Beautiful Feet

OK, it’s time to get a blog up right? There’s a lot to write about…and I can’t write it all…but, here we go.
The past couple of weeks have been pretty good. I don’t keep track of the days anymore, I’ve just gotten into the habit of living each day as it is. I’m usually up around 6:30 or 7, find some breakfast and coffee (which is great, by the way), and if I haven’t figured it out the day before, I try to figure out what I am going to do for the day. Living here feels natural to me, I feel comfortable and at home.
For the first couple of weeks I was here we had a mission team with us who were here to upgrade the apartments and the kitchen of the Beene house, so that we can accommodate more teams or larger teams in the future. They were fantastic and came from all over; N. Carolina, Michigan, and Canada. I helped them for most of their stay, and now (among other things) am finishing up what they were unable to finish in their short stay with us. It was great to have them here, helping us out, building relationships, and, our times of worship and devotions were truly amazing.
But I’ve also been here long enough to start seeing some of what the needs are for the people of Pinalito. On Sunday afternoons, after church, we often go visit folks at their homes. In doing so I am starting to get an idea of the way folks live around here and the ‘lay of the land’. The countryside here is breathtaking, perfect for running, and reveals all of God’s Glory in it. Of course, we need to get the people of this area to see God’s glory in their land.

The houses I have visited have all been fairly decent and most folks tend to care for their properties well. But, there are still some things missing. Usually what you get is an adobe structure with an attached bamboo kitchen. The floor will be dirt, the ‘toilet’ will be somewhere away from the house, and the water will come in through one line. Some families will have a ‘modern’ stove that gets smoke out of the buildings, and others still use stoves/fires without any method to remove the smoke from the kitchen (it’s a good thing they don’t have smoke detectors- those would be going off all the time!). The dirt floors, smoke from the cooking fires and the un-plastered adobe walls lead to unhealthy conditions, and most things are relatively easy to fix.
What I see though, is that these people need more than just a ‘material fix’. Most importantly, they need a spiritual fix. Actually, it’s not a spiritual fix, it’s a spiritual replacement. Our pastor recently illustrated, ‘its like when you change the tape in your cassette player-you hear a new tape, and you don’t hear the old one anymore’.
I notice a lot of examples of the different kinds of attitudes one can see in people. In the mission team that visited in mid February, I saw the attitudes of willing servants, tired servants (closer to the end of their stay), teamwork, and individuality. All of these combined to form a close group that worshiped together, in our work and in our times of worship/devotions. In the mission staff, we all have a spirit of ambition, a will to move our spiritual battle forward, and a drive to help the people of this area out of their situation. In church, I see attitudes of worship and joy. A lot of the time I don’t know the words to whatever hymn we’re singing, but I know that everyone present is involved in true worship to God. Our pastor and his wife (who have been here for only a couple of months) are full of energy and enthusiasm for the work that is to be done in Pinalito. The sermons are good. Domingo (the pastor, and also the word for Sunday in Spanish) preaches clearly (I can understand most of what he says) and simply, from the Bible and from ordinary life, which is what the people of this area need.
In the people of Pinalito, I see many different attitudes. Some are hard workers, and come to work for the mission- washing our clothes, dishes etc. Others, especially the older generation, have moved onto ‘retirement’ and are content to sit around the kitchen fire and chat away the hours. The parents seem to be tired, and I don’t blame them, most have a bundle of kids to care for and keep healthy. The kids have all kinds of different attitudes, from bright and enthusiastic to bored and apathetic. The kids of the village have a lot of spare time, because the government run education system is not much of an education system at all. The kids will have school at some point in the morning, usually around 10’oclock, have some lunch, and then in the afternoon they’re all gone, back to their homes or just hanging out somewhere. Most weeks, they don’t even have school for all 5 days of the week. I would hope that when the kids are not in school they are at home helping out their family, but I’m not sure of that. I see a lot of kids playing, the older kids tend to ‘hang out’ playing cards or with their machetes, and the little ones like to hang around the mission looking for a handout. We will give them some bananas (we grow plenty around here), but at the same time I worry that the kids are learning to depend on others and not work for themselves.
I go through a range of attitudes as well. I am ever hopeful and concerned for the people of Pinalito. Some days I feel as if not enough is being done, or I get caught up in thinking ‘what can I do?’. Other days I feel that things are going well and that we are making progress. In all, I take comfort that God is with us. Only in Him will we see victory. I pray that the people of Pinalito, and those involved in Gods workings in Pinalito will have God honoring attitudes.

Isaiah 52:7-10 starts off: “7How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’”
Now, my feet aren’t very pretty, but these verses speak of the messengers who would run from the battle to tell of victory to the king. If you consider that we who claim Christ as our Savior and Salvation have won the battle, being victorious in Christ (1 Cor 15:55-58, which quotes Hosea 13:14), we too become the messenger, running from our victorious battle proclaiming peace, bringing the good news. Seeing as I am up here on a mountain, proclaiming God’s good news, I like this verse. Read onward, and in verse 10, we read “10The LORD will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.” It is God’s work in this world that we participate in, and it is the world, all the ends of the earth.
Fantastic isn’t it? I also read a couple of days ago (and today to the kids in Sunday school) the story of Peter and John and the crippled beggar –Acts 3:1-10. Peter and John were going to the temple, and seeing a crippled beggar, had compassion for him. Rather than giving the man money or food, Peter gave the man something far more valuable, the power of Christ, and in doing so, enabling the man to walk. And the man, who was no longer a cripple or a beggar, went with Peter and John into the temple, praising God. Peter did more than help the man; he helped him out of his situation.

In Pinalito I want the same thing to happen. I want these people to receive Christ, so that they can be helped out of their situation, and join us in praising God. I pray that they too may be victorious, and that the mountains be filled with beautiful feet, that are no longer crippled.

God Bless, God Blesses,

Koos