Person of Peace - Daycare Owner Takes in Homeless Children

[James Nored]

Those of you who follow this blog know may recall that one of our new converts, Cyndi Moncada, led us to start serving at the Divine Children Christian Center, a daycare center in East McKinney. The woman that runs this daycare center is Yalonda Moore, a woman who received a kidney transfer and because of this, dedicated her life to serving Jesus.

 

Yalonda is a woman who has a huge heart. We found out that she had taken in a number of children during the day whose families were living at the local homeless shelter, The Samaritan Inn. One family she even keeps overnight in her home throughout the week. So our small group (which includes Cyndi) adopted this daycare center, providing a monthly meal, giving them some supplies, and giving her customers access to our food pantry and clothes closet.

 

Last week one of our members contacted me about a family with children that was in need. This member said this:

 

"James, I have a family in my neighborhood that has a need. Their son is a good friend of [my son] and has been visiting High Pointe with us quite a bit this summer. [Their son] has two younger siblings ages 2 and 3. Their mother has been working a full time job this summer while their son] babysat the little ones. His mother applied for CCMS which is a welfare program that helps with childcare. She applied last May, but when she called to check on things they told her they are only just now working on the applications from April. If she doesn't have childcare by Monday, she will have to quit her job and she has no way to pay for it. This family lived for two months with no water. The mom has been away tonight and ;their son] (who is only 15) spent the day at our house. Tonight when it was getting close to supper time, he asked if he and his siblings could stay for supper because they have no food in their home. He asked if he could cook for us. He is one of the sweetest young men I know. He has spent almost all summer here at our house and really works hard to take care of his family to be such a young kid. Do you know if there is anything the church could do to help this family?"

 

In response to this, I of course told this member that she could send this family to our food pantry and clothes closet. I also suggested that they seek out Yalonda to see if she could watch their kids, and to tell Yalonda that I sent them, since Yalonda has taken in a number of children in this kind of situation. I heard back that Yalonda did indeed take them in. Praise God for Yalonda!

 

Today I went to daycare center, starting a weekly Bible story, songs, and prayer time with the children there (ages 3-5). They were so cute!! Above is a picture of some of the children there, and this picture includes the children that I mentioned above that Yalonda took in.

 

Yalonda is what is referred to in missional literature as a a "person of peace." This concept is taken from Luke 10, where Jesus sends out his disciples, saying:

 

⁵ “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ ⁶ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. ⁷ Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.

 

The basic concept is this. When we go out on mission, God has already sent the Spirit out ahead of us, preparing people for us. And when we go out, these people that God has prepared--people of peace--will open their "homes" or social circle to us, helping us to reach others for Christ. When we find such a person, we should "stay" with them, as they can help us reach a large number of people for Christ.

 

In North American culture, well connected persons of peace are difficult to find due to our highly fragmented, individualistic culture. But they can be found, often connected to schools, daycare centers, sports teams, businesses, etc. And when you find these people of peace, trust me, they are a blessing. I am blessed every time I go and visit this daycare center and see the wonderful workers and children there.

 

Where have you found "people of peace"? Where might we find them?

[James Nored]

Jayaraj, I'm so glad that you are picking up on the "person of peace" concept and the idea that the Spirit has been sent out ahead of us in mission. Knowing that God has already prepared the way for us can give us great confidence when we go out to share our faith and serve others. Blessings to you and your ministry.

[Jayaraj.E]

thanks Brother for sharing about a wonderful woman of God . she is doing great work by taking care of children.

  I like very much concept you mentioned there is "

When we go out on mission, God has already sent the Spirit out ahead of us, preparing people for us. And when we go out, these people that God has prepared--people of peace--will open their "homes" or social circle to us, helping us to reach others for Christ. When we find such a person, we should "stay" with them, as they can help us reach a large number of people for Christ."

 what a wonderful God we have!

thank you Bro. James Nored, Cyndi Moncada and Sis. Yalonda Moore for you are doing great work .