As promised our work day started off the same...we hit the warehouse to stock up for the day. Then we headed to a literal sanctuary. The property is owned by the family of one of the Honduran ministry leaders and is at the far end of a winding dirt road. The distribution was held there and the people of the village located just down the road were invited to come to the camp to receive their food boxes. I met a sweet boy named Jonathan who was six years old. He We threw a frisbee back and forth for quite some time and while we encounter tons of children asking for toys, not once did he ask. So it was awesome to go find him and give him the frisbee to keep. I also met a sweet little girl named Michelle. Little did I know when I met Michelle originally (she was the first child I spoke to today) that God chose her to meet me. Mekyla sent a purse with me that she prayed about and wanted to give to a little girl in Honduras. She wrote her a note translated into Spanish by my friend. Mekyla wrote her name, that she was sending this special toy and that she wanted to pray for her and her family. Later on during the distribution, I asked one of the interpreters to let me know when she saw a family come through with one little girl (so not to upset another, since I only had one gift). I told her about the special gift and asked her to tell the family about it for me. Much to my surprise, Michelle's family came through the line soon after. It was clear that God chose her for me to give this special gift to, in Mekyla's honor. Naturally, I took a photo and we will put it in Mekyla's room and pray regularly for Michelle and her family. I also pray that Mekyla will know the impact of her gift and more importantly, her prayers.
Here's the first picture of a child I took today. It was of Michelle, who was all smiles when she saw her picture on my camera screen, but was all business when she was posing for the photo. Also included, a picture of her family.
Today was rough emotionally. At the first distribution we had to turn people away who were not on the list. That is never a welcome feeling, nor is it fun. Because the grounds belonged to a member of the ministry, we were able to stay there to eat our lunch down by a creek. A couple of little girls followed us down and were wanting a food box. They were told to talk with their pastor, to which they responded they didn't attend church. That's hard! It seems that we had an opportunity to give these girls a gift and to share Jesus with them through that, but we turned them away. That is the hardest part about this entire journey. If we took one extra box for them, that would take away someone else's blessing. It's a nice lesson to learn, that WE are not big enough. We cannot do enough. We cannot give enough. We cannot conitrbute enough. Only one source is exponential. That is God. We cannot forget that he plans every detail. I have never felt more confident in my life that God plans every detail of every single day...from meeting Michelle right off the bus, to a woman with sever kidney pains being prayed over today and her pain ceasing completely, to helping our friend with his finances, and two families in our group who live in different cities knowing and praying for the same friend to be saved...though they themselves never met until they got here. GOD IS PERFECT. His timing is perfect, and while I might not feel like being in the heat and sweating more than ten people put together, God's timing is perfect and I am confident that He has each and every one of us right where we need to be.
As we left our second distribution, the pastor of the church asked if we would give his son, daugher-in-law and grandson a ride home, as he lived quite a ways from our distribution site and it was on our way back to El Progreso. His baby was about a year old and I knew I had some of Kreid's old toys in my bag. I gave the little boy a rattle and his face just lit up. I could not stop watching him smile and shake his new rattle. It was adorable, for one, and heartwarming to think that something so small in our world would make such a big difference in his. So we were talking with the man (through a bi-lingual team member) and asked if he needed more. It was our last distribution of the day, so we were able to give him a little extra for he and his wife. He graciously accepted the extra pants and shirts, but said he really needed shoes. My friend Emilee offered her shoes, but they were a size too small. So I took mine off to see if they would fit him. Sure enough, he said they were a perfect fit. I asked the translator to tell him that I was sorry they were so nasty (sweaty feet had been in them all week). He laughed and said he would gladly wash them. Emilee gave her shoes to his wife and she and I went the rest of the way back to the hotel in socks. Unfortunately, I only had one pair of close-toed shoes with me, so I had to be taken to the shopping center (which is similar to a small mall in the U.S.) to buy some new shoes at payless to wear for the next two days. Since Thursday is the last day of distribution, I will wear them until then and give them away Thursday. I'll be sure to pack my flip flops the next time though. :)
What an amazing day, given by an amazing Creator. If you know nothing else, know that God has perfectly planned everything. If he can perfectly plan for 25 selfish, sweaty, smelly North Americans to come together to lay foundations for Christ in the lives of hundreds of Honduran people in just one short week, then I am confident that every detail has been planned for my life, your life and all the days ahead.
I was reminded today that God is gracious enough to remind us that he's perfect, even when we should have figured that out by now.
Perfectly placed,
Delilah
1 comment:
You are amazing! How generous is it that you (and others) offer your own shoes!?!? That's something, unfortuneatly, many of us will never know in our lifetime.
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