Darkness Has Not Overcome

A trip to Ecuador,
south of the United States;
11 students, 3 staff,
1 God ready to fill our plates.

We hopped on a plane,
dreaming what God had for us as we roam;
Secretly wondering, ‘How we could survive a week,
without our cell phone?’

Touching down in Duran’s sticky hot mess,
The bugs make our group squeal;
We ride home in silence, taking it all in,
not sure how we should all feel.

Shacks with no floor, kids with torn soccer balls,
a muddy and unpaved street;
Intense poverty, like nothing I’ve seen,
leaves me squirming in my seat.

While hearing strange noises,
I lay thinking in my bed;
How would people here receive us,
silly fears dance in my head.

Yet, our neighbors welcome us in
with words from God above;
We lounge in their hammocks, play games,
and receive this rich love.

How could our new friends, choose to lavish us Gringos,
they live with so much less;
Where do they find their smiles of joy,
what gives them reason to radically bless?

As we dig deeper we unveil the source of their joy,
comes not from anything we see;
Rather they are dependant for provision from above
and through God’s community.

They live tightly knit with family,
defying U.S. laws of ‘personal space’
For they are stronger together,
a picture of God’s sovereign grace.

Our group marvels as we find God
alive in our hood;
However, the full picture
would soon seem much less good.

One child in particular
made our reflection headline news;
For he had spent the afternoon with us,
while wearing two left shoes.

Another stands out
in the way he looked at our faces;
“I want to play soccer,” he says,
“but I’ve got no laces.”

Corrupt government structures,
with mayors that have great greed;
That promise clean water, install pipes,
yet fail to succeed.

This leaves all the poorest people
on the streets at 5 in the A.M.;
Screaming ‘AGUA, AGUA,’
praying the truck will stop for them.

It’s a paradoxical tension
that we are all trying to fight;
We experience the darkest mess,
yet we see God’s light.

People with Hanson’s disease,
alone and rejected by all of society;
Yet there’s a sister with compassion,
who creates a warm space to heal their anxiety.

Boys wandering the streets
begging and sniffing glue;
A rich community and shelter,
a place to start their lives anew.

A woman living by drugs and standing water,
her husband drunk and long departed;
A warm welcome, fresh fruit, hospitality,
and a powerful new connection is started.

Kids wearing donated clothing,
looking tattered and torn;
Yet their simple smiles of joy,
seem to overcome all that we mourn.

We ask God together,
‘how is this possible… how could you allow this?’
These people are amazing
and need not be dismissed?

Jesus you heal lepers,
God sends his people to restore;
Now we see this clear suffering,
and we ask ‘HOW MUCH MORE?’

It takes great faith
to look in the face of intense grief;
And proclaim, ‘We believe you are good God,
help our unbelief.’

This pain we found in Duran,
struck a chord deeply in each hearts;
Now we return home,
hoping we will do our parts.

Living in the United States,
this trip is challenging our story;
Calling us to turn our lives
from striving for our own glory.

Our lives are geared towards doing,
our self worth wrapped in a to-do list;
Yet it seems God wants relationship
to be the reason we exist.

How will we respond to God
after He has expanded our world view?
Will we shrink back to former selves
or seek the face of Christ at A.U.?

Guaderia

In the soft morning sunlight the Arbolito guarderia seems to shine with excitement and wonder. The children rounding the corner with their parents catch a glimpse of their magical oasis and grow in excitement knowing that once they cross the purple threshold they enter into their very own special place. A place where the children are cared for on an individual basis, where they are given nutritious food and snack, where they have access to an education as well as a healthy environment in which to grow, and most importantly where they are treated with love and respect. At times I too have to stop myself and think “wow, this guarderia really is top of the line.” So for those of you who worked at the guarderia, or passed by it every day, or maybe knew a child who went there, know that it still is a peaceful, loving and positive place in the Arbolito community.

Now although I say that the guarderia is a peaceful place I would like to stress that I do not mean that one will find themselves at peace while inside the walls of the guarderia. In fact it's quite the opposite and rightfully so since 60 children, ranging from ages 2-4, will leave you drained of everything you have both mentally and physically. There is never a dull moment, and you can never let your guard down at the guarderia. Just the other day I was helping Diana, the maternal teacher, cut out classroom decorations while the children played with play dough. As we were working we heard a loud crashing noise from the bathrooms. We both stopped what we were doing and looked around the classroom to see if it was one of our “ositos” could have been making the noise. Within an instant Diana jumped up from her chair and ran to the bathroom.

Seconds later I heard Diana scream, “Eric, no!” When I ran to see what had happened I found Diana standing in the last stall with tiny 2 year old Eric. She had him by the hands with a shocked looked on her face, Eric had a mischievous grin. Diana looked at me and then pointed to the toilet. When I popped my head in I saw that the heavy porcelain toilet bowl lid had been cracked straight down the middle. Apparently Eric was lifting and then dropping the lid as hard as he could until it broke. Luckily nothing happened to Eric but now the guarderia is down one toilet and all the teachers are unsure of what to do with the “terremoto” that is Eric. The latest idea was to put a short leash on him and have him always connected to Diana, but that didn't seem to go over to well with some of the teachers.

The story of Eric is just one of many from my morning job at the guarderia. It seems as if every day the children are perfecting their mischievousness and shenanigans. If anything gets me out of bed in the morning it’s the knowledge that I will most likely come home with another endearing story about the chaos that is the guarderia.