Life in the Deep End

January Morning

January 4, 2013Vona Wilson

There is no wildlife on the pond this morning…only ice. The reeds are still and cold. The edges of the water sticky against the grass. The ducks and geese have chosen a different location for their morning chat. They are using Plan B. I wonder where it is? I wonder if they flew in this morning and saw the conditions…then chose another way…like the Wise Men. Or are they here and I cannot see them….nestled in the brush all huddled together for warmth…waiting for the thaw.

Maybe they were here early…dancing on the ice…slipping and falling because they are better at swimming than dancing. Yes… busting their feathers then jumping up to fly off with bruises and joy for the good time! Probably so. Sometimes conditions change and a new approach is required. You have to make the most of it – embrace the moment and see what happens. So ducks and geese fly off in reckless abandon this morning….with joy on their wings. And maybe gratitude that something has changed, even if it involved some bruises.

The Parade

September 16, 2012Vona Wilson

Yesterday was the celebration of independence here in Guatemala and other Central American countries. The bands began the day before and even continue this morning. I walked my way into the sea of people yesterday and tried to blend in which is a ridiculous attempt when you are “white”…but the people are so gracious and I was fine.

I watched the children in mayan dress with their eyes wide open and hearts full of anticipation. The students processed in uniforms, costumes and dreams….all displaying the expressions of honor, respect and love of their country. I could feel their dreams in the sounds of the trumpets, their strength in the beating of the drums and their joy in the bells. I prayed for the opportunities of their futures.

So this morning my reading is from Revelation and the verses 21:24-25 tickled my ears. It is a vision of the “Holy Jerusalem” and the parade of the nations. “Its gates will never be shut by day and there will be no night there. People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.”

What we do on earth can give us a glimpse of what we will experience in heaven. The difference is that the boundaries of our individual countries will be no longer. The gates will be open – the tribes will be welcomed. I won’t stand out as “white” and we will all be sounding our trumpets and dancing to give our Creator honor and glory. I really enjoyed the celebration yesterday and it gave me a little bit bigger picture of the parade in Jerusalem to come. God speaks in mysterious ways.

An Order for Life

March 5, 2012Vona Wilson

Scripture: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no greater commandment than these. (Mark 12:30-31)

Observation: The is the order of a life surrended to God. It is the order of life for Love.

Application: Over the past couple of days a new prayer for my life has emerged and it is a prayer for justice. It surprised me. But as I thought about it, it seemed to fit. God’s justice is about setting things right. It is about alignment. As I read the scritpure this morning, I’m reading from that lens…justice…order…alignment. “My heart” is the wellspring of life and it is to be guarded and protected. Not isolated or unyielding but guarded and protected as a treasure (Proverbs 4:23). That provides some great food for thought in daily decisions…
“My soul” is the voice of God within me…the place of inspiration and spiritual gifts..the source of what God will contribute to the world by my presence on earth. (I Timothy 4:14; and 6:20). This seems like a great start for daily priorities…
“My mind” is the wisdom and understanding developed through learning, skills and experiences given to me on earth. All of it is to be refined and ever growing. Jesus was frustrated with the disciples and religious leaders for then lack of comprehension. (Mark 12:24, 27) (I Corinthians 2:6-16). This is my list of learning and applying all of that learning to my daily life…
“My strength” is my physical energy for life…staying healthy and fit so I can live well in the environment of earth. It is taking care of the temple in which my spirit is present. (I Corinthans 6:19). This is my care of my body…all of it from health, fitness, nutrition…everything.
If I order my life around these ways of loving God, it leads me to love myself by taking care of the way God created me. And by loving God and myself….I am free, able and willing to love with my neighbor.

Prayer: Lord, I know you are a God of justice. There is an order to the way you created all of creation, including the way you created humans. Help me to live into your order, your justice and your love. Thank you for always teaching and providing wisdom for life.

Yield: Be true to what I know allows me to love the Lord with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind and all my strength. Everything else will be “justified” and fall into place.

The Bridge

March 5, 2012July 28, 2012Vona Wilson

The transition place from our work to the return home is Antigua again this year. It is a beautiful city. There is not much “rest” but rather, a change of environment. There are many historical and beautiful sites to see. It is a place to soak in the culture…to breath in the music and the art…to learn from what others are doing. There are many volunteers in Antigua who are teaching the children and learning spanish. If you talk with anyone on the street you will meet one of these volunteers.

I visited two special places in the last 2 days The Moore Pediatric Surgery Center in Guatemala City and God’s Child Project in Antigua. Both of these centers of hope were established by people who were stirred by a need and decided to act. The two things I noticed about these projects that made me take interest:
1. They listened to, respected and engaged the Guatemalan people in the project. The murals on the walls of the Moore Pediatric Surgery Center are the result of 15 Guatemalan artists collaborating and painting to create a beautiful place for children when they come for surgery.

The mural at God’s Child Project. It was created by Freddy E. De Leon Cruz. Febrero del 2000.

The murals at God’s Child Project were also created by Guatemalan artists.

A view into the outdoor chapel at God’s Child Project. The chapel’s stone door is completely open…never closed. A sacred space for all to enjoy.

2. Both projects engaged others in a way that allowed something amazing to emerge. In each of these special places there were small tiles with names or a statement that provided a little history of who or what contributed to a certain room or area being established. It was not done with a “look what I did” feel to it…it seemed more to be saying, “I’m honored to be a part of this vision”.

When I walked onto our church campus in Franklin, Tennessee Sunday morning I was greeted by a church family that I love. I took off my coat and put on my robe. I placed a stole from Guatemala around my neck. It has many colors, including purple, because it is the season of Lent. The robe reminds me to set aside “me” and allow God to use me this morning. The stole reminds me that I am here to serve. Many people asked about our mission experience. The prayer team had taken the journey with us in spirit. The congregation took the journey with us in provision, in sponsoring of children and in prayer. It is humbling to be a part of a community of faith that is willing to follow wherever God leads.

There was no anxiety when I got on the flight to come home. There was no concern of leaving behind too much undone. I only sensed peace. The peace that surpasses all understanding. (Philippians 4: 6-7). The peace that says, “this is no longer a project or an event. This is life and the bridge between here and there is open. Come and go with peace.” Let it be.

The Palacia decorated for Lent in Antigua — The palacia decorated for Lent in Antiqua

Honoring the Voice Inside

March 1, 2012July 28, 2012Vona Wilson

Julia has served as our Translator for this trip. She has been our “voice” with the local people. She has served with much grace and love. Here she assists Hania, the Principal, in making her final speech to the team on Wednesday morning.

Sometimes it is hard to hear your own voice in the “life noise” of all other voices. There are voices of other people, but also of culture, technology, institutions and society. The voice “inside” us can easily be drowned out by “life noise”. All of us are created with a voice that speaks something amazing of God, our Creator. “You knit me together in my mother’s womb, I am fearfully and wonderfully made” – Psalm 139.

IMG_1407-1 — The children presented several dances and the teachers gave us handmade gift as they expressed gratefulness and friendship to the team.

How do you honor the voice inside? The ancient scripture teaching tells us that to honor the voice inside, we have to first love God..the one who created us and gave us life. Some teachings are specific about this “honoring”:
* Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind. (Deuteronomy 6:5)
* He who honors me, I will honor (I Samuel 2:30)
* Love God and self and neighbor (Matthew 22:29)
* Who do YOU say that I am? Know OUR relationship first! (Mark 8:19)

Woody’s voice includes an intentional and careful discipleship that is expressed in many ways. One of those ways is leading a group of skilled and unskilled volunteers in finishing a roof over 3 classrooms! Shelter is provided.

Part of the joy of being with a team is watching everyone find their specific gift for the total work and then put it into place. B.J. offered a great devotional about this earlier in the week. We have all seen it…Russell in the kitchen, Dudley at the dental clinic, John and Calvin on the saw, Jack with the children….on and on and on. Beautiful.

The team has graciously allowed me to venture out and honor the voice God has placed in me. Because of that grace, I have met many more people of this land and connected with local people who are engaged in sharing Hope and Love and Grace in whatever way God has given them to do it in this land. These “adventures” have taken me off the roof (a place I actually really love to be) and into the homes, businesses, and streets of Guatemala. Places I did not dream I would ever go….paths I didn’t know I would ever take. But “adventures” that have been deep inside me for many years. Let it be.

IMG_1454-1 — An unplanned home visit with a new family to me: Romelia Ceguan and her children: Luis, 14; Jonathan, 12; Adelia, 10; Eddy, 8; Jorge 5,; Jerimias, 3; and Jose, 1. Adelia and Eddy invited me to come.

: Marvin is 16 now. He worked with us last year. His father, Andres, helped build the school at La Toma and is a dear friend of Norris. I just stopped by because I haven’t seen Marvin this trip. They brought out a framed picture of Norris and team when the school was dedicated. Continued friendships..old and new. God’s grace.

Magdelana’s Bible. She read Psalm 23 and 91 to me during our visit Wednesday

This is a visit to Halo Guatemala, a school for the deaf where children learn to communicate. Ezekiel goes to school here and we are honored to have the opportunity to support their work in Mazatenango. 20 students go to school here and over 100 are on the waiting list of wanting to go but not able to afford it yet. The staff volunteers their time for this amazing work.

My Life journal musings for today:

Scripture: Numbers 18:1; Mark 8:2
Give the command to the Israelites adn say to them, “See that you present to me at the appointed time the food for the offerings…
“I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry they will collapse…”

Observation:
Food is an important and holy thing in God’s kingdom. From the ancient days of food offerings on the altar – to the way Jesus offered food to the crowds – and even the vision God gave Peter about food (Acts 10), food is connected to our physical AND spiritual lives. Eating is holy. Preparing food is an act of giving life. Sharing a meal is entering into the blessing of communion…God’s presence with us as we are with each other.

Application:
Russell Little has been in the kitchen for 11 days. It is set up in a large hotel room here where we stay. He has a variety of fantastic assistants each day, all of which he has convinced the locals are his 3 wives. Diane (the REAL Mrs. Little) was there the first day, and then Debbie and Dudley rotated through Russell’s kitchen. All of us take clean up duty nightly assignments and preparing sack lunches for the next day.

Russell has prepared breakfast and a feast for supper every day. He goes to the grocery daily and buy fresh food for us. His gifts for cooking and hospitality have blessed us physically and spiritually. As we return from the worksite each day, we enjoy some of the best cooking you can imagine. How awesome is that???

Sharing the evening meal, this “offering”, gives us time for conversation and telling the day’s stories around our table. We come to know one another in a different way. We cool down from the heat of the day and the pressure of long lines of people waiting to see the dentist. We rejuvenate as we feed our bodies and let our souls find relief.

Wednesday morning for our morning devotional, Robin (Dr. Wilhite, the dentist from Columbia FUMC) led us in sharing of our experiences over the past 11 days. We served each other communion. We sang and we prayed. We told stories of what God has done in us this week. We walked through the holy space of God’s presence among us and our heart were and are forever changed. Let it be.

YIELD
Remember that whatever food I take in today is an offering of someone, and whomever I share that meal with is joining me in a walk through the holy space of God’s presence with us.