Embracing Transformation....

There are days here that seem to last a week! There are so many things to mention… I can hardly think of it all.

The day started so beautifully. The sky was so blue it took my breath away. It seemed as though the Caribbean Sea had traded places with the heavens. Sometimes when I am driving into the countryside, I am reminded of California’s coastline. Today I imagined the Eucalyptus trees to be reflecting the blue tint from the sky. The landscape was awe inspiring as well with terraced mountainsides covered with squares of light yellow (sorghum), dark green (forest) and even light blue (the Eucalyptus). The red lined roads tracing the top quarter part of the mountains are the perfect addition to the picture etched in my mind.

As we entered Bunyana, there were over 50 sponsored families waiting for our arrival (with 4 family members or so present as well!) and there were over 700 children in attendance at the school. It was a wonderful homecoming. I felt strangely pleased by the fact that many people in the community here are starting to welcome our presence and not only our skin color. I hear far less “Muzungu” words and many more “Maraho” greetings (which means hello). I feel like there is something special happening here. We have our earliest sponsored families living in this area and I feel hopeful about the progress of other villages accepting us as a part of them.. not outsiders. I really want to know them and be known, on a first name basis. This is my goal… I want to be “Melody” not “Muzungu”

The hardest moment today was meeting with Clementine. I have known that she has not been progressing in her sponsorship and today was the day that after many warnings and consultations, her support had come to an end. Clementine has three children, two were with her. One was about 8 and one was still on her back and VERY small – probably 9 months. In a last ditch effort, I tried to sit with her alone and get to the bottom of things. She insisted that the child on her back was her late husbands, who I knew had died in 2003. She also told me that she owned no land and still lived in the same house (something is clearly wrong with that… those are the first two major changes in any sponsored family). And Clementine is an absolutely gorgeous woman, but she would not look me in the eyes at all and she trembled as I spoke with her. I was SO hoping she would choose honesty. But she did not. I cried a great deal and prayed over her. I sensed a resistance there that I can not explain. My deepest pain was in my tearful goodbye as I looked down at this innocent 8 year old child and she smiled at me with such genuine tenderness that my heart just broke. I had just spent an entire 4 hours hearing from sponsored families and the awesome changes in their lives, and the special emphasis that they placed on their children’s education. The situation was so difficult to process. I am still struggling with it. Ben came into the room to make the final decision, and all I can say is that I cried for a long time after Clementine was gone.

On the positive end, 98% of the sponsored families are doing absolutely phenomenal. I have never heard so many positive changes… from cows and land purchases to houses built and even businesses started! It was incredibly powerful to see how happy they all were. I can’t wait to get the new photos and videos out to the donors. There were so many unbelievable transformations and that is what GFR is all about… Transforming the World One Family at a Time…

Strangely enough, my heart keeps thinking about Clementine… I keep praying for the transformation of her heart. I want every one of our families to be successful. And yet, not all will choose it. And isn’t that so like our faith?? The gift is right there! Sometimes our future is right in front of us and we look away. Now I can understand God’s great sadness as He pleads with us to choose Him and LIFE… and we lie saying we do not need Him but we are as poor in Spirit as Clementine.

God transform US into your willing vessels and help us choose Your gift of life. Thank you that it is Your kindness that leads us to repentance. Amen.