1. It's exactly where I am supposed to be. After confirmation upon confirmation, I know this in the depths of my heart.
2. Being able to get up early enough to avoid being woken up by "the praying lady" -- she prays the rosary and Ave Maria at 7:15 am. Every morning. Over a loudspeaker. She sounds a little like Charlie Brown's teachers.
3. The anticipation of volunteers (and goodies from the States!) coming every week.
4. The privilege to watch God change the lives of our volunteers through one little week out of their year.
5. A team that works well together and does its best to keep everyone un-stressed.
6. Being able to get anywhere in the city on public transportation (and knowing that I don't have to).
7. A car that screams out that it belongs to the Baptist Mission. This one actually makes me laugh every time I talk about it.
8. A culture that I am coming to love and hate and laugh at. Laugh at, mostly.
9. A small group of friends who understand my passion for this particular country and a larger group of friends who understand the urgency of missions.
10. My job. I get to do what I went to school to do, without the pressures of US-style medicine.
11. Learning daily that God is for me, and that He just wants me to be available to waste some time with Him.
12. Not knowing how to count. And not being able to contain the top 10 list to just 10 things.
17 June 2007
Sick
Yesterday was spent in bed. I got out and moved to the couch about 2:45, only because the phone rang and I got up to answer it. I am surprised I am moving around today, but then again, I am not breaking out in cold sweat and an urge to vomit every time I stand up. Good for me.
I hate being sick. When I am in the bed, I feel like I am wasting time, because there is so much to be done. My to-do list grows if I don't stay on top of it, and I get so overwhelmed that it's not all crossed off. (On the other side of that, I am not sure what I would do if it were all to get crossed off, so I procrastinate on those last few things....)
God is good to remind me (He must be trying really hard) that it's not always about the things on my to-do list. It's not always about getting things done. Sometimes it's about seeing another's need in the midst of confusion and tending to it, even if it gets in the way of everything on your to-do list. Sometimes it's spending time just sitting with God, even if it feels like you're wasting time. Sometimes it's doing the same with friends. Sometimes it's taking a nap to recharge before you can tackle that exponentially growing list of things that have to be done yesterday. Sometimes it's being sick.
I hate being sick. When I am in the bed, I feel like I am wasting time, because there is so much to be done. My to-do list grows if I don't stay on top of it, and I get so overwhelmed that it's not all crossed off. (On the other side of that, I am not sure what I would do if it were all to get crossed off, so I procrastinate on those last few things....)
God is good to remind me (He must be trying really hard) that it's not always about the things on my to-do list. It's not always about getting things done. Sometimes it's about seeing another's need in the midst of confusion and tending to it, even if it gets in the way of everything on your to-do list. Sometimes it's spending time just sitting with God, even if it feels like you're wasting time. Sometimes it's doing the same with friends. Sometimes it's taking a nap to recharge before you can tackle that exponentially growing list of things that have to be done yesterday. Sometimes it's being sick.
08 June 2007
A new stamp for my collection
I received my new driver's license in the mail today (my other one was in my car....), and I noticed that there were stamps on the envelope. You may think that stamps on an envelope are normal, but around here, my letters usually get run through the machine, because my post office doesn't have stamps. I looked closer and saw the mitre on the stamp and thought, "Hey, a pope stamp." Since the current pope was just here, I thought that was a good commemoration. Upon looking more closely, I realized that it wasn't the current pope on the stamp. It was the latest dead pope.
07 June 2007
Flexibility
We have a youth team here this week that is doing evangelism and giving Bibles out in houses. In this area, there is a grid of houses with paved roads and an area that is not yet paved. The houses in the unpaved area are mostly made of plywood and plastic sheeting. One of the women we came into contact with earlier this week lives in a house (if you can call it that) that is about 4 feet by 7 feet with a bed and a stove. The walls are not solid plywood, and the roof is leaking. She has 5 kids (under 7) with another on the way. They live by a pigpen with at least 3 HUGE sows and their piglets. The kids were crying the other day because they hadn't eaten all day.
So our purpose was to go in, do evangelism, and give out Bibles, right? Today we started building a house. For the lady that lives in the borrowed house. I started thinking about the fact that God's two greatest commandments are to love Him and love our neighbor. That is not just a warm fuzzy; it is a practical commandment. James puts it this way: "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, 'Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." (James 2:14-17) I love James's point here. We cannot love others without getting our hands dirty sometimes. It gives me such joy to be a part of the work we do, for it shows others how big and yet how personal God is, that He would use ordinary people to provide for the needs of those He could provide for in no time at all. While blessing the person (the family) who receives this house, I am blessed because I am being obedient to God. We do not do this because the woman asked for it, but because God touched the heart of my boss to do a little practical gospel, and because that is what God has commanded us to do. Ephesians says that He has saved us for good works (not because of them, but to do them).
So our purpose was to go in, do evangelism, and give out Bibles, right? Today we started building a house. For the lady that lives in the borrowed house. I started thinking about the fact that God's two greatest commandments are to love Him and love our neighbor. That is not just a warm fuzzy; it is a practical commandment. James puts it this way: "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, 'Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." (James 2:14-17) I love James's point here. We cannot love others without getting our hands dirty sometimes. It gives me such joy to be a part of the work we do, for it shows others how big and yet how personal God is, that He would use ordinary people to provide for the needs of those He could provide for in no time at all. While blessing the person (the family) who receives this house, I am blessed because I am being obedient to God. We do not do this because the woman asked for it, but because God touched the heart of my boss to do a little practical gospel, and because that is what God has commanded us to do. Ephesians says that He has saved us for good works (not because of them, but to do them).
05 June 2007
I haven't written much after the trauma of being carjacked, but I am beginning to recover and have been out several times in my current car (a Ford station wagon with "BAPTIST CHURCH" written on all 4 sides and the tag number on the top). Poor car. It doesn't like cold weather, and that seems to be what we're having lately (I'm sitting here in jeans, a t-shirt, and socks with a blanket wrapped around my shoulders).
By cold, I mean under 70. Even during the day. Seeing as how we don't have carpet here, and all the houses are made of concrete, there is no insulation. SO, when it gets cold, it gets COLD. I am beginning (just a little bit) to understand why it is so dangerous for those who live on the street when it gets down to 60. Think about it: if it were 115 in the summer where you live, and the temperature dropped 50 degrees, wouldn't you be cold? Make that 90 with a drop to 40, and you've about got it.
By cold, I mean under 70. Even during the day. Seeing as how we don't have carpet here, and all the houses are made of concrete, there is no insulation. SO, when it gets cold, it gets COLD. I am beginning (just a little bit) to understand why it is so dangerous for those who live on the street when it gets down to 60. Think about it: if it were 115 in the summer where you live, and the temperature dropped 50 degrees, wouldn't you be cold? Make that 90 with a drop to 40, and you've about got it.
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