A Little of Everything

July 24, 2010

Today, the final day of the week, I am finally taking the moment to blog about the most important events of the week -- the life giving ones because I know that I had the opportunity to be an extension of Christ's hands. Even though my travels to the States and Honduras were short and I did not rest physically, I seem to have come back refreshed in other ways and so while other staff members have been on the edge of burn-out, I have had the energy to press forward and help to balance them out. And I know that some day, they will be doing the same for me. Over the past week I have sat down with several of the older youth and chatted, sharing life stories and listening to where they are at in life. On Tuesday evening I hung out with the oldest boys, supervising them while the rest of the staff were having a group with the younger boys. Two brothers sat down with me to chat and after the one left, the other one and I talked for a long while about his anxiety over his upcoming graduation and then his desire to study missions. I discovered that at school he is nearly the only one in his class who does not smoke and drink and so he is daily faced with peer pressure and challenges. I was neat to get a glimpse into his life and to offer some encouragement to him.

Then on Wednesday I went with one of the older girls for coffee and we talked about how things are going for her at this point when her life does not seem to have much direction. I was excited to be able to share a story that I told for years during night hikes at Black Rock Retreat about considering that which we are actually listening or looking for. If we look for why our day is miserable, that is what we will see. Instead we need to look for what God is doing and learn to recognize the blessings from Him and His presence even in the midst of trials. Even as I shared with her, I was challenged to re-evaluate my perspective on things, especially some frustrations that I am facing for the week ahead.

One thing that I have begun to notice here at La Casa de Mi Padre is that God seems to bring different people into the children's lives at different times, based upon their need and who they will respond to. One week they connnect with a staff member and the next week, they do not want to talk to that person. I can definitely see the importance of the body of Christ with the various roles and gifts that can work together so perfectly to meet the needs of those around us and to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.

This week I also spent a lot of time doing English homework and reading with a young girl named Elba. We are currently reading "Charlotte's Web" but in Spanish. Yesterday I listened to the Charlotte's long defense of spiders and their importance in life (of which I needed to tell my housemate today because she saw a spider in the apartment and hates them). What stood out to me though in the chapters that we read was that though Wilbur, the little pig who was about two months old at the time, had a taste of freedom outside of his pen, he was overwhelmed by the vastness of the world and was easily seduced to return to the pigsty with the bucket of slops that the farmer brought for him. When he crawled back into the pen, he felt like his little "house" was not so bad after all and happilly devoured the slops. Of course the very next day he awoke miserable and feeling friendless. I was challenged in the reading to be wary of the temptations that come across my path which call me back to my comfort zone (even though it may be a "pigsty") instead of pressing forward in what God is calling me -- as unknown and scary that it might be. I do not want to settle for "slops and pigsty" when God wants me to pursue Him into the uncharted waters.