If you’re staying on track with me, you’ll know that my last blog ended with my team and me taking a cab to our lodging for this month. We are in Latacunga, Ecuador, just a little south of Quito. Our ministry this month involves working with the orphanage called For His Children. We have an apartment that is attached to the orphanage. I have to say, this is by far the nicest living accommodations we’ve had. There are two bedrooms, complete with BEDS WITH SHEETS, as well as two bathrooms with HOT SHOWERS, and a full kitchen and refrigerator. We are living large. Oh, and there is internet access as well as washers and dryers here so it’s much more convenient.
Upon our arrival, we knew that we would have to find food since the kitchen was not stocked, so we entered the room (Casa Esperanza, which means Hope House) with all of the kids, expecting a bunch of adorable toddlers to be wandering around. We were greeted by 13 kids with special needs, 6 who are in wheelchairs. There are 5 healthy children who live on the first floor. Keep in mind that we hadn’t gotten a legitimate night’s sleep in over 48 hours. It was overwhelming and having to go get in another taxi to acquire groceries was not on the top of our list of things to do. While conversing with the Tias, the caretakers, about the best place to purchase groceries, I felt a sharp pain in my arm then an eye-watering and completely shocking pain in my hand. One of the kids decided that a good way to greet me would be to pinch my arm as hard as she could then bite down on my hand with all her might. I was so surprised that I pushed her down without even realizing it. We would later learn that she does not handle meeting new people well and her defense mechanism when she is upset is to pinch and bite. Yep, thanks for the head’s up with that one, my sleep-deprived emotional state would have responded better with that knowledge ahead of time. Good start with the kids, eh?
I’ll spare you the details of how we ate dinner at a mall that took 45 minutes to acquire (it was fast food, ha not so fast…it really wasn’t funny at the time), went to find that the grocery store had closed 10 minutes before we were able to get there, and how we pretty much slept for the entire next day to recover from our crazy travel. We shall resume with what ministry actually looks like. It feels like a 9-5 job where we help entertain the kids in the morning which can look like dancing, watching a movie, going on walks (the best option!), feeding them snack and lunch, helping with stretching, you name it. We are here to love on these kids as best as possible. It has been both overwhelming yet oh so rewarding simultaneously. If I’m being completely honest, it took me a while to overcome my gag reflex during feeding time. They are not clean eaters which took some getting used to.
Interestingly, during my devotional time today (Sunday, September 14), I was directed to read James 1. If you know anything about it, you’ll recall that James 1:27 is a very uplifting verse for the type of ministry we are currently in:
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
I found this to be extremely encouraging because when some of the tasks and hours of the day seem monotonous or like they don’t mean anything, this will serve as a reminder of the value of our ministry for this month.
Now that we have made it through two weeks of ministry, everyone on the team is able to understand, communicate with, and successfully feed most of the kids. We have learned so much and being able to make some of these children smile is one of the best gifts of the day. These are the places that the Lord shows up without any doubt. We were even fortunate to witness an adoption our first full day of ministry. The Tias had a part with music and each of them said something nice about the child to the adoptive mother. What a treat to experience and definitely a sign of God’s presence here.
All of this has gotten me to think about what it must be like to deal with some of the challenges these kids face. Many of them have cerebral palsy and all have open cases. We took the opportunity to read some of their stories, and let me tell you, they are heartbreaking. It is clear that these kids are smarter than one might first expect, and I’ve felt for them so much when their bodies are incapable of doing what their minds know. There are three who have books with countless pictures and if asked a question, they can point to the pictures to communicate. These same three also use iPads. It is truly amazing how smart they are. The orphanage gives them many opportunities to grow beyond just feeding, bathing, and general caretaking. Many attend school, a physical therapist and psychologist come twice a week, and they have doctor check-ups as well. If you had to end up in an orphanage, this is the one you would want to come to. All of these things are good, but they still don’t answer the question of why God might create individuals this way. We are all, regardless of our circumstance, created in God’s image. I know without a doubt that God loves these children, yet they were born with such difficult challenges to overcome. Why? It’s hard to know.
My team and I have discussed the fact that we think the kids who are less able to communicate, or who don’t communicate at all, have a greater connection to the Father. They will frequently gaze off and quietly laugh to themselves which has made us all think they can see things that the rest of us are unable. Maybe they can see angles, or some other heavenly vision, but it feels like an amazing gift that they would have that ability. It also seems just like the Father to give them deeper insight despite their physical limitations. These are still hard things to consider.
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As for me, well, the Lord is working on my heart every single day. The biggest lesson I’ve learned, or rather the characteristic that the Lord has helped me identify, is that I am more of a Martha than a Mary. Getting things accomplished, doing the right thing, working hard, these are all things that I often get my worth from, which isn’t what my Father in heaven wants for me. He wants me to be like Mary, who sat at the feet of Jesus despite the busyness of life. I often wake up in the mornings feeling anxious about getting things done. What is silly is that I am on the World Race and apart from ministry, I really do not have things that must get accomplished other than those expectations that I place on myself. Sounds like a good system, right? Nope. I’ve learned that the best possible place for me is in the Father’s peace and love, regardless of what needs to happen that day. I’m learning how to be still and rest with Jesus because that’s all He wants. If the Trinity had a love language, I believe that it would first and foremost be quality time. God doesn’t care what you get done in a day, nor is He particularly interested in your accomplishments because He gave you the abilities to achieve them. What He craves and yearns for is your time, your invitation to have Him sit with you in every aspect of your life. With this knowledge, my phrase for this month is Be Mary/Merry. I intend to continually seek the rest that comes only from the Father and consequently, I will be merrier in the process.
