The intimacy of butterflies
& secret places…
At the moment I’m sitting in a soon to be medical/dental clinic here in a village community called Candelaria within Nicaragua. I’m sitting in a dental chair as we speak without the ability to electronically recline, so I’ve resorted to putting my feet up on a footstool. It’s beautiful here, but then again I think I’ve said that every place we’ve traveled this far because it’s so green everywhere! Candelaria is the first place that our team has been together without any other teams from our squad this far. Today is only day three, but oh have we experienced some adventure already…here’s a little taste.
Day one. Within Nicaragua we traveled from Granada to Leon, a small town where our ministry contacts Tommy & Linda Gable live. After being warmly welcomed & informed by Linda we jumped right in. We went to a public school (which was quite different than any other school experience in the U.S.) where we were able to play soccer with the kids, somewhat share the gospel, & try to begin building some relationships. After that we traveled to Calendaria, a village community, where we will be living & doing most of our ministry for the next month. Here exists a church, future medical/dental clinic (our home), a garden, & a community center where many people from the surrounding area come. So far I haven´t seen any other ¨gringas.¨ As a result we got quite a few stares when driving in our taxis, or maybe that had more to do with the fact that our 50 lb. backpacks were about to fall out. J That p.m. as we worshipped together in our casa Lindsay got quite a surprise with a centipede that fell from the ceiling onto her head.
Day two. Yesterday we were travelling out to visit another village. However, we didn´t get very far after attempting to cross through a river with a non-four wheel drive truck. After about 2 ½ – 3 hours later & a tractor that got stuck right before trying to get us out, we returned home where we ended up doing pilates by candlelight. The girls & I were just laughing & saying, ¨Who lives like this?¨
Day three, today. Though it´s been rather uneventful so far, I´ve realized one of my main struggles and how challenging it will probably be for me this year. In a culture such as this, community and relationship is highly valued. It is much more common for people to be together, than to be apart. Independence seems out of the question to me, much different than America. Therefore, doing my quiet time a couple of hours ago I literally had three faces staring straight up at me through an open window. Linda told us yesterday it will be important for us to fight and protect our ¨time¨ here when necessary. I also realized that by living in a team 24/7 alone time is very rare. Not that I don´t love these beautiful faces or my team, there have just been times I´m screaming inside to be alone, all alone…
This got me thinking about Jesus. How did he do it? Seriously. Hundreds of people didn´t just surround him all the time, but they needed him! Then, I was reminded…¨Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.¨ Mark 4: 35-36 Jesus had his own ¨secret place.¨ In Mexico, he gave this to me. I´d walk down the road with my plastic yellow chair and escape into an area off the road with beautiful trees, butterflies, and no people in sight. Here he spoke intimately to me, while using butterflies to remind me of my value & identity.
I´m recognizing the power of finding and fighting for not just alone time with our creator, but a ¨secret place¨ to be with Him. If Jesus needed these things in order to fully love and give to people, then I most definitely do. Since coming to Calendaria I´ve had a few moments with butterflies, but I´m yet to find a ¨secret place.¨ Until then, my ¨secret place¨will be in my dentist chair with the community peeping right outside my window. J
