This month in Antigua, Guatemala the ministry that Chelsey and I are working in is an elderly home. There are about 40 elderly people living in this home comprised of both men and women. According to the staff working there, most of them were abandoned by their family for one reason or another.
On the first day we walk into a common area with about 4-5 rooms surrounding it. In each room there are about 3 beds, hence 3 people sharing a room. Then we walk back to the second section which is where people are living that don’t have as much money to spend. Their bedroom has about 20 beds lining the walls. Then there is the common eating/sitting area.
At first it’s very intimidating to approach them since most of us don’t know their language or how mentally competent they are. But as we begin to talk it’s obvious that they just need a smile and hug to paint a smile back on their own faces!
We have only been there 2 days but I’m beginning to see why God’s word tells us to look after widows.
James 1:27
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress…”
There’s so much joy in their eyes when we take the time to talk, listen, hug, or draw pictures with them.
While being at the elderly home I have been forced (in a good way) to play the guitar which I really haven’t done in nearly 6 years or so. Playing for the people at the elderly home has been both a blessing to them and to me. It feels great to use that talent/gifting to bring joy and life to these people.
Now onto today’s events. We arrived at the elderly home around 1pm and began playing some worship songs on the guitar while 3 others from my team sang along while the residents ate their lunches. After that we brought out paper and colored pencils to draw with them. At first it was mostly just us Americans drawing, but after not too long the residents began to draw as well. To my surprise some of them were quite the artists. Even those who seemed too weak or to quiet drew beautiful sceneries. It was awesome to see them use talents that quite possibly could have been buried for many years. After drawing we play some more music and say our final goodbyes. As I go in for a departing hug, one elderly lady named Clara wraps her arms around my neck and won’t let go. But honestly I’m ok with it. I let her hang on as long as she wants, knowing that she might not have received this much physical touch in a long long time.
One of our go-to songs to play the residents today was Blessed Be Your Name. There’s a line in that song that says, “You give and take away. My heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be Your name.”
We leave and on our walk home we decided to stop by our favorite bakery that has super cheap and delicious carbs! As Chelsey digs through our wallet, she realizes that the zipper is open and we are missing about 500 Quetzales (about $62 US dollars). We had it this morning when we entered the elderly home and now it’s gone. DANG! So after realizing that someone went through our bag and took the money at the elderly home, I immediately think of the scene in the movie Dumb & Dumber when Jim Carey gets robbed by an old lady on a motor scooter. Even though I’m sure it was actually probably one of the workers that took the money it’s more fun to say a sweet old lady robbed us, am I right?!
But now sitting here on our bed I’m reminded of those lines from Blessed Be Your Name. “You give and take away. My heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be Your name.”
OK, Lord!
It’s true that He gives us blessings but sometimes things also get taken away. Jobs, friends, cars, possessions, loved ones, and yes sometimes even 500 Quetzales. We can choose to get pissed or want revenge, or we can realize that everything we own is His anyways. When we die where does it all go? Can’t take it with! God is continually beginning to loosen my grip on what I think is “mine.” Lord thank you for a better and new perspective on the things that many times create a prison of materialism around us.
~Luke
