I seriously have no idea what is happening to me, but this week I opened a door that I cannot seem to close. Evidently, that door leads to my tear-ducks. I've pretty much been crying like a la-la for the last 4 days or so. Can't stop it, don't know where it's coming from, and it's proving problematic for the people that I have to line up next to in the supermarket, or for the taxi drivers that have to drive me around.
I figure it probably has a lot to do with the amazingly magical week I just had. I went on a little trip to a country called Nicaragua (I told you to Google it..) to work as a translator for a medical clinic run by a group of Americans that I got to meet up with. Our team consisted of about 30 people- this included doctors, nurses, pharmacists, eye-specialists, as well as teachers and translators.. and more people a whole lot smarter than me. We would go out every day to a different village with a whole bunch of medicines and people would travel to see our doctors and get their hands on some medicine...for free.
Working with such an talented group of people really had me thinking about the importance of team-work. Every single person that was involved in last week's trip had an important role to play. It's easy to assume that the doctors and nurses were more important than the teachers playing games with the kiddies, or the translators (or the singers..ahem), but God really proved that each person's role was vital in achieving what we needed to achieve and for us to work in perfect harmony. It's funny cos just the week before I had been flipping through my Bible, and came across a chapter in the book of 1 Corinthians that talks about 'the body of Christ.' Here's what is says:
"For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, 'because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body' that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say 'because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body' that would not make it any less a part of the body. For, if the whole body were an eye, where would be it's sense of hearing? And if the whole body were an ear, where would be it's sense of smell?" - 1 Corinthians 12: 14-18
When I think about my body (like my human body, body) it's true that no part of it is more important than the other. Like, if I had 4 arms, sure, it would be awesome that I would get to play a piano and a guitar at the same time but how would I walk? If I had 4 legs I'd probably be able to run really fast, but then you people would have to carry all my stuff for me. Hence, no body part of mine is more important than the other- each serve a purpose and each of them are needed- very much like every person I worked with last week. If the doctors didn't have pharmacists disributing meds, then what would be the purpose of their prescriptions? If the teachers and kiddie-minders weren't there to look after the children we would have had 300 unattended rugrats running a muck and hindering our work pace...and so forth.
When I take this verse and apply it on a wider scale, it makes me think of how each one of us plays such an important role on this planet. It's like every one of us is one of God's limbs, and he uses us in individual and unique ways. None of us is more significant than the other- we all have a function, and we all need to work together to live harmoniously... like we're ONE BODY.
"God arranged the members in the body, each one of them as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be?" - 1 Corinthians 12: 18,19
God's organisational skills never cease to amaze me.
Love you guys,
Love, Cris.
PS, Americans think that it's weird that we call it 'chewy'. I don't get it... IT JUST MAKES SENSE.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Don't go chasing waterfalls...
Wow, okay guys, it's been almost 2months since my last post...how'd that happen?
I'm sorry I've been shitty at keeping in touch, the truth is that things really haven't stopped here since just before Christmas. I've been working a lot and travelling more than usual (well you know, more than a normal person should anyway..) I'm actually getting ready to travel again this Saturday to a country called Nicaragua (just google it). I'll be there for a week helping translate in hospitals for a group of doctors and smart people that are coming over from the US. Rapidly becoming an expert in suitcase-packing, that's for sure.
Not much else to report- work in Santo Domingo has been steady. The special school I was working with has now closed for holidays, so we've been doing a lot more in Laura Flores. Mate, I just love those children, they are such a head-ache but I love them more for it. God has shown me that I am actually not bad and entertaining large groups of kids- after a couple of hours everyone is exhausted but I seem to feel energised..weird, but hey, someone has to love singing to 150 screaming ankle-biters. I love that they're so free and curious, it's wonderful. (Note: I am not ready for children, just ready to look after other people's for a couple of hours, after which I can go home to peace and silence...just for the record.)
On the down-side, this week has been a pretty hard as far as saying good-bye goes. I said good-bye to my Ecuadorian family last Saturday as they moved down to another city, as well as a good friend who moved with them, and just today I had to say good-bye to my mate Lydia as she left to go home to the UK. Blah, crappy feelings, however it's nice to have the certainty that even though you may not get the opportunity to see people again in this life, you will see them eventually 'up-there'... you know, like when we're all chilling with Jesus and the waterfalls and all the other awesome stuff that we can't even fathom now. How wonderful it is to have that certainty.
It's easy to convince yourself that 'you're a traveller, and good-bye doesn't effect you' but it proves hard to part with people when you manage to create such strong bonds with them. I've really been thinking about how good God is for surrounding me with so many amazing people and how blessed I am that He is able to show His love for me through these people. I've crossed paths with some pretty amazing characters in my life so far, and even though some of them might have only been there for a split second, God has used every person and every little situation to teach me something. Then of course, there are the people that are a little more permanent, who teach me and support me everyday. I thought about these important people, the ones that mean the most, and it made me ask myself- what did I do to deserve these people's love? It doesn't matter that I'm annoying, or abnoxious, or ignorant, they love me anyway. I don't have to ask them to love me, I don't have to do anything for them to love me, and I definately don't have to pay them to love me- they just do and it's FREE. I read this today-
Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk,
without money and without price.
Isaiah 55:1
We thirst for love, and we're hungry for love. God invites us 'to the waters' 'to buy wine and milk'...'without money and without price.' People love us for free...because God loves us for free. ..why are we so accustomed into believeing that we have to work for everything? Why it is so hard for us to accept that love, especially God's love, comes without a price? He shows me this foremostly by surrounding me with so many people to love in my life..how much more does He have to do to prove it? It doesn't matter how annoying, or abnoxious, or ignorant I am- my mum is still going to love me; my best mate is still going to love me....and above all, God is still going to love me.
That's pretty effing awesome.
I look forward to the day when I will be to have all the people I love in the same room at the one time. Although I fully believe that 'nothing is impossible with God', I accept that this proves slightly difficult in this life as they are spread over um...well, 4 continents... That's a tough prayer, right there. God's got my back though, He hears me. I might just have to wait until the waterfalls...
Just before I go, praying for all of you that might be living or have family up in QLD, or that might have been affected by the floods after New Years.. My heart goes out to you Australia, it's been a tough couple of months.
Miss you yobbo's...
Love,
Cris
I'm sorry I've been shitty at keeping in touch, the truth is that things really haven't stopped here since just before Christmas. I've been working a lot and travelling more than usual (well you know, more than a normal person should anyway..) I'm actually getting ready to travel again this Saturday to a country called Nicaragua (just google it). I'll be there for a week helping translate in hospitals for a group of doctors and smart people that are coming over from the US. Rapidly becoming an expert in suitcase-packing, that's for sure.
Not much else to report- work in Santo Domingo has been steady. The special school I was working with has now closed for holidays, so we've been doing a lot more in Laura Flores. Mate, I just love those children, they are such a head-ache but I love them more for it. God has shown me that I am actually not bad and entertaining large groups of kids- after a couple of hours everyone is exhausted but I seem to feel energised..weird, but hey, someone has to love singing to 150 screaming ankle-biters. I love that they're so free and curious, it's wonderful. (Note: I am not ready for children, just ready to look after other people's for a couple of hours, after which I can go home to peace and silence...just for the record.)
On the down-side, this week has been a pretty hard as far as saying good-bye goes. I said good-bye to my Ecuadorian family last Saturday as they moved down to another city, as well as a good friend who moved with them, and just today I had to say good-bye to my mate Lydia as she left to go home to the UK. Blah, crappy feelings, however it's nice to have the certainty that even though you may not get the opportunity to see people again in this life, you will see them eventually 'up-there'... you know, like when we're all chilling with Jesus and the waterfalls and all the other awesome stuff that we can't even fathom now. How wonderful it is to have that certainty.
It's easy to convince yourself that 'you're a traveller, and good-bye doesn't effect you' but it proves hard to part with people when you manage to create such strong bonds with them. I've really been thinking about how good God is for surrounding me with so many amazing people and how blessed I am that He is able to show His love for me through these people. I've crossed paths with some pretty amazing characters in my life so far, and even though some of them might have only been there for a split second, God has used every person and every little situation to teach me something. Then of course, there are the people that are a little more permanent, who teach me and support me everyday. I thought about these important people, the ones that mean the most, and it made me ask myself- what did I do to deserve these people's love? It doesn't matter that I'm annoying, or abnoxious, or ignorant, they love me anyway. I don't have to ask them to love me, I don't have to do anything for them to love me, and I definately don't have to pay them to love me- they just do and it's FREE. I read this today-
Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk,
without money and without price.
Isaiah 55:1
We thirst for love, and we're hungry for love. God invites us 'to the waters' 'to buy wine and milk'...'without money and without price.' People love us for free...because God loves us for free. ..why are we so accustomed into believeing that we have to work for everything? Why it is so hard for us to accept that love, especially God's love, comes without a price? He shows me this foremostly by surrounding me with so many people to love in my life..how much more does He have to do to prove it? It doesn't matter how annoying, or abnoxious, or ignorant I am- my mum is still going to love me; my best mate is still going to love me....and above all, God is still going to love me.
That's pretty effing awesome.
I look forward to the day when I will be to have all the people I love in the same room at the one time. Although I fully believe that 'nothing is impossible with God', I accept that this proves slightly difficult in this life as they are spread over um...well, 4 continents... That's a tough prayer, right there. God's got my back though, He hears me. I might just have to wait until the waterfalls...
Just before I go, praying for all of you that might be living or have family up in QLD, or that might have been affected by the floods after New Years.. My heart goes out to you Australia, it's been a tough couple of months.
Miss you yobbo's...
Love,
Cris
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