"I want to pray more and really want to devote myself to that." says the young woman who has discovered an ancient secret given by the Creator of the Universe.
"I want to give myself a break and remember that God loves me just for me - not for my successes like everyone else." says another, tired of trying to meet all the expectations of his family, friends and culture.
"I want to get baptized." says yet another who has discovered the wonder of the love of Jesus.
"I don't want to go back to Canada." says one who echoes many thoughts of these adventurers.
"I am worried about going home to the same old same old and losing what it feels like here." says all of us.
The comments and concerns of the young adventurers as they prepared to return ripple through the group like a lion through a herd of zebras. This experience was far more than I ever expected to it to be. Ecuador and the people of Carmen Bajo got under our skin but God got into our hearts in unique ways. He filled our souls with His love and a sense of vulnerability that is exquisitely difficult.
Isaiah and the Psalms tell us that God holds up (esteems) and looks for those who are humble in heart and broken in spirit...are we there yet?
What now?
We dream of the love that Ecuador so freeing shares with each other in a culture devoted to "community". We return to a culture that encourages us to avoid strangers and fences their back yards to spend time secluded in them.
We remember the multitude of children swarming over us and hugging and laughing and babbling in a strange language with grubby hands and brown faces and white smiles. We return to an organized yet distant culture where children avoid us and people are startled if you say hello to them on the street.
We ponder the holes we dug, the foundations we laid, the walls we painted, the concrete we poured, the wheelchair ramp we made with our muscles aching and sweat pouring down freely from our bodies.
We return to chores we may be reluctant to do, tasks that we procrastinate through and the mindless amounts of time we sit relating to electronic devices.
How will we ever be able to process what we experienced with the realities of here? What will we do now?
Perhaps...we will change.
To all those reading this BLOG, I challenge you to slow down. If you think that challenge is for someone else, I would suggest that makes it more for you. Stop for a bit and enjoy the people in your life...listen to them and enjoy a cup of tea together. Notice the wrinkles at the corners of their eyes or love they express about things they are passionate about. Take a few hours and spend half of it talking with God and then the remainder listening to Him as He shares his heart with you. If you think you don't have time for this - you may want to apologize to Him first before you hang out with Him. What could be more important than spending time with the King? NOTHING.
Our young warriors have discovered things...secret things that are very personal and very deep. They will need a little time to figure some of them out. They will need some love and understanding as they try to apply new wonders to their lives. They may even need you to spend a little time listening to them and - although time seems more precious to us here than anything I would challenge you and me to turn that around and make these warriors more precious than our time.
Approach them carefully, listen to them quietly and wonder prayerfully what God has done in their lives and may do through their lives into your own. Be very careful. The King has been busy in these young lives!
What now?
