A Call to Love

 The needs are great. It is estimated that over 700 million people don’t have enough food everyday. Over one billion people have inadequate access to water. Worldwide, 2.2 million children die every year because they are not immunized, and 1.4 million die each year from lack of adequate sanitation and access to safe drinking water. Malaria is responsible for killing one million people each year. Forty million people are living with HIV/AIDS, and 15 million children are orphaned due to this disease.¹

These statistics are enough to make us angry, they are enough to make us upset, but are they enough to make us act? Oftentimes, that answer is no. But why?

For many of us, we are overwhelmed by the problems. We know that we cannot even begin to fix or solve the problems relating to poverty. We can’t feed 700 million people every day, and we can’t adopt 15 million children. We make ourselves think that we cannot do anything to solve these problems.

But the reality is that if you think that way, the Devil has you exactly where he wants you.

Let’s look at the life of Jesus. Jesus healed hundreds, if not thousands, of people when he was on earth, but they eventually died. Jesus fed the 5,000, but they were hungry the next day. And yet, He still did it. Why? Because His mission was to show His children His love for them.

I can’t feed all the hungry people in Puerto Barrios, not to mention all of Guatemala, or the entire world. Even if I do feed them one meal, they are going to be hungry again soon. In the past, I, at times, found myself feeling defeated and questioning why I even try. But then it hit me. My mission is not to solve all their problems, but point them in the direction of the One that can. My mission is to show them His love.

Jesus healed and fed people in order to show them His love. Of course it hurts Him to see His children in pain and hungry, but what hurts Him even more is knowing that they will spend eternity apart from Him.

God doesn’t call us to solve world poverty, but He does call us to love. That may lead to cooking a meal for a family that you know who is in need, that may lead you to call a friend who you know is having a difficult time, or that may lead you to donating to a non-profit organization.  Whatever it is, don’t be defeated or overwhelmed by the problem, but choose instead to love.

¹http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats

Another goodbye

Oh the past two and a half weeks in Guatemala... They definitely were faith stretching, patience testing weeks, but filled with moments of joy. 

The trip had an eventful beginning with us nearly missing our connecting flight and then a 6 hour bus rise turned into a 10 hour bus ride once we got to Guatemala because of flooded roads. 

Then to make things even more eventful, I woke up with terrible pain on day 5 of the trip. After several hours of no relief, Jen took me to the ER. After the doctor took an ultrasound, he admitted me because my kidney was severely swollen. After the X-Ray, the specialist was called in because a kidney stone was causing an 100% blockage and surgery needed to be performed to remove the stone. 

After my hospital stay, I wasn't allowed to do anything for 5 days. The specialist left the night of my surgery for Guatemala City so knowing that no one would be available to fix me if I screwed something up kept me from doing much.  Plus for the first several days I needed to use the bathroom every 20 minutes which prevented me from going out of the house often. Stents are not fun!!!

Then after those 5 days, the doctor said I should "take it easy" and not run or lift things for 10 more days. 

But even though all these things happened and I was frustrated and hurting at times, there was no place that I would have rather been than Guatemala. And although this trip surely was not what I was expecting, many positive things did come out of it. 

For one, this time allowed me to strengthen the relationships with the kids and moms at the dump. The more time I spend with them, the more I understand their problems and how deeply they are rooted. The more I know about them, the better I am able to help and pray for them. Because in reality, some of these problems are so deep that there is absolutely nothing I can do to help. But God in all His wonder has the power to change things.

This trip was also filled with little blessings that I pray were encouragements to people. After praying, I came up with a list of 5 families that I knew were struggling. Bekah and I went to the grocery store and bought 2 carts full of food. We divided it and delivered them to the families. Seeing the look on their faces was such a blessing. They of course weren't expecting anything, but after looking into their eyes, you could tell the food was much needed. 

We went to the orphanage and spent time with the kids, reminding them that we have not forgotten about them and that we were praying for them often. 

One of my favorite days was when we went to the nursing home. We bought cake and yogurt and got all the residents together and just spent time talking. I also had some photos from the last trip that I handed out and the photos brought them so much joy. They thanked us so much for the visit.  You could tell it truly meant a lot to them. 

Although time and health issues prevented me from doing everything I wanted to do, I was able to prepare a lot of things for future teams such as coloring books and packs of crayons for the children's hospital. 

Good came out of this trip. There was no doubt frustrations and pain but even when I was laying in my hospital bed, God showed me the good and gave me peace.

Till next time, hasta luego Guat :)