What in the world is a Chac?! And why is there a rock in it?! Are you things you may be questioning at the moment, and for good reason.
Chac is short for Chaco, which is a piece of footwear that may not be appealing to the eye, but yet is one of the most practical pieces of footwear that one could own. What other pair of sandals can you run to catch a bus in, hike Machu Picchu in, cross through a river in, and also pair with your Sunday church outfit? No shoe should be the answer, but someone how the Chaco accomplishes this feat.
Spotted… A Southern Californian wearing Chaco’s…in public.
Any who, we have this saying when one of those pesky little rocks finds it way between the sole of your foot and your Chaco, causing a little hiccup in your stride. When you see your fellow teammate pause mid-stride to adjust their Chaco we say, or question rather, “Got a rock in the Chac?” AKA we really are not that clever, and it just happens to rhyme.
Okay, now that that little Chaco history lesson is over and I’m sure I have sold you a pair, let’s move on…
When my team and I were in Quito, Ecuador we were partnered with a local organization called, Ecuasol, which serves as an after school program where neighboring children may come receive tutoring, love, and a meal. Ecuasol is a after school program that is hosted and funded by the French government, who sends volunteers to run the show, and has no religious affiliation what so ever. So “ministry” was quite interesting and actually a bit difficult for the month. We couldn’t just openly hold a bible study or worship session to spread the word. Instead, we had to be patient and wait for the Lord to open the right doors at the right moments, and the Lord did just that.
One day for ministry my team of seven plus one squad leader had to break up to work on separate projects. One team of four stayed at the Ecuasol compound to continue working on the two murals that were in progress, while the other teammates traveled down to a local school where many of the children that came to the after school program attended.
“Walk as children of light”
Here is a beautiful mural depicting the fruit of the Spirit, in which I painted a couple of clouds and then touched nothing else, hence why it turned out a masterpiece!
I was apart of the team that went down to the school, in which we were tasked with the job of scraping graffiti off a wall that spanned approximately 60 yards. The goal was to scrap as much of the graffiti off as possible and clean the walls so that portraits of the school children may be placed there instead. My team had a total of four wall scrapers to work with…and that is all.
“The challenge”
Our guide and partner affiliate at Ecuasol, David, spend a grand total of maybe 35 seconds before he threw his scraper to the ground and announced, “This is crap! This is impossible with the tools that we have!” He gave up and commanded that we do the same. So then we kind of all just there with a ‘well, now what?’ posture.
35 seconds of “work” captured
David then invited us to his flat for a cup of coffee to kill time and chat. The minute the invitation was muttered my teammate, Mike, and I glanced over at each other, both whispered “ministry”, and high-fived (subtly of course). The invitation was quickly accepted. We knew the Lord was all over this situation, that He was the one that made this graffiti wall project “impossible!”
We followed David to his flat where he so kindly re-heated some of the morning’s leftover coffee in the microwave and served it to us alongside of some Ecuadorian chocolate (which they are famous for, by the way).
Casual view of Quito, Ecuador from the top of David’s flat
At first it was all small talk, and then David went for the big question….he gestured towards our fabulous footwear, in which we just so happened to all be wearing Chaco’s, and asked if we wore these sandals because Jesus wore sandals?
My first reaction was probably similar to yours, that of a laughter and a look of bewilderment of ‘was that a serious question?’
Later, in the week as I sat and reflected on David’s question I realized that it was not as ridiculous as I first perceived it to be. Wasn’t I out on the mission field to be the “hands and feet” of Jesus? Isn’t that what we were called to do in our day to day lives?
I realized that I had completely blown it with David. I wish instead of laughing in the poor guys face, I could have responded with, “No, I don’t wear Chaco’s because Jesus did, but I do try to walk in the steps He has already laid out in advance for us. I am here to be the “hands and feet” of Jesus, I just choose to do so in a pair of clunky, but practical, sandals.” Instead I’m here checking out that 20/20 rearview mirror vision, learning lessons from the Lord, a little late but yet just in time.
Though we/me may have blown it with the Chaco’s/Jesus sandal opening the Lord opened other doors during that time. Two of my teammates were able to share their testimonies of how they came to know Christ and who they were before they were saved. The Lord opened David’s mind and prompted him to even ask us questions. David could not believe that the two people sitting before him then, where the same people that they were sharing in their testimonies.
We were able to share about a relational God in which had never been an option for David before, growing up in a Catholic household and schooling and now atheistic lifestyle/belief.
As we all took turns sharing about the God we love and the one who loves us unconditionally, I had to hide behind my coffee cup because I was smiling so hard. I knew that the Lord was working in David, that He was softening his hardened heart and the He was making his mind open to questions and to the words in which we were speaking.
The Lord is cool in the ways in which He works, especially when you let His timing take its course.
When the Lord puts a ‘rock in your Chac’ are you going to sit in annoyance with him or are you going to try and turn your perspective around to see the seeds that are being sown and the fruit that is being produced? Are you going to see that beautiful flower, perfectly in bloom, as you kneel down to remove that rock from your Chaco or are you going to sit there fuming, refusing to see the beauty around you?
