As we sat in Antigua last month, Steph read to us a description of our ministry at the orphanage this month:
1. Teaching the children English for 1 hour everyday
2. Having a Bible study with the girls house every night
3. Living, eating, and sharing life with the children
4. Sanding and staining or repainting all of the base boards and doors
5. Using acid to deep clean the bathrooms and kitchens.
6. Fundraising for the a new Kitchen, the children's Education, and a patio for the backyard.
I am not going to lie, I was super excited until I heard the last one. Fundraising is one of the last things I wanted to do while actually on the race, especially at an orphanage filled with children to play with. My first thoughts were: I have spent the entire last year fundraising for the World Race, I still have money to raise for my own trip, and I don't want to ask anymore people I know for money because it's uncomfortable and I am tired of it. Lord you are going to have to change my attitude about this.
Well thats funny, because I have been in charge of two of the three fundraising projects while in El Salvador. Somewhere between those first negative thoughts on the couch in Antigua and sitting down at our first meeting with Bob, only 12 hours after stepping foot into the orphanage , my heart had been radically changed. Bob passionately explained to us that he was so thrilled that we were here and willing to work on these fundraising projects with him during our month.
Project number one: Remodeled Kitchen. The Kitchen at the boys house is used to daily feed 27 people. There is one oven and a stove with 3 working burners, both of which have to be lit with a match to start , while the propane tank sits next to the oven in the middle of the kitchen floor. The cabinets are falling off of the hinges and after helping clean up dinner on the first night I learned that the 5 inch deep sinks are entirely to small to clean the large dishes in.
Project number two: Fundraising for 6 of the kids to attend a Bilingual School this next year and for another to attend the El Salvadorian Air force Academy high school.
Project number three: Remodeled Backyard. Currently the boys backyard is always a mud-pit and during the rainy season it clogs the drains of the sewer system and floods the house. So the hope is to rip out the grass and put a patio over the dirt to prevent the water from layering the first floor of the house, and provide another play area for the kids that requires a little less clean up.
As Bob was talking I could hardly contain the excitement that was stirring up inside of me, he asked if anyone would like to start translating the Kitchen Project to English and I couldn't wait to volunteer. I'm sorry what…. the task that had sounded the most miserable only 2 days earlier, was now the one that I couldn't wait to tackle.
Sage volunteered to create Facebook Cause pages for 7 of the children. In January Julia, Brisa, Rosita, Irving, Javier, and Melvin will be attending a bilingual school. This is so important because if they can speak English, it increases their job opportunities and salary in El Salvador by over 50%. Julia and Rosita are sisters in a family of 7, their other 5 siblings all have learning disabilities and special needs due to their home life prior to the orphanage. Giving the girls the opportunity to learn English doesn't only affect them, but will help better equip them to provide for their siblings in the future.
After I finished the kitchen project, the last few days I have been working on creating a PDF and getting estimates for the Backyard project. Once I saw the determination and love that Bob had for these children and had spent a few hours with them myself I knew that they were worth it.
Worth the uncomfortableness that comes along with asking people for money and the letting go of pride that comes with that. Worth checking my email and facebook multiple times a day even though I had intended on fasting from it this month. Worth sitting behind a computer all day, even though it drives me crazy to see other people tangibly working when I am not. Worth a change in heart and attitude. Worth seeing this task through the eyes of Jesus and His precious children that this will affect.
I was humbly reminded that I didn't come on this trip to do the kind of ministry that I wanted to do. I came here to allow God to do the kinds of things in my heart that He wanted to do, and to serve Him all along the way.
Jesus reminded me that even though I have turned away from Him more times than I could count, He still believes that I am worth it. Worth patiently pursuing when my heart turns elsewhere. Worth the fight when I have lost the way. Worth covering in grace when I mess up.. again and again. Worth dying on the cross for, not because anything I have done but because the Father's love for me is beyond measure and compare.The Lord has shown me that along with all of His children I am worth the fight.
So if I have to fundraise every single one of the remaining months then I want to do it with a thankful heart and passionate attitude, because God's children are and will always be worth the fight.
" But God demonstrates his own love fur us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us"
Romans 5:8
Check out the kids pages, if you have time to read this you have time to read theirs :]. much love from El Salvador and a huge thanks to all of you who have been supporting me both financially and prayerfully!!
