Lessons Learned in Honduras Part 2 - The True Meaning of Compassion

Compassion - what definition comes to mind when you hear that word?  The dictionary defines it as "sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it."  Sounds like a pretty grown-up feeling to me!  The ability to not only recognize the feelings of others but to then want to selflessly do something about it?  Isn't that the crux of the calling God makes to all Christians?  Isn't that just what Jesus did?  But in order to feel compassion, there must be something to feel compassionate towards...which means we would have to face suffering...real human, visceral, gut-wrenching, suffering.  And that is hard to do...hard enough for adults to do...but what about children?  If we, as adults, turn our heads away from suffering, what are we teaching our children?  How do we teach our children compassion if we don't allow them to see the suffering in our world? 

Not only did Rob and Michelle choose to bring their two sons, Aiden and Jake, on this trip, but there were other families who brought their children along.  Took them out of their American bubble, away from their technology and comforts, and plopped them down in the middle of a third-world country.  And to be honest, one of the greatest blessings I received on this trip was seeing the suffering through the eyes of these kids and then seeing the compassion blossom within each one of them.

Aiden - 17 years old...on the cusp of becoming an adult...ready to jump out into the world with both feet...curious and inquisitive and analytical (probably more than anyone I have ever met)...sensitive with such a pure heart...just spend a few minutes with him and you will come away a better person...he makes you think, makes you laugh, and makes you question all within a single conversation!  He befriended one of the little girls at the Children's Home - Estepheny - and watching him with her brought tears to my eyes.  Every adult on the trip described him as one of the nicest, most social, people they had ever met.  I watched him take that same personality and interact with the people in the clinic; they didn't speak the same language, but the language of care and concern and compassion is universal.  Each one of those people knew that he cared about them.  Christ's love and compassion shown through him in every interaction.

Jake - 12 years old...caught between the naivety of childhood and the hormones of adolescence...trying desperately to hold onto the fun of being a kid, but also starting to notice the schoolgirls who would shout "caliente!" as he walked by (and yes, this was a very frequent occurrence!)...watching him play soccer with the kids from the Children's Home was magical...a beautiful clashing of cultures and lifestyles...but linked by that common bond of childhood and of God's love.  Normally the "class clown" who makes everyone around him smile and laugh, I got to see a different side of Jake one evening.  Michelle and I were relaxing in the church nursery (long story!) when Jake found us.  Coming into the room he asked, in all seriousness, "mom, can we adopt a kid?"  Upon further discussion, we found that Jake had developed such love for the children at the home that he wanted his parents to adopt one of them.  I got to see such compassion in him later that evening when he and I got a chance to talk more about it...but what an amazing opportunity for learning and growth!

Cory - 11 years old...still very much a boy...he loved entertaining the kids with his yo-yo tricks and driving me nuts drumming on his water bottles while I was trying to talk to patients!  This was also his first mission trip and he had come with his mom and his grandfather.  He was such a hard worker...each time I finished with a patient I would say "Cory...to the stage!" and he would stand straight up, salute me, and lead the patient over to the stage (yes it really was a stage!) for their refractory eye exam.  He never complained, never grew tired, and never stopped working.  He loved playing with the kids and his pure joy was contagious!  One of my favorite stories of the trip happened to him.  His mom recounted it one evening...a man came up to Cory in the clinic and said "we are brothers!"  Cory looked up at him and the man said "because we are both Christians, right?"  That man knew...he saw something in Cory...that love and light and compassion of Christ showing through.

Maddie - 16 years old...reminds me so much of myself...sensitive and kind...at an age where you are trying to figure out who you are and where you fit in this huge world...Maddie's pure, raw emotions tore at my heart in Honduras...she epitomized the word compassion.  After being at the Children's Home (where I think she would have stayed the entire week if she had been allowed!) she wrote on Facebook "when you find something you're truly passionate about, nothing else really seems to matter anymore."  Mature words from a teenager!  Her tears on the bus ride back to the hotel after saying goodbye to the kids on the last night said it all.  She had been changed...she didn't care at that point who saw her tears...all she knew was that her heart was breaking for them.  "Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God."  Maddie showed us all what true compassion was that night.

God desperately calls each one of us to a selfless life...a life filled with compassion for others...a life of serving others.  It takes many of us becoming adults to finally realize that; to fully understand what true compassion and service and selflessness is.  How awesome is it that these four kids found it...thousands of miles away...that these four kids understood it in a way some people never will.  You don't need any special talent to touch the life of another human.  As each one of them taught us, all it takes is a little love...a little light...a little compassion.

Christian author, Max Lucado, said "it all [begins] with an honest look and a helping hand.  Could this be God's strategy for human hurt?  First kind eyes meet desperate ones.  Next, strong hands help weak ones.  Then, the miracle of God.  We do our small part, he does the big part."

Lessons Learned in Honduras: Part 1 - What We Take For Granted

I returned late last night from an amazing journey...a journey that God called me to go on...during the trip He opened my eyes to so much and taught me so many lessons...probably more than I can even remember at this very moment...but lessons that I feel led to share as I recount this journey to you.  For they are life lessons...lessons meant to lead us to live greater lives for Him...lessons meant to impact far more people. 

We are blessed...a vast majority of you reading this blog could probably say that you live a blessed life.  Do we each encounter heartaches, losses, setbacks, frustrations and disappointments - yes - but if we look at the totality of our lives, the things we choose to complain about on a daily basis are miniscule in comparison to what most of the world is facing.

"The car in front of me is going too slow!"
"My order is wrong!"
"My child got a bad grade!"
"I have a headache!"
"I want _____!"

Aren't we all guilty of complaints like these?  I know I sure am!  And that's the lesson I want to focus on today...what we take for granted.

Being in Honduras for a week allowed me to experience how a majority of the people on this planet live on a daily basis.  Some things I experienced firsthand and others I got to witness...but each taught me again and again to be thankful for the life I live and to do everything in my power to make small differences for God's kingdom...because each person I encountered, He loves just as much as He loves me!  The only real difference is that we were born in different places!  So here is just a small list of things I took for granted before my trip and I am sure that if you analyze your life, you will find you do the same:

1. Clean water - the water in Honduras, as in many Central American countries, is not safe to drink.  The Hondurean people are subject to many diseases because their water is not clean.  We could not drink the water...we couldn't even use it to brush our teeth or rinse our toothbrush...and, as Pastor Bradley said "don't sing in the shower, hum if you must!"  With the heat and humidity, I was drinking upwards of 4-5 liters of water a day...so the water bottle and water filters became my best friends!  But most people there don't have that luxury.  Just think about how often you turn on your faucet for a quick drink or brush your teeth or rinse something out...

2. Hot showers - Even staying in a hotel in a city, our showers were cool to lukewarm.  After meeting many of the people, hot showers are a rarity for most of them.  So the next time you complain that the hot water ran out before the end of your 20 minute shower, think about if you had no hot water at all!

3. Bathrooms - As you will see in the photos below, the bathrooms are not the most sanitary.  Those are the bathrooms the patients used during clinic; the same ones that the kids use there at school.  Toilet paper may or may not be available (in fact, it was such a rarity at times that we started taking the roll from our hotel room with us in our purses!)  The sewer system does not allow for toilet paper to be flushed so you had to throw your used toilet paper into a little garbage can.  And we complain about the state of public restrooms here...

4. Medicine - While in Honduras our main role was to run a clinic for local residents to access free medical, dental, and vision care.  It absolutely floored me that many people who came had normal aches and pains that we just pop a few Tylenol for!  In fact, it amazed me how many times the providers had to explain what menstrual cramps were and how Tylenol would help!  But many of them had no access to or money to afford such simple medications!  So the next time you have a headache, thank God that you can run to your medicine cabinet or to the drug store and grab a few pills.

5. Houses - Most of the people we encountered live in 12x12 foot "houses"...that's it!  A small room, most likely a dirt floor, a tin roof...that's home to them.  Yet despite such living conditions, the people I encountered were by and far happy!  So, is less more?

6. Family - We were fortunate to get to meet and interact with the children who live at the Hope Children's Home and I will post more about them in the future.  But for various reasons these children's families cannot provide for them, so they live in this home.  It is an amazingly beautiful home and the kids are thriving but they don't get to live with their families.  I am sure that one of the biggest things we all take for granted are our loved ones. 

7. God's Beauty in Nature - God's beautiful creation is everywhere we look!  How many times do we look at the sun or a flower or a rainbow and glance right past it...never stopping to see the beauty in it!  The stark reality of life in Honduras opened my eyes to this...rainbows, waterfalls, flowers, trees, mountains, valleys...Honduras is a beautiful country...breathtaking at times...and it made me realize how masterful a creator God is!

So my challenge to you is to take a few moments to reflect on your current life:
- Are there things you take for granted?
- If so, what are those things?
- What would happen if those things were suddenly gone?

Be thankful for all that God has given you and bless others the way you have been blessed!  Here are a few pics of God's beauty!

Be Fluid; Flexible Is Too Stiff

The other night I was at home sitting on my couch when I got a text....I looked down and this is what I saw:

Does she know me or what?! 

But she is so right!  My life up to this point has been pretty organized, planned, controlled.  I pride myself on this.  My friends are always telling me I need to be more spontaneous, but to be honest spontaneity scares me to the core!  The "not knowing" freaks me out!  But isn't that one of the key things God wants to teach us?  To let go...let go of the control...let go of the planning...let go of the constant need to organize...let go and let Him! 

I feel like God has slowly been teaching this to me over the past few years; and really kicking it up a notch over the past few months!  In general to prepare me for life...but more specifically to prepare me for this trip.  I have learned that in the mission field there is so much chaos and unknown. 

And boy does God know what He is doing sending me on this trip!  He is forcing me out of my comfortable life of planning and order (not that you would know that by looking at my house or office, but I digress).  He is showing me that life isn't planned and orderly...it can be messy and chaotic and that's ok.  Because as long as we keep our eyes fixed solely on Him, He will work everything out.  And He always works it out with our best interests at heart.

Yes, God is calling me to step out of my comfort zone...but He would never do that without equipping me for His task.  I was afraid...afraid of what God would call me to do while in Honduras.  But there is only one thing I need to focus on doing and if I can accomplish this, the rest will fall in to place.  So what is God calling me to do there?  I think Michelle said it best: "to show the love and light of Christ so they are receptive to the Gospel."  Who better to equip me to show love and light then the one who created love and light...the one who showed the ultimate act of love when He sent His Son to die for our sins...the one who is not only the light at the end of the tunnel, but the light that guides us through.  I must only look to Him and I don't have to worry about plans and organization and control.  Because He has proven again and again that He is the ultimate creator and craftsman and that He has everything under His perfect control.

God Doesn't Do Coincidences...

"What God starts, He finishes.  Where God guides, He provides.  And where God leads, He meets our needs." - Rick Warren

As you saw in my last post and will see in this post, the decision to go on this mission trip has been filled with nothing but coincidences...but then again, God doesn't do coincidences!  So what does He do?  He meticulously plans...He plans every single moment of our lives...down to the smallest, most minute detail.  I saw a quote once by John Piper that said "God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them."  Wow...if that doesn't make you pause...or completely blow you away, I don't know what will!  To think that God already has our next moment planned out...our next day...week...month...year...our whole life!  Sometimes he allows us to see how those pieces fit together and other times we may never know until we get to heaven.  And while I am all for surprises, I have to admit I kinda like when I get to see the puzzle come together!  And that's exactly what God did...

Once the decision was made to go I couldn't wait to find out where!  And by "couldn't wait" I mean I checked the website daily...sometimes multiple times each day...to see if they had listed the 2014 trips.  I honestly think I drove Michelle crazy!  When they finally did post them, I saw that we had three options: June was Honduras, July was Africa and August was Asia.  I also saw the prices.  Honduras was almost half the cost of the other two.  Part of me secretly hoped Michelle and Rob would choose there.  But then I saw the dates of that trip.  The exact same week as Diabetes Camp.  Now I had a big problem!  There was no way I could miss camp...not that I am not replaceable, but I really could not put my coworkers in that position...I couldn't make someone else step into that role after never having done it before.  Plus, camp is my baby!  So, I did the only thing I could do...I gave it to God.  I told Michelle that wherever they chose to go, I was all in.  I would make it work if they chose Honduras, which they ended up doing. 

But I should have known that God had a plan...

A few weeks later Amy and I went to meet with the director at Camp Y-Noah where we host our camp each year.  I had not said one word to Amy about camp falling the same week as the trip.  I just couldn't bring myself to tell her.  She and I had created this camp and we had run it together, side by side, for the past 6 years.  When one of us was stressing the other stepped in...the office joked we were like "one brain" when it came to camp...we finished each other's sentences and often came up with the same solutions to problems without even talking.  We had this thing down to a science!  So as we sat there at the conference room table discussing camp 2014, I heard the director say "what would you guys think about doing camp a week earlier next year?"  Excuse me?!  I almost fell out of my chair!  Actually I didn't really react at all because I didn't want to impose my agenda here.  If this was going to happen, it would because of God's plan and not my manipulation.  So we began discussing it and, as it turns out, it benefitted us in multiple ways to move camp.  As we left I told Amy about the trip.  And all I could do was look up and say "thanks God...I know that was all you."

I will still have to leave camp two days early, but isn't it funny (well actually no, its totally God intended) that I had to leave camp two days early this past summer for my sister's wedding.  And I was a nervous wreck turning camp over...yes I do have some minor control issues...but I pride myself on ensuring camp runs smoothly, the kids are safe, and everyone has fun.  And lo and behold, camp continued on without me.  Did everything go the exact way it would have if I had been there?  No...but the kids were safe and everyone had fun.  Having to experience that last year has me breathing much easier this year.  Knowing that everything will be ok if I have to leave a little early greatly lessens my anxiety.  Because honestly I don't think God wants a nervous-wreck heading out on a mission trip to represent Him.  I could be wrong, but I think He wants to prepare us a little bit more than that!

And God is preparing me...mostly I think He's focused on my control issues.  Because all of this is teaching me that if I just let up a little bit...if I just give God some control...if I stop trying to manipulate situations...then it will all work out way better than I could have ever imagined.  Only God can see the big picture...the whole puzzle...so why wouldn't I allow Him the control to make all the pieces fit together.  He is our master Creator...and if you don't believe me, just look around!

For I Know The Plans I Have For You...

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope" Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV)

I couldn't wait for 2014 to start...I couldn't wait because I knew that I could start counting down the days...counting down the days until I left for Honduras.  Many of you know that for the past few years I have had this yearning in my heart to go on a mission trip.  I honestly can't say when exactly it started, but I can say Who started it....God!  I heard stories, first from Jenny, and then from Michelle, of the mission trips they went on and I was engrossed to say the least.  I began to believe more and more in my heart that God was calling me to do this...why, exactly, I don't know...perhaps to strengthen my faith, or to bring my relationship to Him closer, or to spread the Good News to the ends of the earth, or to glorify His name, or....the list is endless and probably is a bit of all of that!  So, I kept that goal, that dream, in the back of my mind...work, family, friends, life in general all started encroaching and that dream got pushed further and further back...still there but more distant...that is until one afternoon in July of last year. 

 

I had decided I needed a little escape....a few days to relax, regroup, and refocus...I had just wrapped up our 6th diabetes camp which was followed immediately by my sister Stacy's wedding so my brain was fried and I was exhausted.  Michelle and her family were going on vacation and this presented the perfect escape for me.  I have always seen her home as a haven...so peaceful and so relaxing...the views are gorgeous and the pool, fire pit, and beautiful home are like icing on the cake.  There was no other place I could think of to have that time with God, then at her house.  So I packed a bag and headed an hour south for three days.  And it was here, in this place, that I heard God speak very clearly to me. 

 

Now this isn't a frequent occurrence...a lot of the time we need to interpret what God is saying based on some very covert signs...but every once in awhile, He chooses to throw down the neon sign and there is no interpretation needed!  I was floating in the pool spending some time in prayer and general conversation with God...and really asking Him the age old question "why?"  Why am I still single, why haven't you sent me the person I am supposed to marry, why don't I have the husband and children I so desperately want, why do I need to keep waiting...and, well, you get the picture.  Basically I was saying to God "I don't like your timetable...I don't want to be patient...I don't trust You and your plan for me."  Wow...its hard to admit that, but I know we all hit those times!  Well, He answered me...He didn't necessarily answer my questions, but He answered me.  The only thing I heard Him say to me was "go on a mission trip...go!"  And immediately I knew what he was saying..."this is what I want you to do for me...and I will take care of the rest." 

 

Ok God...ok...I will do it...I mean when God is that clear with you, I kind of feel like you should listen!  It was like he reached down in me...beyond all the "stuff"...work, family, friends, life in general...and He pulled out that dream...brought it front and center, where it should have been all along!  Ok, so I am supposed to go on a mission trip...but where, and with who, and when, and how, and and and....well I should know by now that if you are following God's will, He will make all that clear...but still it absolutely shocked me when He did! 

 

I hadn't told anyone about my conversation with God that day in the pool.  I was planning to tell Michelle first (since it happened at her house) but I didn't get the chance to before God popped in.  I was in Michelle's office the day she returned from her vacation and we were catching up when all of a sudden she said "oh, mark your calendar for next summer, Rob and I are taking the boys on a mission trip and we want you to come too!"  Umm...ok...you could have knocked me over with a feather.  SERIOUSLY?!?  I looked up and just started laughing...really God?!?  I then proceeded to tell her what had happened while at her house.  We both started laughing, because what else can you do?  "That's just how God rolls!"  God always has an answer, always has a solution, always has a plan...and if we are just patient enough, He will reveal it to us!

 

So anyways, that brings me to today where I am anxiously and excitedly counting down the days until we leave for Honduras!  Now, I know that there are many people who wish they could go on a mission trip, but for any number of reasons can't, and may want to participate in some other way.  There are lots of other ways to help...the primary one being prayer!  I am asking any one who is reading this if they would be willing to pray for me, for Michelle, Rob, Aiden, and Jake, for the team we are traveling with, and most importantly for the people we will come in contact with in Honduras...pray that we are able to speak truth, hope, and love to them, to encourage and support them in whatever way they need, and to glorify God in the process.  If you feel so led, and are able, to donate in anyway, Medical Missions Outreach has a very easy way to do that on their website.  It ensures the security of the transaction and your ability to receive documentation for tax purposes.  But please do not see this as me asking for you to fund my trip.  I am fully prepared to fund it because this is what God has called me to do.  Your decision to donate is something between you and God but if you feel so inclined, I would gladly accept your gift, or you can donate in general to the organization to help them continue doing great work all over the world.  If you have any questions, please let me know!  My hope is that I will be able to send updates while in Honduras so you can see how much your prayers are impacting my time there!!  Thank you for taking the time to read this!  Your love and support mean so much to me!!