“Missionary Mondays” is a weekly resource for parents. Each week will feature a missionary story that is designed to be read to young children. Also included is a prayer and corresponding activity. Enjoy!
George Mueller
Over a hundred years ago and on the other side of the world, in a place called London, lived a man who was very, very happy.
His name was George Mueller.
He was not the kind of happy that stays for a minute and then goes away. Like when you eat a piece of candy. Or go down a fast slide. Or find a neat bug.
His kind of happy was an all-the-time happy – his happiness had nothing to do with things that happened to him. That means that even when bad, or scary, or sad things happened to him, his happiness was still deep inside of him. It was like water that was always bubbling up and out of his heart.
Do you want to know why Mr. George Mueller was always so happy, even when he was having a rotten day? It’s because his heart was connected to his eyes. When his eyes would read God’s Word and see how loving and wonderful King Jesus is, then his heart would fill all the way up with a happiness that would never go away.
The happy Mr. Mueller decided that he wanted to do something that would make others as happy as he was.
So he built homes for children who had no mommy and no daddy. He gave them a home. And the really neat part is – he did it with no money!
Have you ever tried to build something big and take care of a lot of people with no money?? How would you buy the wood and nails and hammers? And the food and clothes and furniture?
George Mueller, because he read about King Jesus so much and knew Him so well, knew that Jesus would provide everything that would be needed to build the homes and take care of the children.
And Jesus did. Jesus whispered into many, many people’s hearts to give money, food, and supplies to the homes that Mr. George Mueller was building.
Mr. Mueller would always tell people, “Work hard! But never trust in your work.” He wanted people to trust in Jesus instead.
Once all the homes were built, the children moved in! There were so many children who needed a place to live..it was a good thing that the homes were really big and could hold a lot of people!
Taking care of all of the children – there were over 10,000 in all – was a huge job. It was such a huge job that there is no way that George Mueller – a man with no money – could do it. Where would he get clothes for 10,000 kids? How would he feed them all? What about their birthday presents?
But do you think he was worried? He was not worried at all. In fact, the bigger the job, the happier he was. Because he knew that God would provide and then everyone would see how kind God is.
One day, Mr. Mueller was sitting in his office when he heard a knock at the door.
“Come on in!” said Mr. Mueller.
A nurse, one of the nice ladies who helped take care of the children, came in. She looked worried, even a little scared.
“Mr. Mueller,” she said, “there are 300 children downstairs who are hungry and ready for breakfast. But we have a problem. The kitchen is completely empty. There is no bread or milk in the kitchen…only cobwebs.”
Mr. Mueller smiled. “Well dear, I have a feeling that something wonderful is going to happen today. I know that my Savior is going to take care of those precious children, so there is no doubt in my mind that He will send bread and milk our way. Let’s pray.”
So Mr. George Mueller and the nurse prayed that God would take care of the children. And when they were done praying, Mr. Mueller walked downstairs, gathered all of the children at the kitchen table, and waited. And while they waited, he smiled.
After just a few minutes, there was a knock at the front door. The smiling Mr. Mueller opened the door and was not surprised to see a bread man standing there.
“Hi Mr. Mueller,” he said, “I was thinking about you last night and decided to bake enough extra bread for you and the children. Here are three large batches of fresh bread!”
The bread came piling into the home! But before the children could even take one bite of the delicious, warm bread they all heard another knock at the door.
Mr. Mueller smiled, looked at the children, and said, “Our Lord knows that you kiddos need to wash that bread down with some milk. Let’s see what He’s done for us.”
He opened the front door and standing there was a milk man!
“Mr. Mueller, sorry to bother you. But my milk truck has gotten a flat tire right here in front of your home. All of this milk is going to go bad if I don’t give it away right now! Would you mind accepting a truck full of milk?”
All the milk man could hear after that was the cheers and clapping of the children inside the home. The Lord, the kind and generous Savior, had provided a fresh breakfast for over 300 children that morning.
And for the rest of Mr. Mueller’s life, God did amazing and impossible things just like that. The happy Mr. Mueller – the man with no money – loved and cared for over 10,000 children.
Do you see what wonderful things can happen when you are happy in Jesus? You know and love Him with all of your heart, which makes you trust Him, which makes you do big, impossible things, which makes others know and love Jesus too!
Prayer
King Jesus, everything You do is good for us. We can trust You to provide everything we will ever need: our food, our clothing, even our forgiveness! You are a kind and wise God who loves us with an everlasting love. Thank you for all the ways that You have shown Your love to us, especially on the cross. Help us to see and know You more and more, and to be more and more like You. Amen.
Activity: Make A Lunchbox!
Supplies:
- Brown paper bag
- Pipe cleaner or ribbon
- Tape, glue, scissors, hole punch
- Construction paper
Instructions:
- Draw a heart on a piece of red construction paper. Write this verse on the heart: “No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” Ps. 84:11
- Have your child cut out the heart and glue it onto the front of the paper bag.
- Roll down the top edges of the paper bag a few times. Have your child hole punch the two sides and then attach the pipe cleaner or ribbon for the lunchbox handle.
- On brown construction paper, have your child draw and cut out several loaves of bread. On white construction paper, have your child draw and cut out several containers of milk. Fill the lunchbox with the food God has provided!
