Yesterday, I was defeated. I missed my family, I missed my friends, I
missed my culture. I was caught up in a
sorrowful fog. I have trouble
communicating these things with my fellow teachers. Communicating in Spanish feels like so much
work sometimes, where could I begin to describe how I was feeling? They do not understand the culture where I
come from and how difficult it can be some days adjusting to this one. I felt I had nobody to rely on and honestly during
the day I kind of just wanted to go back to Nebaj and cry. I had hit a low point. But God works through our low points.
The oddest thing began to snap me out of
it, I passed by a drunk woman that was passed out on the
sidewalk. Everybody walked around her
and nobody stopped for her. People here
are used to seeing drunk people passed out on busy sidewalks. I was
one of those people walking by, I just wanted to go home, close the door, and
feel sorry for myself. Some missionary I
was huh? So I did and then I
prayed. Suddenly I knew I had to go back
out to where the drunk woman was laying.
I walked over and sat next to her on the busy sidewalk. I nudged her a few times to see if she would
wake up. She didn’t. I then stood up and went on my way with the
intention of checking on her later. Even
though the passed out drunk woman will never know I checked on her, it felt
freeing, and I felt I was walking in Him again.
It was not a comfortable thing to do, as people pointed and laughed at
me for stopping. But I knew it was the
right thing to do, we are all His children no matter how low we get.
After that, I bought a basketball for the
school and bought a couple of English-Spanish dictionaries to give to
people. As I focused on others and not
on myself, my mood began to change. When
I got back, I called my mom. It was so
encouraging to talk with her and after that, I felt like myself again.
Today was completely different. It is hard to explain this, but today, the
cultural barriers did not seem like barriers.
Yes, I am different from them, with a much different background than
they could ever imagine. Yes, I will
never know what it is like to grow up and know only the Ixil culture. However, none of that seemed to matter
today. We are all unique and all were
given our particular races to run. At
heart though, we are all brothers and sisters and love binds even the most
different of us together.
Today, schools from the Cotzal area came to
some fields outside of town for a Soccer tournament. It lasted four hours and it was kind of
boring. There was a lot of waiting and
both games ended in 0-0 scores before the penalty kicks. But I loved every minute of it. I didn’t mind the boredom, I just loved
supporting those kids. I loved when they
huddled around me and sang English songs.
I loved when they gave me high fives.
I loved when they came over to stand by me. Cultural barriers did not matter, love ruled
the day.
A
little later in the day, I had a wonderful Bible study with one of the teachers
in the park. Communication was difficult
but it did not seem to matter too much, not on this victorious day! As we were studying, children came over (a
frequent occurrence) and I asked them if they had read the Bible. They said no and asked me what was in it with
a child like curiosity. They attended
the Catholic church but had no idea what the Bible says about Jesus. Very few people here read the Bible for
themselves. How wonderful it would be if
the majority of the people in this supposedly Christian village read the Bible!
That is a good dream.
Lord, thank you for answering my prayer and
helping me to connect. Even in the most
difficult days, love conquers all. Lord,
when my focus turns inward again, remind me what I need to do. Loving others is loving You. Lord, I pray for the community of Cotzal,
lead them in the way they should go.
Knock on the doors of their hearts and reveal Your truth to them. Inspire them to read Your Word for themselves and unite them in Your name. A men.
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