.: Motherland :.
Earlier this summer, I traveled back to Haiti (my motherland). It was my first time back in 11 years. Funny enough, I have always thought that when I do go back, it would be with my entire family for a nice family vacation. Well, Papa had other plans. Instead, along with 12 other brothers & sisters in Christ, I went back to serve and reach out to the children/adults of Port-de-Paix with Kingdom Goals, a Christian non-profit organization founded and run by my sweet friends Gary and Narissa.
We ran a mobile health Clinic in the mornings. We offered on-site services for some basic arrays of health: blood pressure level check, blood sugar level check, physical therapy, basic eye exams. We also got to teach men how they can perform testicular self-examination and while teaching the women how they can perform breast self-examination. I was on the team who gave basic eyes exams and distributed reading glasses as needed. Side note, if anybody needs their eyes checked, holla at your girl!!! (I kid. I kid…sort of…kind of…not really ;)!)
In the afternoon, we held a vacation bible school where close to 80-90 kids showed up every day. We taught music, English, craft, Bible stories, physical activities and health. I got to co-lead craft and physical activities and had an absolute blast doing so. If there is one thing I learned though, being a teacher is hard work. So, special shout out to all the educators out there! I don’t know how you guys do it.
While I would love to share the numerous ways Papa showed up and showed out big times during this mission trip, not only for me but for each person on the team (and believe me, there were plenty!!!), I just wanted to take you back to one evening where the Holy Spirit spoke something to me that touched my heart and I pray it speaks to you as well.
.: What is it? :.
I’m so glad you asked! So, in addition to all the different tasks I had to take on, one of my favorites was being a translator for my team whenever needed. One evening, we returned to our gracious hosts’ house (huge thanks to Gary’s mom and dad!). As we were waiting on dinner, Dr. G., one of my teammates asked me if I could translate for this young guy who was about to come over for a consult. Of course, I said yes. He came over and I remember him like yesterday, tall, dark skinned, fit and athletic figure (he played soccer), a little shy as well.
When he came, we made our way upstairs and sat on the balcony, the coolest place (it’s hot in Haiti) in the house to have our chat. After Dr. G prayed, sweetly greeted him again and tried to get to know him better by asking him questions about himself; she proceeded to ask him the reason for his visit. As he started to describe his main symptom (which was severe abdominal pain after he ate greasy food), Dr. G almost immediately realized that his medical issue could be a gallbladder-related condition. Her number one recommendation was a diet change, specifically to cut out as much as he can greasy food from his meals. He promised that he would try his best; but he said that it would be hard for him to do that since he is not the one who is cooking the meals he eats.
As we were wrapping things up, Dr. G paused and inquired him about his water intake. “Do you drink a lot of water?” she asked. And you know the guilty smile that you give when you don’t do something that you know you should be doing. Let’s just say he smiled “that smile.” He responded that he liked juice better and juice is more accessible anyway. It goes without saying that Dr. G. started urging him to drink more water than juice; since the latter is not a healthy choice.
Dr. G. then asked him something that caught my ear, not just my physical ear (because obviously, I needed to hear it so I can translate, haha) but also my spiritual one. She said: “Don’t you notice that when you drink juice, you get even thirstier than you were before?” Or something along those lines. And He acquiesced: “Yes. You’re right. I do see that when I drink water, my thirst gets quenched. When I do drink juice, I always almost right away get thirsty again and wants to come back for more.”
Right then and there, the Holy Spirit dropped something in my spirit that has been weighting a lot on my heart the past few days. He said: “This is exactly what happens in your spiritual life.”
.: Let Him Explain :.
“Many of us have been experiencing some major abdominal pain in our spiritual lives because we have been indulging into some “fatty” food that we have no business indulging in. Furthermore, we have been trying times and times again to quench our spiritual thirst with juice. Some of us do so knowingly and others unknowingly. Sadly, I am one of the people who do so knowingly at times.
What happens is that when I know I am spiritually thirsty, I find myself walking to my fridge and instead of going for the nice and cold bottle of Living Water on the shelf that is right in front of me, I get on my tippy toes and stretch out my hand and grab the bottle of juice and pour myself a good glass. Only to find myself thirsty all over again right after I drink it. The flavor of juice I go for vary each time: it could be TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Facebook/Instagram and any other social media platforms, friends, job, food…etc. I can promise you though the satisfaction that they bring when I drink them never lasts long. And that is because the thirst I feel, only Jesus, the only Living Water can completely quench it (John 4:10, 13-14)
No lies people. My long romantic walk/trip to the refrigerator at my house has been not been the same the past three weeks or so.
On the left: some people! On the right: Me (haha)!
Not one time had the Lord failed to bring these words and this message back to my memory each time I opened the fridge. It became really daunting at one point. Like Papa I get it: I need to pay attention to what I intake spiritually.
But when you look at it, it’s garbage in, garbage out. Severe abdominal pain is only one of the many issues that comes with feeding yourself with fatty food. Also, not drinking enough water can have some major health impact on your life too. So, if these two things can cause major damages to your physical body, how much do you think your spiritual body will suffer if you fill it up with things that is not good for it or if you don’t feed it with the right things?
As I am getting ready to leave the country soon for this mission trip, it has gotten so easy for me to get caught up in all the preparation details (i.e., vaccines, shopping, saying goodbyes, fundraising, medical checkup, wrapping things up at my job, etc..). So personally, I think the Lord has chosen to bring this message back to me in this season to remind to find time to sit still and fill myself up with Him and only Him.
I am not sure what season you’re in your life right now, but may this serve as a reminder for you as well to pay attention to your drink of choice when you are feeling spiritually thirsty. May I recommend that you try quench that thirst with the Living Water; as it is the best way to get the hydration you need without the unnecessary “calories” and “sugar.”
O God, You are my God;
I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for You;
My whole body longs for you
In this parched and weary land
Where there is no water.
Psalm 63:1
You’re awesome for reading. Thanxies so much! 
A few things:
- If you want to learn more about my friends Gary and Narissa’s Christian non-for-profit organization Kingdom Goals, the amazing work that they do, and how you can be of service to them, please head over to their site: http://www.kingdomgoals.org/
- THANK YOU!!!! THANK YOU!!!! THANK YOU!!!! I met my $10K fundraising goal. I’ve raised a total of $11,658. I still have about $5,959 left to fundraise. So, if you have been feeling led to donate and have not gotten the chance to do so, it is not too late. Click on the “Donate!” button above and you will be able do so!
- I made it to pre-launch last week. Then I officially made it to launch with ALL January racers is this week. I leave for my first country Indonesia soon. I will keep you posted on when that day will be exactly.
