Learning to live in community is interesting, fun and sometimes smelly! I think about my family back home and then look at how I live with my world race family and my oh my its an adventure! Our team has a very special living arrangement, our team and team Meek are the only two teams living together on our squad. The rest of the teams on our squad don’t live together and we are the only teams living in the home of our host family. Its very special because we live like a family.
When coming on this gap year I had in mind that ministry was serving the people of the nations. What I’m learning about my time in El Salvador is that ministry is serving the people you are living with. Its the small things like doing the dishes when its not your day or respecting someones “quiet” time. We have our community and friends but when you live with all of them you have to learn each other and know all the good and bad. You have to learn each others limits and respect each other in a whole new way.
Showers and Toilets are totally a community thing. Do you shower when someone is brushing their teeth while another is going to the bathroom? Not normally but for our girl house we share that time and space. Having brothers I’ve never had to share that personal time but now its normal and quality bonding time! 🙂
When I was sick, ahh DANG-ue, my family couldn’t be with me but I was well cared for by my worldrace family and the Santo’s. Marriella (our host mom) made me rest, take cold showers and stayed by my side at the hospital. My first day at the hospital I had many visitors! My team came in the morning to see me and hangout for a bit. It was a light in my day because all I was doing was resting and it was great to still be apart of their day. Some of the other teams in the area came by (they had sick teammates) but it was fun to hear about their new lives and what God’s doing through them. I also had visits from one of our squad leaders and their friend (they win because they brought snickers!). Our squad leader Katie literally stayed by my side through it all and we both got to take HOT showers at the hospital. I was able to call home and hear my parents voices and words of encouragement. I received calls from our mentor back in Georgia and one of our coaches! God showed me that I have an abundant about of support and love. Being sick is the worst but I was clearly reminded of how God has provided me a family here and at home.
The name of this post is Eat Your Cake because sometimes you have to enjoy whats being served to you by others also here is a video of us eating cake. I’m learning to accept each day for whatever it was meant to be whether it means sitting at home all day playing cards, cleaning up churches or loving the family God has given me.
IMG_9579 from jenna A. pawlak on Vimeo.
