Little Steps

Hola!

          

        This past week, some of the guys and I traveled 4 hours to an area of Honduras called Florida. There, we visited two villages, meeting with the leaders of the communities in order to plan two different missions we will be doing in December. In one of these villages, the people were excited to take us to a “touristic” spot close by. So we went with them on a tiny path through the woods, up and up. Eventually we came to the peak of the mountain, and understood why the people wanted to bring us there…the view was incredible! You could see all the way to the border of El Salvador, marked by a massive volcano and a huge lake surrounded by mountains. Closer in, the mountainous terrain was scattered with bunches of little white adobe houses. Beautiful!

            But I’m not recounting this just to talk about the view. Two things really struck me about this experience. First – the people who brought us up to this spot kept telling us beforehand: “Hay una vista del mar!” (There’s a view of the sea!). I was confused about what they meant, because I knew that we weren’t close to the coast. But when we got there and saw the huge lake in the distance, I realized: these people think that lake is the sea! There was something so beautiful about this mistaken supposition. This lake is very far away, all the way in El Salvador; and these people and their ancestors have probably lived in this same village without electricity for centuries – they probably just always assumed it was the ocean, because they would have no reason to think otherwise! How cool is that?!

            Second – from this vantage point, I could also see another village named Guanacaste that I did a mission in last December, wayyyyy out in the distance. Just one year ago, I was there in Guanacaste, waking up in the early morning and watching the sun rise over the surrounding mountains. Now, one year later, I was standing on one of the very mountains I marveled at last year. It was truly like looking back in time – remembering where I was one year ago, who I was one year ago, as compared to now. It was like I could see everything that has happened in this past year, and all that has brought me to where I am at right now in my life – all in an instant. I was, both literally and figuratively, seeing things “from above.” God loves to bring things full circle!

            Another recent highlight: One of our ministries in the mission is to visit the homes of different families who have handicapped children, doing physical therapy exercises with them in order to strengthen them and help them to learn motor skills. I have the privilege of getting to serve 2 of these kids. One is name Cristian, and he is 18 years old. He was born with problems in both legs and one arm. As a child, he was able to walk a little bit with the help of braces, but as he grew older and the braces no longer fit, he sadly lost the ability to walk. Different missionaries have been doing physical therapy with him off and on over the past several years to help him to be as mobile as possible, but he still is confined to a wheelchair.

Helping Cristian to stand up

            This past week during our physical therapy session, Wendy, one of the Honduran missionaries, was trying to help Cristian stand with the help of a walker. He has been able to do that for some time now. All of a sudden she looked at him at asked: “Cristian, do you think you could take a few steps with the walker?” He seemed really unsure and a bit scared, but he said he would try. He began to slowly move one foot, and then drag the other one behind it, bit by bit……his first step! He then made two more steps, before we helped him back to his chair. He seemed honestly shocked and definitely pleased!! What a cool moment! It was even more amazing than getting to see a babies first steps, because a baby is supposed to take its first steps. You know that eventually, no matter how long it takes, the baby will get the hang of it. But with someone who is handicapped, you don’t always have that certainty. Many of the kids/teens we work with have lost any hope of ever walking again, even if it’s possible – mostly because they don’t have anyone to challenge them and to encourage them that it is possible. So getting to see these miraculous first steps brought hope both to Cristian and to us.

            Cristian was so tired after these 3 steps, he was sweating and had to take a break. Later in the day, after a lot of work and walking around, I almost began to complain about how tired I was --- and then I remembered Cristian, and I realized: how lucky that I even have the ability  to be tired after a long day of work! What a blessing that I have the gift to be able to work and serve and walk around! Sometimes we forget how absolutely incredible and truly miraculous those little gifts are. Just as Cristian’s first 3 steps are a miracle, so are my first 3 steps every morning… 

Pray for Honduras this weekend! Elections are tomorrow, and it's a very important election!

Peace in Christ,

Eric