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A mom away from mom…meet Eleanor

I’m the youngest of three children and I have a great relationship with my mom, Anita. She is such a woman of grace, love, selflessness and wisdom. Over the years, I have loved listening to her as she shares the Lord’s wisdom with a friend, gives advice to one of her sisters, or goes the extra mile in cleaning or grading her students’ papers. I have listened to the words from her mouth be uplifting and encouraging. And I have also seen my mom hold steadfast to her trust and love of God when her husband, mom, nephew, and others in her life have died. I love my mom so much. She is absolutely wonderful. Since being on the race we personally email each other about once a week and the joy for each other jumps out from the page.  For this I am eternally grateful.

However, I have been struggling with something since being on the world race…

I have found it difficult to have a connection with someone like my mom, or brother, or sister, or best friends, who just understand me. Someone whom I can have a talk with about anything and everything, even deep heart matters, and skip all the surface level chit chat. I’m still building my relationships with my teammates, the M and N squads and my leaders. I love this new community I’m in. But this relationship void is still being felt early on in this mission. I don’t run from this challenge, but embrace it; Embracing the need to start deepening my relationships with my new friends here, and embracing my grief and loss of those I am missing back home.

The Lord knows all this and that is why he did this…he sent me an angel, he sent me Eleanor. 

Eleanor is the head chef in the El Rancho kitchen, at Waikanae Christian Holiday Park in New Zealand. One morning, Eleanor pulled aside Danny, Billy, and myself, the leaders of the three teams at El Rancho, and did a morning devotion with us. She spoke about how God can pour out his revelation in our lives, especially as team leaders. From that point on, I felt a connection in my heart to Eleanor. We worked alongside each other in the kitchen for the next few weeks. We smiled, laughed, sang our favorite worship songs, and helped organize the kitchen staff that was serving 300 guests a meal. By January 24th, my birthday, she quickly became to me a good friend, and a mom away from my mom. 

This was shown so evidently on the morning of my 28th birthday. I woke up at 6:00am and skyped my family back home. It was a great birthday treat to talk face to face with them. Then I walked to the El Rancho kitchen to get the morning started. Because it was about 7:00am, everyone else was still asleep in their tents. When I walked in the kitchen doors Eleanor was the only one there making eggs and toast for about 200 people. Eleanor and I were able to share that morning with each other with such joy. Much to my surprise, she handed me a birthday card and gave me a book about relying on the Holy Spirit. I was so overjoyed and surprised that she would even do this. Later in the day, she showed me a cake that was made by Kate, which was delicious. 

As the morning passed on, a surreal moment happened. 

I opened up to Eleanor and another wonderful woman in the kitchen, about something I was going through, with thinking about relationships and a future possible wife. I did not mention any specifics, only hinted at a thought I had. Immediately Eleanor and ggg?? started to give wisdom and counsel. In that moment I truly felt like I was talking with angels. God had sent two people to look into my soul, where no one else knew what was going on, and to speak directly to that part of me. This burden was heavy on me, and after their words it was as if God reminded me that everything would be okay. It was after this day that I truly felt as if God had blessed me with a mom away from home, to touch my heart in small and simple ways, ways my mom back home would have, as a gift to me as I started this World Race.

The story doesn’t end there…

As I sat with Eleanor on her porch, overlooking the green trees and beautiful blue New Zealand sky above El Rancho, we had to say our goodbyes. She left with me a shopping and food list that would help my team be fed well and inexpensively along our 11-month journey, something my mom would have done. We walked down the driveway path and I thanked her for her friendship and wisdom. I shared with her how she was like a mom away from my mom. 

It was then that God overwhelmed me with a surreal moment again. 

Without any questions or promptings from me, she began to speak three truths into my life that were the EXACT words that were needed in my soul, heart, and mind. 

GOD’S SWEET PRESENCE, GROWING IN FAITH, AND GOD’S VISION FOR MY LIFE

These three truths spoke to the reason why I am even on this missions trip. Along with the words from the morning in the kitchen, she now touched on several themes the Lord put on my heart many months ago. Eleanor spoke these three truths out into existence, as a reminder from God, to me, a young man, who was exhausted from a month of service and leadership. When I hugged her goodbye, and walked alone down the long driveway path, she stood at the top, and I could not look back. Tears were now flowing down my eyes, in thanksgiving to God for not leaving me alone, for not sending me across the world without help along the way, for not leaving me without angels in my life, and without His living words. There is a verse that now speaks so powerfully and true to my heart, I hope you believe it for your life too, because it is for everyone…”Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.” Hebrews 13:1-2.   God loves you, and wants to send angels your way. Each day you have life, let out breaths of faith. Any moment of fear, believe God is in control. And watch your life be guided by the very hand of God. You never know whom he will send to you along the way to reveal his overwhelming love for your life.