I’m in Panama!!!!
Thursday was our first day of ministry on the World Race! We went to a nursing home that morning, and God did not hesitate to show up! My first thought when I heard we were going to a nursing home was a bit of nervousness, because my strength has always been with kids, not old people. But I was so excited to be challenged and just ecstatic to finally be in ministry!
When we first got to the nursing home, we went to the main sitting room where most of the residents were. At first, I was feeling pretty awkward, not really knowing what to do. I was wandering around the room trying to engage with various people, but I was finding it pretty hard to have a conversation with these folks who only speak Spanish.
At first the language barrier was incredibly frustrating. I so wanted to ask these men and women questions about their lives and share stories and just tell them how loved they are! I wasn’t making much progress with the “Olah! Como estas?…now I don’t really know how to say anything else so I’m just gonna smile…” routine, so then Lindsay and I decided to pull out the coloring books and crayons at a table in the corner in hopes that that would draw some of them over. Sure enough, residents started migrating towards the table!
The first man to come over didn’t even want to color. He just wanted to read the story of the Good Samaritan on the coloring page, and he was so into it! We kept offering him crayons and markers, but he just wanted to read this Bible story. It was great. Then a couple of other women came over, and they were so excited to color! Some of the girls painted their nails as these ladies created masterpieces.
Then a little woman named Louisa came over.
I’ll paint the picture for you: Louisa is no more than four and a half feet tall, she has long grey hair, no teeth, and a huge smile at all times, and she walks with a combination of elderly grace and pure spunk. It took all of one look at her for me to know I was going to love this little lady walking towards the table, and I couldn’t help but smile at her! As she sat down, she gave me a huge grin and just started laughing. Every time we gave her a new color, she cracked up. When the man next to her dozed off, she was in hysterics. When we made funny faces, she would burst out laughing. Pretty much every few seconds, Louisa was laughing. And when she wasn’t laughing, she still had a grin from ear to ear.
She got me thinking. Here was this elderly woman who is stuck in a hot, stuffy nursing home all day, every day, with almost nothing to do except when visitors like us come, and yet she is so full of joy! I couldn’t understand a word she was saying, and she couldn’t understand a word I was saying. But we shared so much love and laughter during those fifteen or so minutes that we sat together. She was beyond happy; she was joyful.
I didn’t need to strike up a lengthy conversation. I didn’t need to speak Spanish. Heck, I didn’t even need to speak. All it took was a smile to make a beautiful connection!
That afternoon, the Lord used His Word to speak to me about joy. In Acts 5, the apostles are condemned and flogged for remaining faithful to God, and yet “they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.” These guys endured so much more persecution and opposition than I will ever face, and still they were filled with so much joy! No matter how hard or frustrating or challenging a situation may seem, if my eyes and heart are fixed upon God, I will find joy in every circumstance! Wow, God is good!
I have a big feeling Louisa knows the Lord, and I hope to experience more and more of that joy in the Lord that she clearly feels every day. What a blessing to have met that sweet little woman. I pray that each of you reading this finds that same joy that comes from knowing our incredible Creator!
