This is a short little blog but I still thought it would be nice to share it with you all.
Basically it was just a day where I was tired and all I wanted to do was be alone and away from people. Living on top of 30 other people in a small space is a challenge. There really is almost no alone time. You can sit in your bed and not talk to anyone but there are still people everywhere.
That day I had lunch prep and cleanup. For cleanup I was on dishes. I only had one pan left to clean and everyone else was done so I said they could leave. They happily did so because we were leaving for ministry at 2pm and it was 1:20pm. They wanted to get in a quick nap before we had to leave and so did I. Funny thing was though… I didn’t get to take a nap that day. I ended up doing something that was at first very frustrating but soon learned restful.
This last pan had been used to cook some kind of meat in oil and it had black thick crust stuck to its bottom. It needed to soak in boiling water and then get some good elbow grease in there to remove the crust. Jordy (A YWAM staff member) had left his worship music with me so I sang and waited for the kettle to be done. I let it soak for about 5 mins and then began scrubbing. Let me tell you that pan was a NIGHTMARE! I was scrubbing and scrubbing and it just wasn’t all coming off. I got so frustrated I almost cried.. I was tired and just wanted to go lay down before I had to leave and be social.
I stopped scrubbing. My hands were covered in black grease and I heard the Lord gently whisper “Breath – have patience.” I looked at the clock, only 20 mins before we had to go. I heaved a big sigh but decided there’s no point in getting upset. So I talked to the Lord, I scrubbed, two really great worship songs came on and I listened/danced/sang to those and after 15 mins that pan was sparkling from my hard work.
I stayed in the kitchen another 5 mins before going to pack my bag and head to the bus and I realized how nice that 45 mins in the kitchen alone actually was. It was so peaceful and I wish I would have not rushed so much as I could have enjoyed it to its fullest.
I told the Lord afterwords if he ever gave me a stubborn pan to scrub again, even in its grimy grossness, I would gladly take the offer. 🙂 Even if your arms are burning from scrubbing, rest and solitude can be found in the kitchen.
Before I type farewell, here’s one quick exciting update. We leave YWAM Puerto Viejo on the 11th of March so in exactly one month. Our midterm debrief will be from the 11th to the 17th at La Montaña (don’t know if I spelt that correctly) Christian camp in San Jose and we launch to our next country the 18th. Yay! I don’t know the next country yet but we will sooner than later.
Some things you could pray for is strength and endurance over Gap F. We are all feeling a little homesick and starting to get drained but we have a month left here and we need to give it our all for the Lord. Then of course you can pray for our amazing staff who take such good care of us and for the people here that their hearts may continually be open to receive the Gospel.
I love you all! I miss you all and I’m praying for you all!
Alex Paige 😀
