Wisdom Found in Selfies

Natalie is at an orphanage in Haiti. Please pray for this little 9 year old gift from God.

As I sat on a dirty slab of concrete, on a monastery mountaintop in Haiti, holding little orphan Natalie on my lap, she grabbed my phone and began to take pictures. The complete joy she exuded from something as simple as selfies brought tears to my eyes. She took many photos of our faces, hers covered in sugar from the ring pop I gave her, and mine sharing a smile, from the great joy the Lord brought to both of us. But there was one photo she took that imprinted an image, not just in the data of my phone, but in my mind and my heart. It was this photo of our feet:

There is a verse in scripture that came to mind immediately for me. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings, announcing peace, bearing good news.
 -Isaiah 52:7

I look at little Natalie's feet and I can't help but feel overwhelmed by the beauty of them. At 9 years old, this little child, abandoned by her natural family, has been blessed with a family of nuns who run the orphanage, along with 50 other children.* She, in all her rights, could be an angry child, full or rage for being abandoned, and full of questions of God's love of her, yet she lives simply in the peace of the Lord and others, because those who were not her family at birth have taken her in and care for her. She has found family through the love of those serving God. She has found peace and glad tidings from the many feet that have trod across that space, be it passing by missionaries or the sisters at the orphanage, and she herself, because of that, brought glad tidings to me on the mountaintop too, and how beautiful are those feet that have done that for me?

I find great wisdom in Natalie. She has challenged me in my daily walk to bring glad tidings to others, regardless of my lot in life, announcing the peace of the Lord and bearing good news. Too often I let the words that escape my mouth, or even my presence, set a temperature of frustration and fatigue in a room. Too often I am not sharing good news at all, but gossiping or complaining. Too often, my feet, through perfectly pedicured and cared for, are quite ugly, for they don't at all times walk in the way of the Lord. What Natalie taught me in her joy of selfies, her sugar covered face, and her scarred and shoeless feet, is that I must find joy in the simple things, and let the love and light of Christ shine anywhere I am. Thank you Natalie, for the way you helped me to see Christ that day and inspired me to continue to walk in His ways all the days of my life.

I challenge each of you to reflect on the path your feet take. Do they lead you and others to Christ? If so, how? If not, what can you do to redirect your path? Trust in the Lord to lead you, for "In his mind, a man plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps." -Proverbs 16:9

Feel free to share your thoughts with me. It helps my heart to grow. Thanks!

*The orphanage where Natalie resides was completely pancaked in the earthquake of 2010. It was one of the rare days that absolutely no one was in the building, so all 51 children and those running the orphanage survived. Absolutely amazing.

Two Coins Too Little

*Image of the inside of the prison. The cells can hold up to 30 men with only standing room.

"Give out of your poverty." This is a heavy hitting phrase on the mission base in Haiti. I probably hear it a handful of times a day, and as much as I hate it, I know that it's something I need to hear.

It's no secret that Haiti is an impoverished country. Being here on mission I have met many teens who have only one meal a day, if that. They come from hard working families, who will do whatever it takes to provide for their children--unfortunately opportunities don't necessarily abound for families to provide food every day. They travel long distances just to get water, and it's not even filtered for drinking. I have seen children and adults walking those great distances with shoes that are falling apart. They really are living in poverty.  To them, I am rich. I have good shoes, good clothes, and food in my stomach every day. My natural inclination is to give to them what I have because it would seemingly fix the need. But, instead I am called to give them Christ and that means I must give to them out of my poverty, not out of my excess. Giving them my material things would be too easy.

So where I am I impoverished? In my energy, in my joy, in my patience, in my trust in God. In these ways, I have been the poor woman who gives her last two coins and even that is too little. They need and deserve even the energy that doesn't exist. They need someone to love them, to share the Gospel, and to forget about the comforts that await me in the states. They need me to give to them until it hurts. They need me to give out of my poverty so that they may experience Christ.

This hasn't been easy for me, but it has been in those moments where I feel completely impoverished, in my energy, my joy, my patience and my trust, that God moves in mighty ways. Here is just one way:

I had only 2 hours of sleep the night before we headed to a local prison to pray with the prisoners. I had no energy and quite the lack of joy. I was so tired, from the many long days and nights preceding this one, that I wasn't even sure how to pray for those things. Once we arrived to the prison, we had to wait outside, in the sun, for half an hour longer. It felt like an eternity. I was miserable and questioning why I came here. We finally got inside and I walked from cell to cell with the group, letting them do all the praying and the talking. As we were about to leave, the first cell, reserved for women only, was near the exit and I headed toward it. A woman in the cell called out to me and had a very large smile on her face. She put her hand out for me to hold. She remembered me. I had been there about two weeks earlier, when I sang and prayed with her. She began to cry all the while with a  smile on her face. She was so happy to see me...not because there was something so special or different about me, but because I took the time to pray with her the last time I was there. Clearly she had encountered Christ and that brought her joy, even in the midst of her terrible living conditions. Her joy was then contagious and on a day that I really needed it, she brought Christ to me in return. I forgot about myself and gave her my hand. It was a brief encounter, but a lasting one. That joy helped me to carry on through the day, to serve and to give out of my poverty to others I would meet. So, even when I felt I had given the last two coins, it was in fact too little...there was still more to give as the woman in the cell reminded me.

Please continue to pray for this mission as we lead teens, and the people of Haiti, closer to Christ.  Pray that I can continue to give out of my poverty.