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"Crawling to the finish"
by
Rob Courtney |
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| I’ve been staring at a blank screen for too long. It’s time to write and article and the only thing moving is my eye that is twitching as if I’ve I just latched down on a “pungent lemon” flavored Warhead. (like it’s serioulsy driving me crazy). All I want is a nap. And therein lies the problem; I’m tired. I’m not just tired, I’m exhausted. With all the groups to greet, dinners to serve, money to change, dance rehearsals, diaper runs, classes to teach, meetings, midwife training, airport runs, and a plethora of other incidents that require attention and movement, my body and, above all my mind are dragging. My workout routine (don’t laugh) is indefinitely postponed. I’ve had sinus crud in my head since the beginning of time (ok, so only a month but you get the idea). I’ve been living off Coke (the soft drink) for three weeks. I would say I’m about to hit the wall, but I don’t think I’m moving fast enough to collide. I know there’s a finish line and a chance to rest that is close, but I feel like I’m on my hands and knees, barely inching towards it. Then I talk to Lori and see the other interns. We are all in the same situation: moving ahead, but just barely. We’ve been crawling towards the finish line for some time now.
Please understand. This isn’t a dreary and depressive moaning session. My heart is so full (probably the only thing full besides my belt) and it’s because we have seen God is rocking Morning Glory in such a cool way. We’ve seen a lot of really awesome things happening so it is without a doubt worth it. Even in my despair of hearing my alarm go off, I’m able to peel myself off the bed out of gratefulness that I’m able to be a cog (that’s a weird word) in God’s machinations for Morning Glory. Even with one eye twitching and the other closing in surrender to sleepiness, I can feel in my soul what David writes in Psalm 9: “I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart.”
(Time out. These midwives are making me get up so they can put a guipil [a traditional belt] on me. #newexperiences) |
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| The interns praying together with Lori and Queno at a home Bible study |
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"And if the kids feel love, the ministry of Jesus Christ is taking place."
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| Now I’ve put on the song “Working Man” from Rush (an incredible band, check them out) and I’m feeling the results. The summer is always a challenging time for Morning Glory. But it’s just like plowing before you plant. Plowing is such hard work, but once the seeds are planted, the potential for growth is incredible. And that’s what we are looking at. It started with the interns. We had another awesome team this year. It was a wider range of personalities and abilities than previous years, so there was a new, exciting dynamic. These interns worked hard and with joy (and LOT of joyful noise) from day one. June was slower but July kicked into full gear, and our interns were ready and got very good at serving, cleaning, and sharing the message of Morning Glory to the Casas por Cristo groups. Keep in mind, they had class schedules that they fulfilled with diligence as well. The kids loved their time with the interns (I’m not jealous, you’re jealous) and you could see that what the interns said was being absorbed by the students. Even the ones who struggled more with Spanish emitted an aura of love. And if the kids feel love, the ministry of Jesus Christ is taking place. As I like to say, the interns this year “killed it” and kept Morning Glory running on all cylinders. We couldn’t have done it without Olivia, Jessica, Tim, Elizabeth, Katie, Izzy, Lacey, Tori, Bryan, Ciara, Hannah, Josh, & Jacob. They not only held our hands up, they acted as our hands when Lori and I couldn’t reach (if you are thinking of an octopus, that’s ok). |
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| (Most of) the interns for 2018 |
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"The kids are falling in love with their God and I have a front row seat."
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| The central focus of “group season” is, of course, the groups. We had a few groups from our outstanding ministry partner, Casas por Cristo, come and lend a hand, especially in making new tables for our teachers. Groups from Curtis Lake in Maine and Compass in Texas came back this year and brought it with the Word. Both groups, working independently, centered their teachings on focusing on God and trusting in Him through any circumstance. What a powerful concept for our young ones to hear early in their lives! When I saw our middle schoolers praising the Lord with jubilation, and when I saw the volunteers pour their heart and soul into the words they were saying, and when I saw the students draw close to their new friends as brothers and sisters in Christ, my fatigue and grumpiness dissolved. I knew without a doubt that all our plowing was going to reap a huge harvest. (I wanted to say that I breathed a sigh of relief in those moments, but I couldn’t really breathe that week #sinuseswerekillingme) Even now, we can feel the difference in Bible class. The energy and messages of the groups are not forgotten. The kids are falling in love with their God and I have a front row seat.
Of course, we’ve had more volunteers and visitors than ever this year. As I write this, a team from Bachelor Creek is finishing another round of midwife training (they are on the news here), doing their part to reduce the infant mortality rate in Guatemala. I’ve been banned from saying too much, but there may or may not have been a traditional dance session with the training team and the midwives in nearby San Juan (spoiler alert: it happened), attesting to the relationship being formed around a common goal. I can’t even try to mention all the people who have come with a group or alone to see and contribute in their own way to what God is doing at Morning Glory but each one had their role. Each one was sent by God for a specific purpose. The seeds were planted and we will see what is produced in time.
*Continues below* |
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| Curtis Lake & Compass Christian |
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| I was sent to pick up one such volunteer in Antigua. I wasn’t super-enthused to be driving on my “day off” (those still exist right?) but it was a surprisingly pleasant time. We had an interesting conversation about a few things, but one thing this volunteer said to me left an impression on me and put the summer into perspective. We talked about the difference between giving and sacrificing. He mentioned to me that he knows of many people who give out of their abundance. These are people who financially donate, but never cut into their monthly budget, savings, or other plans to give to others. These are the people who will donate their used items but never give away the things that are “useful” to them (I mean, aren’t we all guilty of this at times?). Then we talked about the people who resemble the woman in Mathew 12. She sacrificed. She gave knowing she would be uncomfortable. As Jesus said, “she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on” (v44). This volunteer postulated that the latter of the two; sacrificial giving out of our own need, is what God desires even more.
As I think about it now, I can safely say that the Morning Glory team gave sacrificially. Not all of it was economic. We gave of ourselves. Our fatigue, sickness, stress, and other ailments never stopped us. I watched as Lori was in tears one moment, then “sucked it up” to help someone with another problem. She always stopped and listened when I wanted to come in and fuss about something that had happened (there’s a fine line between fuss and scream. #icrossedit). There were many days where I didn’t want to hear another voice, but I got out of bed and got moving. And it’s simply because I knew that when my hands help push this plow that Morning Glory is charged with, seeds will be planted and we will bear incredible fruit. It’s not always easy. It’s not always fun. But these kids need fruit in their lives. If my sacrifice will help make that possible, I will say “Please God, give me the strength to give back today as well.” Even though I get grouchy and selfish, the fruit justifies the plow. |
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| The office built by Compass and the tables by Peace Church and another group with Casas por Cristo. |
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| You probably know what’s coming. You know that I’m about to ask the question: “What about you?” I don’t want to play the “guilt trip” card (though I can be pretty good at it), but that conversation about giving changed my whole perspective. I would encourage anyone to look at the example given by our Lord, and by people who have accomplished things we all appreciate and celebrate (like Lori). I think the pattern is obvious. We all need to give sacrificially (not suicidally) because those acts speak more about love. If I blister my hands to plow your fields, wouldn’t it make you value the field so much more? If Christ died to take away your sins, shouldn’t we work that much harder to remain sinless? And if you start giving sacrificially today, how many lives can you change? How much love can you plant? Are you ready to start now?
We are crawling to the finish line this summer, but next summer, even next month, any one of us here at Morning Glory would do it again and again. Believe me, the prize is worth it. I hope you’ll line up at the starting line with us for the next race. It’s going to be glorious (well, some parts may make you cringe, but it’ll be glorious after that). How far are you going to go? |
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