03-11-08

After two weeks here, I’m getting settled in pretty well: figuring out where to get the things I need, finding a cheap place to get on the internet to keep in touch with my wife, getting adjusted to the food (I had horsie for breakfast last week), and my skin is getting toughened to the intense sun. Best of all, I am finding a place to fit into the ministry down here.

I’ve found a schedule that works well at the rehabilitation center, working in the mornings from about 6 am to about 3 in the afternoon, sometimes later, with a nice little lunch break in between (this is when I usually spend time studying Spanish). I work with the guys in the mornings cleaning the house, doing dishes, and then bible study. We did a lot of work at the beach last week cleaning, which was fun; it is so beautiful there. The outside work happens after bible study and before lunch. I teach Oscar who has a good handle on English more advanced lessons one-on-one at one o’clock everyday while everyone else is taking the siesta, or nap.

Monkeys are commonly seen at the nearest bus stop. I am very blessed to have this opportunity to see all of the beauty that is here.

I had a very emotional and rewarding experience this past week. A couple days ago, David’s mother (David is a man in the program who is my age) came up to see him after she had learned that he had enrolled there to seek help for his crack addiction. When he came out to meet here, she busted into tears and could not talk. All she could do was hug her son and cry tears of gladness. I, usually not too emotional, could not hold it together and left just thanking the Lord for the work that he was doing in the Center. I was blessed with the opportunity to see how God works, he changes one person’s life for the better and in turn, changes another, and another, like we are all connected.

C.S. Lewis wrote about the human race. He said that all of humanity is like a tree, all connected in some way. That God exists outside space and time so that when he sees me, he sees the connection that I have with Adam, and that the human race is an organism of life, connected. I felt connected that day, to David, his mother, to those back home who have helped me out, to those who are still lost living in the cemetery. I am thankful that I do not feel disconnected here, that I don’t feel out of place, that I have a peace about where I am, and that God gives me these instances to know that He is in control and that he is changing hearts.