The "See-er"

Wednesday…I just kind of want to sing “second verse, same as the first…a little bit louder and a little bit worse!”  

It feels like we have rocks in our backpacks or a millstone around our necks.  Everything is heavy with perspiration and waiting and repeating and the guys are troopers, but only the heavenlies know the battle that exists and who’s gonna win this round called Mission Trip Jan 2016.  

I can say that if it is defined by sticking in till the end, never giving up, patiently dealing with people and trusting God to move mountains…well, then our side gets the victory.  But if its about who owns what red dirt or getting 15 men to all work at the same time…for more than 30 minutes…perhaps things don’t look so good.

I’m not gonna bore you with the survey saga…except to say there seemed to be a very positive meeting today with the new Robert, our guys and Ben our attorney.  We’ll see…

The kids at Chayah began their craft project today.  Tissue paper over canvas with brushes in Mod Podge and oh my goodness we had some beauty and we had some sticky gummy tissue paper drenched in the glue like substance.  Each creator put their masterpiece in the sun to dry.

Mid-morning, the girls among us headed to Kakira to check in on a young woman we’d met the day before.  With her Dad’s permission we scooped them both up and headed to town, received some medical care and they were safely returned home.

It’s those trips, the ones where God has shown us someone or something that make me see again the suffering that is.  Chayah’s children are safe and healthy, going to school, learning about God and his love for them.  It’s easy to forget…and in a way there is this self-preservation that can creep in without notice.  

As Janet and I talked about it today, she expressed the heaviness and the heart ache of being a “see-er”.

She asks why God allows her to see so much suffering, so many different people that have so much trouble.  It’s one thing for us to notice the wide spread poverty…it’s quite another to see individuals you know by name who are struggling.  Beyond that, she has been called “the one who cares” or “the woman who helps”.   She has a huge heart and a gift of compassion and mercy which makes it all the more painful to see so much.

On the other hand, directing a ministry also means that she has the time and some financial means to help…still it feels like a drop in an ocean to her.

Today, we saw again, our own vision refreshed and we hear again a call to help as God leads. 

The internet again “disturbs” so though I am writing this at the end of the day…it looks like it'll make it to the history books long before the internet.