“Helping”

When I was a young father and my daughters, Brittney and Krishauna, were small they liked to “help” me. Whether I was doing yard work, gardening, or car repair they loved to lend a hand.

I remember one day spreading granulated fertilizer on our yard while Krishauna followed three step behind me over the entire yard. Back and forth we went for an hour with her in my shadow the entire time. When mom asked her what she was doing, she answered, “Helping!” (The tone of her voice seemed to imply that her mother was rather foolish for not realizing that obvious fact.)

On another day, I was weeding our garden while Brittney and Krishauna “helped”. I showed them how to do it and gave them a small area on which to work. Meanwhile, I proceeded to do the other 98% of the garden. I returned to their corner a while later and found them with a small pile of weeds and the beginnings of a dirt castle they had begun to build.

These are very precious memories to me. I loved those days of having two little shadows following me and wanting to help. In the days ahead, the number of shadows grew and I had more “helpers” and I loved every minute of it. As they have grown, I have lost some shadows and gained some new ones, but they all have shared the same desire. They just want to be with me, and “helping” is the way they do it.

Several days ago I was having some quiet time alone with God when these thoughts and memories came flooding into my mind. And, suddenly, God spoke…

God: “Now do you get it?”

Me: “Get what?”

God: “Your ministry.”

Me: “What does my ministry have to do with these memories?”

God: “You are my ‘helper.’”

Me: “Oh…”

For the last several weeks I have been gradually carrying more and more burden on my shoulders. I have so many responsibilities and so many people counting on me. I am in so far over my head the light doesn’t reach this deep. I believeed that I was doing this ministry. But, in one moment, God flipped a switch and reminded me that I am simply His child playing on the edge of the garden while He is doing the real work of ministry. I may hand Him a tool occasionally, and He may even let me pull a few weeds, but the burden of the work lies on Him.

And then I realized that I have been trying to do so much work FOR Him that I haven’t been enjoying being WITH Him. It has been like Brittney and Krishauna sitting in the corner of that large garden thinking that they had to weed the entire thing. Suddenly the fun of being with their dad and “helping” would have evaporated and it would have become just an overwhelming job. That is a pretty good description of my life over the last few weeks.

So, I am starting to have fun again. I am remembering that God is the one doing the real work and He is allowing me the privilege of being with Him while He does. It is such a relief!

So, with that in mind, let me share with you a few things that God has been doing while I get to “help”.

Some time ago I wrote to you about Vinancio. He had a stroke about seven months ago and we found him lying on an old, sagging bed with his left leg and arm drawn up tight against his body. We provided him with some physical therapy, but after eight weeks the therapist decided there was nothing more he could do. One of the things that bothered me was that he and his wife were sleeping on a sagging single bed in their cornstalk and wooden home. Recently one of April’s friends gave her a $100 donation to purchase a new bed and mattress for the two of them. So, at the end of February Gerardo, April, Annalisa, and our friends visiting from the States, Casey and Carmen Stickley, were able to deliver a new bed, mattress cover and sheets to Vinancio.

It sounds like an easy task, but it wasn’t. First, we had to get Vinancio out of the bed and into his wheelchair. That meant that I needed to pick him up and carry him through the narrow doorway because his wheelchair is too wide to make it through the door. After we broke down his old bed and carried it out we then had to use a  garden rake to level out the dirt floor. The water that runs through during rainy season had eroded the floor and made it uneven so that the new bed would not sit level. Then we were finally able to bring in the new bed and set it up. Once it was made with the new sheets I carried Vinancio back in and placed him in bed. His smile was worth all the time, energy and money. We then had a wonderful time of prayer together.

Last week Casey, Carmen and I took a trip up to Flores where we went to pick up more Kids Against Hunger food and work with Casey’s sister, Coral Matus. Coral is a doctor in the States and has started a medical clinic in Peten. She brings medical teams down two or three times a year. So, we headed up in our van early Monday morning. Gerardo was scheduled to join us, but he ended up deciding not to go. Apparently having surgery is more important than a road trip. (He is recovering well from hernia surgery.)

The distance from here to Flores is about 250 miles. In the States that would translate to about a 4 1/2 hour drive. Here it takes about 10 hours. So, we arrived Monday evening quite tired and ready to sleep.

On Tuesday we hit the road and stopped in at the medical clinic where we helped Coral’s team load up supplies. We then headed out to a small village where they set up to host a medical clinic for the day. On the way, we stopped in to visit the new birthing center that is being built to provide maternity care and a clean place in which to give birth. A lack of pre-natal care and trained birth supervision has resulted in high instances of miscarriages, still births and special needs.Coral’s ministry, Sew Hope, is hoping to address these root causes.

Once we arrived at the host home, we helped the team set-up for the day. Then Casey and Carmen stayed there and assisted the team by taking blood pressures, sugar levels and weighing patients while I headed out with one of Coral’s assistants, Ismael, to visit some people who need wheelchairs.

Our first stop was at the home of Vitalina. This friendly woman fell two years ago and injured her right knee. The medical treatment she received was useless and her knee is no longer able to bend. She is currently walking very slowly with a walker, but needs a wheelchair. At the same time, we are trying to arrange for her to come to Antigua to see one of the Faith in Practice teams to inquire if she is able to benefit from surgery. Meanwhile, we need to provide her with a standard wheelchair at a cost of $100.00

 

Next we visited with Santos. This gentleman fell while working and broke his back and was paralyzed from the waist down. He has a wheelchair, but the bearings are shot and he has worn the rubber on the tires completely off so that he now runs on the rims. Like Vitalina he needs a standard wheelchair which costs $100.00. Their household income is less than that each month, so he is desperately in need of assistance.

 

Next came little Emerson. This charming three year old boy suffers from hydrocephalus and a chromosomal disorder. The parents were requesting a wheelchair for him, but after examining him and asking some questions we realized that he could stand and balance on his own and walk along the edge of furniture. I believe that he is close to walking, but if we provide a wheelchair he will never be forced to take those first steps. As a result, we are working to arrange physical therapy for him. The cost will be $22.00 a month.

 

The next home we visited had two people who were struggling due to physical disabilities. Mirna fell as a child and the family was not able to afford medical treatment. Like Vitalina, her knee has seized up and she is unable to bend it. In fact, it bows backwards severely. As a result, walking is both painful and slow. She works making tortillas, and stand for long hours while doing so. After talking with her more, we decided that what she really needs is forearm crutches instead of a wheelchair. This will enable her to take some of the weight off her damaged leg, but still give her freedom to use her hands. This, combined with a stool, will give her what she needs to continue working. The cost of her crutches will be $55.00.

Also in the home is a young man named Juan. He is 32 years old and suffers from crippling rheumatoid arthritis. He is wheelchair bound and loves the chair that has been provided to him. However, he has worn the rubber off the wheels and needs a new seat cushion, back and casters. I am hoping to find all these parts at Bethel Ministries and get him up and running again. Thanks to the generosity of Bethel, this should not cost us anything. 

 

By the time we made it back to the medical clinic the team was done and packing up to leave. I had planned on returning and lending a hand, but the families we visited were spread out across a large area and we spent the entire day on our visits.

The next morning we loaded up 76 boxes of Kids Against Hunger food (I was afraid that any more would pop my tires or collapse my suspension) and hit the road. A mere 12 hours later we finally made it home.

Before I end this blog, there is one more young man I would like you to meet. His name is Cesar and he is 13 years old. We met him yesterday while doing our monthly distribution of food, medicine and diapers. Ironically, he lives right next door to one of our regular families in Ciudad Vieja, but we never knew he existed. He has a lot of challenges, including Down Syndrome and autism, and the results are devastating. As we visited with him and his mother he would repeatedly punch himself in the face and neck or pound his head against the concrete floor and wall. His poor face is bruised and battered and his knuckles are calloused and scarred. His impulse to hurt himself is uncontrollable. We would try to stop him and he would become agitated. However, when we did not stop him he would repeatedly punch himself until he would cry. The power behind his punches are great. I have a deep tissue bruise on my right hand from trying to block one of the blows to his head. With each impact, our team would cringe as the thuds seemed to shake our own heads.

Due to God’s provision, there was a doctor there who was examining Cesar’s older brother. We spoke to him and asked him to examine Cesar. He has a nasty infection on his right hands and we wanted him to treat it. The doctor was very kind and treated him at no charge. We provided them with an antibiotic along with a sedative that the doctor believes will stop or, at least, limit the self-abuse. The monthly cost of this medicine will be $19.00. Please pray for Cesar.

If you are able to help with the cost of any of these wheelchairs or crutches or with the monthly medicines for Cesar please write to me at daryl@hopeforhome.org.

That is all for now. Please remember to enjoy being with our Father as He does the real work!

Daryl, Wanda and the Crew