On Sunday, June 7th, Wellshire Presbyterian Church celebrated the Global Missions Trip to Guatemala with Healing Waters International and Habitat for Humanity. My last post was the sermon/message/homily that I gave at the service. Below is another one from Ted Griffith. This was Ted's first foray into Global Missions, and I think he is hooked. Enjoy and THANKS TED!
My name is Ted Griffith….my wife & I moved here April a year ago. Thank you all for your warm welcome & acceptance. Do you remember when you went home (the home you grew up in) after an extended absence……… That is the feeling you give me.
We are set apart for service to one another.
Everyone should experience international & domestic mission work. Those who are not able can sponsor someone & experience through them the satisfaction of mission service.
We are likely to consider ourselves middle class or above. By American standards our assessment may be accurate, but by global standards we are incredibly rich. .
I believe in a hand up not a hand out & that is exactly what Habitat For Humanity & Healing Waters International preaches.
I like to physically see progress like cinder blocks being laid, concrete being mixed & water being purified & distributed.
But to get involved in relationships with fellow workers, Ester, school kids takes me to a different emotional level.
When we see another as God’s anointed, our relationships are profoundly affected.
That is what this mission trip did for me.
We are set apart for service to one another.
Santos & Pedro were masons employed by Habitat For Humanity making a combined income of $200 per house, to pour the foundation, lay cinder block, install the roof, & pour the concrete floor…... With help they can complete a house in 15 days (& most of the time they don’t have help). (10 hr days …. do the math …. that’s $ .67 per hour)
Santos (recently married) & Pedro (Santos’ brother in law) worked hard, had a great sense of humor & their faith in God was very genuine. They live 2 ½ hours away so they slept in the tool shed during the week & cooked meals over a wood fire.
A neighbor at the Habitat site, unannounced, fed all of us that were there. (beans, corn & tortillas prepared over a wood fire).
A family invited all 19 of us for a meal, it was prepared over a wood fire
Propane, gas, or electricity is too expensive & not readily available.
What little they have they are so willing to share.
We are set apart for service to one another
When you come back from a mission trip you have flash backs & emotional swings at odd times.
I have laughed out loud (when I think of Brian or Graham waking me up – my travel alarm has a soft tone without my hearing aids, but it was annoying to Brian & Graham in the next room, or the van struggling to get up a hill, or the flat tire on the way to the airport) & also being awestruck by the Guatemala children, youth, & adults for their zest for life, their smiles, their laughter, their music, their worship service, & their love of God.
They have so little by our standards yet they really have so much.
The Monday after we returned I was fixing an egg for breakfast…….cracked an egg into a plastic dish, put it in the microwave, pushed the right buttons……..
All I saw was food cooking over a wood fire, smoke and all…..
Tears started to flow.
We all are set apart for service to one another.
1 comment:
Enjoyed reading your post. I have a business in Guatemala and have been heavily involved in a number of humanitarian projects down here over the last 15 years and have moved my family back and forth between the states and various parts of Latin America. It has been fascinating to watch my young children pick up on the differences and gain a desire to serve. My 9 year old is planning to sell a bunch of his toys when we return to the states because he says he has realized he doesn't need as many things to be happy anymore:)
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