The first reservation I had about
going on the World Race was the limited nature of being in a place for only one
month, as opposed to living with a community for a year. Although I didn’t let
it stop me from going, I knew this would be a question and struggle that I
would have to revisit over and over again throughout the journey. I believe
building God’s kingdom has to be done in ways that are sustainable for the
long-term. Hand-outs, Band-aid projects, and surface-level ministry
interactions will never help a community grow into an independent and thriving
province of the Kingdom.
So,
on the World Race, with one-month time frames, how can we share in love,
relationships, and work with a community that will support its progress (and
its individual members) on the path to true justice and a communal lifestyle of
faith? That will be a question that needs to be assessed at the beginning of
every month, and thankfully, I believe God has given me a vision for this month
that will establish a precedent for the remainder of the Race. Just like I have
felt called to pursue college ministry for a career where I hope to empower
young adults in their faith to go into the world and live in the character of
Jesus, to be spiritual leaders of their families and communities, I have felt
God lead me to a ministry of empowerment here in the DR. If I can’t be here for
a year or a lifetime, then I want to empower those who will be, locals of the
community. I could go on for pages talking about how much damage has been done
by Americans in the past who have gone into impoverished communities and tried
to “fix” everything themselves, both spiritually and physically. The reality
is, however, we are not the answer for the problems of the world, America. The
people of every community are the answer to their own problems, because when
God lives in them and they live by true faith, God will manifest the kingdom in
their midst and walk with them on the road to true justice. I believe our role
should be to help them find the road, in accordance with their willingness and
choice, and then to empower them to walk it with God, without us.
Ok,
thanks for bearing with me through the theology again (although I hope its
meaningful and insightful for your walk with God too!). Here is how I see God
leading me to empowerment ministry here in San Juan, DR. We have some young
girls and guys that work as translators for us at our ministry sites. 3 of them
are guys in their early and mid 20’s who know English very well. They are all
paying their way through University and work as translators to help with the
bills. Each of them are a part of Miguel’s (our ministry contact here) youth
and young adult ministry team called Dominican Rising and have a growing love
for God. So far, there has been a wealth of time for me get to know them and
connect on our passions, and this has led to my sense that God wants me to
focus on empowering them to be leaders and role models for their generation and
those following here in San Juan. They have consistently proved their
wholehearted desire and God-given ability to do so as they participate with us
in all of our ministry with kids and community members, one of them even coming
when he’s not assigned, just to volunteer his time and love with us. I want to
tell you more about this guy, Juan-Carlo.
Since he was 16-years old, Juan Carlo has lived on his own, stricken by the wounds of losing
both his parents and being unloved by his caretaking uncle and grandparents.
Having no brothers or sisters, like myself, he tried to fit in with his cousins
growing up, but they, along with his grandparents and uncle told him over and
over again that he would never amount to nothing. Since living on his own, he
has struggled to find friends because of the tendency of young men in this
culture to gravitate towards friendships with people who have money. His two
closest friends from childhood have moved to other areas of the DR and he
rarely sees them. Understandably, he longs, he hungers for relationships in his
life. My heart aches for him; I can’t stand to see someone incarcerated in a
prison of loneliness for charges crimes that were done TO him rather than BY
him.
Despite his battles with isolation,
he diligently pursues God daily by teaching English and studying multiple
languages at University to become equipped to translate and preach in his
community. Having enough money to survive only some of the time, he sleeps only
3-5 hours a night to have enough time for all the studying, work, and ministry
that he desires to do for the work to which he is called. His thankfulness,
despite his dire circumstances, surpasses that of most people I’ve ever met.
His humility is unparalleled. One night I invited him to come on our boys night
out for dinner and ice cream, and it took a lot of convincing for him to let me
buy him a 30 peso empanada (which is about 80 cents), of which he gave half to
a hungry kid that was hanging around the restaurant. He also refused to let me
buy him ice cream, saying that if I really wanted to buy him something. I
should get him a tube of toothpaste. These instances were only small pieces of
the puzzle that displayed the genuineness of his heart and desire to serve God
with his life.
Juan-Carlo has latched on to me as
someone who can help him with English and be a true friend and
brother-in-Christ, and everything in me believes such a relationship is the
heart of how God is asking me to serve Him/Her this month. These are the kind
of relationships for which I live, the ones I want to define my life. My hope this
month is to help and encourage him in his studies of English and the language of
God’s compassion and justice. In doing so, may he be empowered to take his
place as a leader of his community’s movement to become a mountain peak of communal
faithfulness and justice in the Dominican Republic.
These people need his leadership.
They need his experience with suffering and loneliness and his unwavering
faithfulness to God to teach them how to live in the ways of the Messiah Jesus.
If I can be a pillar of support for him this month, and through an on-going
relationship after I leave, God will fuel his ministry that will shape future
of San Juan. Myself, my team, and our presence here this month, these are not
the tools these people need to be constructed into a Kingdom-metropolis… but
Juan-Carlo is. The other translators and their fellow members of the Dominican
Rising team are. Will you pray with me that God will empower Juan-Carlo and
these other young people to be leaders of their community’s future and faith
through our relationships with them this month? May we all invest in God’s
Kingdom and its rise in the communities our World Race squad will visit this
year, not in the currency of dollars but in the currency of empowerment, a
currency that will inflate the world’s abilities to let God and His/Her justice
to reign everywhere.
P.S. Please check out this video (link below) that my teammate
Kimberly made that beautifully recaps our experience in Haiti last month.
Thanks to her for making these memories of God’s work in our lives and the
lives of our friends in Haiti available to all.
LINK: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=540909970538
