I consider myself lucky
to cram into a small SUV with 12 other people
along with all of our bags
to drive down a bumpy dirt road
with giant potholes
just to get to our ministry site.
Because for once I don’t have to walk.
I “shower” with a bucket of water
that’s ice cold
once every four days.
I shave maybe once every four showers.
I’ve had lice for nearly 3 months.
My feet are always dirty.
I sleep on a one-inch-thick mattress,
or on a couch,
or on a bus seat,
or the airport floor.
I use my hands as a plate.
I eat with my fingers at every meal.
I eat off of plates, tables, and floors.
We often wash our dishes by licking them clean.
I wear the same shirt at least twice,
and then I sleep in it for a while,
and then maybe I’ll decide if it needs washing.
My pants are not considered dirty until after at least a month of wear.
I don’t even want to admit the last time I washed my sweatshirt.
I eat on less than $5 a day
for all three meals,
and I often eat the same food for days at a time.
I can carry my bed,
wardrobe,
shower,
tent,
blankets,
books,
and so much more
on my back
in under 50 pounds.
If you met me in the States, what would you think of me? What would I think of me? I can guarantee that I wouldn’t fit into my pristine American life. I can’t tell you the last time I walked anywhere. I don’t remember the last day in the US that I didn’t take a long, hot, 15-minute shower. I greatly enjoy my full-size bed with plenty of blankets. (I actually eat off the floor, so let’s just skip that little factoid.) I never wear the same shirt for more than a day. Ever. And I spend $5 on Starbucks alone. I can barely fit all of my belongings into my car, let alone one 60L backpack.
I guess you could say that we are a little uncivilized,
A little hippy,
A little undignified.
But that’s okay.
Because if He asks
I’ll become even more undignified than this.
2 Samuel 6:22 “I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes…”
