I remember hearing Steve Brown say in a message at Key Biscayne Presbyterian Church, “When it’s dark outside, a little light will do.”

Years ago I took kids spelunking, that’s a big word for cave exploring. There was one cave, now closed I think, here in middle Tennessee called Johnson Civil War Cave. I experienced first hand what Steve was talking about in the back of that cave. There in a part of the cave called “The Hall of the Mountain King,” we would have everyone turn their lights off for several minutes. Then one of us would break open a small glow stick, the kind used on highways to mark a hazard, and throw it across the cave. That little bit of light would illuminate the whole cave. Then Bill McDowell would do the most incredible talk asking the group if they could get out of the cave without light? Would that little light be enough to get them out?

I have experienced some parts of the world that are like that cave…dark. Simply asking myself, “how I can bring God’s Kingdom to this dark place?,” helps frame something I or a team could do. Sometimes though, it’s hard to figure out. In those times, when the world is very dark the words from Key Biscayne resonate, “When it’s dark outside, a little light will do.”

The little light I have is actually a “big” light after all isn’t it?

One of the dark places in the world is the world of a deaf child living in poverty. I’m grateful to have crossed paths with Sophia Reid and Mary Rickets at the Jamaica Christian School for the Deaf. In Jamaica the deaf are called “dummies,” made fun of, abused and can often turn to crime to survive. It’s potentially a dark future. Sophia, Mary and their staff have rescued hundreds of deaf children over the last 20+ years. They’ve brought what they would call “a little light” to the lives of children.

At the school, kids live and learn in a loving, Christ centered, full of Light environment. The staff and board of JCSD know how important a skill is for graduates, so Mission Discovery summer teams have been building a vocational building to equipt students with skills that will include woodworking, car repair, hospitality industry, cooking and more.

I think its what the Kingdom of God looks like!

Matthew 5:16 says, “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

When it’s dark, a little light will do.

This October adult teams will spend time at the Jamaica Christian School for the Deaf serving in tangible ways.