For the last few years, our church has partnered with an organization called Trash Mountain. Trash Mountain works with trash dump communities in developing countries all around the world to provide them with clean water, food, and sustainable living. International travel and missions are both passions of mine, so when my husband was offered a place on a team traveling to the Philippines in 2015, I wasn't sure how to feel. On one hand, this was an amazing opportunity for my husband. It was an opportunity to see a part of the world he has only heard about (his aunt, uncle, and cousins served in Manilla for more than 20 years). It was an opportunity to expand himself professionally, as he will be leading worship with ministry leaders while he's there. It's an opportunity for him to grow spiritually, because, let's face it - you can't NOT grow when you see God's grace and providence in environments so vastly different from your own. On the other (far more selfish and way louder) hand, I knew this was going to be a time of trial for me. I LOVE LOVE LOVE things like this and haven't gotten to go since before our kids were born. Truth be told, I wish it was me. This is also the first international trip that we haven't taken together. It's also a ten day stretch of me with the kids. Alone. Like, by myself. Right when school starts back. And it means the kids will be apart from their dad for longer than they have ever been. So...I'm a bit torn.
To help myself get over my selfishness, I tried to focus my energy on Charlie. To explain this to him, Daddy pulled up a map on the computer. He showed Charlie where we are and where the Philippines are. He explained that he was going to help little kids just like him in the Philippines. He also told him that he was going where Aunt Pam and Uncle Ben are from, to which Charlie responded, "No Daddy, they are from Singapore." Yes, that's where they are now. Good memory, kid. We talked about how Aunt Pam and Uncle Ben got to tell people in the Philippines and now in Singapore about Jesus. Wasn't that exciting? I told Charlie that Daddy would be meeting kids who didn't have a house like him, didn't have peanut butter and jelly like him, and didn't have toys like him. I asked him if he wanted to go through his toys and see if there was anything he would like Daddy to take as a gift to the boys and girls in the Philippines. About ten minutes later, Charlie came back to me with this bag FULL of planes, trains, cars, and other toys.
As much as Charlie and Lucy (and Mommy) are going to miss Daddy, it's important for all of us to understand and recognize that Daddy is going to do one of the most important and powerful things we as Earth-dwellers can do: SERVE OTHERS. And, even though we can't go with him, we can do things like give up our toys, give up our time, and shoulder more work. In this way, we are still contributing because he is serving on our behalf.
And THAT is exciting. Details to come!
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