yesterday i received the most wonderful package in the mail... sterile syringes! whoo. i feel a tad light headed being even remotely in proximity of them, but i suppose it's nice to know that i won't be stabbed with disease-ridden needles anytime soon.
i am really hoping and praying that i am challenged on this trip, but that God will help guide me through difficult situations with an open heart and mind. sometimes i think it's difficult to know how to respond to certain things and to really put yourself in the shoes of the people you're helping.
i've gotten the opportunity to go to el salvador twice on mission trips. my church here at home (upper room) sponsors a community in el salvador through an organization called world vision. specifically, i sponsor a little boy named francisco. the sponsorship provides them with things such as an education and medical care. on both trips, we've gotten to hang out with our kids for a couple hours at a fiesta. it's a big party with music, clowns, pizza and games. typically part of the family accompanies their child. this summer, francisco's entire family (dad, mom and little sister) came along.
we had just finished playing soccer (and by playing soccer, i mean francisco spent most of the time laughing at my severe lack of skills) and eating pizza, when francisco's dad pulled out a crumped up piece of construction paper. because they speak spanish and my 5 years of middle school/high school latin has done me absolutely no good, world vision hires translators for us. he handed rollie, my translator, the paper and asked him to read it to me. the letter started out by thanking me and telling me how blessed they felt to have me be a part of their lives. then rollie started looking extremely uncomfortable as he continued reading. "we are about to lose our home within the next couple of weeks. the bank is taking it from us and we will not have anywhere to live. we will be on the streets. we know that you build houses on your trips, so we were wondering if you could come back soon and build us a house? we really need a place to live."
well, obviously that isn't the easiest thing to respond to. i looked at rollie in complete shock and asked, "what the hell am i supposed to say to that???"
i think i somehow managed to stutter out an "i will try my best," knowing that it's not really a promise i could make. world vision decides who receives the houses and there are so many things that they take into consideration. i wanted to say, "how about i kidnap you guys and bring you to live with me in the united states?" but i figured that might be frowned upon. to make things worse, their daughter had an unbelievably bad cough... the kind that rattles your bones and comes from more than just a cold. because she isn't sponsored (although i'm working on that part), her family couldn't afford to take her to a doctor.
it was a heartbreaking situation and i know that there's much more where that came from, especially since i'll be with kids who have seen poverty and disease overwhelm their lives. the conditions some people are "living" in are appalling... even back here in the states. i suppose i can only pray that i'll do a sufficient job loving them, making them smile and pointing them in the right direction.
i realize that this was an exceptionally depressing post, so i am going to leave you with a heartwarming, very cute story.
at the end of the fiesta, francisco's mom started talking to rollie. rollie looked at me and said, "the family was wondering if you could send more pictures of yourself? every night before he goes to bed, francisco holds your picture and prays for you. it's so worn out though that they can hardly see you anymore."
life is more than money. time was never money. time was never cash... life's more than fame and rock and roll and thrills. all the riches of the kings end up in wills. we got information in the information age but do we know what life is outside of our convenient lexus cages? --switchfoot
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