Monday

Monday, March 18, 2019

“God instructs us in even the smallest details of life… He gradually lifts me to the level where I pay no attention to anything else…Be serious to your commitment to God and gladly leave everything else alone.” (O. Chambers, March 18)

How incredulous that You, Lord of All, are mindful of me. You send me a hymn, a pastor, and this morning, my friend, Mr. Chambers to speak Your truth, in unison, into me. You button up my tunic, like a good parent does to send me, ready, off to school. May I be mindful of You today as I learn about Your love in action. Amen.

The smoky morning fires greet the rising sun as we, too, rise to the fifth floor for breakfast.

The second half of our team have arrived in country and we, together with our supplies, fill the bus for clinic. We are introduced to rush hour in Honduras but find it no more perilous than our ride to the church yesterday. Eva had apologized for what it could be but I am pleasantly surprised.

I begin clinic beside a Honduran Doctor, Roger. He is a young, well-spoken, and unemployed. He tells me he is waiting for his contract to be approved. His first contract with the local hospital was for two months and now he anticipates a 10 month contract as soon as the government can decide if they have enough money to pay him. He tells me some of his graduated classmates are paid less than minimum wage. He has applied to a Residency program but there are 4000 applicants for 9 available positions. Those of his classmates who have been accepted have family members in higher ranking government jobs. He tells me he will not lose hope because God will make a way even if it isn’t the way Roger would prefer.

He is kind and gentle with the children but prefers to care for adults, he tells me. When a baby comes our way, I ask him if he would like me to see the baby and a kind of relief floods his face. He becomes my interpreter and we care for the baby together. Valivia is a 6 month old darling who comes with her mom and sister, Sofia who wears a t-shirt that says, “Hola, Adorbs!” and that becomes my greeting for all of them.

Valivia comes to my arms easily but begins to howl when I try to listen to her lungs. I find this rather helpful as she now is taking brilliantly deep breaths. Soon she calms and still allows me to check out her ears. It is obvious that this mom is caring well for her.

I am asked to move to Spiritual Counseling where I meet a mom and daughter, Diana. I begin by giving them both a Gospel Color bracelet and they tell me what the colors mean. They say they love Jesus already. When I ask them how I can pray for them, they tell me they are okay so I ask them to pray for us and the children. Mama enthusiastically tells me she will.

I end my morning as I began it, with Roger who examines a 12 year old boy named Eddie. Eddie has the most amazing smile and the most endearing dimples, or as they call them here, chocoyos. He freely shares them with any he sees and so do I. I show off him and my new Spanish word to all who will allow .

After a bit, I am pulled to CSI, our Child Safety Initiative. This area is designed to assess a child’s safety at home. Here we ask each child questions in an effort to identify kids at risk for issues of abuse. Michael is my first but I quickly find out that he prefers to be called Owen, his middle name. He reminds me much of my Owen back home. He is quiet and reserved and needs a bit of encouragement to engage with me. When he does, he tells me that there is a strange, dark man in his neighborhood who frightens him most nights at midnight. After much discovery, his teenage uncle is found and tells us of an urban legend. There is a legend of a dog that scratches on the roof and then transforms into a man to lure you out for harm. The uncle tells us that Owen believes he has heard the scratching. Fortunately, Owen also says that his mom and dad often help him feel safe when “the man” scratches.

Next, I meet Keni who is a 9 year old pale, unsmiling, ill looking boy. I try to charm him with my bag of tricks but he does not crack a smile. He tells me he has a cousin who hits him every day and cuts him with a knife. He shows me a healing cut on his thumb. He says if he tells his parents, they will punish him.

I call over Ana who is the facilitator for this project and she goes to find out about the family. When she returns, she tells me there is a strong history of violence in the home. His mother has come to the center asking for help and seeking sponsorship for him but, Ana tells me, there are no openings for new sponsorships yet.

No wonder he doesn’t smile, I think, and begin to pray. As my heart is breaking for him, God takes hold of my tunic and shakes the boy out of my hands and back into His. Ana will bring Pastor Joel into this equation and God will be in charge of the rest.

At pharmacy, I sit my friend next to Daniel and take their picture. This begins a journey as he is transformed from the withdrawn little boy I first met into a smiling and laughing child blowing bubbles with Daniel on the porch. I can’t help but wonder if this might be one of Keni’s only positive, male role model experiences. It is a delight to simply watch the two and I marvel at how God is already ‘taking care of the rest’ through time with wonderful Daniel.

As I pause on this, I consider God’s truth found in Luke 18:27, “…The things which are impossible with men are possible with God” and I smile. It seems that Jesus has, indeed, been gradually lifting me all day, as Oswald Chambers said this morning, to the level where I can leave things in His hands, though admittedly with a bit of tunic shaking in the process.