I’ve been asking God to challenge me, to change me. I’ve wanted to come to the place where I am forced to depend on the Lord and not on my own abilities. Well, God has responded to my request.
He is challenging me each morning when I wake up sticky from sweat and with back pain from sleeping on the floor. He is challenging me when no amount of bug spray seems to fend off the mosquitoes. He is challenging me when the only option for a shower is a bucket of not so clear water. God is putting me in situations where my only options are to be miserable or to look to Him for strength and joy.
Most of all, He is challenging me when I visit the 3 villages that we refer to as the Flood Village, the Dump Village and the Rock Village. As soon as I enter these places, my sense of living uncomfortably is put in check. My American grip on rights and expectations are left on the street, and I walk humbly down the dirt paths that lead to places unlike I’ve ever experienced.
When I enter these villages, God calls me to step into the villagers’ shoes and with that the hard questions come. Would I be as faithful to Him if I had been born into these villages? Would I find rest in Him if I were elbow deep in trash searching for material that would only earn me a dollar? Would I find joy in the day-to-day struggle to provide for my family? Would I find joy in the battle?
As I sit here, on our day off, in an air conditioned restaurant with wifi and a stomach overstuffed with food, I realize that God still has a ways to go with me. BUT He won’t give up on me or any of the people we have met in the villages. He is protecting us, He is shaping us and He is the reason that there is joy in the battle.
Brett showing us how high the water rises during rainy season at the Flood Village
A little girl at the Flood Village
The Dump Village
A family in their house at the Dump Village
One of the Rock Village kids (photo: Laura Gamble)
Helping to prepare a meal for the Rock Village families (photo: Laura Gamble)
