Hey everyone!
I know. I know. I’m terrible at updates! But before we start accusing anyone, I probably haven’t gotten an update blog or email from you either! Hahaha I’m just kidding. I really am sorry that I haven’t prioritized blogs enough over these last two months. My life has been super busy! So much has happened, so many testimonies, so much of the Lord showing up. However, the weight load of responsibility is not the same as it used to be, so it should be doable to write more blogs! Praise!
Well I’m officially in Panama! I got here on Easter Sunday and hit the ground running. We’re living at a YWAM base outside of two towns called David and Boquete. We live on a base full of greenery and forest with a lot of Panamanian people doing DTS and DBS programs through YWAM. We’re pretty rural, surrounded completely by Ngabe (indigenous people) tribe camps. Yesterday was our first day working with this specific people group. And oh my, was it work!
We showed up in two vans ready to get to work on cleaning it up. As a culture, they are not people who value cleanliness. As a result, there’s lots of sickness and disease that happens- things they aren’t able to treat very well out in the jungle where they live. I decided I wanted the dirtiest job. Not really sure why, especially since I really only have one pair of pants and one pair of shoes. Yet, I was given the grit job I wanted- cleaning the sewers and drainage! Yay!
Here’s where I found myself- using a shovel to scoop out trash and grease from their drain. After that was over, we had to get all of the trash off the ground. The drain was on top of a hill, and all of the water just ran down the hill, making a mud slide looking river going down for a ways. This was my job- standing in the river of drainage and sewage water, trying not to lose my footing in the mud, picking up all of the trash on the ground and in the mud. I remember looking at that when I first started and thinking about my only pair of shoes and pants. Thinking about standing in that. Surrounded by that smell. Then I thought of Jesus. And everything changed.
This hill is a representation of our hearts. Get ready for a cheesy, but too real analogy. Before we come to Jesus, we go around picking up all this stuff. Lies, fears, doubts, pains, scars, hurts, wounds, and are in desperate need of cleaning. Then we have this option to invite Jesus into it. He goes through the mess with joy and a smile on His face. With joy, He will bend down and pick up even the smallest pieces of trash. No piece is too small for Him. Even when you mess up and drop the ball, He will still go back again and clean up that new price of trash.
Here’s the part that has broken my heart so many times in the past- there are people who don’t want to be cleaned. They look at the pile of trash and all the messiness and are totally fine with it. They say, “well the water is still draining out, the job is still getting done, I still feel happy right now, I still enjoy some parts of my life, why would I need to have someone come in and clean it?” Content with the mess, they don’t see the other side. They don’t see what the cleanliness brings.
So what does this cleanliness bring? From yesterday, I saw first hand results of what was happening. As the trash and garage was moving, it was making a clear path for the water to run down. As a result, in the next months, it will dry up the mud portions and allow for new plants to grow. New life will begin to pop up and bring restoration. It creates opportunities to improve their farm land, growing new fruits and foods. The places that were covered in trash and messiness will start to see restoration and life. It also greatly diminished the smell. As I picked up rotting garbage, the smell left with it. Making an area that is more enjoyable to live and play, especially for the kids and people around them. However, it’s a process. It will take time and diligence to get this land to that point. But the first steps were taken.
The Lord is knocking at the door of your heart. He wants to come in and clean. With joy He will bring restoration through the process of pulling out old lies, fears, and wounds. It’s a long process, but it’s worth it. And it still breaks my heart to see people who are content with their lives the way it is without Him. The water is still draining, the job is getting done, they still feel some happiness, they still have fun. But it can be so much better!
As I looked at this hill and thought of this analogy, I had the opportunity to get to do what Jesus does. So with a smile on my face and joy in my heart, I stepping into the mess. And with every piece of trash a picked up, I got to rejoice at the restoration and faithfulness the Lord has shown me in my life and the in the lives of countless other people around me. There is so much grace. There is so much more. And it is so worth it.
Love you and miss you. Be blessed.
