Sara & I were over the two-tub sink in the kitchen, peeling what felt like our 1000th potato. We went to the market a few days prior & the crew loaded up 5 sacks of potatoes, of all different sizes. Little did we know, we would get to peel nearly all of them!
Sara then posed the question: “what can we learn from peeling potatoes?” At first I thought she was joking because I didn’t think I could possibly learn anything from such a menial task {see #1 below}.
- Humility. Coming on the race, I knew I would likely be doing some cleaning, maybe some food prep, but I didn’t think this is what would primarily consume our first month {in addition to learning Spanish!}. Getting to peel potatoes for 80+ bellies to feed is simply humbling. It is one of those tasks that takes time, dexterity, & not a whole lot of thought. At some point in the week our team was talking & if I am being honest, we were feeling discouraged about what we could offer Formavida. Not only is it hard to understand what people are saying, but I was afraid to do something wrong, use the wrong pan, or just screw something up.
During that same team time, Katie mentioned: “it’s not about us.”
Yep. Amen.
Hit the nail on the head with that one.
No reason of why I am here is about me; not how I feel, not how much I can help, nor how much I bring to the table. If I chose to go on the race, looking for what to gain, then I chose the wrong adventure to take.
How humbling. We are here to serve. Sometimes service looks like talking in broken Spanish, showing the same pictures over & over again, & sometimes it looks like peeling potatoes.
- Patience. The first day of peeling all the vegetables definitely took the longest. We didn’t have peelers! Watching the dexterous cooks peel everything with giant knives was intimidating, & we knew it was probably going to take us way longer. The next day when we were given more buckets of potatoes, we were graciously handed three peelers – PTL! With sore hands, we began again, increasing our potato productivity & getting to know Marisól & others who were working in the kitchen with us.
I am all about efficiency. If I see a faster way of doing more things at once, I will choose that way every time. A big thing I have noticed here in Colombia, is that no one seems rushed. Each person is focused on one thing at a time, so even though it took us all morning & a portion of the afternoon to peel potatoes, we did our one job & helped to fill many empty bellies.
- Even if a potato has a bad spot, this doesn’t mean the whole thing is bad. I never thought I would learn so much about the people I get to love from a potato! How many of us really do feel like we have “bad spots?” Or yet, have bad spots that others can see? How often do you look at others & only see their “bad spots?”
Two things: one, it is not my responsibility to judge others based on their “bad spots,” I am not God. Two, who is Jesus to me if I don’t believe He is capable of fully & permanently removing these “bad spots?!” I have had to learn over & over again that I cannot control the thoughts & actions of others, let alone control my reaction to other people’s bad spots. What I can control is my response. Sometimes I found a bad spot on a poatato, & it went deeper than the surface – it was up to me get all of it out. Same goes for how I ought to love others. It is Jesus’ responsibility to dig deep, it is my responsibility to love. How have you see Jesus tenderly care for your “bad spots?”
- Peeling potatoes us much more fun with friends. Just as is true for living life, peeling potatoes is way more fun with friends. We laughed & learned more about one another. We memorized scripture as we peeled, swept, mopped, & cleaned. We challenged one another to practice more Spanish, share more of our expectations for the Race & processed what it has been like so far. Doing life this close together with people you hardly know sets the stage for vulnerability, transparency, & oh so much honesty. There is no way I’d rather live.
Love,
Maddie
