For the duration of my 3 months in Ecuador my team will be serving at Pan de Vida. PDV’s mission is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ and meet the immediate needs of the less fortunate in Ecuador in cooperation with other organizations by providing: hunger relief, education, health services, shelter, micro-business, and emergency relief.
This is an amazing ministry that reaches and touches the hearts of so many people, but as for my team, we don’t see the majority of people that come through the doors. We do the behind the scenes stuff, the ‘dirty work.’ We really only interact with people from the community on Wednesday nights at the microbusiness program and Sunday mornings at the church service. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 9am- 4:30pm, with the exception of a 30 minute lunch break, you can catch us bagging and sorting donated clothes (I feel like I work at Goodwill), organizing storage closets, helping Maria clean, designing the bulletin boards, cooking in the kitchen, sorting food in the pantry, painting over graffiti on the fence surrounding the house, and probably any other odd job you can think of.
Pan de Vida has been a very humbling experience for me. It’s hard not to see/ talk/ interact with the people that come in. It’s hard to believe that we are making an impact in the Kingdom when we are not serving people directly. It’s hard to find joy in the most mundane acts of service. It’s hard to feel like we are doing enough sometimes.
Something I am learning is that the Lord gives us different responsibilities/ jobs in different seasons. Sometimes they’re big loads and sometimes they’re small, but either way it’s the Lord’s work and the Lord’s will. So, no matter what it is, it’s worth doing full heartedly and willingly. 1 Corinthians chapter 3 taught me a lot about this:
First of all, in verses 1-4 Paul tells the people of Corinth that they are childish in relation to their faith. The message version says, “As long as you grab for what makes you feel good or makes you look important, are you really much different than a babe at the breast, content only when everything’s going your way?” OKAY PAUL CALL ‘EM OUT LIKE THAT.
When I read this, all I heard was Paul telling me I’m an entitled little girl. He isn’t wrong either! I expected a fruitful, enjoyable ministry. One where I could talk, interact, teach, and play with people. So, when I didn’t get this, I wasn’t content because I didn’t get what I wanted- super immature of me, I know.
Then in verses 5-9 he talks about his and Apollos’ roles in the church. Paul says, “We each carried out our servant assignment. I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God made them grow.”
Now, I don’t know much about farming, but I do know that before you plant and before you water, you have to plow the dirt. In this season, I’m not the planter and I’m not even the waterer… I’m the plower. I organize, label, clean, cook, sort, and create so that the staff of Pan de Vida can plant and water seeds at their programs.
Paul takes it home by saying, “Planting and watering are menial servant jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving.”
It doesn’t matter if I’m plowing, planting or watering, they are all servant jobs. God assigned all of us different roles that are equally necessary, but at the end of the day He is the only thing that makes the seeds grow. He’s the only thing that makes the jobs worthwhile.
I am learning to be content in any role the Lord places me in, because they all work towards the same goal anyways. I’m right where the Lord wants me, doing exactly what He wants me doing. If it’s good enough for Him, it sure is good enough for me.
Also, I wanted to use this blog to tell y’all that I AM FULLY FUNDED. Wow, I’ve got chills. God is SO good. Thank you to everyone who has donated and been praying for me. You can stop donating now, but please never stop praying… I need as much as I can get!
Peace & blessings,
Julia
