if there is a broken heart, you can find him there.

I've been reading Ray Pritchards lenten devotional called Who is that Man? It has been really helpful for me during this lenten season. I want to share with you the entry from yesterday:

When Did We Ever See You Hungry?
When did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Matthew 25:37

Somewhere I read about St. Benedict's first rule for his followers: hospitality. They must always show kindness to strangers because in doing so they are showing kindness to Christ himself. The story is told about an old Benedictine monk who was about to lock the monastery door at the end of a very exhausting weekend. There had been so many guests and some of them had proved quite difficult to handle. He was secretly glad to see them all go so he could have a bit of rest. Just as he was closing the door, a new group of pilgrims walked up the path and asked for admittance. Under his breath, he said to himself, "Lord Jesus Christ, is it you again?"

These words of Jesus offer a liberating perspecitve because it is easy to feel overwhelmed or perhaps resentful at the intrustion of others into our well-planned agendas. And sometimes, consciously or not, we can give off an air of condescension, of pride and superiority, of smugness because "We've found the truth and you haven't, you poor, benighted pagans." And don't think those "poor, benighted pagans" can't sense it. They're not stupid. They know when Christians talk down to them. The words of Jesus help us see things in a new light.

We know that when we go "in his name," he goes with us.
We know that we are going "with him" and "for him."
But now we know that we are also going "to him."

He's on the receiving end of the mercy transaction.
He is there in the face of the Afghan refugee.
He stands with the homeless at the Harlem Avenue exit.
He is there with the single mother struggling with three young children.
He has a cell inside every prison in the world.
He walks the halls of the cancer unit at the hospital.
He hears the cries of abused children.
He is there in the assembly of Sudanese believers.

If you look, you can see him in the streets of Calcutta. Mother Teresa found him there. But he is also in Hanoi and Montreal and Lisbon and in a Haitian town called Pignon. There is a sense in which the Lord Jesus can be found wherever there is human pain and suffering. If there is a broken heart, you can find him there. If there is sadness or guilt, Jesus will be there somewhere. That's why he was called "a man of sorrows." There is a deeper sense in which you can find the Lord Jesus wherever you find his people scattered on the earth. "Where two or three are gathered together..." What's the end of that verse? "There am I in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20)

When we help his people, we are helping him.
When we dry a tear or offer a word of hope, we are serving him.
When we go the extra mile even though we are already dead tired and a bit frustrated because we don't have the time or energy and we're already behind schedule, but we do it anyway, he sees and knows what we have done, and he marks it down as if we had done it to him personally.

One day, long after we've forgotten the frustrations of this life, he will remember it. And we will be rewarded. It all comes down to this. Jesus forgets what we remember. And he remembers what we forget. You might even say that the whole gospel is in those two sentences.

Lord Jesus, give us eyes to see you in the hurting, hungry, helpless people all around us. Then give us your heart to reach out to you and for you in your name. Amen.

Deworming....check!

Every day as I walk out of my apartment, down my street, through my town, I say to Karen or she says to me, “I wonder what today will hold”

Let me tell you what today held ;)

Intestinal deworming for all of our kids!

The care center director Alberto was able to get a hold of all the medication that we needed- in syrup form for the younger ones and pills for the older kids and adults.

 It went fairly well! Of course there were those who were skeptical…had a hard time choking down the syrup…decided to chew the pill instead of swallow it…threw it into the air and tried to catch it in their mouths…but overall, it was a big success!

It is wonderful that our care center can provide this and the goal is to administer it once a year. I’ve been so excited about this day for awhile now…

Because the reality of life here includes things that were never a part of my “normal” childhood. Normal childhood here means a high probability of a parasite at one point or another. I am working as the school nurse and there are SO MANY kids who come to me with bellyaches day after day. There could be many reasons for their pain, but I think the big ones are intestinal parasites and hunger. These parasites come from contaminated water, soil, and food.

Anything that we can do to make their lives a little more comfortable and ease some of their pain is really important to me. Jesus cares about the everyday physical needs of these kids- including the worms in their bellies.

Besides these types of intestinal worms, in the past, I had a kid with a worm looking thing coming out of an open sore on his foot…and another kid who coughed up a worm and then re-swallowed it. Even though these types of things are “normal” here, it’s so not normal- and that’s why I am so happy that we were able to provide this for them this week. I think that kids shouldn’t have to worry about worms in their bodies.

And by the way, I took a pill too- just in case ;)

Jesus changes everything-there is no greater mystery-that God would come to rescue me- the kindness of my Savior calls

This week the Holy Spirit has been stirring in my soul (As He always is, but this week was really specific) 

Two things are heavy on my heart to ask the Lord every day:

-Jesus, where are you? How are you working? Please let me SEE you.

-Jesus, how do you want to be SEEN through me?

I have completed five months in the DR- five months of learning, learning, learning. I have learned wonderful things but somewhere along the way, I’ve become really concerned about being …

A good missionary

A good Sponsorship Coordinator

A good school nurse

A good team host

A good Spanish speaker

A good student of Dominican culture

A good young single woman

A good friend

I’m not saying that any of these things are bad or shouldn’t be focused on, but I am reminded that they don’t matter on their own unless I am first concerned about FOLLOWING CHRIST EVERY DAY IN EVERY WAY.

So I’ve been asking God those 2 questions this week…

-Jesus, where are you? How are you working? Please let me SEE you.

-Jesus, how do you want to be SEEN through me?

And He has been answering in big ways. Please hang with me and keep reading as I try my best to put into words one of the most meaningful experiences I’ve ever had.

Meet Elito. He’s a fourth grade boy at the care center. He is not enrolled in sponsorship, so he is not one of the ones that I meet with and I don’t know if I’ve ever even had a conversation with him before yesterday. He is not in any of Karen’s classes either and she doesn’t know him well. A few days ago Karen was talking to some other kids about being a Christian and he joined the conversations saying, “I’m not a Christian but I want to be!”

 

This Friday, Karen and I were upstairs in the care center helping kids get downstairs for Bible class when Karen pointed out Elito. We started to talk with him and again he brought up that he wanted to become a Christian. Karen told him, “You can- you just need to pray”. He said, “When?”

Right away, we asked him if he wanted to pray with us right then and there and a huge smile flashed across his face and his eyes lit up. We found an empty classroom and there began the prayer that would change his life forever…and mine too.

I asked him what he knew about Christ and explained a little more too. God is holy and perfect. We are sinners who are separated from God because of our sin. There is no way for us to reach God on our own. Because of God’s great love, he sent his own Jesus to this world, to live among us and die on the cross for our sins- carrying our punishment and paying the penalty for us. But he didn’t stay dead- on the third day he rose again from the grave!

God loves Elito. God sent his son Jesus for Elito. God wants a personal relationship with Elito. What a joy to share with Him about this incredible love. Through Christ, Elito can have a personal relationship with God and will spend eternity with Him forever.

Karen started the prayer with Elito repeating each line after her and I continued and ended.  After the prayer I tried to look at him with blurry eyes full of tears- affirming him and telling him that he is a new creation! From this day forward, he is a follower of Christ-forever in His Kingdom! I reminded him that this doesn’t mean that life will magically be easy, but that JESUS WILL ALWAYS BE WITH HIM AND HE WILL NEVER WALK ALONE. Can you think of a greater hope? A greater promise?

After the sweet time with Elito, Karen and I stayed in the classroom and continued to pray. I’m just going to write some of those thoughts and prayers that I poured out to the Lord- you can join me in praying them.

God- you always answer prayer! And almost always in ways that are way bigger than I could ever imagine. I asked you to show me how you were working and you show me a child who has heard your voice and is ready to be saved! Some missionaries labor on the field for decades praying and waiting for the privilege of leading someone to Christ. What a gift you gave me, God. I will never forget this moment. Of course you are working- your Holy Spirit is moving among hearts here and all across the globe. This boy’s conversion had nothing to do with me – I didn’t even know him before today! It had everything to do with you. Your Gospel is so POWERFUL. Your Gospel is so CLEAR.

God please strengthen Elito. Grow his faith every day. I pray that you would break down any roadblocks to him coming to the care center. I pray that he can be with us for years to come, learning your word and your love. I know that this community is dark, but he is now a light. Strengthen him when he is tempted or discouraged.

May Elito grow to be a man of God who fights for what is right and loves with the love that Christ gives. I pray that the transformation in his heart and his life will be so evident to those around him that his friends and family will ask him what has changed in him. I pray that he will share your Gospel with those around him who don’t know you yet. I pray that Elito will commit his way to you Jesus and that you would reign as the Lord of his life.

And, I pray that many more children just like Elito will come to know you SOON!

Thank you for praying with me. I am so humbled for the privilege that God gave me. I pray for you also, that wherever the Lord has you, that he will use you to share his Gospel. Maybe you don’t know Jesus yet. Deciding to follow Christ was the best decision I have ever made. Jesus changes everything. Elito’s life just changed. What are you waiting for? The kindness of our Savior calls…

laugh a little :)

"I have never met leadership without a sense of humor; this ability to stand outside oneself and one's circumstances, to see things in perspective and laugh. It is a great safety value! You will never lead others far without the joy of the Lord and its concomitant, a sense of humor."
-A.E. Norrish, missionary to India (quoted in Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders)

when the saints go marching in, i wanna be one of them

For the last several weeks I’ve been hearing about a young man who was terribly ill. He was a 19 year old who attended the local high school and lived right near our care center. His niece and nephew, Sonia and Donald, attend our care center and are very dear to me. On Wednesday, this young man died from pancreatic cancer.

On Thursday, the staff had our morning devotions and started to get breakfast set up just like every other day. It was odd that no kids were lining up at the gate like they normally do. We found out that all the kids were at this young man’s home for his wake- here called the “velorio”. Public school was also cancelled so that everyone could pay their respects.

It was decided that our care center staff would also go to the wake, but just about the time we were going to exit the care center, the funeral procession was approaching the care center. Leading the procession was a pick up truck with the casket, flowers, and family members in the back of the truck and more family members inside the truck. Following this pick up truck was almost the entire community. Our van was leaving at this same time and ended up becoming part of the procession. The vehicles and all the people walked the rest of the road by the care center, carefully crossed the river, and then prepared for the long treck to Montellano.

What I didn’t realize was that all of those people (mostly students) would be walking the whole way to the bigger town where I live and where the cemetery is. So off we go, following the pick up truck with the casket and the crowd of community members following by foot. Our van started with 20 people inside but before too long, I think had closer to 30 between those who were crammed in and people hanging out the doors and holding on, standing on the bumper. Along the way, a few more vehicles joined, but most of the procession was people on foot.

It was incredibly moving to see literally the whole community make the journey to the cemetery. This culture is very community oriented and that can be a beautiful thing. This young man had been orphaned but had an older sister who had been taking care of him in his illness. He was a student, so all the students, from kindergarteners to eighth graders, came. The trip from Caraballo to Montellano is somewhere between a mile and a mile and a half on a terrible rocky road. In a vehicle, it takes about 15-20 minutes. This procession took an hour and a half.

I was amazed at the little ones walking so far, some with broken shoes or no shoes in the hot island sun. I was in disbelief at the pregnant women walking the whole way. I’m not the best estimator, but I’m not exaggerating when I say that I think there were about 300 people at least in the procession. I’ve been in a funeral procession before, but always in vehicles. It is a completely different feel when it is mostly people walking. From the truck in front of us, I could hear people singing hymns and crying… Little ones running back and forth…teenage boys trying to hop on motos that come by…it was quite the experience.

Like I said, about an hour and a half later, we approach the bigger town of Montellano where the entire public high school also joins the procession on foot. I estimate this to be at least another hundred people. This young man was their classmate so class was cancelled for them to all walk to the cemetery. The procession continued to march on until reaching the cemetery. The family and many others entered to bury their loved one. I stayed outside but saw many women wailing at their loss and even one who passed out. I’m guessing probably from the grief and also from the toll that the journey took on her body.

I don’t know exactly how to process that whole experience but I do have a few thoughts…The sense of community is really incredible. I mean, school was cancelled and people dropped everything to come honor this young life.

The walk to Montellano was no small feat, but I did not hear any complaining about the distance, the heat, being thirsty, how long it was taking…nothing.

A death always reminds me about the urgency of the Gospel. I do not know if this young man was a believer. It gives me a renewed passion to share Christ with the lost because none of us know how much time we have left here.

I’ve never been with a group that large (of so many different ages) walking that far of a distance. It was a very unique experience for me. In some ways, I wondered if that’s what the Israelites were like- just the mass of people walking- along the crowd you see ladies talking, teenagers holding hands, kids running back and forth…it was just a neat picture.

If you think of it, please be praying for this young man’s family and the whole community as they grieve this loss. Join with me in praying that those who don’t know Jesus will turn to him at this time.