How much time is necessary in order to have an impact on a lifetime? My guess is it can be as brief as a split second, or maybe it can happen over the course of a week...any amount of time really can have a lasting effect depending on the circumstances under which something memorable occurs. Today started off with a bittersweet morning as the clinic and the bible school was open for the last day until noon. As we were packing up throughout the morning hours in bits and pieces of free moments, the group was in a relaxed happy mood. Not any different really than the mood of this group all week- everyone has voiced how much we have enjoyed working together toward this common goal. But today, the "bitter" part was knowing that we would be leaving soon and be sorry to leave new friends behind. The question was brought up tonight in our group talk about whether or not we thought we would be remembered by the people we have met here, but then it was pointed out that if we remember this for a lifetime, why wouldn't they as well? So...what is the purpose of a mission trip really? Sure, we were here to do the work such as construction, bible school, and a medical clinic, and that assistance was sorely needed in this community just like many others here on Roatan and around the world. But- what is it really that will make a lasting impression? One never knows, but one can be sure that there will be a moment- perhaps a split second or an entire day where everything inside your heart suddenly turns inside out and there is God looking right into you saying "Did you get that message? Am I getting through?" And just like that, you realize something in the way you think, feel, and act will never be quite the same again as it was before. I know I have had a moment or two of that feeling this week, and I have seen it happen as well in the teammates around me too. It has created a bond, a feeling of camaraderie, that we all now share as this week is quickly wrapping up. Tomorrow we will be visiting the community of Pandy Town to open our eyes a bit wider than has already occurred, and I look forward to that. Yes, I know that change can occur anywhere, at home as well as halfway around the world. The difference is that when you leave home and gain a new perspective of life through the eyes of another culture, all of your senses are tuned in to each and every moment because you are like a newborn again for the first time. Everything is new and foreign to you, so you have to be willing to trust others that may be vastly different from you. You observe and you learn and if you are very blessed, a moment will come when two worlds collide and you find yourself standing there holding the hand of a person who was once a foreigner to you, but is now a dear friend, and God steps in to touch you both...
"Listen, O heavens, and I will speak;
hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
Let my teaching fall like rain
and my words descend like dew,
like showers on new grass,
like abundant rain on tender plants."
Deuteronomy 32:1-2


Carmen and I