Guatemala: Learning Humility over a Wash Basin

As I thought over my week in Guatemala, there were so many stories and memories to share...I truly had a hard time deciding what to blog about (hence the delayed blog:)

I could have written about...

the 300+ medical checks that were completed on children who have little or no access to medical care...

the old and new friends that bonded in our love for the people of Guatemala and our calling to give to the "least of these"...

the beautiful children who steal my heart and compel me to do more, give more, love more, share more...

the conquering of my fear of horses as I scaled a volcano on one...

the families living in extreme poverty and the mom who is fighting against the system to provide an education for her children despite the fact that having them stay home and work in the fields would triple her income...

the City Dump where the smell is overwhelming, trash is everywhere, vultures wait for a piece of dead animals or human remains dumped from the cemetary, and children hide in garbage trucks in order to sneak into the dump and pull food from the trash for their family...

While all of these sights tugged on my heart, our Friday activities moved me the most.  On Friday, we went to a Feeding Center in the City Dump community to wash feet and give out shoes.

There were over 300 children waiting to receive shoes from us.  We had very little time to set up. The families crowded in on us desperate for a pair of shoes.  It was chaotic and overwhelming!

Now, I had volunteered to wash feet. WHAT?  Let me say it again...I, the clean freak, the one who won't allow my children to run around without shoes, the one who wears shoes in my own home, the one who hates feet, volunteered to wash feet.

So many parts of this experience were challenging for me...the dirt, the smell, the ripped up shoes, the children pushing to get their feet in my water basin, the lack of fluent Spanish that would have allowed me to give explicit direction, the chaos..,

Despite this...it was the closest I felt to God during the entire trip.  I, the one with the power in that social situation, was humbling myself and washing their feet.  What a reversal of how it normally is when I get my pedicures!  I got to look in each child's eyes, talk to them in my broken Spanish, tell them how important school is, and pray for them in my spirit.

Their smiles were priceless!  I wasn't offering them anything, but they were waiting in line for me to wash their feet.  I was truly happy throughout the entire chaotic event.  I. LOVED. EVERY. MINUTE. OF. IT!  At the conclusion, the Pastor of the Feeding Center said..."People have brought them shoes before, but no one has ever washed their feet." 

My eyes were full of tears...we truly showed those children love!  

"The King will reply "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sister of mine, you did for me."  Matthew 25:40

The Butterfly Effect

It is hard being the second child...especially when being the second child also makes you the middle child.  (Not that I would personally know as I am obviously an oldest child :)  

Anna turned ten today!  Now, I was sad as this birthday approached because I once again realized that this would be my last, hand crafted cake for Anna.  However, the raw emotion I felt with Noah wasn't there...I mean I had been through this before...10 comes and life keeps on ticking.  See, it really sucks to be the second child!

Anna has been waiting for the this birthday for YEARS!  Why, you ask?   Because at 10, she can get her ears pierced.  So, she was approaching 10 with great excitement.

As I started thinking about her cake, I was trying to come up with something unique to her....something that would exemplify Anna.  I finally got an inspiration....butterflies! Now, those of you who know Anna probably just chuckled!  You see, Anna is often "marching to her own drum" and "chasing butterflies".  But this is not the reason I decided upon a butterfly cake.  The reason I picked a butterfly cake is because of a very involved theory know as the Butterfly Effect....

Let me explain....

In a very detailed scientific discovery, Edward Lorenz found that the details of a hurricane can be influenced by the flapping of a butterfly's wing several weeks earlier.  My friend introduced me to this theory a few years ago and it perfectly describes my beautiful, Guatemalan daughter.   You see, Anna's life has inspired several of our family and friends to adopt children.  Anna's life has influenced many people to go on a mission trip.   The little baby girl born in Guatemala is truly influencing peoples hearts for the least of these!  Do you want to know the best part?  She alone has this effect...she doesn't have to share the limelight with Noah!  Even better, Anna is oblivious to the fact that her life has set these events in motion.  Happy Birthday, My Beautiful Butterfly! 

Happy 1st Birthday!

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Happy 3rd Birthday!

Happy 4th Birthday!

Happy 5th Birthday!

Happy 6th Birthday!

Happy 7th Birthday!

Happy 8th Birthday!

Happy 9th Birthday!

Happy 10th Birthday!

As I was looking through these pictures, I realized a couple of things...
1.  I wear the same clothes a lot!
2.  The mirror is not lying...I have aged!
3.  We have lived in quite a few different houses in Anna's 10 years
4.  Time flies...my beautiful daughter is no longer a baby.  She is a young lady!  My time with her is over half done.  (OK maybe I am feeling some raw emotion!)

I Hope I Never Forget

"I don't want to remember...but I hope I never forget!"  I read this quote the other day, and it summed up my feelings/struggles as I acclimate to the United States after a life changing trip.

I don't want to remember because if I do...I MUST CHANGE!  Unfortunately, I am perfectly content in my American life...with my excess of stuff...with everything I need and almost everything I want! Change may require me to give up some of those comforts...

But, I hope I never forget!  I hope I never forget the smiling faces of the children....

I hope I never forget the babies that were dying for lack of proper nutrition....

I hope I never forget the way I felt when holding or surrounded by these beautiful children...

Since I returned I have been reading the book Interrupted  by Jenn Hatmaker.  In the book, she makes a clear case for how ALL Christians are called to care for the poor...so I will share some of her convicting quotes...

~24,000 of my sheep will die today because no one fed their bellies; 18,000 of them are my youngest lambs, starving today in a world with plenty of food to go around.  If you truly love Me, you will feed my lambs. My people are crumbling and dying and starving, and you're blessing blessed people and dreaming about your next house.

~The world knows about our Jesus.  They know about His poverty and love of the underdog.  They know He told His followers to care for the poor and to share.  So Americans living in excess beyond imagination while the world cries out for intervention is an unbearable tension and utterly misrepresents God's kingdom.  While the richest people in the world pray to get richer, the rest of the world endures unimaginable suffering...As Ghandi once famoulsy said "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians.  Your Christians are so unlike your Christ".

~If the kingdom of God belongs to the poor, the bottom dwellers, then rich American Christians are going to have the hardest time finding it.  Perhaps this is why the church is gaining ground in impoverished and oppressed regions but declining in the United States and affluent continents like Europe and Australia.  The needy world isn't interested in God because He might secure their promotion or deliver an offer on their house in a wilting market.  By the millions, they are running to the cross because the love of a redeeming Saviour is too intoxicating to resist.  

~He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.  Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me"...."I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:32-40.  It will matter only if you're a sheep or a goat.  The blessed and the lost will be separated based on one principle;  the care of the forsaken.  The End!

So, here is sit...unsure of what is next for me...knowing I must do more, give up more!  I feel lonely here!  I feel great fear here!  I feel myself clinging to what is comfortable!  But, I truly hope I never forget and I let my life be forever changed!

Smell the Separation

It was a GREAT day!   Sometimes, when you visit a third world country you see so much need that you forget to stop and see the beauty of the country.  Today, we got to see so much beauty!  My African brothers, Ety and Serge, took us to see the Congo River.  It was amazing!

We put our feet in the water.

A couple of men who we're bringing in sand on a boat let us climb aboard.

We enjoyed a beautiful lunch together.  The most exciting part was when we got to ride around in Ety's "baby car".

At the end of the day, we were heading towards the airport and the car got very quiet.  I asked Ety about it and he responded he was feeling the "smell of separation."  It is so weird how you can be in a country totally different than yours....where you look different than everyone....where you speak a different language than everyone....but yet it feels like home.  I love the children there.  My African brothers live there.  I am even getting accustomed to the crazy driving there.

When we finally said our goodbyes and hugged tight....there was a sense of sadness.  We don't know when we will see each other again.  I felt a great heaviness to leave!