Love Letters

You yourselves are the letter we have, written on our hearts for everyone to know and to read. It is clear that Christ himself wrote this letter and sent it by us. It is written, not with ink but with the spirit of the living God, and not on stone tablets but on human hearts.

2 Corinthians 3:2-3 (GNT)

GREENVILLE, LIBERIA – God is love and truth. God knows our thoughts and our hearts. God sees the motives for our actions. Paul tells us in chapter three of his letter to the believers in Rome that the law was given to us (on tablets of stone) to point out our sin. When we turn from following our thoughts to following God’s Word and receive the free gift of forgiveness, we are born again as children of God who keep the law because we have God’s love in our hearts.

In John Chapter 13, Jesus gave us a new commandment. We are to love others as he loves us, and people will know we are his followers by our love. When one is born again, he or she is motivated by love. This love comes from Christ (the author) and can be seen (or read) by everyone.

I am a Global Ministries missionary working with United Methodist schools in Liberia. In October 2021, I moved from Monrovia, the capital city, to Greenville, a small rural city in Southeast Liberia. I was hoping to rent a house with an inside bathroom and nearby access to water. I received so much more. The family that owns the house I rent lives across the street from me. The children bring me water from the well down the hill and the father connects me to their small generator for electricity at night.

I am thankful for water and electricity, but I am even more thankful for the love this family shows me. The mother, father and children sit and talk with me. We share what is happening in our lives. The daughter leaves papayas, mangos and corn from the garden in my kitchen. They take care of me and look out for me as a member of their family, not as an obligation to a paying renter. The motive for their actions is Christ’s love. I am reading the letter that Christ wrote on their hearts, and I am reading it with thanksgiving and joy.

Just as the spirit of the living God, worked through Paul and Timothy to write a letter on the hearts of the believers in Corinth, the spirit of the living God used people to write a letter on the hearts of my family in Greenville.

Every encounter I have with another person, is an opportunity for Christ to work through me to write a letter on that person’s heart. I pray that I will always allow the spirit of the living God to use me to write letters of love in the lives of others.

Helen Roberts-Evans retires this year after working as a missionary for 14 years in the Liberian United Methodist Church’s schools and education ministries.

Global Missionaries

Global Ministries missionaries are a tangible connection between The United Methodist Church and mission. Through denominational or ecumenical ministries, missionaries bear witness to God’s presence all around the world. They are called by God and sent out to serve by the church, usually placed in a new cultural context beyond their country of origin. Missionaries engage in ministry that is defined by mutuality and partnership, seeking to expand the mission of God already present and active in people and places.

Support the ministries of missionaries working around the world and consider a gift to honor the work of Helen Roberts-Evans as she retires from missionary service and follows the Holy Spirit to her next adventures in life.