Continuation of previous blog.
When I saw that the trip was going to happen, I prayed that I wanted to experience The World Race as Kyle has. I wanted to get a glimpse of what he has been experiencing in the past months. Be careful what you pray for!
I am a very private person. I don’t like to show my emotions. I hide my feelings. I put on my happy face and say, “I’m fine” when a lot of times I am not. On the first day of ministry I fell crossing the street and hurt my knee. Kyle helped me up and I am in tears. I say to myself, “I am on a mission trip and have to fall and hurt my knee on the first day. Why? I haven’t fallen in probably 20 years, why today? I have to walk everywhere here. How am I going to do this now? In my tears I ask Kyle, “Why did this happen?” He says, “Mom, God is breaking you.” I experienced brokenness on the first day of ministry. My emotions were brought to the surface and I could not contain them.
We went to visit the poorest family I have ever seen in my life. We went into their home. It was a young mother with 7 children. The children were dirty with dirty clothes on that didn’t fit. They had beautiful piercing blue eyes but there was such sadness in them. Their home didn’t have a door, had dirt floors, no electricity, no water, no bathroom; just two beds and a cabinet and some type of fireplace/stove. When the mom was asked how we could pray for them she said, “Pray for my children” and there goes the tears again. I was crying in front of people and couldn’t stop. We go and buy the family some groceries and take back to them and that helped me a little bit, but I couldn’t help but think on the way back to the church that this was only a temporary fix and I just couldn’t get this mother and her children off my mind.
During worship that night, I cried the whole time! It wasn’t all sad tears. I cried because I was worshipping with my son for the first time in 8 months, I cried because the songs spoke to me, I cried because I could feel the brokenness, I cried because I could feel the Holy Spirit speaking to me, I cried because I am so blessed and I cried because my knee hurt. My emotions were brought the surface and I couldn’t stop the crying. After the service was over, someone came up to me and hugged me and asked if I was OK and said they have been praying for me and then there were more tears! Then some of the parents prayed for me. God was breaking me and letting my emotions come to the surface to show me that people do care for me and it is OK to be “real” with people. It is OK to let those walls down. Thanks to the parents who reached out to me!
I could go on and on about the mission trip. This was my first mission trip and I think God allowed me to go to do a work in me. My eyes were opened to a lot of things. I feel like I came back with more appreciation for my blessings He has given me such as my husband, family, and friends, job, and home but most of all for my salvation. I saw a lot of people that didn’t know Him and have no hope. I can’t imagine going through life and the struggles that life brings without knowing the Father and having Him to lean on and help me through those struggles.
One final thing, I want to say how proud I am of my son, Kyle. He feels that God is calling him to be a missionary. He isn’t sure where or when this will happen. He had been talking about this some when we Skype. The Commissioning Service for Rachel and just seeing the needs for them in Romania opened my eyes to this. Kyle was talking more about it and I just had to come to terms with this which brought on more tears! It is so hard to think of the distance we will have between us and not getting to see him but maybe once a year if that much, but I am so proud of him being obedient to the Lord and following His plan for his life! Nothing could make a momma more proud!
Blessings!
Kathy Hyche
