***IMPORTANT NOTE*** Because Vietnam is a closed country to missionaries (where you cannot openly share the Gospel, talk about God, etc.) we are password protecting our blogs. The password to my blog and the blog of everyone else on my squad is: Psquad2019
There is a scripture that says, “ask and it will be given to you…how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:7, 11) One day on Tasajera, God showed me this over and over.
On the morning of December 20th, we were dragging. The previous two days we had spent the mornings in the sun, digging sand from the river to use for various projects. The night before, we walked the beach until late, searching for sea turtles in order to get the eggs. This was to keep them from being sold and eaten and as a part of a sustainable, ecotourism job for our friend Roberto (I may or may not have also gotten to shoot a gun with an el Salvadoran policeman in the woods between the river and the ocean on that night – just ask you know?).
On this day, we were going up river to get rocks, to use as filler for cement and for a shower on the mission property (there aren’t rocks on the island, just brown sand- the same sand that coated our feet and legs 24/7). Because of the tide, the boat we were going to take was sitting on top of about a foot of mud. Naturally, it needed to be pushed into the water. “Puedo ayudar?” “Can I help?” I asked.
Standing on the edge of the pier, I tried to gauge the best route down to the boat. Finally, I grabbed ahold of a pole stuck into the mud and more or less swung onto the edge of the boat, using the wood almost as a fireman’s pole. Stepping off of the boat, my feet sunk into a foot of cool, dark brown mud. We pushed, boat gliding as our feet squelched. It was wonderful. It was adventure. It was a new experience. When else would I be able to do this? How else could I have done it had I not asked?
On the shores of the Rio Lempa, you see the shimmering of the blue of the water as it glides to the Pacific. The land is flat. Trees reminiscent of the African Savannah poke their heads above the lower scrub oaks. We are out past the mangroves. We are gathering rocks. Huge pieces of dry pumice – leftovers from the volcanoes that watch us from the horizon – float when we drop them into the water. The day could not be prettier, the landscape more perfect.
A cowboy and his friend watch us from the shore. He tells Shane that we can ride his horse if we’d like. Two of my teammates take him up on the offer. I want to ride, but I don’t want to be led around. Do I ask if I can ride alone? How do I even say that in Spanish?
After much deliberating, I ask someone how to ask if I can ride by myself. Then I take a deep breath and walk over. He said yes! I’m elated. I mount the horse, whose name I later learn is Pedro, and begin walking along the shoreline of the river. I’m riding a horse alongside a river as it cuts its way through a tropical savannah – volcanoes in my sight. Pedro and I walk back to his owner. I asked if I could have Pedro run, HE SAID YES. So we cantered, down the bank of the Rio Lempa, with volcanoes in the distance, under the piercing light of the El Salvadoran midday sun. Such joy.
My hat flew off. The speed and the often present El Salvadoran wind slipped under the brim and flipped it off my head. Gone. After riding Pedro back to his owner (I got the horse’s name but not the man’s…figures, right?), I walked back to look for my hat. This walk, up and down the heat releasing rises of sand, allowed me time to register what had just happened. As a kid and teenager, I rode for eight years. There is something about being on the back of a horse, especially when you’re cantering, that is like nothing else but being able to do that in one of the most beautiful places ever? I walked down a dune and hit my knees. How had I gotten such blessing? How in the world did I get to be a part of this insane adventure?
Everything in that day, every blessing, was all because of God’s grace. It hit me, none of those things would have happened, I wouldn’t have been able to see that grace, had I not stepped out of my comfort zone and asked. We get to participate in so many good things when we ask people – pushing a boat through mud, riding a horse, etc. How many more good things do we get to be a part of when we ask God, our Father who loves to give us good gifts?
