Well, we’ve settled in at home. As you heard at church on Sunday, I had a lovely homecoming. Two little faces peeking through the foggy glass on the front door, vibrating with excitement to hug their mom. Well, truthfully, Callum bypassed the hug and started searching through my bag for a gift. (Sucker!!! No gift for him! I had even given them the heads that I didn’t bring them anything. I didn’t want their excitement of seeing me to fade to tears of disappointment that no gifts were in my tote.) A quick reminder that I had nothing for them returned his focus to his mom for a big hug and a happy reunion.
You’ll all be pleased to hear that Steve rocked his week of single parenting. The kids gave him a 10/10!! He did homework and vision therapy and meal prep and even laundry!!! I was impressed, especially when for the next day the kids mistakenly called me Dad.
We can all be very proud of the way our young people handled themselves on this trip. They were just the right mix of respectful and sarcastic, hardworking and relaxed, motivated and easygoing. They were playful and fun-loving. They interacted so beautifully with the wonderful people of the DR, in a natural, not forced, kind of way. Of course, the different personalities of our group expressed themselves differently, but no one was disappointing. They all managed very well. I have a feeling of great satisfaction looking back over their attitudes and behaviours of the week. I’m very proud.
I wanted to share a little about our Wednesday morning endeavour. We went to an orphanage for special needs kids. As soon as I heard that this was on the agenda for the week, I started dreading it. I was expecting such a dismal situation. Abandoned, rejected, sad kids institutionalized, with minimal needs met. That was the thing I had envisioned. Thankfully, through conversation with Megan at the beginning of the week, my anticipations changed. Megan was hoping that one of her own, special kids from Ascension would one day have the privilege of living in Casa Nazaret.
My first impression was chaos. People busily moving through the kitchen getting cleaned up after filling their bellies from breakfast.The “children” were hardly children anymore. They were now grown into young adults, having lived there, in community for many years. Eating meals, playing games, watching tv, going on outing… Our team was ushered into the back room where the young adults (and one boy) would join us for some physical play. The chaos only got worse, and as you can imagine, I’m no stranger to chaos. Some in our group felt quite overwhelmed by the flying balls and strange noises and the outbursts of Spanish that we didn’t understand… not to mention Megan’s signature scream (something that our team had become familiar with by this point, as EVERY little child that Megan passed in the village was the recipient of this playful squawk.) This room was busy and uncomfortable! And we felt useless! This was so far from any experience that most of us had ever encountered. And I remembered our devotions from the morning. Whatever we do for the least of these, we have done for Jesus. So, I made my efforts. I thought to myself, I will love these kids with all I’ve got for the next hour, then we can leave!
And so I loved. A little playing a lot of back rubs and a refreshing chuckle as one of these special needs, grown man-boys slowly, but determinedly, found a comfy seat on Adam McElwain’s lap… his reaction was just priceless! (One of my highlights of the trip!!!)
I gave it my all, knowing that our time there was short…thankful that our time there was short. Yes, very thankful.
And then entered Sister Mercedes. The kids of the home were led out and our team was left to sit in a big circle with Sister Mercedes as our focal point. And she began to tell her story. She began to share how happy she was to live in the convent. She was filled with joy and peace and happiness. She loved it. It was quiet. It was steady. There was routine. She knew what to expect. She left the convent for a short time to work with special needs kids. While she was away, she longed for her simple life and the convent and couldn’t wait to return. Return, she did, and she shook the dust off, never wanting to have to leave again. But then God asked her, first through one person, and then through another, if she would start her own home for kids with special needs. Sister Mercedes lost her joy. She so badly did not want to start her own home for kids with special needs. She resisted and resisted, but her joy was gone. Finally, after significant struggle, she surrendered to God. She said “Yes.” Not because she wanted to. Not because she was excited to take on this venture. She said “yes” because it needed to be done, and someone needed to do it. She did not want it to be her, but it had to be someone.
I interacted with those kids for about an hour. The whole time I thought, “It’s only an hour…I’ve got this. I will love well. It’s only an hour.” But for Sister Mercedes, it is her life. She shared that she said “Yes” because she knows that one day she will stand before her Lord and she will know that she did what she was supposed to do. That is her motivation. That is her hope. That is her joy.
Such an impacting lesson.
Our challenge for the week was to give our “yes” to Jesus. May it be so!!