Sunday, September 9, 2012

Jesus in Disguise

     I took this picture with my ipod while crossing a bridge in Dhaka, Bangladesh. At the time my reaction to the beggar was turning my head the other direction. I couldn't help notice the scars and mutilations to his body. I never gave him any money or showed any sympathy. I just tried to discretely snap this picture as I walked past.

   When I think back on this experience I wonder, who was really underneath the scars and the mutilations? Whose heart was tucked beneath the sweat and dirt caked skin? Was it someone who had given me a home, parents, money, education, and healthy body? Was it someone who had ordained the beating of my heart? I think that I had been partying with His grace for so long, I was inebriated, I could no longer see the giver of that grace. "Everyone you meet is Jesus in disguise."-Mother Teresa

 

Monday, May 7, 2012

Vern

   Vern is originally from New York but has lived in Tennessee for sixteen of her twenty years. Tonight I was talking with her on the phone and I realized how thankful I am that girl left the north. The south is making its mark on Vern. I think it's safe to say that sweet southern water is seeping into her roots. As I was talking to her tonight she told me that she was transporting a load of guinea hens in the back seat of her Ford Taurus. Vern works for a vet and she  has seen several dogs come into the veternarian, their ears filled with a thick layer of those crusty blood sucking creatures.Vern informed me that Tennessee was to see the most tick infested summer it had seen in decades. Vern is not going to take a chance with those pests and she has got the best natural protection possible for her property, God's creatures.
   I love country people and I love Vern.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

BRENT


                         

   The first days of teaching in Bangladesh I was familiarizing myself with my first grade class. As days turned into weeks I began to pick up on the children's different indivualities. Some could be helpful, demanding, sweet, loud, and others lazy. Yet none of them were like Brent, his desk impeccably clean, but he cheated on assignments, rarely gave eye contact and seemed ashamed and lost. On the playground he would observe at a distance or start fights with the other children. Brent did not seem to have a friend and with good reason.
  Despite Brent's attitude my heart went out to him.  My greatest desire was for this little boy to be happy. I began going to his bedroom at night and telling him good night and I loved him. For weeks it seemed as though I was getting nowhere. Often he would ignore me, staring straight through me, meticulously making his bed, or hiding under his blanket. I considered quitting, maybe I was trying to hard, or possibly I was the reason he was acting like this. I wondered if I should let him be. But I could not let him be. I wanted this boy to know what it was like to feel loved and not to be afraid to love.
  One evening I walked back to by apartment, it was dark but the moon was bright and I could see Brent watching me from behind a rose bush. When I got to the bush I bent over picked him up, held him, and told him I loved him very very much.  He tried turning his head so that I could not see his face but he was a little late, for the first time I saw him smile.
   That night I lay in bed and thanked God. My prayers were beginning to pay off. I felt as though I had won a battle.  I had just broken through a major barrier but there were still many difficulties lying ahead. The times Brent demanded, broke, bad mouthed, or just simply hated were many. I wondered how on earth a six-year old boy could possess so much anger. All I knew to do was love him.
  The weeks prior to my leaving were filled with good memories of Brent. Often times I would look out my window and see him waiting for me to come play.  We would walk around the campus hand in hand. He loved jumping over the small bushes that lined the sidewalks. So many times I found myself running along side him swooping him up into the air so he would clear the scratchy bushes. Sometimes he would come to my apartment and want his hair done. One time he helped me with my laundry. In the beginning I remember watching Brent during worships, he did not sing he just sat there with his head hung. He was happier now and I would often see him singing and doing the motions to the music.  Each night I went to tell him good-night and give him a hug he would ask if he could kiss me good-night. Brent's kissing routine was one kiss on the forehead, then both my cheeks, nose, and chin. Sometimes he would sit on my lap outside his room as we would both watch the other kids play.
   I love Brent very much, pray for him, miss him a ton. I don't know how Brent is doing now but I pray that he continues to love and be loved. "But the greatest of these is love"- 1 Corinthians 13:13


Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Mr. Clean

   Ever since I was a wee little thing I always imagined the Ethiopian eunuch that Philip baptized to look just like Mr. Clean!
   Over a period of years Mr. Clean's products slowly disappeared out of our cabinets. Then one day mom came home with this box and low and behold Mr. Clean's face was on the front of it. But inside the box was something incredible, a magic eraser! Today I used the magic eraser to clean our kitchen floor and it worked like a charm. So if you ever are having a difficult time cleaning just give Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser a whirl.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

THEY DON'T LEAVE

   I just got back from a two month stay in Bangladesh. The majority of people in Bangladesh are Muslims. Atop their hospitality, Muslims are full of other respectable qualities that I wish my own religion/denomination could be known for. One of the most impressive characteristics I noticed is that this religion has an effect on its children. Many of these kids grow up very God fearing. From the encounters I have had with Muslims I have come to the conclusion that they are not ashamed of God and in fact they are very proud of the God they serve. I believe this is one of the reasons why Islam is the fastest growing religion. "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." - Proverbs 22:6