I wrote this 2 days after we arrived at an orphanage to do ministry…
Unsung heroes. When a team leader tells their team this they are normally met with a mixture of emotions-excitement for something new, anger because all a person wants to do is work, or maybe even apathy. My team came into this month the same way. Unsung Heroes teams look for new contacts for our organization, Adventures in Missions, to potentially partner with in the future. This normally looks like staying in hostels for the majority of the month and asking friends and family if they know any missionaries in the country and also asking the Lord for new contacts. This month is different though. We are pioneering this country for Adventures in Missions and they had a contact with many ministries so they wanted us to stay there for 2 weeks instead of moving around the country all month. We came expecting to live in Buenos Aires and possibly in the home of our contact. Welp, we are in Buenos Aires…but in the province in the country about 3 hours from city proper. We are living at our contacts home…which is an orphanage.
At first I was overwhelmed. I am not a kid person. Kid stress me out to the max. I babysat when I was a teenager and had a wonderful family and an awful family. Can you guess which one had more impact on me? Yup. Kids are definitely not my thing. Coming out of nursing school I didn’t really know what field to work in but I knew one things, not pediatrics. But here we are, in our last month, living in the girls house (the girls on my team, the boys are sleeping in a house by themselves), and only working “8 hours a day” but when you live with your ministry there really isn’t a break.
Let’s backtrack a little…month 4, Nicaragua, my first team spoke motherhood over me. Little known secret about me is that I am terrified to be a mom. Like I said before, I don’t do kids. Yes, I want kids with my future husband but I honestly try not to think past that because it sends me into a panic.
“What if I am a bad mom?”
“I know I will have that terrible kid that all the other parents talk about”
“What if I do everything wrong?”
I started conquering this fear last year when my nephew was born. I have figured out that I can handle newborn babies. It isn’t that much different from my work in the ICU- eat, sleep, poop, and then do it all over again. I can handle that. But what if I can’t handle them when they start walking and talking?
Fast forward to 2 days ago…I came into this ministry tired and ready for a break. I have less than 3 weeks left on The World Race and honestly I was just ready to go home (but trying really hard to want to stay present here). However, in less than 48 hours these kids have worked their way into my heart. Cute, little 4 year old Matteo who just wants someone to cuddle with. Alma and Mia who pick flowers all day long for me. Milagros who does my hair and decorates it with white flowers. These kids have shown me that I can be a mom one day. I definitely won’t be the best or really have any idea what I am doing, but through them loving me without reservation I know I can too.
Mateo, he steals your heart and looks adorable while doing it.
Alma, one of my roommates and always up for playing
Milagros. I really wanted to ask if she would do my hair for my wedding, flowers included!
