I planned a lavish modern home,
   Where wealthy friends could call,
But then I Heard an orphan say,
   "I have no home at all."

I planned to buy a bedroom suite
   So exquisite with charm,
But then I heard a mother pray,
   "Lord, keep my baby warm."

I wanted then a freezer
   To store my fancy food,
For mine was now old-fashioned
   And not the kind that stood.

Just then across the ocean
   Came this bitter, plaintive cry:
"But I Don't have a bite of food...
   Please help me or I die."

I bought a car for Christmas.
   It was for my loved ones dear,
But then I heard an orphan cry,
   "I have no loved ones here."

I spent alot of money
   For friends at Christmas time,
But when it came to missions,
   I didn't have a dime.

When Christmas was all over,
   I reckoned what I'd spent.
It was so vast and large a sum,
   I could not but repent.

For it seemed I heard that morn
   A far=off mother say,
"How long ago was Jesus born
   To take our sin away?"

Her words began to haunt my heart
   For it had grown so cold.
My children had the Gospel light
   But hers were still untold.

I vowed that day that I would give
   And work with all my might
To win a lost and dying world
   From sin and heathen night.
         -  Fred Jarvis