'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.’ (Matthew 25:12 NIV)
Words can’t describe the feelings as I watched my 15 year old daughter, Lauren, as she traveled with my wife, Kelly, and me to Guatemala two weeks ago on a medical mission trip - for both of them, their first trip abroad for missions work. Lauren's a typical teenager - lots of friends, a busy social schedule, messy room... typical stuff.
I’ll admit (and so should she!) – Lauren’s spoiled. She needs for nothing and wants for little. She’s encountered homelessness, hunger and difficult living conditions before, but nothing to the degree that she did in Guatemala. And through it all, she didn’t complain. She didn’t whine to go home. She didn’t complain about the heat. She worked her tail off, with 22 other people, in a remote village in Southwestern Guatemala, learning to do things she’d never done before, to make a difference.
How proud! It’s not an original thought (I got it from Bryan Plyler, who’s our pastor at The River Church), but – did you realize that the main thing that separates us from the people living in the remote village in Guatemala is where we were born? They’re in substandard housing and, in some cases, homeless because of where they were born. They haven’t heard the Good News of Jesus Christ because of where they were born. They don’t know what it’s like to have plenty of food to eat or to have access to medicine and medical care whenever they need it because of where they were born. There’s so much we take for granted…
Back to Lauren… As a parent, we watch our children grow up (and ours are growing up way to fast!) and hope that we’ve taught them all of the “right things.” I’m not about to claim total success (after all, she’s a 15 year old teenager!) but, I saw things in my daughter while in Guatemala that I know I didn’t possess at her age. I see a young woman growing up and making choices that puts a smile of the face of this father, and on the face of her Father in heaven!
Words can’t describe the feelings as I watched my 15 year old daughter, Lauren, as she traveled with my wife, Kelly, and me to Guatemala two weeks ago on a medical mission trip - for both of them, their first trip abroad for missions work. Lauren's a typical teenager - lots of friends, a busy social schedule, messy room... typical stuff.
I’ll admit (and so should she!) – Lauren’s spoiled. She needs for nothing and wants for little. She’s encountered homelessness, hunger and difficult living conditions before, but nothing to the degree that she did in Guatemala. And through it all, she didn’t complain. She didn’t whine to go home. She didn’t complain about the heat. She worked her tail off, with 22 other people, in a remote village in Southwestern Guatemala, learning to do things she’d never done before, to make a difference.
How proud! It’s not an original thought (I got it from Bryan Plyler, who’s our pastor at The River Church), but – did you realize that the main thing that separates us from the people living in the remote village in Guatemala is where we were born? They’re in substandard housing and, in some cases, homeless because of where they were born. They haven’t heard the Good News of Jesus Christ because of where they were born. They don’t know what it’s like to have plenty of food to eat or to have access to medicine and medical care whenever they need it because of where they were born. There’s so much we take for granted…
Back to Lauren… As a parent, we watch our children grow up (and ours are growing up way to fast!) and hope that we’ve taught them all of the “right things.” I’m not about to claim total success (after all, she’s a 15 year old teenager!) but, I saw things in my daughter while in Guatemala that I know I didn’t possess at her age. I see a young woman growing up and making choices that puts a smile of the face of this father, and on the face of her Father in heaven!
I'm so proud of you, Todd. Although I'm still having a hard time picturing you sleeping under a mosquito net :) But proud none-the-less!!
ReplyDelete--JIMMY