Thursday, June 10, 2010

Day 5 - Wednesday 9

Back to the grind today. Back to what we do best - build. Today was a day to clean up loose ends - we went back to previous spots and finished projects that we had already started. Two groups went to finish the two houses started on Monday, and one group went to finish the repairs that were started on Sunday. Everything thing turned out fine...eventually.

My group was able to return to our initial project from Sunday - the renovation of part of a house. We began this task thinking it was going to be a piece of cake. Let me rephrase that; we began this task thinking it was going to be a piece of mud. We were scared half to death with stories of how muddy this job would be. The name assigned it was “the mud site,” for goodness-sakes. We had now returned to finish what we started. The Mud Site 2: Revenge of the Underlying Rock Layers.

Our job was simple: Finish one wall and complete the other two. Complete the roof. Job...complete. That doesn’t sound so bad, now does it? When we had left the site, we had left quite a mess. This wasn’t a mess we had created, though. The mess was this lady’s livelihood. She collected sand, gravel, stones, you name it. Her collection is apparently how she makes money, selling these objects is how she makes her money. The area we had to work with was full, FULL, of this stuff. One hundred pound bags of sand. Huge rocks. It was full of some heavy and hard to move things. We were able to work around most of it on Sunday, but the task was going to get increasingly more difficult.

When we arrived today, we saw the area had been cleared. Bag after bag, mound after mound had been moved. The sigh of relief had to have been heard from miles away. She told us she had worked and worked to get this area ready for us when we came back. She didn’t even know if we would ever come back! She had faith we would return. Until the other day, we didn’t even know if we could make it back, but she knew.

Another thing that made this site impossible was the amount of shoveling and digging involved. The room we were building was on a slope. The slope was made of stone. “You can’t build a room on a slope,” you say. You’re right; you can’t. That means we had to level it. After working on it on Sunday, it seemed like no progress had been made. We had to do it...again...until it was done. Finally we can get the boards going and raise the walls. What’s a room without walls?

As the roof was being placed, the walls were being finished board by board. Once we ran out of wood (meaning we didn’t get to finish...again), the last step was the open the room with an internal door. That wasn’t the easiest thing I’ve ever seen done. Through the complicated mess, it was finished. She now has a working room that will not flood every time it begins to rain.

One of our tasks today was the find out the story behind the woman we were working for. When we asked her, she told us a story that would make anyone’s heart break for her. She told us she is married. She used to go to church. A couple of years ago, her relationship with her husband took a turn for the worse - he married another woman without divorcing her! Her husband feels no remorse for this; he even lives with both of them. Some time with her, some time with the other. He does nothing to help with raising their kids. He comes and eats her food. He comes and uses her resources. He leaves without so much as one cent or lifting one finger for the little kids. She is forced to do it all and is struggling to keep her head above water.

Knowing these back-stories is so valuable. It puts a face to the work you are doing. It gives motivation. It makes you want to help more and more. I want to give my all for these people who have been wronged. I want to help these kids that get mistreated for no faults of their own. One of her daughters was constantly by our side, both today and Sunday. She was the sweetest girl you could ever meet. Even though our languages kept us from communicating much, her smile said enough. Every time you looked at her, a huge grin would come to her face. She was so sweet and gentle - she was the kind of girl you just can’t help but want to rescue. Rescue her from any pain. Rescue her from any hardships she might have to face. I wanted to save her from a life full of abuse and starvation.

Some of the things she did were astounding. I told you about her writing notes to us on Sunday. It just got better today. She wrote a couple more notes - these notes being much longer than the first ones. They were well written compositions saying such kind things. I couldn’t believe some of the things she said. She praised us for our service. She praised God for bringing us here. She told Brenna that she wished she and Brenna were neighbors, so they could be best friends. She said some truly touching things.

There was one instance that blew me away. I was shown Jesus today by this little girl. My wife had gotten some dirt on her arm. No big deal. Happens all the time. The girl had mentioned it, but, since it was in Spanish, my wife had no idea what had been said. The girl left, and my wife thought nothing of it. Minutes later, the girl returned with a wet cloth and began to wash the dirt from the arm. I’ve never seen Jesus so vividly before. She washed the dirt from my wife’s arm without wanting or needing in return. She placed herself in the position of a servant - only wanting to serve. My wife could do nothing but turn her head and hold back tears. This girl who has nothing, who goes hungry very often, longs to be a servant still. A few minutes later, she brought the cloth back out and helped me wash dirt from my legs. What a beautiful gesture.

From there, we handed out food bags. We walked down the very same street and stopped from house to house giving out free food. The faces on the unsuspecting families were awesome. They were exhilarated to be receiving such a great gift. For no reason, they got enough food to feed their family for two weeks. Once they saw 35-40 people and a big red truck pulling down their street, they all rushed out to see what was going on. My wife also began the ballyhoo which is giving out toys to a group of kids. Once one toy appears, the kids multiply. Word travels faster than the speed of light, and, pretty soon, you can’t keep up. Kids all around you with their hands stretched as high as they can stretch them. Everyone wants something. Everyone wants anything. Living in these conditions, a pen or a pencil is a luxury. Kids are denied schooling all the time because their parents cannot afford to buy them supplies. Things like that blow me away - pens and pencils are a huge deal. Objects in which we place no value are treasures to these people.

After some shower time, we headed to the Jesus Statue for a fellowship with area churches. We provide the meal, pizza and pop, and we share in singing and praying. Looking around me, I saw so many fellow Christians. People from a world away worshipping the same God I worship. How cool is that? When we began to sing, I could see their hearts and feel their words. I don’t know what they said, but praise to my God is music to my ears. I love to know that the world is full of disciples. We are not alone. Everywhere in the world, Jesus is being preached. Everywhere in the world, God is being proclaimed and exulted. God is at work.

God, thank you for the gift of today. Thank you for every great thing that has been given to us. Thank you for safety on the trip so far. Thank you bringing us to the people in Honduras that need us. Thank you for directing our way and speaking through us. I love to see you at work in this country. Through all the bad and scary things we witness here, you are at work. Your glory is shouted from street corners and orphanages. You are the God of this city. You are the Lord of this nation. Help us to show it every day and in every action we make. Help our group to remain focused for our last days. Help us to remember the mission.

God, a special prayer for what you have shown me this week. Thank you for tearing down certain walls that I have put around me. I have always seen you as my God. I have always seen you helping and solving my problems. You are great to me - that isn’t the issue. The issue is You are so much greater than I am. You are so much bigger. You are here in this country. You are in the lives of all the homeless and poor. You are in the lives of the orphans and the single mothers. You are in every whore-house and dump. God, you are not just at work in me. You are everywhere and in everything. Thank you for making that evident to me this week. Help me to share you and your power - keeping for myself is not an option. You are for all. God, thank you for being bigger than I am.


Andrew Moore

2 comments:

Tater_Pez said...

Your words and thoughts are very humbling Andrew. May God continue to bless this team and it's work. Thank you for being there to show God and to see him.
Tate

jennybortell@blogspot.com said...

Andrew,
Every morning my kids and I gather around the computer to read your blog. It's the first thing we do in our day. Our God is being served. How beautiful to follow along with your days. Thank you so much for sharing. Jenny, Lacey, and Lane