One of my favorite things to do down here is walking. Many mission teams come down here and do work then leave without forming any type of relationships with the people living here. Although they do an amazing job at providing needs, they never get to witness what love and joy the people living at the place their serving have.
For the past two weeks, I have been visiting Brises Del Mar and instead of doing VBS or construction all week, I have walked. I leave the team working and walk with people who want to walk with me. I visit their houses, meet their family, play with their children, and just simply walk with them.
I get to see the children and adults for who they really are. I've met a woman trapped in prostitution because she can't find another way to earn money to feed the mouths of her two children because her husband and youngest child died recently. She has been drowning in grief for so long, and recently had to battle cancer, but she hasn't lost sight of Jesus. In the midst of all of her pain and mistakes, she still holds onto her savior.
I have met a mother and son who were both mentally challenged. They have little money, little amounts of food, no father, yet still seem to smile. They are sick at times with no medicine to take, yet still have hearts of joy. I also met a woman who had severe autism yet walked to church everytime there was a service. She can't function like normal people, but she sure knows how to worship her creator. She sings the songs, closes her eyes and worships, and sits front row.
I have met a little boy who is both deaf and mute. He can't hear his parents when they tell him they love him. He doesn't have much friends because he was no way to conversate with them. He doesn't know sign language and can't read, but he has a heart. He has a smile. He has a laugh that is contagious. He knows how to love.
I never knew how big of an impact it would have on me to just walk with the poor. To sit with the poor. To cry with the poor, and to laugh with the poor. I always question myself as to who has been poor this whole time.... Me or these people. I have clothes, food, a house, and money all of which will either erode, dissapear, or decay. These people I've met have joy, faith, strength, love, hope, and courage all of which are needs to be able to survive.
I'm so overwhelmed to the point of tears due to the fact that I've missed the bigger picture of this life I have been destroying for so long. Life isn't about comfort. It's about community. It's about lifting your brother up. It's about not making sure that just you get to heaven, but that others around you get there as well. It's about standing so those weaker can sit. It's about going without food so others can stay alive. That is the meaning of life, and by walking with these people, I have now come to terms with how I need to live out the rest of my life.
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