During our last two months in Europe, my squad was overwhelmed with the conveniences of the Western world. We could basically find anything we wanted at our fingertips. We had wifi constantly, big grocery stores with all of our favorite foods (greek yogurt? PRAISE. Milka chocolate? God’s gift to Eastern Europe.), cold weather, access to western toilets, showers, and washing machines. And while I have a special place in my heart for cafes, Europe swooped in to woo me accordingly. Europe came at the perfect point of our Race- we were given time to relax, recuperate, and reenergize for the last stretch of this journey.
The whole time we lived in Europe, we would talk to each other about how those months were a test run at living back in the States. All of the conveniences of home, plenty of time to relax and spend time with friends and loved ones, nothing to really worry about. We didn’t have to rely on the Lord for the strength to survive the smelly squatty or the cockroach-infested bucket shower. We could easily go through life without seeking him. I was more disciplined in setting aside time to spend with Jesus during those months because I didn’t want to lose what I’d learned thus far. And to be honest, it was pretty easy. We had a TON of free time in Europe. Our days were slow, so it wasn’t a big deal to carve out an hour or so to just sit by myself.
In comes Central America.
We are now in Honduras! I have to give my little spiel about how much I already adore this part of the world. The fruit is sweet and plentiful, the tortillas are to die for, the children are full of love and spunk, and the flowers are brighter than ever before. I’m pumped at the idea of three months with the SAME LANGUAGE, and it’s a language I’ll be able to use back home. The day we took our first drive through the country to the site for PVT, I knew these were going to be good months.
My team is in Choluteca, Honduras, aka the hottest city in the country. This city is located in a valley, so all of the heat is trapped between the surrounding mountains, resulting in high temperatures in the 100s every day. Guys, I sweat more than I thought was possible. It’s insane to me how I can drink multiple Nalgenes every day and still feel thirsty. Anywho. This month we are working a lot with kiddos. We go to two different places during the week- a center for kids to receive tutoring, learn English, study the Bible, learn hygiene basics, and of course, play a ton! The kids here are living in extreme poverty and have spent a lot of their lives malnourished. Because of malnourishment at such a young age, kids are likely to have brain damage, so there is a special needs class as well. This place is rockin. We spend every morning and early afternoon at this center, and then two days a week we go to an orphanage where the kids have lost parents to HIV/AIDS, have HIV themselves, or have dealt with some kind of abuse. We go in the afternoons for a few hours just to play with them and love them. During our first visit, the kids greeted me with some of the biggest and most genuine hugs.. my heart melted for them.
As you can see, our days are pretty darn busy. We leave the house around 8 in the morning, spend all day running around playing with kids outside in the sun, and then about every other day we will get together as a team to have meetings and spend time together. You see, our brand new team is living in three different homes across the city this month so we have to be super intentional about spending time together. So by the time we finish our scheduled ministry for the day, and after spending some time with the team, I come home and am wiped. I don’t have the energy to even think. I’m lucky if I read a few pages of my current book before passing out, only to get up the following morning to repeat.
This morning is the first morning that we have some time off, so it was my first time to have a decent amount of time to be alone with Jesus. To journal, to read, to think with a fresh mind. As I was thinking about the week, it hit me- life back home isn’t at all like the life we lived in Europe. Life at home is like Honduras. When I’m home, I’m busy. We’re all busy! That’s just how American life is! We all wake up early, get ready and go to work, work all day long at a job that is physically and mentally and emotionally exhausting, we leave work and go straight to other activities, meetings, or clubs, we do our best to maintain relationships with loved ones, and then by the time we reach our beds at night, we’re wiped. We might be able to get through a few more pages of our book or watch an episode of our favorite TV show before passing out. And then we wake up the next morning and repeat.
In the craziness of our lives, where is Jesus? While I’ve been sweating buckets and playing with kids, have I been listening to Holy Spirit to guide me in how to love that child? Have my eyes been focused on Jesus, or have I just been trying to get through the day? Do I leave the house every morning with the mindset of advancing the Kingdom?
Sadly, I let it slip. This week, I just went through the motions of the day. I tried to love those kids as much as I could..with my own strength. I focused on how hot I was, how much I was sweating, how many ants were biting my feet. My eyes were focused on getting to the end of the day where I could lay down and rest again. I was concerned with drinking the hot water from my Nalgene, not the refreshing water of the Spirit. It’s just too easy to toss Jesus aside when life gets busy, and that’s the exact opposite of what should happen. When life gets busy, we should seek Jesus MORE for rest, peace, affirmation, clarity, energy, patience, and love.
When I’m sitting with a child, teaching him how to make a friendship bracelet, I should be asking Holy Spirit how to pray for him.
And it’s only through the strength of God that I can do that. Obviously I can’t do it with my own strength. This week is the perfect example.
I’m grateful for this week and how it has opened my eyes to what life could potentially look like once I get back home. Please join me in praying for constant focus on Jesus, on the Kingdom. For supernatural energy and love. For the kids I get to play with every single day. For the families we are living with this month. And for my team as we try to navigate life as a new unit while we are spread out across the city.
xo, Catalina
