NEVER TOO YOUNG (OR OLD) TO BE USED BY GOD by Anna Hogan

Favorite moments……hmmm….during this last month there were so many! But after thinking about it for a little while there are a few things that really stand out. I’ll share about each of them throughout the next week or so but I’ll start with thing that really got my heart the most. And that would have to be Aria. I can’t say that there were really specific moments throughout the trips but more so the trips as a whole where Aria was concerned. 

After doing the discipleship training (DT) in May, I really wasn’t sure how these trips would be with our almost 2 year old. DT wasn’t the easiest where Aria was concerned and by the end we were all three just worn out and both Aria and I (Anna) got sick. So I think it’s safe to say I was a little concerned about pretty much an entire month of going and preparing and ministering. But by the end of that first trip at the beginning of June, I knew there was nothing to be concerned about. And when we arrived at the camps with the Bethel team on that first day and I saw the joy in Aria’s eyes as she ran to the crowd of children, I couldn’t hold back the joy in my own heart just watching her.

Every day we would go to a different camp and every day Aria would immediately find a crowd of kids (which wasn’t hard), and plop herself down in the middle of them and look at them with the hugest grin planted on her face. She rolled around with them, played in the dirt, tickled them, played hide & seek, danced with them, worshiped, played games, and hugged and hugged and hugged every one of those kids that she could get her hands on. And let me tell you,they LOVED her! The kids would struggle to be the one sitting close to her, they’d take turns holding her hands and just soaking up the love she had to give them.

Just thinking about the interaction between my little girl and these children makes me want to tear up and go back this instant just to see it some more. There is one specific moment that I will probably never forget that I’d like to share. The Bethel team brought many things to give out to the kids but one of the things was a crown. They brought this huge stack of cardboardcrowns from burger king. A couple of the women in our group started walking around placing crowns on the kids and Aria soon noticed. Aria proceeded to follow one of them around and find someone that didn’t have a crown, take the crown from her and walk over and crown the child. After crowning each of the kids, Aria then moved onto the adults. As I watched my nearly 2 year old daughter be hoisted up to place a cardboard crown on the adult in front of her my heart melted. The moments were so precious, not just for me, but for the person getting the crown. I saw looks of such sweet joy and love on their faces.God used Aria, she may not have understood what she was doing, but He used her to make each and every one of these people feel special, loved, and worthy.

These moments with Aria were truly my favorite. I think any mother would feel the same way. She stole their hearts and showered them with the love that God has placed in her heart. I made it even more evident that you are never too old or too young to be used by God! Never doubt that you can be used. God used Aria at 1 ½ and He can use you at 101!

People always told us that Aria was a missions baby because she was so easy and good. But these trips made that statement even truer because I saw God use my little girl. She isn’t just a missions baby but Aria is a missionary herself. God has called her to these people for this time just as much as He has called Kolby and I. And there isn’t a single barrier between their hearts and hers! No language barrier, no cultural barrier, no age barrier! She reached these people’s hearts and I can’t wait to see how God continues to use her throughout her life! I just love my Aria Dawn! This momma’s heart is happy! 

Read more by the Hogan family on their blog.

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