I vaguely recall learning in an Introduction to Philosophy
class-have you lost interest in the blog already?-that many characteristics,
emotions, and experiences in life come in opposites. It made sense in my head then, and I got an
A- in the course. Six years later I’m
putting into application the lesson learned.
We arrived at New Song a little over three weeks ago. During one of our first nights, they pulled
our group up front and we whole heartedly-half joy and half awkwardness-danced
and “sang” a Spanish worship song with them.
Little did I know how much pain the people in the room that night would
cause me. 
Throughout the passing weeks I was encouraged to be
real with the Nicaraguans. No bells in
whistles in tow. No particular task to
be completed, presentation to be presented, or mission to be accomplished. Just be.
Freedom is a glorious motivator, but too much freedom can have the
opposite effect leading to apathy and a lack of direction. Often times after our shared breakfast,
collective worship, and personal time, the remaining hours of the day were left
unplanned and open. The World Racer side
of me wants to say that God led and ordained each of my footsteps in a way that
I was cognizant of. The Me side of me
knows that too often I stumbled into the day hoping that I would encounter someone
slightly less blind than myself to take the lead.
Every day, though, was unique. Sometimes I played soccer and basketball with
guys close to my age. Children, desperate for attention and an active game of any sort, took up chunks of other
days. Often times I just was. I was an ear.
I was a shoulder. I was an
incapable translator. I was. What should have drained me of energy had the
opposite effect and rejuvenated my heart and mind.
Living in a third world country where street addresses are
unheard of because they don’t exist, stories about working for a meal is not
just from Great Depression literature, and when an uncle dies in the same bed I
saw him in a few hours before it should have caused me to become calloused. Instead, the opposite took place.
On our last night with the Nicaraguans they invited us up
front once again and played the same song once again and we whole heartedly
participated once again. This time, only
21 days later, is blurred in my memory because all the faces were seen through
tears. They say it takes 21 days to make
or break a habit. First of all, who are
“they” and is “love” a habit? To know a
little bit about me, goodbyes are typically easy. “Easy” is not in the top 100 adjectives I
would use to describe our last night here at New Song. The love that was felt and expressed was that
of brothers and sisters realizing that they might not ever see each other again
while on earth. The love was pure, but
it was painful.
It’s easy to walk into a community and focus on the
needs. They seem to be so painfully
evident, but take a deeper look. Go into
their homes, play with them at the pool, work with them in the sun, and see the
assets that are there. Six years later I
have finally earned my A- and while it hurts more than I thought it would, its
accompanying reality was well worth the wait.
**The video below is a compilation of the last month and tour of New Song Missions.
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Photos generously compiled from Sydnee Mela
