I didn’t write this but I thought it was worth posting….
About four years ago I was a missionary in Honduras. My wife
and three-year-old daughter were with me as we traveled to
remote areas building medical clinics. We accomplished most of
the work during the summer months when school was out in the
States. At times we would have one group get on an airplane to
leave the country and have another group get off an airplane to
start back on a project. We would assist the new group getting
into a hotel to rest after the long trip and then while they
rested, go back to our little house and do laundry, cut the yard
and load up to head back to the mountains for the next one or
two weeks. It was during one of these between group prep times
that I had a MountainWings Moment.
I was running on just a few hours of sleep, and it was over 100
degrees Fahrenheit outside. My grass was almost knee high and
all I had to cut it with was a line trimmer, or as we call it, a
“weed eater.” However difficult it was, I was blessed to have
the line trimmer. Most of my neighbors used machetes and a
crooked stick to cut their yards.
I had been cutting for some time when I noticed a small boy
leaning on my security fence. It was common for beggars to come
to my fence and even go through my trash looking for something
to eat. I must admit, I had a lot to do and I was ignoring the
little boy. He just kept standing there. He was dirty and wore
only a little pair of tattered shorts. I was covered with cut
grass, hot and had too much to do before getting back out in the
field to be bothered with giving handouts. The group would be
waiting.
Finally, I had to take a break, and I walked over to the little
boy and sat down near him. He looked up at me with his dirty
little face and asked “Papa, (Spanish for Father/Priest) may I
have a cup of water.” Immediately Matthew 10:42 came to my
mind. Here I was, so caught up in missions work, I had
forgotten the mission. I went in, got one of our best
glasses (not one of the usual paper cups reserved for such
occasions), and filled it with ice and water. I took it to the
little boy and watched him as he savored every last drop. He then
handed me the glass; and with a smile as big as his face, he said,
“Thank you and God bless you Father.” No, I’m not a priest or
even Catholic, but he gave me the highest salutation he could
think of.
We continued on with the group that had arrived that day and
numerous others who had come with a heart to help the Honduran
people, but I have never looked at things the same way since
that encounter with the cold glass of water.
~A MountainWings Original by Tim McGill, Director of
Environmental Service, Walker Baptist Medical Center, Jasper
Alabama and Pastor, Junior High Students, Sumiton Church of God,
Sumiton, Alabama~
