True Beauty

Beauty. 
You can see it, hear it, smell it, feel it, taste it. 
Every one of the five senses our bodies have been blessed with can experience beauty.  
Many times, the most richly beautiful things are the simple ones. 
                                

                                   The view of a sunset on a quiet evening. 
                                               

                               The smell of wildflowers swaying in the breeze. 
                                                

                                  The sound of pouring rain pelting a rooftop. 
                                

                 The feel of warm rays of sunshine and a fresh wind on the skin. 
                            

            The blended sound of voices, dogs, and cars coming from the city below. 

Beauty is all around us in many, many different forms. Oftentimes, we pass by the simple little beautiful things that make up our daily world, yet usually, it's pretty easy to figure out what's beautiful and what isn't.
But what about finding beauty in what seems ugly or sad? 

I met Andres, his mother, and grandmother back in April when I first started working with the Bethany Family Sponsorship Program. They live in a small dirty wooden house with a small hard-packed dirt courtyard outside that hasn't seen grass for years. They own several small chickens that run around in the dirt looking for bugs and insects and whatever stray corn kernels that might be laying around. Everything they own could be packed into a 12 x 24 garage with room left to live in. Their economic situation is actually pretty normal. Most of their neighbors live the same way; some might need a bigger garage to live in, others have actual plots to call fields instead of just small corn patches where they grow their food. 
Andres' grandmother is well into her 70s. She has severe arthritis and can't walk without the help of her stick. It takes a lot of effort for her to sit down without help and even more effort to get up. During the dry season (winter time) she doesn't suffer with as much pain as she has during the rainy season (right now). On our last visit, she told us that she is tired of this life and is ready to leave her body behind to join her Lord. Yet through everything, she never complains. She always has a smile and a welcome hug. Even though she doesn't speak Spanish, she always thanks me in Quiche (the native language) and always expresses a joy and gratefulness in what she does have. I really look forward to our monthly visits with them because they are so welcoming and loving. 
A little over a week ago, I was leaning against one of the wooden poles that support the tin for their 'porch'. She was sitting on a stool in front of me and while I listened to the conversation between Gloria and Andres' mother, trying to pick out bits and pieces of the Quiche, she leaned back against my leg. I put my hand on her shoulder for her to hold and we stayed that way for the next half hour - just listening and at times, responding to the parts of the conversation that were translated into Spanish for me. 
At one point, I looked at the hand resting on mine and realized what a beautiful woman this is. Her skin is wrinkled and thin, her hair is gray and sparse, she has no teeth, she can barely walk or talk but there is so much beauty in her soul. Which made me question my perspective of beauty. 
I can take amazing pictures of beautiful scenery and things at any given time here. The country of Guatemala is very beautiful! But the things around me aren't what are shaping my memories and life while I'm here - the people are. And even though their lives are hard, their houses are dirty, and many have next to nothing there is such a vast difference in their attitudes. Just like people who have all they need, some are negative and distant, some are shy and reserved, and others are opening and welcoming. 
A wise man once said, in more words, that what's on the inside is what will come out (check out Luke 11). And it's true! Inward beauty is what truly defines beauty - at least, humanly speaking. This doesn't mean that we should quit seeing things as beautiful or quit taking care of our outside appearance. What it does mean is that under the dirt, grime, and fading color there is still a true beauty to be found in the heart and soul of an old, nearly forgotten widow. One who's smile shines brighter because of the dark backdrop of her outward situation. 

What about you, my friend? Have you seen beauty today?

Who It's All About

This past Sunday, I got one of the biggest reminders of 'Who it's all about'...

One of the men on the team that's here this week came up to me after church to say thank-you to our worship team for what we're doing, then told me that he's the sound-guy at a large church in the States. He said that before service started, he was watching us set up the sound system and saw my dinky little keyboard. 
Pause.
He didn't use the word 'dinky,' but he did use 'little'! The keyboard I'm using has been through a LOT! It's a wonderful testament that Yamaha is the way to go when investing in a small keyboard. But there have been SO many times that I've wished for my bigger one that I left back in the States, especially during those times when certain keys don't work, the speakers buzz, the sound isn't the greatest, etc. During practice, I often find myself wishing for an upgrade but need to constantly remind myself to be grateful for what I have. 
Anyway.
He told me that in his mind he was thinking, "Oh, boy, this is probably gonna be one of those times...when I'll just have to mentally not take notes on how much better the music could sound...or we'll just sing to get it over with til it's time for the sermon part." 
Then he told me, "Rose, during the whole worship service, I never once thought about how the music could be better or how the sound needs proper EQ or anything. I could freely worship with my whole heart without once giving a thought to how everything sounded. God reminded me afterward that it's not about the equipment or the sound or the stage - it's about letting Him take control." 
We talked a bit more but I was taken back to a few hours before church started. For some reason, the keyboard wasn't letting the mic sound come through the main system. We also have a dinky little sound system, but it usually works to plug in one of the three guitars, my keyboard, and one mic; so I couldn't figure out what was going on this time! Maddie has a dinky little guitar amp, so we switched the keyboard to the amp and kept the one guitar and mic plugged into the main system. It kind of irritated me because now, my less than professional sounding keyboard, sounded even worse. The dinky little amp has even less options of tweaking than the dinky little sound 'board' does. But I took a breath and headed outside. 
The 'band' ~All My Soul~ and I have this little habit of going outside to pray right before services start. We always pray for God to take control, for this to be His time, and for the service to be what He wants it to be, so that His name would be glorified and not ours. Like I said, it's a little habit - a good one - but like all habits, we often just take it for granted. God spoke to me through the 'sound-guy' to remind me, again, Who this is all about. 
It's not about the equipment or the sound or the stage. It's about God. It's about worshiping Him because He loves us with an unboundless love that none of us deserves. It's about letting Him take control and doing what He wants. 

And it goes so much further than just a Sunday morning worship service...

Endings and Beginnings

Today marks the start of a brand new month, so I thought it appropriate to share with you the new things that have been happening around here.
First, though, I want to share with you a bit more of the heartache side we see and experience here in Guate. I guess what I want to convey with you is the fact that, although we live in a different culture, our people are no different from you. Yes, life might be a bit harder for them in certain areas, but the loss of a loved one through sickness and accidents are just as relevant to them as they are to you. 

Last week, Gloria, Henry, and I were driving from town to a village to pick up one of our sponsored families for the teaching program we had that afternoon. As we rounded the curve, we saw this whole big crowd of people just standing around the bridge. The local volunteer fire fighters were there, but no police. We stopped a little beyond this point and walked back to see what was happening. No one we asked seemed to know exactly how it happened, but the body of a man was lying on the embankment beside the river. He wasn't wet, so we know that it wasn't a drowning accident - we never did find out what happened. We left a few minutes later, while the fire fighters were starting to set up the ropes to go down; the police arrived on the scene as we were pulling out. I couldn't help thinking about a family somewhere who would be going home that night knowing they would never see their father again in this life. 

The second incident occurred just a few days later. A team from the States was here for the week and were working on restoring one of our widows' houses. My coworkers and I were on lunch break when we drove past the house the team was working on. It was a family we were scheduled to visit after lunch, so we stopped to say 'hi' to the team and see how work was going. Almost as soon as we got out of the truck, we found out that the family's uncle had passed away the night before. This family consists of three widows and their children - the mother/grandmother, a daughter and her boy, and a daughter-in-law and her three girls. The mother/grandmother's husband died quite a few years ago during the Guatemalan Civil War. When this happened, her brother-in-law (the uncle who died) stepped in as a father to her young son and daughter. The daughter's husband passed away about 7 (?) years ago, then the son (the daughter-in-law's husband) was killed two years ago in his own home. The women lived in fear of their neighbors for a long time, but their uncle (the brother-in-law) once again stepped in to help watch over them and the children. They were all devastated when he passed away after only a week of being seriously sick. They worry about not having any more men in the family to watch out for their well-being. Never-the-less, their faith in God remains strong! The team restoring one of their houses was able to pray with them and for them before Gloria, Henry, and I came back from our lunch break. When we got back, we once again prayed for their comfort and well-being and were able to spend some time just listening to what was in their hearts. 

These two stories/incidents reminded me of how precious life is, no matter where we are or what the circumstances. Life is too short to take for granted the blessings of loved ones in our lives. We only have a breath of time to hold them close and to love them. 

Our little band "All My Soul" - me, Maddie, Abbey, Rachel 

Now, on a lighter note:
The biggest news is that I have a room mate! Or, maybe 'house mate' is a better term :D Rachel Tracht flew in on Friday and has been adjusting to life here since then. I'm working on quarterly updates about our families, so she is going out on visits with Gloria and Henry this whole week. Next week, we both start a new schedule:
Mondays and Tuesdays - We will both be going out on visits
Wednesdays -  I'll stay back to help with prepping the food baskets in the forenoon and officially teach English to three of our employees in the afternoons while Rachel goes out on visits
Thursdays - I'll go out on visits while Rachel stays back to help with office work
Fridays - we'll both stay back; she to help with office work again and me to teach new recipes to our cooks for when teams come down
It's been fun having her here these past few days and I'm looking forward to the months ahead with much anticipation!
Also, Tammy Huizenga (our overseer of the Bethany Program) and her little girl, Rylee, came down a week and a half ago to stay for the summer. It's been wonderful getting to know her in person and watching the antics of her energetic little bundle of a daughter! Rylee has most of the staff wrapped around her little finger :D 

Most of our 2014 Pray America ~ Manos de Jesus staff 

Another new development is that we are going to be housing all the future teams here at Monte Flor instead of in the mission house in town. It's about a 10-15 min. walk into town to the mission house, and while teams would come tour our campus, there was always a bit of separation between their schedules and the activity going on up here with the rest of the ministry outreaches we have. The Pattersons, our team coordinators, lived in town to work with the teams but this past weekend they moved into an extra house here at Monte Flor. Moving things from town to up here is happening this week, so there's a general stir of change happening everywhere!
Work is also being done on digging a new well on the property. Please keep this project in your prayers! 

Well, there you have it! Lots of endings and beginnings and reminders of the value of life. Thank you, each one, for your continued prayers for me and for the ministry of Pray America/Manos de Jesus.