God is soo good to me! Wednesday and Thursday I got the wonderful opportunity to go with Dick Rutgers (and Dad, Carissa and Taryn...) into the villages... which I have been itching to do since I was back in the states. How awesome it is to have such incredible examples of how to be like my Jesus!
Dick (like my Dad says) is probably the closest thing to Jesus you'll ever meet. Well, both him and my Dad.. And having both of them together is incredible! Dick moved here about 11 or 12 years ago. Going out into the villages is only a fraction of his ministry here in Guatemala. It is a pleasure to have met him.. let alone spend 2 days with him in ministry!
On our trip, Wednesday afternoon, we went to a little girl Jessica's family's house. (Jessica is currently in Hermano Pedro Hospital because of her malnourishment.) We stopped there to see about putting a huge tank in place because they only get water for 1 hour every other day. They fill buckets, containers, pitchers, etc.. anything they can find to help store the water for when the water's not running. While we were there, we also learned about a rash Jessica's brother (Hector) had on his head. We spent Wednesday evening buying the tools necessary to put in the tank and also finding the medicines that would best take care of little Hector's rash.
Bright and early we went to breakfast and then off to Jessica's house to teach momma how to apply the creams to Hector's rash and also to put in the 200 gallon tank we purchased.... and it only took us about an hour to do it!
Our second stop was to Sergio's house. Sergio is a 20 year old young man who's wheelchair needed repaired. This was a big deal because he relys on his wheelchair to go to and from school everyday. No wheelchair, no school. Having not known what the problem might have been, Dick brought all his tools in case of anything. Thankfully, the only problem was t hat the wheelchair's battery slid out of place because of all the harsh hills Sergio has to climb on his way to school. Since we were there, Dick also made adjustments to it..and made it a little faster for him. ;)
Third stop was to Herlindo's house. Herlindo is a 6 year old little guy who's been through quite a lot. Just a few months ago, his older brother Ronnie passed away from Muscular Dystrophy only at the age of 17. Showing signs of some sickness, his parents assumed Herlindo had it too and quite frequently reminded him of the fact. Having concern, Dick took the little guy to the doctor to get all kinds of tests done.Thankfully, he doesn't have it! but because of the very bad drinking water the family has, he has the worst kind of parasite.. We went there to teach his parents the dosages of the medicines...and also to bring yet another water filter to them. Hopefully after having a doctor call and explain that they really need to be using the water filters, they will finally put it to use this time.
Before I went and during the trip, I prayed God would teach me what He wanted me to learn.. and He did.
Seeing all that the families had broke my heart. Dick's teams actually built houses for 2 of the 3 families to replace the shanties they used to live in. Seeing the old, tattered clothes the kids wore, the rotting teeth of the beautiful kids, and to see the situations these people are in, I am so thankful for all I have. I am ashamed of all the times I complain when I don't get everything I want. It makes me frustrated when I wake up every morning and don't give God thanks because of the beautiful, clean, and protective house I have. How could I be so selfish? I have way more than I need and complain about what more I want when there are people who have literally next-to-nothing.
God also showed me their brokenness and the lack of hope. After helping Jessica's family with Hector's medicine and the water tank, we prayed with them before we left. After praying, Momma looked us in the eyes and gave a sincere thank you and choked up while doing it. With my little bit of Spanish, I was able to understand the pain they've gone through. After a year and a half when their father passed away, it has been a real struggle for them to keep going....How could they have hope when they have to live wondering where the next meal is going to come from, having to wear old, torn clothing because there is nothing else in their wardrobe, when they have to hike down that mountain to get more water because all they collected in their precious one hour wasn't enough? How can hey have hope when we as Christians have failed to show it to them? It is our job to show them all they have in Christ despite what they see when they look in their home. It is our responsibility to show them the worth they have in Jesus Christ.
It is our responsibility to be Jesus to them because if we don't, they will die never having met Him and they will pass down hopelessness to their children and their children's children.
That's what I want to do with all of my heart. To bring hope to the hopeless. To love the unloved. To give worth to the abandoned. I want to share Jesus Christ with these people because if I don't, who will? He died for everyone of us, so don't you think everyone of us deserves to learn about Him? Doesn't everyone deserve the chance to get to know Him? That is my heart and passion.Though I have no idea how I'm going to do it as of now. Though I don't have the means yet to do it. Though I am only 17, I am determined to do it. This is what God has called me to do and where He calls, He provides. I know He is enough for me because He has always been enough.
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