A Walk in Their Shoes

The phrase "spring break" typically brings to mind beaches, sun, freedom from stress, and hanging out with friends. When I think back on Spring Break 2013, my memories will be quite different from those images--and I wouldn't ever trade them.

Twelve of us from Covenant had the privilege and blessing of going through World Relief and Mission to the World's program called "Walk in My Shoes". The coordinators use a variety of teaching techniques that rely on surprises and the unexpected, so I cannot share many details or pictures. What I can do is strongly encourage you to PARTICIPATE in this program yourself!! The week challenged all of us in many ways, but taught us so much about refugees, cultures from around the world, our culture, and ourselves. 

Here are some of the lessons and memories I will treasure from this week:

- Political refugees come from all backgrounds (poor and rich, educated and illiterate), from around the world (depending on where conflicts are) and go through an extremely difficult process (leaving everything to live in the awful conditions of camps, pleading their case, learning different languages, adjusting to a complicated culture, and sooooo much more)

- We got to help a number of existing programs that serve the Clarkston community

Kristopher Woods After School Program, Friends of Refugees, Mommy and Me ESL classes, Refugee Sewing Society, etc

- Everyone has a story. Be willing to ask questions and listen rather than stereotyping them.

- God is a God of diversity. Here in the US we have so many cultures around us that we often overlook or disregard.

- Getting involved means doing the next thing God has in front of you. Again, listen to His call--whatever it is!

(There's a branch of World Relief in Modesto http://worldreliefmodesto.org/--you can help by grocery shopping, picking up people at the airport, etc. It's not hard and it's right in our backyard)

- God provides EXACTLY what we need when we need it. HE IS FAITHFUL!!

- Getting to know members of the Covenant community I do not normally interact with.

Thank you so, so much for your prayers and support. I would LOVE to share more stories and thoughts if you're interested. Please let me know :)

We climbed Stone Mountain

Break between soccer and the after school program

Counting Down to Spring Break

I'm not going to lie. I'm pumped about Spring Break this year! It'll be a great time to do something different that will take me out of my comfort zone and make great memories with fellow Covenant students. So, I've decided to go to Clarkston, GA!

Not your typical Spring Break destination, I know. I'll be partnering with Mission to the World and World Relief in their work there with refugees. We'll be put through some simulations (they're surprises, so I have no idea what they'll involve), learn about the numerous cultures there, and serve wherever possible. You can find out a bit more about the community at http://outcastsunited.com/content/outcasts-united-team-town-coach.

The trip is March 2-10, so about a month away!! I wish I could let you know more so you could pray specifically, but honestly that's all I know and I'm okay with just following God. I know He's at work and that He delights in using and shaping those who are willing to follow His lead. As it approaches, I covet your thoughts, encouragement, and mostly prayers.

Prayer Requests:

-Praise the Lord for the funding to go on this trip. Thank you specifically to those who donated towards my internship this summer--the extra funding covered the cost of the trip.

-Pray for our team as we get to know each other so that we might serve and learn well together. There are 12 of us going, including my roommate Joannne--I'm so excited to be doing this with her!!

-I would really appreciate prayer for energy throughout the semester. Most days I don't feel like I have time to breathe, and definitely not to rest. So please pray that I will make resting in God a priority and serve joyfully even when I'm worn down.

Life's a Learning Process

So much has happened in the last year that it was sort of hard to process when I finally had a break. Over Christmas, I found that going month by month and reviewing what happened helped tremendously. Being fond of lists, organizing my thoughts by month came naturally. So here's the list of lessons God saw fit to teach me.

Some of them were familiar lessons that I needed review of; some were new insights into God, life and myself. Some were obvious and spoken into my life by people God placed in my path, and others weren't clear until I was looking back on them. I hope in posting them here my lessons will be constantly before me as a reminder of God's grace and continued work in my life. I do not have these down pat, but that's why God has been working on these areas of my life.

January: I am capable of inflicting a great deal of pain and hurt others deeply more often than I realize.

February: Life is not meant to be lived alone. I need God and community.

March: I need to be "more assertive" and to "stop trying so hard to hide [my] God-given talents."

April: God's plan is much better than my idealized dreams.

May: I love Ripon more than I often let on.

June: Home can be anywhere around the world.

July: My heart is not mine to give away.

August: Our God gives us passions for a reason, and stewarding them well involves "cultivation".

September: All relationships must be firmly rooted in Christ.

October: Forgiveness comes from God. Forgiving those who deeply hurt or humiliate you is a lot harder than I tend to think.

November: Mentors come in many forms. Wisdom is meant to be shared and can be spread in a variety of ways.

December: "Lord, what a journey you've taken me on so far" and "Behold, I am the Lord's servant. Let it be unto me as You say."

Saying Goodbyes

I hate saying goodbye. This week has been rough because I really don't know if the kids will show up to the next event or not. Monday was the last ESL; Tuesday the last Kids' Club; today the last time with the street kids and the last trip to the river. Tomorrow is my last actual day of ministry, and I'm not looking forward to leaving for the final time. I would love to stay here and keep building the relationships I have. Who knows...God may have already planned for me to come back. We'll see.

Sunday, we interns will be spending the day in San Pedro, and then we'll fly out Monday around noon. We'll be in Atlanta for debriefing July 31st and August 1st (is it really August already? I'm still in May). August 2nd I'll fly home!! After two days with family and friends, my brother and I will be driving to Georgia--another adventure in itself :) So two weeks from now, I'll be in Georgia for RA training. Crazy how fast this summer has gone and how much I've done.


Prayer Requests:

-Praise for a fantastic summer--great relationships, learning a ton, serving the Lord and having fun

-Pray for my adjustment back to the US...it's going to be tough.

-Pray for safe travels in the coming weeks.

-Praise for the memories and pray that their impact will be significant and long-lasting

Manos Suaves

There are times when you need to be tough and mean in order to get the point across. For instance, “You will die if you don’t change your lifestyle” needs to be taken seriously. But a huge part of offering medical care is being a comfort and giving of time and attention. Here are a few stories from the past weeks.

One young man came to our clinic with leg wounds that had become infected. The local hospitals are on strike again, so this was the only help he would be receiving. After receiving a very painful shot and some oral antibiotics, he expressed his great gratitude for the “manos suaves” (smooth hands) that treated him gently so that he did not feel anything but the sting of the medicine.

A few children here have needed nebulizer treatments, and often they are too young to understand why this loud machine is blowing vapor into their face. Last week, one three-year old would not have any of it. His sister tried holding the mask on, and he screamed the entire time. The next round, his grandma bounced him, and I held his hand. The kind woman kept asking him where his girlfriend was, and he’d look at me with his big brown eyes and break out into a big smile—no screaming. With the little extra attention, he got the treatment he needed plus love he was craving.

This week’s clinics involved lots of patients with long lists of lab tests to be done and prescriptions to be handed out. At one point, we had several urine samples lined up and a longer line of people waiting for meds. I took care of the analysis for one kind old woman, explained where she had to go for an additional test and that she’d have to go back to the doctor with the results. A good while later, she came to my window with her prescription, so I gathered the baggies, wrote out instructions and went outside to explain everything to her. After our a few questions, I prayed for God’s blessing. She grasped my arm and sincerely thanked me not only for the medicine but for the careful attention I had shown to her. It can be easy to get focused on the lists of medicines needed or the tests that need to be run, forgetting about the people who are behind those papers and cups. That was a good reminder that a smile and a personalized question make a big difference between completing a job and serving someone.

Seeing (via ultrasound) an unborn baby is quite the experience. This is God’s creation, one of his beloved. The children I saw were not mine, but I still felt an overwhelming love for them. It’s so exciting, knowing that God has their lives planned out and is direction their formation at this moment. He is working in the hearts and lives of their parents and siblings as well, shaping the environment into which they’ll be born.

Working Pharmacy

Inserting an IV

Helping Extract Teeth

 These are just a few of the memories I have to share that have even further motivated me to whole-heartedly pursue God and lovingly serve others. This week, I'll be doing that in La Ceiba. In a few weeks, I'll be doing that on Harambe! (my hall at Covenant). God is bringing together a great group of girls for a year of loving, learning and growing. I cannot wait to get to better know and serve these girls! It'll be hard transitioning from learning on the field to learning in the classroom again (I won't be doing more NG tube or IV insertions any time soon), but I'm very excited about it and the hard work/determination it'll require. This summer has been the experience of a lifetime, and I can't wait to see what else God has in store for this year!

Busy week!

This week has been fantastically draining!! It’s draining because of the sickness and long work days, but I’ve been learning so much! This week, we’ve got a dentist, a radiologist doing ultrasounds, and three doctors offering clinics. We’ve treated well over three hundred people these last few days and are expecting a big crowd tomorrow at our last clinic. That means a busy time in pharmacy (a wonderful job but tiring after 8 hours of reading doctors’ writing, doing math, performing lab tests and translating instructions into Spanish).

In the few breaks we get, Keilah and I have been able to observe ultrasounds, teeth extractions, injections, abscess draining and more. My wonderful team leader volunteered his body in the name of science so that Keilah and I could learn (under Erin’s careful guidance) how to insert an NG tube and IVs. I still can’t believe I put a tube up someone’s nose a few hours ago!

My time here in Honduras is drawing to a close, and I’m not ready for it to end in a little over a week. Having short-term teams come and go has made me realize how hard it is to have people come and go from your life so quickly. I’m dreading saying goodbye to the people in Armenia I’ve come to love, especially the children. I have hope in the fact that I’ll see many of them after this life, but it’s still hard to part.

I’ve got tons of really cool stories about Kids’ Club, clinics, soccer games, river days, day trips, dorm life and so much more…unfortunately free time and sleep are running short so those stories won’t make it on the blog for now, sorry.
 

Prayer Requests:

-          Praise for the completed clinics and pray for clinic tomorrow (and next week's team)

-          Praise God for the life and breath He gives us and please pray for continued strength and energy

-          Praise for friendships and how God uses them to encourage and challenge us

-          Pray that parting would draw all of us closer to God

Hope of all the Ends of the Earth

This week, we didn’t have a short-term team, so we interns had the chance to experience more of Honduras. We relaxed on the beach, took a bus through the gorgeous mountains, explored Mayan ruins, and gazed at the stars. Seeing these different sights put into perspective Psalm 65: 5-8,
 

“You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy.”

 

This week provided much needed rest and the chance to re-focus on the Creator and Savior who formed this land and people, bringing us here to share more about who He is and what He has done.

The coming weeks will be extremely full. We’ll have two teams here this week (one in Armenia and another in La Fe). Having so many people means more mouths to feed, creative transportation arrangements, and higher probability of something going wrong. BUT it also means more arms to hug the children, more mouths to spread the Gospel and more love to be shown. Missions is not about numbers or projects but about God’s glory. “Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion…You who answer prayer, to you all people will come.” (Psalm 65: 1-2) God displays Himself in the world all around us, and we have the joy of reflecting Him in our lives as well—what an honor!!

 

Prayer Requests:

·         Praise for a time of rest

·         Please pray that the coming teams will have servant’s hearts and student’s minds

·         Pray for continued energy and fresh perspective. Pray that we will not become worn down, jaded and ungrateful as we’ve been working here for a while.

·         Pray that the Hondurans will see more and more of Christ in the world around them, in us, and in themselves