What a difference we can each make...even if all we have is a glass of milk. Frank Martin shares about an experience Jeff & Christine Stanfield had with milk. It illustrates a powerful lesson about making a difference in this world, not alone, but together as a church called to do our part in caring for the poor and outcast.

May his story and thoughts encourage and challenge us in the months ahead as we all bring our "cups of milk" for our Community 2 Community partnership in Chejaneb, Guatemala.

“How much is one cup of milk?”

While in Kenya, Jeff and Christine Stanfield, World Gospel Mission missionaries stationed at Tenwek Hospital, shared this thought with me: “How much is one cup of milk?”  Technically, in a country that uses the metric system for it’s measurements, one cup = 225 milleters! 

Why the question?  I’m writing about it to show just how subtle, mean and insidious our enemy really is.  Jeff and Christine have been working with several rural churches in the Tenwek area and trying to get them to care for the orphans and poor around them.  But the members can’t see how they can do that.  They are afraid that if they do, then they won’t have anything to feed their families.  Also, they feel that they would need ‘more’ (for themselves that is) before they could give anything away.  (Are you starting to see how evil the devil is?) 

Jeff and Christine explained that when they asked the church members how many cows were they milking.  On an average they found the number to be three.  As you know, a cow has to be milked twice a day, morning and evening.  In the area where Jeff and Christine minister, the morning milk is usually sold at market or to other neighbors and the money used for food, clothing, or school fees for their children.  This morning milk is usually sold due to lack of refrigeration. However, the evening milk is kept for the family and since the evening temperatures are somewhat cooler, this milk will last longer for the family and not spoil.  Many times there is milk enough left over for breakfast the next morning. 

It was from this evening milking that Jeff and Christine asked the church members if they could share one cup of milk.  Almost everyone agreed they could.  Then the Stanfields had the church add up all the ‘cups’ in their congregation to see how much the total would be.  It came to around 150 liters (or 38.7 gallons).  When asked if the church knew any poor, old, or children in the community who could benefit from ‘one cup of milk’ a day, the church came up with lots of names.  Plus they now saw that they ‘indeed’ had the resources to meet the needs of those around them.  Now there’s the kicker: each of these church members didn’t have to give up a cup a day but only a couple of times per week for this ministry to be possible!  They also saw that if any of the milk was ‘left’ over, it could be sold to buy ‘seed’ for the poor people who in turn could start a garden of their own.  These gardens would not only provide for them but they, too, could help provide for someone else as well!  (Hmm, is this the beginning of missions?) 

I bring this to your attention for this reason, to many times we tend to think that if we take ‘a little’ from the ‘little’ we have, that two things will happen. 

1. First, the little we have won’t or can’t make a difference in anyone’s life and therefore why bother to give it in the first place. 
   
2. And secondly, if we give away then we won’t have anything for our legitimate needs. 
   

Now consider this, if you by yourself were asked to meet the needs of the poor around you, then it is true your little bit couldn’t or wouldn’t make a dent.  But the Lord isn’t asking us to go ‘solo’ in meeting the needs around us.  He wants us to do it in “community” or in other words, with the ‘church.’  When we add our ‘one cup’ to the ‘cups’ of others from the church, soon everyone learns that there will be more than enough to meet the needs in their area!  Now here’s a wild thought, if each church in a community would practice this for their area of town, do you suppose the poor would soon be poor no longer?  And maybe they in turn would then reach out and give a ‘cup’ to someone else in need?  Wow!  It could happen friends! 

Maybe all of what I’ve written above has its roots in Jesus’ words, “And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water ( or milk): truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward (or food for his own need.)”—Matthew 10:42 and Mark 9: 41. 

While this verse is powerful, let me share another verse that shows what I mean when I say that our enemy is mean, cruel, and insidious (i.e.—meaning he never gives up in pulling the wool over our eyes).  Consider John 10:10—“The thief (Hmm, I wonder who this could be?) comes only to steal, kill, and destroy…”  Hmm, pretty powerful, huh? 

Yet the rest of that verse has relevance as well.  Jesus goes on to say, “…I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”  In the scenario above relating to the poor, Jesus wants them to have both physical life and spiritual life even now.  And we can help with the that one ‘cup’ as a time!  If the church were to provide a ‘physical cup of milk’ then maybe the people would listen and accept a ‘cup of spiritual milk’ as well.  Could this be what sharing the Gospel is all about?  Could be! 

You know friends; I don’t think I’ll look at a ‘cup’ of milk the same way again!  How about you?