This is from a few weeks ago, while I was in Guatemala, but I never got around to blogging about it... My experience there was great, different from anything else we've done on the race. A group of girls and I stayed in Antigua, Guatemala for about 10 days, and volunteered at a hospital/ orphanage for handicapped people. Their mental and physical disabilities ranged in severity, but unfortunately, many of their symptoms were worsened by lack of stimulation and attention. It was challenging and a little awkward at first, but by the end I had fallen in love with several of the people there, and was sad to leave.
My favorite person to visit in the children's ward was a ten year-old boy named Diego. The children are put to bed in their cribs around 1:00pm, and aren't taken out again until 8:00am the next morning. Even when they're out, they spend most of the day lined up in their wheelchairs unless a visitor or volunteer is there to play with them.
On one afternoon, the courtyard was quiet except for a couple of kids, including Diego. I sat beside him and started tossing a small plastic ball into his lap, and his smile and laugh were so encouraging that soon we were racing around the courtyard playing soccer with a giant exercise ball.
That was the moment for me when I really realized that each one of the people there had unique personalities hidden behind their disabilities, it's sad that they're not always discovered. Something changed for me, and from then on I found it much easier to connect with the residents. I especially looked forward to seeing Diego's smile each day!
Diego and me
We also spent a lot of time in the young women's ward, which doesn't usually get as many visitors. The day before we left we were able to take 10 of the women out to lunch at a fast-food chicken restaurant down the street. It's a rare treat for them to go out like that, so there was lots of smiling, clapping, and even dancing that morning! We had so much fun with them, it was a really special experience for all of us.
Although we weren't in Guatemala very long, it was a really impactful time for me. It's tempting to ask a lot of "why?" questions in situations like that, but I just accepted that there are things I don't understand, and that God is at work in the midst of suffering.
I was blessed by Diego and others, I believe that their reward in Heaven will be great, and it makes me smile to imagine the day that they are liberated from everything that hinders them and brought into glorious freedom.
"...our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope thatthe creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God... Not
only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the
redemption of our bodies... But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently...
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him..." -Romans 8:18-21,23,25,28
Today we visited a city dump in Managua, and I was completely humbled. Not only because of the conditions that the people live and work in, but because of the greeting I received.
You can smell the dump long before you actually enter it, a mixture of burning trash and things rotting. There are flies swarming everywhere, so I was thankful for the light rain because it seemed to keep them off us a little. As we were walking in, I just kept praying "Jesus, help me have Your heart here today."
We had no agenda, so Aaron, Jeanette, and I were walking around, praying and seeking whatever the Lord had for us there. I was just saying to them how it's sometimes awkward to be in those situations, because I don't want people to think that we came there just to take some pictures and say we came. Right then, a woman working yelled and waved at us. We waved back, and after a short exchange with Aaron, she suddenly dropped her tools, ran over to us, and greeted us with hugs.
She told us that her name is Michelle, she's a Christian, and she's been working in the dump for fifteen years, since she was 12. I noticed two colorful plastic rings on her fingers, and when I pointed them out, she didn't hesitate to take one off and place it on my finger, saying something I didn't understand, and gesturing to her heart and mine.
She held our hands, and we walked and talked for a while, until the light rain started turning into a downpour. Before I knew it, Michelle ran off into the garbage pile, and returned with a muddy piece of tarp that she put over my head and hers. We all huddled together until the rain died down, and then
she led us to her house nearby.
It was a tiny shack, with barely enough room for one small bed. Her twin daughters sleep there, she said, and she and her husband sleep on the floor. In the corner was a barrel of clothing, and she insisted on giving me a dry shirt out of it that I could change into.
We stayed and talked for a little while, praying over her and her home, and making plans to meet again later this week. She found a small umbrella for me to use while walking back to the entrance, where she flagged down a garbage truck for us to catch a ride on back to the street.
I was still in somewhat of a state of disbelief as I looked back and waved goodbye.
From the first moment she ran over, Michelle had shown me nothing but selfless love, the kind that many Christians only talk about. She was constantly looking after my needs, offering everything she had to me without expecting something in return. She didn't need to do any of it, she could have waved and let us keep walking. I was praying for the heart of Jesus, and I encountered her face-to-face. We talk about going to places like that to minister to people, but I was the one ministered to. God, help me to love people the way that I was loved today.
We came back from the islands yesterday morning. The 10 days we spent there were some of best days of the race for me! The island that we stayed on was small, you can walk from one side to the other in about a minute. It's packed with many small houses made of reeds. We slept in hammocks in the church building, which was fun once I mastered sleeping on my side in one. There wasn't much privacy, since there was no door, and 3 sides of the building have blocks with holes in them. At first I felt a little like we were living in a fish bowl, but it didn't take long to get used to it.
When we weren't playing with kids, or hanging with the locals, we did a variety of things... led a youth Bible study, did several children's program's, gave testimonies, picked up trash, prepped the Pastor's boat for re-painting, and helped re-build some church walls on another island. "You don't build your houses like this in the States?" a guy asked me as I watched how to attach the reeds with twine. "No, not quite" I said. But I am now much more confident in my island-hut-wall-building abilities.
We also took a couple of outings to nearby islands to swim. The water was beautiful! The day before we left, we took about 15 kids from the church swimming with us, it was so much fun! At any given moment I had kids hanging on my back, climbing on my shoulders, and grabbing at my arms. My throat, nose, and eyes were burning with salt water from being unexpectedly pushed or dragged under water, but I loved every minute of it! I'll remember that day as a highlight of the race for sure.
It was a great experience to be so immersed in the Kuna culture, we were all sad to say good-bye.
Our living conditions were not luxurious- We drank greenish-yellow river water with some sketchy looking "floaties" in it, used a squat toilet that opened up over the ocean (I did a routine cockroach check before using it at night,) and took bucket showers- but I feel strangely refreshed after our time there. It was just what I needed to be energized for the last leg of the race, and I'm looking forward to whatever comes next!
Several weeks ago, when our team was praying about what to do during
our last few weeks in Africa, we felt the Lord was telling us to fast
and spend time in solitude with Him before we went anywhere else. So we fasted together and prayed for three days.
I
have to say, it was kind of difficult for me. Not the fasting, or the
praying, but the "not doing" part of it. Time in Africa was running short, and I was anxious to go. To help
the poor, feed the hungry, love the unloved... But over and over again
God kept saying to me "intimacy first."
I
was talking about it with Aaron, how it was difficult to not feel like
we were wasting precious time, and I said something to him like "Three
days
seems like a long time now, but when you look at the big picture, three
days of your life isn't much if it teaches you how to be intimate with God."
Afterward I started thinking more about what I had said, and realized
how true it really is.
A couple weeks later, as we were preparing to
leave Africa, I was thinking about the future, about the passion God
has given me to care for orphans, and I was wondering if and when (not so much if as when,
actually) I
would be able to return to Africa to do that. Soon, I hope. My heart always beats a little faster when I
think about it, and I start to get a sense of urgency.
As I thought about it that day though, I was suddenly reminded of the
woman who
anointed Jesus with expensive perfume.
me and Traci dressed up for an evening out in Costa Rica
He praised her intimate act, and
rebuked the
disciples for accusing her of being wasteful. "The poor you will always
have with you," he said. I've heard Bible lessons on that story before,
but here's what
it meant to me at that moment:
There will always be orphans for me to care for. But even the urgency
of their needs cannot come before my intimacy with Christ. It is never
a waste of my time, or anything else, to place "being" before "doing."
Something Gary Black said that sticks out in my mind is "lovers always out-do
doers." If I am constantly seeking intimacy, my "doing" will flow
naturally out of
love, and my oil will not run dry. The impact I have on the orphans of
the world will be far greater if I can learn this lesson first, and
then pass it on to them as well.
Reflecting on the 3 months we spent in Africa, I can see that this is a central theme of what God is teaching me. Not just going to church, but being the church. Not just doing the will of God, but being
the will of God. It's freeing, actually. Especially as the end of the
race gets nearer, and I'm compelled to seek God's will for the next
unknown phase of my life. As Andrew Shearman said to us, "The will of
God is that you be." Then
whatever way I go, to the right or to the left, I will hear a voice
behind me saying "This is the way; walk in it." ~Isaiah 30:21
More than eighty hours after leaving Badplaas, South Africa, with stops in Madrid and Bogota, we arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica! It's strange to now be back in the same timezone as my home!
We've spent the last several days recovering from jet lag and searching out ministry opportunities for this next month.
I think that my team will be leaving tomorrow for a smaller town about 3 hours East of here.
It's exciting to be in a new country and learn about another new culture. Maybe I can finally learn some Espanol!
Catching some sleep in the Bogota, Columbia airport...
that's me under the red blanket, with Traci beside me
We came back to South Africa from Mozambique yesterday, we had an amazing time there! In only about 10 days we were able to accomplish a lot. We stayed with a missionary named Don Foster, who works with Iris Ministries. About two months ago he took over the "Benjamin Project," for young men who grew up in Iris orphanages, and are now finishing their education and being equipped for life on their own. There are about 11 guys between the ages of 22-25 who live at the base.
Don with two guys in the program
Before we left, our team spent 3 days fasting and praying about what God wanted us to do in our remaining time in Africa. When we heard about Don and his ministry, we all knew that it was where we needed to go. Reflecting now on the last week and a half, I can see even more clearly that we were exactly where God wanted us.
Don is working on his own, and when we came he told us that he was "at the end of his rope," in desperate need of help and encouragement. We worked together with him to make and a list of needs, and did our best to meet as many as we could during our short stay. The other girls and I had a great time blessing Don by cooking, cleaning and doing our own "While You Were Out: Mozambique Edition." We also took care of some other needs around the property, including hauling cinder blocks, chopping down a tree, leveling dirt for a new church building, and giving tick baths to 3 giant Bull Mastiffs.
living room before....and after!
When we weren't busy doing manual labor, we had the chance to visit two Iris orphanages, go on Jesus Film outreaches, attend an amazing worship service in Maputo, and take 26 boys from an orphanage to a reservoir for an afternoon of swimming (and washing hair for those of us in need of a shower.)
So it was a busy 10 days, but I enjoyed every minute of it. It was a great way to end our time here in Africa. Today we'll start our debrief, and on Sunday we leave for Central America. We have a 24 hour layover in Madrid on the way, so we're looking forward to getting out and seeing some of the city!
Also, you might have noticed that we've had a new face in our team pictures... Tracey Caufield has been with us for most of our time in Africa, and officially joined our team last month. We're so excited to have another family member! You can read about her story on some other blogs:
This Easter has to be the most memorable one I've ever had. Our whole squad went back down to Nsoko for the dedication of the church there, and Pastor Gift's ordaining.
It rained all night Saturday night, and when we got to the sight it was a muddy mess. My flip flops weighed about 10 pounds each within minutes of stepping off the bus, so I went barefoot the rest of the day along with many others. I finally got around to trying to wash the mud out of my skirt yesterday.
It was such a priviledge to be a part of the church planting. G-42 has a huge vision for a community center, marketplace, and orphan homes there. I'm excited to see what happens in Nsoko over the next few years!
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Today we visited a city dump in Managua, and I was completely humbled. Not only because of the conditions that the people live and work in, but because of the greeting I received. 
a Christian, and she's been working in the dump for fifteen years, since she was 12. I noticed two colorful plastic rings on her fingers, and when I pointed them out, she didn't hesitate to take one off and place it on my finger, saying something I didn't understand, and gesturing to her heart and mine. 
It was a tiny shack, with barely enough room for one small bed. Her twin daughters sleep there, she said, and she and her husband sleep on the floor. In the corner was a barrel of clothing, and she insisted on giving me a dry shirt out of it that I could change into. 
A couple weeks later, as we were preparing to
leave Africa, I was thinking about the future, about the passion God
has given me to care for orphans, and I was wondering if and when (not so much if as when,
actually) I
would be able to return to Africa to do that. Soon, I hope. My heart always beats a little faster when I
think about it, and I start to get a sense of urgency. 
We've spent the last several days recovering from jet lag and searching out ministry opportunities for this next month.
Don is working on his own, and when we came he told us that he was "at the end of his rope," in desperate need of help and encouragement. We worked together with him to make and a list of needs, and did our best to meet as many as we could during our short stay. The other girls and I had a great time blessing Don by cooking, cleaning and doing our own "While You Were Out: Mozambique Edition." We also took care of some other needs around the property, including hauling cinder blocks, chopping down a tree, leveling dirt for a new church building, and giving tick baths to 3 giant Bull Mastiffs. 
