10/25/10
I’ve been feeling thankful today. I think it’s just important to take time and think about everything I have. Gratitude begins by acknowledging who God is and what He has done. We should also look for blessings from God. They are all around us, but sometimes it’s easy to overlook the subtle, indirect gifts. Col. 4:2-3 says, “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ…”
Some of the team members had a great dinner at this local restaurant with Honduran food. We were sitting outside and just started talking about the day and then how it’s so easy to take things for granted. Things as simple as running water, food, a toilet, and a toothbrush. I’m not even talking about the big stuff like a house with all four sides and a roof, a car, and something called air conditioner. These are all things that the people we are working with in Honduras don’t have.
I was in Los Pinos today. There is this one little girl named Pamela. She is 9 and has Down’s Syndrome. Christy who has her Masters degree in special education has become close to her. Today she showed me her mouth. Pamela’s teeth on the left side of her mouth are rotted out, but pieces are still there. It looks horrible. It’s hard to see things and not be able to help everyone.
Last week a couple team members went into Los Pinos to pick up one of the boys to come and spend the night for his birthday. His brother Christo was high on thinner. Christo is 14 and when he saw the team he just started sobbing. There is no parent living with the boys in that shack. He is living with us this week.
I want to tell you these stories to paint a picture of what these kids have to deal with. The street kids are probably the hardest kids you could ever work with. Some of the boys we work with are the same ones that last year were robbing people at knife point. Now they are going to church and ridding the buses with us to help protect us. I have had to pray for patients with them. It is slow, hard work. Tony does a good job with them and is trying to mold them into men who will be leaders in their community. They still have their hard times. I am thankful I get to see this.
I am not a super emotional person. It takes me awhile to get close to people. Everyone has a different personality and if I was super sensitive, I would walk around here crying all the time. I think how I am also has something to do with the job I do and having to distance myself at times from patients. While this is sometimes needed, I’ve also been praying lately to have a softer heart and to really let these children and people that I meet in. God wants our hearts to be broken for what breaks His. He wants us to not only know that kids have hard lives, but to see it with our own eyes and then to love on these children. God also wants us to live our lives in community. It’s a big part of the WR. I believe He wants us to see the hard things, the things that may hurt to let in, and then embrace them fully. If it means crying more, then I may have to start doing that. For now I’m just thankful. I am so blessed to even have the opportunity to be here and to meet these people. Not just the people of Honduras, but my teammates too. You never stop learning in life and I’m learning things from everyone I meet, even if we don’t speak the same language.
“Know that the Lord. He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good…” Psalm 100:3-5.
The last thing I’m thankful for today is peanut butter. This stuff is amazing and sometimes the only protein you will have. It is a main staple in the WR diet. We ran out a few days ago. Everyone freaked out and we went out and bought 6 giant jars of peanut butter.
