Dos semanas más...

[Escrito en la noche de jueves, 13 de julio] Another iPod blog update, and this one is being written in the dark. The electricity is unstable in the DR, so the lights go out pretty frequently here in Caraballo. We enjoyed dinner (pancakes & salami) by candlelight this evening and in between prayers for Jesus to turn la luz back on, we are qattempting to read or journal by flashlight.  This week has flown by. It was our third week of the summer program this week, and a hot one at that. The joys of my week came from the relationships I have built during my time here. Already the realization has hit that I will not always be in the classroom with my kiddos, and I can forsee that leaving is going to be difficult. In the midst of that, God has impressed upon me these past few weeks firmly where I end and He begins, or rather where He has been all along and how I am just a teensy blip on the radar screen of situations and places He has created and is both sustaining and redeeming, right now. He is the only hope for these children, and really for all of us. More than a good education or six weeks of daily hugs from the gringa, I want these kids to know Jesus. I am powerless to undo the dark and difficult things some of these kids have had to face in their young lives so far, and Jesus is the only one who can redeem those and work them together for their good and His glory. The end goal of the ministry I have been a part of this summer is not just children receiving nutritious meals and access to basic healthcare. It is not just teaching them to read or how to do basic math or geography. It is not just clothing them, or even letting them know how loved they are. The real purpose of this six weeks of ministry has been in the hopes that these kids will find the LORD. That the words of the Gospel will take root in their hearts. And ultimately, not only that they will gain the hope of eternal life, but that they will live in the abundance God offers them on this broken sod and become impact Christians and lights wherever He places them, many of them in this same place they have lived all their lives.  Hebrews 13:20-21 says, "And now, may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, equip you with all you need for doing His will. May He produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, all that is pleasing to Him."  I have learned on this trip to accept all things from God's hands in the moment as part of what He has equipped me with to do His will. The lights and thus the fans are not on at the moment. It is hot and buggy and I feel sweaty and kinda gross after a long day. But as I have been wrestling through some frustration earlier this afternoon with how tired I was of perpetually sweating, I was reminded of this. God has given me this day and this time for a purpose. And it is times like this when I am reminded, with some perspective the Holy Spirit likely drew to my attention, that my moments of discomfort and actually teensy tiny and will dwarf in comparison to the glory of eternal life in heaven.  "And this world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever." 1 John 2:17.