With every shovel full of dirt I take out of the pit I’m digging in, with every ant that crawls out of my laptop (No seriously), with every tense moment of feedback, and with every laugh of the children we play with… It hits me.
It hits me how little I could possibly have prepared for this trip. Today marks 1 month since I left Atlanta. 1 month since I was last near anything I considered remotely normal or comfortable. It’s a little strange. But at the same time, it’s a beautiful thing. I’m glad that there was no way to prepare for the World Race. They gave us great training and tons of resources. Loads of advice and wise words. But ultimately what God throws at you during your Race varies I think. I’m glad that God tailor makes each of these trips for those going on it. I know that all 4 of the September squads won’t have the same experiences. I know that we’ll all learn things that are specific for us, for our teams. No 2 Races are the same.
For instance, I wonder how many racers have typed a blog while ants crawl in and out of their keyboard. Or typed a blog while watching the wind gently make little waves on Lake Nicaragua. While in a hammock. I think this is what the people at ENO had in mind when they created their hammocks in the first place.
This month we’re at the CICRIN orphanage on Ometepe Island in Lake Nicaragua. When you think of an orphanage ministry you assume that all that goes on is playing with kids. We do that, sure. It’s actually a ton of fun. the kids here are great and full of passion. Not just for swimming, eating, and playing (which they are quite passionate about). Many of them are also passionate about the Lord. Not just in little kid ways either. Where they do their coloring pages of cartoon Jesus doing something with a lamb. Or they recited the cheesy kids song for the week.
No, these kids worship. Some of them just get it. At church last Sunday I happened to look over at little 10 year old Noel during worship. This boy had his arms raised in serious praised with a look of genuine worship on his face. He looked like someone who was basking in the power of his creator. And he was enjoying it. I remember when I was that age. I could barely listen to the sermon for 5 minutes before I feel asleep in my pew. Hardly the passion that Noel puts out.
I could write blog after blog on these kids and all their little quirks and personalities. But that’s not all we do here. Between our two teams (BFF’s and Oceans) we have been split into several different work projects. So far I’ve been on the construction team. And I’ve loved every sweat inducing second of it. We’ve been helping Hilario, the handyman of CICRIN basically, do work around a mission house they are building on the property. I’ve done things like dig trenches for plumbing, mix and pour concrete, bend metal for a concrete wall, dig holes for posts, and dig out a giant pit that is going to turn into a septic tank.
It sounds rough. It sounds hard. And it is both of those things. It’s actually kind of funny because with every shovel or pick ax I send into the dirt, or every heavy board or bag I move I think about my grandfathers. They would love what we’re doing. They would love Hilario because of his innate ability to just make things work, a trait all 3 of them share. To fix things no matter how broken or use any material to reach his goals. They would love getting to help build this house. This is one reason I love construction so much, because it makes me feel like I’m doing a little bit of what they’ve done over their lives. I see why they like it so much.
But that’s not the main reason I love construction. The main reason isn’t even all the free fresh fruit we get to eat right off the trees. Oranges, mammon (which are like lychees), guava, and even coconuts. I drank coconut water straight from a fresh coconut yesterday. It was delicious. The main reason isn’t even how thankful the staff is for our efforts.
The main reason I love this task is because there is no greater illustration to me for the importance of planting seeds, a theme I’ve struggled with in the past. In Guatemala I encountered a man at the hospital who had grown up in America. He couldn’t believe we had come all the way over to Guatemala to repaint the parking lot curbs. He thought that the hospital staff was all crooked and were just abusing our desire to help. He thought that we were surely wasting our time. That man couldn’t have been more wrong. Painting that curb in Guatemala showed love towards that hospital. And helping build this house shows love as well. It shows that we love these people and what they’re doing here so much that we’d come and bring our bodies to the point of exhaustion to help them, to support them. The more we support them with things like construction, cleaning, or gardening the more time they have with the kids. The more time they have to cultivate the seeds of God that grow within the local community.
That isn’t to say that this month is perfect. That everything is a walk in the park. I think I may address that in my next blog. But for now, know that except for a few thousand bug bites, sunburns, and a ton of sweat that team Oceans and BFF’s are doing great here at CICRIN. That we’re learning more about ourselves and ministry overall.
It's funny how comfortable all this uncomfortable stuff is becoming.
Keep up all you do!
Seth
