Not every day will be the best day. Maybe you only got a few hours of sleep last night. Perhaps you are trying to ignore the 100 mosquito bites covering your entire body. You may be tired of eating gallo pinto (rice and beans) for the 70th day in a row. Maybe you wish you had a washer and dryer to feel your clothes are actually clean instead of attempting to create a spin cycle in a 5 gallon bucket. Some days you may feel disconnected from everyone or you may feel completely suffocated.
Life is about choices, and you always have a choice.
Of course outside factors always play some part in our reality and an English poet, John Donne, once wrote “no man is an island”. It is impossible and naive to think we will go throughout this life unaffected by situations we face and people we encounter….but isn’t that the beauty of it all?
Is it not a beautiful thing how not two individuals walking this earth have had the exact same experience, yet we are required, rather allowed the opportunity, the privilege to do this life side by side?
The World Race takes people who were once complete strangers and throws their lives together in an arena where everything is new, everything is uncomfortable, everything is entirely beautiful if you so choose to see it that way. These teammates are the ones who see the good, the bad, and the ugly day in and day out and are there for you when life is incredible and when it is incredibly hard. On top of that Adventures in Missions then sends you around the world to places you don’t speak the language, you aren’t familiar with the culture, and sets you up with opportunities to serve alongside other ministries.
This month my team is serving outside of Jinotega, Nicaragua at a Vida Joven/ Young Life Camp. The camp sits on a 154 acre coffee plantation in the mountains and the scenery will literally take your breath away. The people we have encountered this month are some of the most loving, joyful people as well as some of the hardest working people I have ever met. They have put our team up in a cozy cabin in the mountains with a woodstove to help us stay warm at night, gas burners to prepare meals on, beds to sleep in, and a shower with warm water. These people have went above and beyond to make sure we are taken care of and are as comfortable as possible allowing us access to all they have to offer.
My team is constantly finding ourselves watching and falling more and more in love with the people here as they radiate joy and shower love upon all those they come in contact with. Whether we are clearing ditches for seven hours a day, digging trenches, washing and painting gates, cleaning yards, hauling wood, changing sheets on hundreds of beds, or helping in the wood shop, the workers never hesitate to grab a shovel and meet us in the trench. They get us cups and plates to serve us at meals before they serve themselves. If we need help with anything they drop whatever they are doing and walk clear across camp to help however they can. They want to learn English and they help us with our espanol. They want to connect with us. They want us to play futbol and baseball with them before the lunch break is finished. They are excited to live life next to us for the next few weeks and I promise you I couldn’t be more elated to be here with them either.
No matter what country you were born in, what language you speak, how much money you have, what job you have, whether you have a house to live in, or a car to drive, at the end of the day God sees us all and He loves us all no matter what. He allows us all the choice to choose joy in whatever circumstance we have. He allows us to show up each day and give our best for Him and all those around us. He allows us to climb in the trenches with one another and do life. We are all in the mud together and it’s a beautiful thing.
Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”
