I met my monkey on Wednesday. I had to endure a treacherous, 3 hour journey over bumpy, winding roads, going up a mountain on a bus that almost didn’t make it in order to get to some remote village in the middle of who knows where to meet him, but it was worth it.
Okay, it wasn’t really that bad. The roads were bumpy and winding, the bus did have to stop a couple times, and smoke was billowing from underneath the hood, but it was all good, and we did make it. And I didn’t really meet a monkey. My monkey is actually a little boy name Danny, I just call him my monkey.
For the past week, Team Abandon has been working with a medical team from Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee. We have been going to various locations in Huehue and surrounding areas to set up medical clinics and give medical help to the people who show up. The first few days were a struggle for some of our team, mostly because there is no set thing we have to do. It is kind of a find a job and do it thing.
Personally, I love doing the clinics. I love the environment and I love to just be there. I think it is an amazing opportunity to declare God’s kingdom and blessing over the 200 or so people who show up every day. The first three clinics went really well. Wednesday was clinic number 4. When we first arrived, everything felt very chaotic and unorganized. The people were a little pushy and impatient, and the language barrier only added to the chaos.
I was tired that day, and I could feel irritation and crustiness setting in. Kimi and I took some time to pray for peace, and things finally did settle down and get a little more organized. I took some time and asked God to adjust my attitude. I asked Him to give me His eyes that day and to show me my purpose for being there. And then He gave me Danny.
Danny and I first bonded over a blue balloon. Kimi and I were making balloon animals for the children, and Danny came to get one. He came up to us singing a song. Once he had his balloon in the shape of some kind of dog, he started barking and shoving the dog in people’s faces. How couldn’t you love the kid? Later on, I got to sit with Danny and two other little girls. We had a routine. I would make a funny face, they would imitate my funny face, I would take a picture, they would look at the picture on my camera, and then we would do it again. Everything I did, they would do. Danny’s favourite was the monkey face.
Now I have to choose to believe that it was God who brought Danny to me that day. I see things from an earthly point of view, and I don’t understand how playing with a kid for an afternoon makes a difference. But praise the Lord, God sees things from an eternal point of view, and there was purpose in my meeting him. My part in his life is over. Now I have to remember that ultimately, he is God’s, and God loves him more than I ever could.
