(Photo courtesy of the man and my teammate, Jah-Jah Jackson, an excellent photographer)
Meet Jorge.
Of all the people I have met thus far on the race, Jorge has been the one who has captivated and inspired me the most… and I have only spoken a handful of struggling Spanish words to him.
Jorge is one of those people who doesn’t use many words, but says a lot at the same time.
Do you know what I mean?
This past week my team went up to the mountains of Valle de Angeles to work with two missionaries – Theresa and Donnie. We helped them start the process of building a Tilapia pond that will one day feed many impoverished people throughout that area. A big part of that job was breaking up enormous rocks and hauling them to the other side of the land so we could build a dam for the pond with them. Jorge was a huge help in that process for us.
Every morning when we arrived at the top of the mountain, we would look down at the pond area and find Jorge already hard at work.
He worked passionately all day… and every interaction he had with the rest of us intrigued me.
Like I said before, Jorge is a man of few words… but not in the sense of being shy, rather in the sense of being wise. His presence alone demands respect, screams honor, and displays loyalty. He doesn’t need to use words to prove those attributes.
He is happy to speak when spoken to, and when he does choose to speak up first it is normally about something that has substance behind it– at least from what I could tell. Every time I saw him speak up it was usually to tell the teenage boys we were with to work hard or to help us ladies lift rocks that were heavier than ourselves or to be respectful. Sometimes he didn’t even need to use words to tell them that – sometimes all it would take was a whistle and a glance in the right direction.
He’s one of those people that you just want to sit with in silence, because you know that just by being in his presence you will learn something and become wiser for it.
The reason Jorge captivates me so much is because I am the complete opposite. I am a woman of many words. I often times don’t think before I speak and sometimes immediately regret my words. I don’t say any of this to put myself down or to say that I wish I didn’t talk as much as I do – BUT I do wish that I only spoke things that have substance behind them. I wish that my words emulated Christ more than they do. I wish that every word I use causes those who are listening to want to be better people – and most of all to want to know Christ.
I want (and I think everyone should want) to have the atmosphere that Jorge creates. I want to have the respect, honor, and loyalty that he displays without even using words. I want to think before I speak. I want to only speak things that matter. I want to make those around me want to be better people. I want to honor God with my every word.
Whew… Good thing I have the rest of my life to pray about and work on these things, right?
🙂
