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Two Trees…

I’ve been thinking lately about the following Bible verse:

“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.” -Matthew 12:33

When we look at a fruit tree, what do we see? We see the trunk, we see the branches, we see the leaves and in certain seasons, we will see the fruit. But is that the entire tree? No! We fail to see the most important part of the tree…the roots!

The roots of the tree not only provide stability for the tree within the surrounding soil, it also provides all the nutrition that will sustain the tree, the branches, the leaves and ultimately the fruit. The ultimate health of the roots (the overflow of nutrients) are what determines the overall health of the tree and everything it produces…or doesn’t…and we can’t even see them.

Back to the Bible for a second. The very next verse in Matthew states,

“For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.…”

Meaning, that everything we say or do, (our fruit) comes from the overflow of whatever is in our heart. Like the roots of a tree, people can’t see what is in our hearts. But they can make a determination of the condition of our heart by what is evidenced in our lives.

So let’s look at two trees:

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The “fruit” of this tree is all the bad stuff we see in our world. Things like pride, immorality, rage, drunkenness and overall discord are all the result of what we call sin. These sins seek to destroy everything it touches, and many times, the very tree itself!

But what is at the root of sin? What is feeding it?

In every case, I believe the root cause (no pun intended) of all sin is Selfishness. Simply stated…it is putting “your” needs and wants ahead of everyone else’s.

Ok, now let’s look at another tree.

On this tree, the “fruit” we see are things like love, compassion, generosity, joy and unity. All of these fruits are blessings to others. They uplift and give life to others and in every case, they are “gifts” to the recipient and, as a result, the tree thrives.

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But why? What is at the root of a tree like this?

I believe what nourishes such a tree is Selflessness. Selflessness is literally thinking of your “self” less. It is putting “others” needs and wants ahead of your own.

Two very real trees with two very different types of fruit. Unfortunately, our lives are filled with both types and what is more disturbing is that at times…we too can exemplify the same.

So what do we do?

I like to simplify stuff…so here ya go…

Focus on the root.

Which are you? Which would you like to be?

Pick one, feed it daily with your thoughts, your words, and your actions. Nurture it and then let the fruit of your life speak for itself.

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Unexpected Gifts

 Nothing is better than an unexpected gift. It can be anything, an actual item, a service, or just a listening ear at an appropriate moment.

This has been a week that was full of them.

Like most guys, there is usually a local “dive” restaurant that serves good food…at even better prices that men love to frequent for lunch or for a snack during the day. We stopped at such a place. He says that “one day” I come to love the place because they serve great food…but as I looked around at the open-air cooking stall, the thousands of flies that seemed to love the place as well and the…well you get the idea… Anyway, we stopped for a quick bite (I just had a coke…in the bottle) and we were off.

We went to a warehouse where several local ministries receive all sorts of goods from the States and sometimes they share their excess (whatever that may be) among themselves. So today, we were given several huge bags of dried red beans and dried black beans. We loaded them in the back of the truck and off we went on our errands for the day.

We stopped back by the restaurant that we had just left and Oscar filled about a dozen plastic buckets full of beans and gave them to the women that ran the restaurant. It was the most “natural” thing that I have ever seen. The look on their faces was so joyful…and once the buckets were full, we simply climbed back into the truck and went on our way. Not another word was spoken about it…it was a “natural” thing to do.

Yesterday, Amy brought about 11 women from the village over to their house and she was going to teach them how to make quiche! Not something you might expect…but evidently it’s a big deal…40Q for a small slice in restaurants = $5.21. So around lunchtime, here come the women and I got to sit back and observe Amy work with these women and teach them new cooking skills that they could have never imagined. I watched their faces and they were so joyful… Then…just like Amy…while the quiches were in the oven, Amy and her Sister-in-law taught the women how to make baby blankets. It was amazing! When it was all over one of the pregnant women when home with the blanket and the women all took quiche home to their families.

In the middle of all this, Oscar and I jumped in the truck and went to visit Jose Angel (the man with one leg) that we built a stove for in April as well as installed several solar lights. It was an impromptu visit that allowed us to see how he was “really” doing. I was disappointed to see that his living condition was not good. The place was dirty and unkempt. There were empty bins of food all over the place. He had not used the stove and his roof had leaked in several places around the lights we had installed. No Bueno.

We learned that Jose Angel was having problems figuring out how to keep a fire going in the stove and ultimately gave up. He was also out of wood. The leaks were not in the lights themselves, but in the surrounding tin roofing where they had been installed. The rains had also come in where he was sleeping and he had to move his bed to another area of his small home.

I guess what hit me was how difficult it must be for an elderly man, living alone in a wheelchair, dirt floor, and no job or income to get by on a day-to-day basis. When we were last in his home, it was clean and we had all left feeling pretty good about the work we had done by building him a stove and new lighting and how it would change his life…but that is not reality….this was reality. It was a good lesson for me and one that I need to remember. This work is not a “one and done” effort…it is an ongoing effort…

We left Jose Angel with several bags of beans, rice, and flour and Oscar said he would send some workers to his home today to repair the roof. We are also going to stock him with firewood and work with him to teach him how to use the stove. Oscar said he would also have one of his workers regularly visit Jose Angel to clean and to just provide him some help as he needs it.

Unexpected gifts…that is what today was all about. Nobody made a big deal about anything…it was just “natural”…it was just being human and taking care of people…just because we could. It was the Gospel lived out and I am so grateful that I got to experience it.

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The Paradox of Our Time

I recently was going through some old notes I have taken along the way and found this little nugget. Many people have laid claim to its wisdom, from the Dalai Lama to George Carlin and others. Regardless…I believe wisdom is wisdom…and whoever created it is irrelevant…

Our responsibility is simply to share it…so here ya go…

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints.

We spend more,but have less; we buy more, but enjoy less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time.

We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little,drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years.

We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space, but not inner space.

We’ve done larger things, but not better things. We’ve cleaned up the air,but polluted the soul. We’ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice.

We write more but learn less. We plan more but accomplish less.

We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes.

These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom.

A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight …or to just hit delete.

Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember to give a warm hug to the one next to you because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn’t cost a cent.

Remember to say, “I love you” to your partner as well as your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment, for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak, and give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

…and another thing… why not try to smile more while you’re at it! 🙂

-blessings,

Bob

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My Grandfather Exercise…

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I call this my “Grandfather Exercise.” By that, I mean, picture yourself as a 90-year-old grandfather (or grandmother) sitting in a rocking chair. Think about the “life wisdom” that your Grandfather-self would share with your current self if asked about those life lessons that should be known and incorporated into your life. Think about the value of that wisdom…

This is what “my Grandfather self” would say…

1. Do what you say.

to others

to yourself

2. Surround yourself with the right people.

people that are doing stuff

people that have good values

3. Relationships rule.

all opportunities come from people

be the friend you would like to have

4. Be effective not necessarily efficient.

be more concerned with results

5. Be intentional.

have a target

know why you’re doing everything you do

6. Grow.

read, travel, turn off the TV

be better tomorrow than you were today

7. Be grateful.

open your eyes, your mind and your heart…in that order

spend time outside in nature

8. Eliminate “good enough.”

it usually isn’t

9. Write it down.

thoughts, to do’s, goals, dreams, things you’re grateful for, people to pray for, memories of your youth

your mind is not meant to be a file cabinet

10. Think like a Sushi chef.

finish what you start

clean up as you go

11. Look people in the eye.

that’s where connection begins

and trust resides

12. Listen more than you speak.

your words will be more valuable

13. If it’s not nice, don’t say it.

our words are meant to lift others up

not tear them down

14. Everyone is important.

that includes you

15. Guard what you see and listen to.

you are responsible for you

16. Use the computer as a tool, not as a place to “surf.”

your time is valuable

and limited

17. Smile more!

we all need it

18. Watch your pennies.

like the saying goes, “if you watch your pennies, the dollars will take care of themselves”

19. Give.

we were not put on this earth to be only consumers

20. Think long-term.

that which is best is rarely that which is easy

I know many people that may read this post have children. I also know that you will have limited opportunities to shape the future of your children by what you choose to talk about in the car, over the dinner table, or just hanging out together. My hope is that you might use this time to begin a dialogue about “how to live.” It may seem silly…but think about it…where else are they going to learn?

Ask them what their 90-year old grandfather or grandmother might share with them. Heck…you might learn something!

Feel free to drop a comment to add to the list! Heck…I might learn something!

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Rites of Passage…

 Boys everywhere have a need for rituals marking their passage to manhood. If society does not provide them they will inevitably invent their own. 

-Joseph Campbell

In 2012, I was in Tanzania and had just completed climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. I remember driving through the countryside and seeing young African boys from the Maasai tribe. They were dressed as typical Maasai, however, the cloaks that many of the boys wore were black, and then there were some that had very colorful red cloaks. I asked my driver what the difference was and he told me the boys in black had not become men yet. I pressed the driver to explain, and he told me all about the Maasai rites of passage from boys to men. I won’t go into the specific details (because it’s gross), but I was fascinated, and it got me thinking about rites of passage in general. So here I am, four years later…and I’m finally going to write about my feelings on them.

So what is a rite of passage?

I began reading articles on this to try to understand a little bit more about this cultural practice. I found out that sociologists have identified three phases that constitute a proper rite of passage: Separation, Transition, and reincorporation.

Separation: During this phase, the boy is separated in some way from his former life.

Transition: During this phase, the boy is between worlds. He is no longer part of his old life but not yet fully inducted into his new one. He is taught the knowledge needed to become a full-fledged member of the new stage of life he is moving into, and he is called upon to pass tests that show he is ready for the move. The boy would then participate in ritual ceremonies which often involved pain and endurance to prove himself worthy of such a transition.

Re-incorporation: In this phase, the boy, having passed the tests necessary and proving himself worthy, is re-introduced into his community, which recognizes, celebrates and honors his new status within the group.

During all phases of the process, the men who have gone through the ritual themselves guide the boy on his journey. By controlling the rite of passage, the men decide when a boy becomes a man.

So I began to reflect on my own life…did I have a rite of passage?

Separation: In my case, I went away to The Citadel, a military college. All my former possessions were left behind, my head was shaved, and I was given a uniform to wear. During this separation phase, my old-self was broken down and eliminated, and a new me was being prepared.

Transition: From the day of my arrival as a freshman in August each day for next nine months, I was subjected to an entirely new way of life that included being yelled at, prodded, disciplined, having to perform thousands of push-ups and running in place, marching, drills, inspections and everything one might expect in a military training environment. All of this was to prepare me to join the ranks of all those that came before me and were referred to as a “Citadel man.”

Re-incorporation: The nine-month period of daily preparation culminated in May just one week before the end of the school year in a ceremony known as “recognition day.” This day began early with nothing but physical torture. Running, push-ups, more running, more push-up all the while having trash cans of alternating hot and cold water dumped on us from four stories above us. Bodies cramping as a result and being forced to continue until exhaustion and then some… Then it all stopped. Then we were lined up as one class of freshman and one by one, each upperclassman introduced themselves and allowed us from that point on to address them on a first name basis. We had officially been “recognized” into the Corps of Cadets.

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I’ll never forget that day…and that moment. It is etched into the fabric of my soul.

So why do I think about all this stuff now?

Well, when I turn on the TV and watch the news, I see many young men doing stupid stuff. When I travel around the world whether it is in Africa or Latin America, I see many “boys” in men’s bodies still acting like boys. They are not providing for their families, they are not leading, they are not providing a positive role model for other young men to emulate. They have in effect abdicated the throne. As a result, the burden that men have refused to carry has been dumped on to the already excessive responsibilities that women are carrying.

I see this everywhere. Women are taking care of the home, the children, carrying the majority of the financial burden of the home and where the man is still in the picture (as rare as that may be), they are taking care of him too. Also, when I think about many of the world’s problems, gangs, drugs, sex trafficking, wars, and violence it’s all mostly a bunch of men…searching for power, searching for control, searching to answer the question every man needs to know…

“Am I a man? Do I have what it takes?”

In our culture, we don’t have a traditional rite of passage for men. However, in many cases, military service has served as the best route for this to happen. But as fewer and fewer men are choosing this path, the question then becomes…where will they get this question answered? How will they know? Will other men identify them as men?

I don’t have the answers to all that. But I do know that the longer we continue to ignore this need in men…we, as a society will continue to unravel.

Which brings me back to the beginning.

The reason I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in the first place was to reaffirm the question that had been answered over 30 years prior, “Am I still a man? Do I still have what it takes?”

I know for me, I will continue to challenge myself and check myself on these questions for the rest of my life. It gives me a grounding, a purpose, and peace knowing the answer to both is still…yes.

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Choose Love…

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Sometimes this world seems just a little too difficult.

The things we see and witness, the pressures of family, finances and friendships, the differences in world views that are literally trying to rip us apart as a society are all constantly playing in out in our lives like a looped video. As a result, we often feel powerless, hopeless, frustrated and sad when we think of the days that are ahead of us. That feeling of “I can’t do anything about it” is the worst feeling we can have and it is the one thing we can’t allow ourselves to believe! We CAN do something! We ALL can do something! What can we do? We can choose to love!

We can choose to love those we don’t understand. We can choose to love those we don’t agree with. We can choose to love those that have wronged us or we fear will wrong us. We can choose to love those that have different beliefs. We can choose to love those that have different life experiences and expectations out of life. We can choose to love those that are struggling and those that boast. We can also choose to love those that may never know we love them. All of this is within our power…

There are many people here in Antigua that are struggling for one reason or the other and as a result, they sit on the sidewalks and beg for handouts. These people have become “invisible” to most of the tourists and even mission teams that visit the city. They are routinely walked around, looked over and avoided at all cost. But the funny thing is…they have become “my peeps.”

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Over the past few months here in Antigua, I have developed what is now becoming a little “street ministry.” Each day I’m in Spanish class from about 9am to 3pm. Then I hit the streets to get my workout in. (10,000 steps/day…thanks to the ever present reporting of fit-bit.) During my walk, I’ll go by and see “my peeps.” They are usually located at certain places in and around the city. Some are in the park, some sit on a sidewalk on a certain street. Some are on a street corner and some are just wandering around.

Once I find them I’ll just sit down with them and talk. Sometimes we’ll pray together, sometimes we’ll just talk about their day or their family or life, and sometimes… we’ll just sit. But the important thing is…they are no longer “invisible.” They are seen and we are friends. I truly love these people! Nothing makes me smile more than the time we get to spend together each day. They are a gift to me.

So I guess my point is this…there are people in our daily lives right now that deserve our attention…they deserve our time and they deserve our love. But they are not the easiest to love. Choosing love empowers us and puts life back into proper perspective. Sometimes it is not easy. Sometimes it’s uncomfortable and it can sometimes be inconvenient…but it’s one of our only…and I believe our best option. It also provides a healing that this world most desperately needs…

We all can do something. We can all do this… Choose to love.

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Pebbles…

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Walking around Antigua I’ll sometimes get a pebble in my shoe. Now I’m an engineer and I still don’t quite understand how this happens. My foot is constantly moving forward and somehow a pebble is dislodged from the ground and is required to move up and in the same direction as my foot and at a greater velocity in order to catch up with my shoe to enter it at the precise moment and at the precise location! It defies logic…but I digress…

Somehow and for some reason…I often get a pebble in my shoe. Once it enters my shoe, I immediately know it. I know precisely where it is and what part of my foot is now being subjected to the mild discomfort of the unwelcomed intruder. But the funny thing is…I’ll rarely stop my walk and take my shoe off and remove it! I’ll just keep walking…and thinking about the growing discomfort in my shoe. I’ll even shake my foot in hopes of moving the pebble to a different location within my shoe. Sometimes, that actually works…at least for a period of time. Then for whatever reason, the pebble reemerges from its hiding place and begins once again to make my walk less enjoyable.

Why do I write about something so trivial?

Well, because I believe that unforgiveness is much like that pebble. We all go through life…minding our own business and then…bam! That unforgiveness pebble has now entered our life. We never saw it coming and we never wanted it…it is truly an unwelcomed guest in our lives. However, like me…very few of us stop and deal with it. We just continue on with our lives and every now and then we will shake ourselves in hopes of allowing the unforgiveness to go into hiding…but like the pebble…it’s only temporary. It will reemerge and it will ultimately wear a very painful blister on our soul.

So why don’t we just stop? Why don’t we just pause our life and deal with those situations, people, and circumstances in our lives that have hurt us and if ignored…will ultimately cause us so much pain? My guess is that like me…we just want to keep moving. We mistakenly think that if we just keep walking…the pebble will miraculously find its way out of our shoe and our life…much the same way it miraculously found its way into our shoe and our life! But that rarely (if ever) happens. The net result is always the same…our walk through life is hampered… and all we receive is nothing more than a painful blister.

So how about we all just take a moment out of our lives, let’s just sit down and take off our shoes and shake them out anyway. We never know what may fall out. Then we can put them back on and get on with enjoying our walk.

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What I’ve learned from a year of living in Guatemala

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I can’t believe I’ve been living in Guatemala for exactly one year already!

My initial plan (ha, ha, ha) was to come down for 6 months, learn the language and then go back. Well…sometimes plans change…and I’m still learning the language. But I’m also learning some things that I never anticipated…and that is what I would like to share in this post.

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We are all familiar with this children’s song, but I also believe it is a way the Guatemalans live their life…

  1. Row, row, row. Guatemalans are extremely hard workers. Like a woman I met at the Guatemala City dump said, “if I don’t work, I don’t eat.”
  2. They row “their” boat. They are not worried about what other people are doing.
  3. They row it “gently.” Guatemalans don’t make a big fuss about much.
  4. They row it “down the stream.” They pretty much go with the flow…literally.
  5. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily. Guatemalans love their friends, they love their family and make it a priority over just about anything else.
  6. Life is but a dream. They pretty much appreciate life for what it is…a one time shot..and they make the most out of each day…usually smiling.

Not a bad philosophy…don’t you think?

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I think in many interactions, there is a split second of tension when we see a new person. Our brains begin making assessments and judgments about them like, “Do I like this person? Do I trust this person? Am I safe? What do they think of me?”

All these questions race through my mind as I meet or pass a new person each day. However, what I have found is if I am the first one to engage them…and I do it in a nice and friendly way…I get a nice and friendly response in every case.

It’s like they are catching the ball that I pitch.

I may not be able to control every interaction, but by being the first to throw out the pitch that I want…it certainly increases the chances that I’ll get a favorable response in return.

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Here in Antigua, each day there is a sunny side of the street and a shady side of the street. Also each day, I see many Americans walking on the sunny side of the street, shielding their faces from the intense sun and complaining how hot it is. While at the exact same time, all the Guatemalans are contently walking in the cool of the shade.

We all get up each morning and we have a choice. Are we going to make it a good day, or not. That is our first decision and that simple decision then becomes the filter that we experience that day through.

Regardless of what is going on in our lives, we all have a choice in how we are going to view it… Choose the shade!

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Sometimes I come home after a workout or a hard day and I’m all hot and sweaty. I am anxiously looking forward to that refreshing shower and clean clothes. Then, when I turn on the water…I get that horrible gurgling sound…and no water.

It’s in these moments I have a choice…get all upset over something I can’t control…or live with what is. I have learned to live in what is and in those times, these Huggies wipes are the best solution to my immediate problem.

Such is life. We can choose to get upset when things don’t work out…or we can accept what is and move on…

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I pass many Americans on the streets here every day. I have to say, most of them seem to be miserable and disconnected from the rest of the world. Whether they are looking at their phones or not making any eye contact as they pass…the vibe is always the same…I am invisible and not important.

While Guatemalans may be reserved, a brief “Bueno Dias” will always produce a smile and a “Bueno Dias” in return. Even when I pass a group that is talking among themselves, they always return my greeting and smile.

I have realized that I love exchanging eye contact and greetings so much that I rarely wear sunglasses! I want them to see me “connect” with them…unlike many Americans, they may have passed that day.

The end result is, I am energized by them and although I may not know them personally…I feel connected to them.

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I learned this phrase from Oscar. Many times I would wait to start something until I had all the information or answers. Oscar would always remind me to just get going and then when new information became available, all I would need to do is adjust.

Brilliant advice and advice that works. Many of us never start down the road of our dreams and desires, waiting for conditions to be different or perfect. That rarely happens and by not starting…we may never arrive.

Adjust the load on the road…get going and figure the rest out as it comes!

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We bring many teams of volunteers down to Guatemala and the question that I hear the most is, “So, what are we going to do next?”

The reason this question drives me crazy is that they are missing the value of the present moment. They are always wondering what’s next and ignoring the lessons and the experiences of the things they are currently doing or the people they are with. It’s always…next.

Even after I tell them what we are doing next…it just opens the door to more questions.

Guatemalans don’t do that. They just live in the moment they are in…relaxed, happy and content.

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This goes back to choices. Do you intentionally control what you allow your mind to think about or focus on? Have you ever had the experience of searching for something you really wanted and after finding it…you see it everywhere?

We only have so many waking hours in the day and in those hours, we can focus on things that bring us life and energy…or rob us of life and energy. It’s our choice. We choose what goes in our mind.

I like to look for things in my day to day life that look like a cross. I have compiled a folder of crosses that I have seen over time and the mere fact that I’m looking for them in my world…makes me happy.

The Bible reminds us, “seek and you shall find.” Whatever I’m consciously (or subconsciously) looking for in life…I’ll find it. I have learned to look for the good…and I have learned to look for God…everywhere and in everyone.

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One day while Don Juan and I were building a stove, I looked up at this clothesline. There were no clothespins holding up the clothes! Just two cords wrapped around each other and the clothing pulled in between the two. How cool!

Then, I started thinking about how in life, the same is also true. Two people working together can do more than each can do individually. I started thinking about how the Guatemalans value each other and they spend time with each other.

Family and friendships, relationships of all types are valued above just about everything else here. Being independent or “on your own” is not something they celebrate…because life is better with others…it just is.

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I don’t think I could have learned much of what I learned about myself without traveling. Placing myself in a new country and in new environments allows me to look back on my thoughts and beliefs and see them differently…with more clarity.

Basically, I never questioned why I believed what I believed or did what I did…until I couldn’t do it anymore. I had to get away from it…to see it.

I think this is a valuable lesson. Sometimes we all need a little space and time to see our situation with more clarity and honesty. I can’t think of too much in my life that demands an immediate response from me and by creating some space for me to look at the situation from afar…I tend to see more…

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I think that regardless of what we all do…one thing is certain…we are all in the “people business.” And there is one thing about being in the “people business”…it’s usually messy!

Most times, people have conflicting wants, needs, viewpoints and past experiences that make them do what they do. But we also have an opportunity to make our own impression on them.

A lasting impression…and that is our opportunity…and our choice.

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I think the toughest question I’ve ever asked myself is, “Am I living the life God created me to live?” I asked this question of myself several years ago. At that time, I believe I was a different person. I was pretty much unhappy with my career, I was running from a life that I felt God was calling me into, I was pretty much self-centered and I didn’t like kids…I thought they were “little germ carriers.” Yep, I was a “great guy.”

However, I finally quit running. I finally turned my life over to God and got in the game. Pastor Andy Stanley says, “When you give your life over to Christ…your future is now His problem.” I could not agree more…

What I didn’t expect was what my future would look like and where it would take me. What I also didn’t expect were the changes that He would make in my heart and in the way I live.

Living in Guatemala was something I would have never guessed would happen in my life. But over the past year, I think I’ve laughed and smiled more than I had done for my entire life beforehand. I’ve been changed from the inside and I know it. I think God has made a better me than the one I spent my life trying to make…and all I did was to “get in the game.”

So as I look back on the past year…I think this final photo pretty much sums it up. This little girl lives in Guatemala City dump…and I love her…

So much for being a “little germ carrier.”

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Being lost vs. Feeling lost…

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I spent last weekend with Oscar, Amy and Diego at their home in the mountains of Las Anonas, Guatemala. Their home is located within a beautiful compound and just behind their home are beautiful mountains, trees, and fields.

Late in the afternoon on Saturday, Diego and I decided to hike in the mountains behind their home. He had done it many times and called it a “small walk.” So we took off on a “small walk.” We climbed over and under several barbed wire fences and eventually found ourselves in the most beautiful pasture land and rolling hills that I have seen.

As we took a moment to take in the beautiful scenery, he pointed out to me where he had previously hiked. He pointed up to a mountain where there happened to be smoke about two-thirds of the way up the mountain and he said that once he had almost climbed that high. So we headed off in that direction.

Now the terrain was a mix of trees, open pasture and then a large section of brush. We hiked up navigating over dry stream beds, climbed over rocks, and danced around all types of thorned bushes. But through it all…it was straight up…like steep up!

Both of us realized just how bad we were out of shape as our hearts raced and we were gasping for our next breath. All the while continuing up and continuing to push our way through brush, thorns, and no visible path.

We finally reached a point to where Diego said, “Wow, I’ve never been up this far before!” So we took a moment to take in the view and then tried to decide our next move.

  1. Do we go down the same way we came up? That answer was no. We were not going to forge our way through all of that brush again.
  2. Do we make our way to the treeline and hope we can go down with less effort? We tried that and were soon faced with a large deep washout that was surrounded by brush.
  3. Do we continue to go up and then try to find a road or another way down? That sounded like a plan and so we continued up.

We finally reached and open field on the side of the mountain where people were working the soil planting corn. This is where the smoke was coming from that we had seen from the bottom of the mountain. We continued up to the top of the mountain. The view was spectacular, but it also proved to us that we were very far from where we had begun our hike.

We took a moment to consult Google Maps to get a look at where we were and the easiest way to get “home.” The sun was beginning to set behind the mountain, and soon it would be getting dark. I began to feel the tightening in my chest of the oncoming of some anxiety as I realized that our options to get home before dark were going to be limited to:

  1. Going back the way we came. Yuk.
  2. Hiking towards another mountain, thinking we would hit a road that would then take us back to Las Anonas.

I stood on top of this mountain and just looked at my options…none of them felt right. Then I did something random and completely by mistake…I walked about 10 feet to another area on the mountain…

What I saw in this new location was a clearing that led down the mountain to a treeline that would take us in the right direction…towards home. So that’s what we did. We took that path.

The clearing was an easy downhill walk to the treeline. I picked up a beautiful trail under the trees that led us down the mountain and dumped us back into the pasture where we had started our uphill climb.

10 feet…I just moved 10 feet…and everything changed.

I thought about the “life lesson” I experienced on this hike. Sometimes we find ourselves in a “proverbial pickle.” A situation that seems hopeless or filled with anxiety and risk. Our options at this point may seem limited. But what I learned to do was to change my perspective. Do something. Not big or drastic. Just do something I haven’t done yet…like walk 10 feet to get a new perspective.

How this might look in real life could be doing things like taking a drive, going a new way to work, getting up an hour earlier, journaling, working out, calling an old friend, taking a class…something…anything new and different.

We all get lost from time to time…but we don’t have to feel lost. We have a way home, and we may simply need to move a mere 10 feet to see it.

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Trash to Treasure…

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Last week I was able to spend the day at the Guatemala City dump. I had read about this area several years ago, and as bad as it seemed…I was anxious and excited to finally get to check it out.

This is one of the largest dumps in Central America and extends over an area equal to 22 football fields. They receive over 200 tons of garbage each day. It is surrounded by families that for generations have made their livelihood sorting through the trash to salvage and re-purpose anything they could find. In one area we visited there were 200 small corrugated metal homes all packed together, and we were told that 800 families lived in that area! Four families per home!

Our host for the day was an organization called Potters House. They have done an incredible job over the years investing in and providing for the people in this area. One of their precepts that I found interesting was what they called “The Eight forms of Poverty.” Like many, when someone referred to poverty, I immediately thought of a lack of food. However, they have identified eight other forms.

In order of importance they are:

  1. Spiritual Poverty – Lack of a relationship with God.
  2. Intellectual Poverty – Lack of access to knowledge or the presence of distorted knowledge.
  3. Poverty of Affection – Lack of love or having inappropriate feelings.
  4. Poverty of the Will – Lack of self-control.
  5. Physical Poverty – Lack of health.
  6. Poverty of a Support Network – Lack of a close family or community support.
  7. Poverty of Civic Involvement – Lack of interest or participation in community matters.
  8. Economic Poverty – Lack of financial resources.

We visited several homes of people that live in the dump and it was as you might imagine…difficult. One man we visited made t-shirts. They looked great! Just like something I would buy in a store! They even had a tag on them.

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However, the most impressive thing I saw was the jewelry. The women take magazines or posters and cut them up and roll them in glue to make beautiful beads that they then turn into all types of jewelry. Absolutely amazing and beautiful! The women we met were actually on deadline to make jewelry for a large retail store! As we walked around, we began to notice just how organized it was. There were men that were sorting and stacking cardboard. There were men that were banding together plastic bags. There was a woman that was pulling a cart that was filled with scrap wood. She looked at us with a smile and simply said,“ If I don’t work…I don’t eat!”

We were also taken to a building that provides nutritious meals for the children of the dump each day. They even made lunch for us! Now, this was something I wasn’t initially looking forward to…me…“Mr. Sensitive Stomach”… eating at a dump. However, the lunch they made for us and the children consisted of chicken, beans, tortillas and potato soup…and jello! It was actually the best meal I had all week! We ate and then the children from the dump began to file in. They were organized by ages, and all sat at corresponding tables. We then were allowed to go to the kitchen and grab the lunch trays and serve them. How cool that was? We served several hundred children from the ages of 5 to 12. Then, after they ate, we got to sit with them and just talk.

The Potters House also provides schooling for the kids as well as a psychologist that meets with each one of them as needed. It was amazing to see the smiles of these children. I sat with the psychologist and asked her about what she has typically seen as problems within the community. She said that most were family problems. I also asked her about how the children’s self-esteem is affected by the reality of where they live. She said that the younger children don’t see living in the dump as a problem, but as they grow older, they begin to realize their environment. Her job (as well as Potters House) is to transform their thinking about themselves. They work with them over time so that they stop viewing themselves as “trash” and begin to see themselves as God sees them…a “treasure.” This is not just a “slogan” either. Each time someone from Potters House refers to a person in that community, they refer to them as one of their “treasures.”

Finally, I asked the Potters House if they knew of any environments that were worse than the dump. They all agreed that living in the dump provides the people with a strong community, friends and regardless of the conditions…it’s home to them. The areas they felt were worse were the rural areas where there is a limited opportunity or community. Ironically, these are the areas where Hope Ignited has been working! Wow. Worse than the dump…and after thinking about it…I agree!

All in all…it was a wonderful learning experience for me. I take my hat off to organizations like Potters House. We finished up the day by actually hosting a business training clinic for about 50 micro-entrepreneurs that live in and around the dump. We taught basic business skills, ethics, money management and customer service skills. It was well received and at the end of the day…so were we.

I actually hated to leave…

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