My team and I were out evangelizing. On this particular day, we were walking around with our translator, Mario, and another local named Alvero, visiting homes of church members to pray with them and offer them words of encouragement. We each took the two steps up into a concrete block house, making sure to wipe off our feet before going in. Family members hurried to grab us lawn chairs so that we could sit down. As I stepped inside, I could feel the sadness. The woman inside was crying as she was talking to our translator, Mario. I couldn’t understand what she was saying amidst her muffled sobs. Her name was Patricia.
Mario explained that she recently had surgery, and that a few days ago she started suffering from a hemorrhage. If the bleeding didn’t stop, she would need to have another surgery. Even though Patricia is in her 70’s, she still goes to the city dump every morning to dig through trash to find plastic or other valuable items to provide for her family. It is brutal and thankless that only provides a person with about $20 per month to feed their family. Since she was sick, she had been unable to work.
She quickly transitioned into telling a story about a friend that she made that was a missionary. They met at the dump. In between sniffles, she pulled a picture of the two of them from her bible, and my heart melted. I can’t remember this young woman’s name, but I couldn’t help but smile from thinking about how much of an impact she had made in Patricia’s life. If only she knew that she was talking about her right then, and how much it was making her smile. Jesus definitely revealed just a taste of his love for Patricia through this woman.
Patricia is a believer, and her faith is powerful. Her faith can move mountains. She began talking about how thankful she was for the very house we were standing in. She explained that before that she lived in a hut a little bit off the road. As she watched many houses getting built on her road, she continually prayed that the Lord would provide a house for her and her family. A couple from England donated money for her and her family to have not one house, but two. As she kept explaining, she became more and more excited. God provided not one house, but TWO. She began to joyfully weep as she told the story.
As she was speaking, I couldn’t help but look at my surroundings. We were sitting in plastic lawn chairs in a concrete block building about the size of a shed. There was a hammock tied in the corner that was probably pulled down at night for sleeping. There were hardly any things inside. Her husband sat in the corner, while her daughters and grandaughter stood in the doorway, refusing to sit in any of the chairs they rushed to give us. But there was joy. There was the Holy Spirit. I could feel his presence.
I knew I would see a lot of hard things on the race. I knew I would see things that would break my heart. I knew I would see people who were starving, and people who had next to nothing. I knew I would see children that I wanted to take home, living conditions that were anything but live-able, and people who were victims of the situation they were born into. I’ve seen pictures and videos of third-world countries, but absolutely nothing compares experiencing it for yourself.
That sounds cliché, but it’s true.
As we have evangelized this month, I have been overwhelmed with how big God is.
In the United States, we tend to think that people in third world countries are at a disadvantage. We feel sorry for them, and we are continually voicing how thankful we are to be born in such a great nation.
But what is greater: material things, success, opportunities or the undeniable joy that comes from faith and trust in Jesus?
We tend to think of it like this: I am going to try to do things on my own, and if that doesn’t work out then I’ll start praying. We don’t actually verbalize this, but this is how we operate. We have material things to fall back on, and from that comes a belief that we can take care of ourselves.
What if you didn’t have those things to fall back on? What if you had to pray every day that the Lord would provide your family with food when you didn’t know where your next meal was coming from?
Disclaimer: I am extremely thankful to have been born in the United States. I am thankful for the people who have fought for the freedoms I have. I am thankful that I have never had to worry about where my next meal is coming from. The purpose of this blog is not to shame people for having material things, but to allow you to think: What is between me and my relationship with the Lord? What am I putting above him? Am I putting my full faith and trust in him, or am I trying to do it on my own?
As we ride in the back of a pickup truck through the neighborhood to and from ministry, I see kids playing with jacks and in the street with soccer balls, I see neighbors talking with each other, and I see community coming together. This doesn’t mean I don’t see hard things, too. The world is just as broken here as it is back home.
Heather, our host in Panama, said something in month one that I will never forget. We were driving home from ministry when she said, “Who is worse off? The children here who have almost nothing but have a love for Jesus and are taught the Bible in school, or children in the United States who are surrounded by electronics, material things, and anything else imaginable in this world that promises to be greater than the treasure we have in heaven.”
“…yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”
-James 4:14
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, your heart will be also.”
-Matthew 6:19-21
Our life is short. Our understanding of time is nothing compared to God’s. He has always existed, and always will. He created us, watched mankind choose sin over him, sent his son to die for us, and has reedeemed us with his blood. As believers, we were not promised an easy life. This earth is polluted with sin, and our lives will be over before we know it. Our suffering is not in vain, though. Because Christ suffered for us, we suffer for his name.
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
-Galatians 2:20
Life is hard. Suffering is real. Thankfully, our life here on earth is short. If we put our faith in Jesus, our suffering will not last forever. We have an eternity with our Father, Abba, that can start right now.
