A Few of My Thoughts

A few of my thoughts: Honduras by Jackie Swope

Coming to Honduras has caused me to reevaluate my thinking about life as I know it. This week eleven of us have lived on whatever fit in a small suitcase and a "personal item". We are all happy and quite comfortable. I might add that I have decided that all those things back home I thought were essential are not only unnecessary but also cumbersome-weighing us down. How so? We spend time buying them, taking care of them, finding places to store them, being responsible for them, sometimes buying one for each member of the family, and replacing them when we deplete our supply.

I understand better what Jesus meant when HE said not to worry about our food or clothes in Matthew 5:25-34. JESUS admonishes us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all your needs will be met. How true--we can come here to help people in Jesus' name and He has provided our every need, kept us safe, happy, and to our relief--well-fed! In fact, we have laughed more this week than I remember in a long time. Could it be that we took the time to talk and enjoy one another? This week we clearly saw GOD at work: Just think about eleven people with different personalities and habits living together in tight quarters, bunk beds, and cold showers; yet, no one was irritable. Instead, we worked together as one team in 100 degree weather, treating 1100 patients in 4.5 days from headaches to all types of infections and rashes, including chickenpox, pregnancy, newborns, fractures, tumors, and seizures, adjusting our clinic sometimes every hour in order to accommodate the masses of people needing medical care.

This has been such a fun and rewarding week--I highly recommend it to everyone I know. It will help you get back in touch with what life is meant to be about--getting to know God better and loving Him more, for to know Him is to love Him and to serve Him is very rewarding.

We have bonded together like a family this week. In fact, when we moved to another city and house, three of our ladies had to sleep in another room and we missed them, preferring that they crowd into our room so we could all be together again.

When you get the chance to go somewhere--anywhere--for God, do it! Please don't stop to think about it--just trust God and do it! God is your faithful Father, and He will take care of you as He did us. He runs the entire universe and is intimately acquainted with every detail of our lives. Go--you'll be glad you did. It is truly a highlight in my life and a privilege to serve our great God!