the community through Kids Club and work projects. Kids Club was a place for the children in Marvell to gather with responsible adults and teen volunteers and have lots of fun in a safe environment. They played games, danced, did craft projects, and many other fun things! We also served by working on homes that needed cosmetic repairs. We scraped paint, painted trim, and repaired porches.
Marvell was only one of many places we served on mission teams over the years, but there was something very special about that little town that made it different; the people who lived there showed overwhelming gratitude for our service. In the evenings, we learned about the cotton industry from a local farmer, visited old downtown Marvell and a place called the Yellow Store (a thrift store with everything imaginable), attended a local church service, and enjoyed a special dinner provided by our community of new friends. Everywhere we went in that little town, people would tell us, “Thank you for being here. We appreciate what you’re doing”! They also expressed interest in us; they wanted to know where we lived, why we’d chosen Marvell, and if we were enjoying our work there.
The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 to “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Despite living in one of the poorest counties in the nation, our Marvell friends recognized the blessings that God had given them, and chose to live lives of gratitude. And that’s why my daughter “left her heart in Marvell”. (I’ll bet she still has that t-shirt somewhere!)
Susan Easttom, Director of Children’s Ministries
