Taking His Hand: Eternally Focused

Week 2

That week there was a group from St. Paul’s Lutheran from Decauter, IL working in Gualan so we tagged along with them for a few days. They were building two houses and running a VBS in the afternoon for about 300 kids! After the group left, we were surprised with a trip to the zoo with our friend Nancy and her English students and also got to spend some time hanging out with some friends in La Fragua holding their cute babies!

One of the houses being built in Gualan was for Candida, a woman in her 80’s who lives with her daughter. She was so excited for her new home saying she had never imagined that she would actually receive a house like this. The other house was being built for Clara and her five children. One of my favorite things is getting to be a part of the joy filled celebration that comes along with a house dedication. Receiving a CALMS house has the potential to completely change a family’s life. On these special days, the room is filled with a sense of excitement and pure happiness. I love watching the faces of the owners as they cut the ribbon and unlock the door to a brand new home and a new life.

Even more importantly though, these families are being shown the love of Jesus as the groups do their best to be His hands and feet. Could all of the Guatemalan workers do this themselves and probably be even more efficient than us Americans? Most likely. But if the money was just sent from the U.S. and no one came down to partner with them here to build, no relationships would be formed. I saw a quote the other day that said, “You may be the only Jesus someone ever sees.” You just don’t know how much someone has been exposed to Jesus so it’s important that we try our hardest to show people how much He truly loves them. We give our time and effort in hopes that people are able to at least grasp a bit of how much He really cares about them. The pastor at these dedications told the families not to thank the teams but to thank God primarily because He is the one that made this all possible. How crazy is it that He decides to connect us all in these awesome ways in which He allows us to be the answers to someone else’s prayers who lives thousands of miles away? He knows what we need and allows us to be involved in each other’s at just the right moment.

Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless-cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and He’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything-encores to the end of time. 1 Peter 4:7-11

At VBS, we had the pleasure of meeting this woman, Pancha, who claims that she is 45. ;)

Everyday she would walk up to each member of the group thanking them for being there, giving them God’s blessings, and telling us that she would see them in Heaven. She was persistent and unrelenting in her efforts to proclaim that Jesus was currently up there preparing a house for her and for the rest of us too. This woman was completely Heaven-minded which gave me the realization that I don’t live in that mindset at all, even though that’s exactly how we are commanded to live here on earth. In Colossians 3:2 it says, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Philippians 3:20 says, “But there’s far more to life for us. We’re citizens of high heaven! We’re waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthly bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He’ll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skills by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him.” Pancha is convinced in her eternal home and lives her life based off of that hope. I realize that all too often I invest too much into my life here on earth which actually pretty dumb since this life is only temporary. Instead I should be keeping an eternal focus and living in a way that reflects that there is an eternal, perfect, home with Jesus open for anyone that knows Him.