Thoughts on Thriving

Hello, everyone.

     Just wanted to write one more quick blog before we head back to the states for the holidays.  As a mission team, we are taking an extended holiday because we know what’s ahead of us in the next year: a lot of work!  Starting the new year all our energy will be put in to the new school, Lord-willing opening up next fall.  We also don’t know when we’ll be coming back to the states, so we’re taking advantage of the calm before the storm to spend some quality time in the states with family and friends, getting plenty of relaxation time and, of course, doing a little bit of work too.
     But just a thought I wanted to share with you all before we head back for Thanksgiving and Christmas: just really, really take some time to look at all you have and acknowledge the Giver.  We are all so incredibly blessed, but that blessedness is all-too-commonplace for us far too often.  Our homes, our clothing, our families, our food: all of these things are “immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:7)

     Take a look at this family above.  The oldest boy’s sponsor in the states had asked Pam if she could get an update on how he was doing.  Pam had discovered that he had been sick and missed some days of school.  Once he was back in school, Pam made a plan to go visit his home and asked me if I wanted to go.  Having not climbed a mountain in a few weeks, I was eager to go.  It is an understatement to say that we were quite unprepared for what we would find up there. 

     The boy’s name is Marcel.  He is 20 years old and in the 5^th grade.  Also in the 5^th grade is his sister Kaitlin, who is 18.  Their father had passed away many years ago; about a year and a half ago, their mother also died.  But it’s not just the two of them. The little girl in the picture is Fornia. Two and a half years ago, her mother dropped her off with Marcel, Kaitlin, and-at-that-time their mother.  She’s never returned.  Olgens is the other little boy in the picture (who also happens to be in the 5^th grade).  His family decided it was better for him to live on top of this mountain with this makeshift family, than to live below with them.  We haven’t quite figured out the story as to why.  But what we do know, Olgens prefers to stay with Kaitlin and Marcel.  Their home is in shambles.  Kaitlin will go to market and buy things, move to another market and resell the items for a minuscule profit.  Marcel works the land, and by that I mean, toils about their garden of no more than 150 square feet.  The day we visited them, the only food we saw in the house was one avocado sitting on the stable.  We came back the next day and the avocado was gone.  It’s our guess that is what the four of them shared for supper that night.

     Now, I don’t write this to make you all feel bad about all the things you have.  Please know that is not my intention.  Heaven knows, when we are in the states, we will be enjoying all the sweet things that make up the holidays: the food, the events, the traditions.  But I want to tell you about this cool little family, because their story is worth telling.  These kids are awesome.  They have been dealt a very hard hand, and they are not just surviving, they are thriving.  You’ll see in one of those pictures Pam going over Fornia’s lesson with her.  Fornia can read.  That is an exceptional accomplishment here.  When asked who taught her how to read, she replied saying Kaitlin did.  After their hour-and-a-half hike home from school (about a third of it seeming to be straight vertical), they all assume their roles in house, whether it be sweeping, cooking, hauling water, whatever.  And they have a sincere love for Jesus.  He gives them their hope and strength to continue thriving.

     All too often when we pray for blessings on people, it often has a financial or materialistic tie to it, if we are being truly honest.  I often find myself when praying over people that God bless them, but not just financially but with His Spirit and joy and peace.  That is what I see in this family.  They have been completely covered in the Spirit, joy, and peace of God.  That is my prayer for all of you as we go into this crazy holiday season.

     Thank you for all your support of us in the last six months.  We are excited for what God has in store this next year!  Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Years to you all.

     Much Love.

“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better.  I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe.”

– Ephesians 1:17-19a