I woke to find an enormous beetle in my shoe. It was about the size of a silver dollar. It was kinda scary, mostly because I didn’t know if it moved fast and could fly at me or into my tent. It turned out to move extremely slowly. So a squad mate, Casey, helped me knock it out of my shoe. Later in the morning I came near my tent and found it on its back, trying to push off the ants climbing on it. My heart had a little compassion, and I pushed it onto a leaf. I carried that leaf over to some trees and set it down there. Yay! I rescued it from certain death.
Can I tell you…
I started this blog with the intent to tell a few fun stories, starting with the cool beetle. But as I sit here, I don’t really want to share much of that with you this time.
I would rather tell you about my amazing teammates, Alyssha and Brooklynn, who have such a wonderful gifting and training in the area of working with children. I got to watch them shine brightly in different settings with kids. First, on Wednesday February 12, we went to Cien Fuegos where there is a care center for the kids from the city dump. The kids are rowdy and don’t have a bunch of training in self-discipline or good behavior. Brooklynn worked through being sick to find ways to grab the older kids’ attention, teaching them English. And Alyssha captured the attention of the 4-year-olds as she told them a story in English, having them follow along with hand gestures, animal sounds, and new English words. On Thursday, both Alyssha and Brooklynn again used their awesome stealthy skills to get a feel for where the local community kids are in their English learning process. Then they worked to expand their knowledge, while keeping their attention and finding the way each group learned best.
And I also want to brag about Elaine, who has such a sweet sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. She uses singing and guitar playing to affect the atmosphere everywhere she goes. When we worked with the children, she brought her guitar to grab their attention and teach English. When we prayer walk, she sings worship. When we go to church, she has songs prepared to lead worship there. She inspires me so much with her deep love for people.
And the guys… human jungle gyms! The room was filled with laughter and fun as the kids climbed all over them. They had been told beforehand that some of the kids have ringworm due to the filthy conditions they live in, but not one of these guys held back from loving those kids. Zach and Jonny are fantastic with people of all ages, bringing a joy that is contagious and transcends language barriers. They have a special gift for making the people with whom they interact feel loved and important.
If I haven’t mentioned how blessed I am by the people on my team, I just want to tell you now. They amaze me every day with their love for the Lord, for each other, and for the people we serve.
Prayer Requests:
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My right hip has gotten pretty sore with all the sleeping on the ground, even with a sleeping pad. It gets more painful with exercise and with sitting a long time. I have been doing some exercises that seem to help, but it still is giving me some trouble.
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Please pray for increased team unity and growing deeper relationship. I have a fantastic team, and I know the Lord is calling us deeper and closer.
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Please pray that the Lord will keep our hearts open and joyful in the work that he has for us to do here for our last week.
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For my own heart… I have been experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit in a more deep and fresh way. Please pray that I would have increased awareness of His presence. Also that the Lord would grow in me the fruits of the spirit, particularly love and patience for the people I’m in close community with.
Fundraising Update: Thank you to all the people have been donating recently. My next financial deadline is at the beginning of April, and I will have to reach $9,500. I am at $9,350 right now. I’m so grateful for all the support
