Today was the day I had to "direct" the service at church. Last week I prepared a message and practiced it in Spanish yesterday when I went to the women's group. But then last night I felt like God was telling me that I was taking the easy way out. I wasn't challenging myself enough and I am capable of more. It was like He was telling me to trust in the new, more mature me and do not lean on old safety nets. The message I had prepared would be fine. However, it was true, I could do better.
When I was praying about 10 days ago I believed God showed me that I should speak about unity. That had been eating at the back of my mind. So last night I pulled out a pen and paper. I said to myself, I'll just write down what comes to mind. We'll see what happens. If this doesn't turn out well, I already have a message planned.
At 11:57 p.m. I finished writing. It felt right. I knew it was the message I was supposed to share today.
I didn't sleep well all night, waiting for it to be morning, so I could shower and put on the clothes I had picked out. I was looking at the clock every 15 minutes but somehow the bags under my eyes were smaller than ever today.
I got ready exactly on time, despite the fact that I ran out of water with conditioner in my hair and had to go outside and turn on the pump to pump more water into my cistern. Ahhhh... Honduras. Where you never know when the water might run out. I was grateful Fany and Santos were gone this week because that meant there was still water for me to pump out of their tank. Anyway, I went to church prepared, on time, and feeling good about my appearance.
We started with worship music as always. Today's worship was even more powerful than usual. The air was heavy with the Holy Spirit. Then it was my turn to talk. My original topic was about being still and finding peace in the Lord. It was good I had changed topics, because people were really revved up and it would not have flowed well to tell them to be still at that moment.
Instead I spoke about unity. It was perfect if I do say so myself. Everyone paid close attention. It was funny, it was thought provoking and inspiring, and it was backed by scripture. At the end everyone clapped! Usually they don't clap at the end of the director's message.
Looking back at the whole process, I think I did a good job of listening to what God wanted me to do, being flexible to change my topic at the last minute, and choosing a topic that was a little tougher to present. You won't see me do this often, but today I have to give myself a pat on the back.
After church we had plans to go hiking in La Tigra and then have a bonfire at Pastor Ruth's house tonight, but Ruth's (adult) kids are sick, so we had to cancel. It would have been my first outing with them, so I was looking forward to it. They said they will include me when it is rescheduled.
Erika friended me on Facebook yesterday. Her dad gave her an old phone last week. She is thrilled with it. It is an older model and it is beat up, but she couldn't be happier. So now she is on Facebook. I loved just chatting with her. She has taken a liking to Fany, which is nice because she is so shy. It's also convenient because it will make her more comfortable if we spend time with Fany. Last week Fany sent her hand-me-downs from Laura for baby Marjory, so she asked me to please tell Fany thank you. She also said that "the girl" I invited to go to the breakfast program is attending every day. I had no clue what she was talking about at that moment.
Then today I talked with a member of my old church and they asked if I had recommended the breakfast program to a group of six kids who have started coming every day. The kids told people at the breakfast program that I had sent them. And then I remembered Osiris!!!!! I asked if one of them is named Osiris, and nobody was sure, but we put the puzzle pieces together and realized that yes! Osiris, and first three, now five other kids are all coming to the church every single day to eat! They are well behaved, have good manners, and they arrive very thirsty.
I explained how far Osiris walks to get to the church. It's at least 3-4 miles. And then afterward she has told walk another 3 miles or so to get home. I said that the teacher told me there was no food in her house, but she is a really good and smart kid, so the teacher wanted me to mentor her. We decided that the area where she lives was too dangerous at that time, but the teacher said she was going to keep praying that I would mentor Osiris.
The funny thing is, when I went into Sector F last week with Molly, we asked a lot of families if they know Osiris. But nobody knew her. I figured I might never see her again.
Don Juan told people that Osiris had come while the church was closed after Semana Santa. Then she came back the following week when it re-opened and has been attending ever since! That makes me so happy!! And apparently word has spread around the church that I am recommending the program to more kids.
As new kids come, some of my favorite older ones no longer attend, which makes me sad. I envisioned my goofy buddy Kevin S. there until he got a job. He is so sweet and silly. And two more girls who both need the program a lot are no longer there. One kind of phased out slowly and one got a boyfriend, which terrifies me. But I guess it's a case of natural attrition. The older kids leave and the new ones come. Glad I could send 6 new ones who didn't have food before.
Today was a good day. Leading the service (inspiring unity) and learning that 6 kids who weren't eating before now have food is what I came here to do. I am growing and at the same time helping others. It feels good.
(To read more about Osiris and how I came to know her check out my post entitled "Second Attempt at Erika's School.")
