Day 2

It's going to be tough to describe today. Wow.

We went straight to the project today as soon as breakfast was finished. It was another bumpy ride! The roads are unbelievably bumpy but beyond that, the folks drive very aggressively. There is much starting and stopping and lurching and honking. It's enough to make even the toughest stomach upset. We are careful with what we eat for breakfast in the mornings since we know the rough ride will follow : )

It was the same church as yesterday, but a different Compassion program. Yesterday was all about the kids. Today, we connected with the mothers in our Child Survivor Program (CSP). The women greeted us with joyful smiles and warm hugs. All had at least one baby or child under 3 with them today. Some had 3 children in the program. They are mothers just like I am a mother. It's amazing. Their kids squirm when they are required to sit quietly and they cry when they want their mommas. Their skin is different from mine, but our hearts are the same. Our hearts are completely united because we have the same Father. It was a precious day that is permenantly etched into my heart. Today, I saw the richness of the Lord's inheritance for His children.

For me, the most striking thing was the stark contrast between the intensity of their physical poverty and the beauty of their deep love for their Savior. I saw with my own eyes the conditions these families live in. We did a home visit today with one mother and her beautiful daughters, ages 2 and 4. They have their own home, yes, that they share with her parents and sister. But I was not prepared for what the home was like, what her "room" was like. We did the home visit in this mother's room. There were 11 adults and three young children crammed into this bedroom. It was *maybe* 11x11, maybe. There was room for a double bed (a board with blankets on it), a dresser, and piles of baskets with their clothes. The mother shared this area with her two daughters. The husband has left them and only sometimes pays support for his daughters. But this mother glowed. This mother is rich! She is rich because she has the love of Jesus! She is rich because He gives her peace. She is rich because her helper is the God Almighty. She shares the same inheritance in the Lord as this American mother.

We learned today about the CSP and how the program works. Each mother and child has paperwork very similiar to what our education system calls an IEP (Individual Education Plan). Each mother and child in the program are nurtured spiritually, physically, emotionally, and socio-economically (clinical way of saying they learn a skill in order to support their families...making jewlery, purses, dolls, etc...something the mother can do from home since she has small children that need her care). The director of the program is responsible for sharing home visits with the one other promotor who helps her. The two of them visit 20 moms a piece (there are 40 in the program) and keep detailed records for each unit (the mother and child are one "unit"). The director must also keep records for goals met, attendance, extra needs, etc. It's a lot of paperwork and it is a daily responsibility. But that's just the boring part of their positions. Mostly, they love and nurture these mothers. They are the hands and feet of Jesus for the 40 units (remember, that is the mother and child) in this program. Both the director and promotor positions are volunteer positions. They volunteer for this full time job. In case you don't understand the impact of what I am saying, let me tell you more. These two women also live in poverty. They also have families who are hungry. They have lives outside of this volunteer position. Their sacrifice is great but they don't see it as a sacrifice at all. I asked Sylvia today (the director), "Why do you do this? Why do you volunteer here?" She has been with the CSP for many years. Her answer, "Because they are children of God. I love God. I love them." I was blown away. She has a great inheritance from our Heavenly Father, the same inheritance that I receive and will receive, and she knows it must be shared. HE must be shared.

By definition, extreme poverty is an income of $1 per day per person. So for a family of 3, an income of $3 a day is extreme poverty. If that same family has an income of $6 per day, that's poverty. Poverty: $2/day per person. Extreme poverty: $1/day per person. Today, I saw examples of both. But today, God opened my eyes to much more than that. Get ready, because this is about to get hard.

These people that we are connecting with in Ecuador struggle with extreme poverty, physical poverty that we cannot wrap our brains around. I will boldly say that we in America deal with an equally extreme poverty, spiritual poverty that these true believers in Ecuador could not wrap their brains around. Physically, we are wealthy. Physically, they are poor. Spiritually, they are accepting their rich inheritance from the Lord (read Ephesians 1 and circle all the things we are given as children of the King). Spiritually, we (as an American people group) are starving. We think our inheritance will come after we die. We will receive all these things in heaven when eternity begins.

We are wrong.

Eternity begins now.

These people, who get *maybe* 3 square meals a week are far richer than we can ever imagine because they have a deep and personal relationship with the Maker; and because they are adopted into the familiy of God, they are already receiving the benifits of being His child. We read things like what I just wrote and think it's just "church talk" or "too spiritual" or "maybe later." True faith is not merely knowing the truth about the Savior. True faith is accepting that truth for yourself. True faith is claiming that truth as your new life. True faith is committing your very life to living the truth of the Word of God. How can you do that if you think eternity begins in Heaven? How can you do that if you are not willing to be different from the world in which we live? How can you do that when you allow yourself to continue to live apart of the life Christ came to offer?

How long will you wait? How long will you turn your back on your inheritance? You either take it, or you deny it. It's that simple and that hard.

Today has ripped me to shredds. Not because of what I have seen in Ecuador, but because of the deep ache in my heart for what my friends in America are missing. I did not come here and witness to these women. That's just what I thought. No, their lives are a witness to me. I will not waste this gift the Lord has given me. If I come home and remain unchanged, please smack me on the head.

Love, Tricia

Other places to read more details: brandiparrish6.blogspot.com; afunfitmom.com; jonesbones5.com