Galveston

Cheerio!  I'm back from Galveston.  I've actually been back since Sunday evening, but I've been trying to process this past week so that I could adequately share what went on there with you guys.  I'm still not sure I'll be able to put what happened inside my heart into words, but I'm going to try.  I never was much of a writer...that's why I edit.

I'm not going to give you a play by play of what we did in Galveston.  Instead I want to tell you about the people I met there.  Let's start off with Tim and Jenn. 

Tim is the pastor of Primera Iglesia Bautista a bilingual church in Galveston.  I cannot begin to express to you how my heart is overwhelmed by these people, overwhelmed with joy and grief.  These guys are unbelievable.  Tim has brain cancer and is currently undergoing chemotherapy after having surgery earlier this year.  Jenn is 8 months pregnant and has gone back to work as a physical therapist so that she and Tim can have health insurance.  Oh, and did I mention they don't speak Spanish?  They're originally from (I think) Pennsylvania and felt God calling them to move down to Galveston after Hurricane Ike and work with Disaster Relief to help the people of Galveston rebuild their lives.  This couple is amazing.  You can see the love of God shining through their faces.  When I heard about what all they had been through before even meeting them I thought, how can they bear it?  After meeting them...they both have inspired me, encouraged me to be more Christ-like.  How blessed I am to have met them.  They are those people that once you meet them, you realize your life will never be the same.

I helped out with the VBS that we had going on for the kids, and there was one girl there that just...touched my heart.  Her name is Lauren, and she's 10.  Lauren lives with her grandmother and her common-law husband, mother, and two younger sisters.  Lauren's mother is currently going through a custody battle with her ex-husband for custody of the children.  While I was helping Lauren make the salvation bracelet, we were talking about what each bead meant (black-sin, red-Jesus's blood when he died on the cross, white- he washed our sins white as snow, etc.).  Lauren already knew what the beads meant.  When I asked her about it she explained to me that she went to church with her grandmother every Sunday.  When my relief came for lunch, I went to get some food and ended up sitting with Lauren and her grandmother, Maria.  It became pretty apparent to me that they didn't have enough food to eat.

Lauren ate two hot dogs and halfway through her second bowl of rice she looked at Maria, and said that she wanted to save it for her mother to eat because she was worried she hadn't eaten anything that day.  Maria told her to go ahead and eat it, that her mother would want her to.  Lauren refused.  I told her not to worry about it and got another bowl of rice for her mother.  After this Lauren went to play and I got a chance to talk with her Maria alone.  I told her how great it was to meet Lauren, and that I could tell what a special girl she is.  Maria told me that Lauren is always worried about her mother.  Her mother apparently has been very "sick" for a long time, and so Lauren has been taking care of her younger sisters when her mother can't, and Maria is working.

I could tell that more than anything else, Maria needed someone to listen to her.  I asked appropriate questions when the conversation lulled, but I didn't say more than probably 10 words in about the space of an hour.  If you know me, you know how big of a deal that is.  Maria is so sassy, it's hilarious.  She was telling me all about the people of Galveston, and how there are still so many homes that need to be rebuilt.  She told me about how everyone as left, and there are no jobs for anyone.  She said her common-law spouse is always cooking up all of their food and giving it away, so half of the time they don't have enough food to eat because he has fed the entire neighborhood before feeding them.

Lauren came back over at this point to get some water, and Maria had her sit down and told me to tell her why prayer is important because apparently Lauren doesn't listen to Maria when she talks about prayer, and Lauren retorted with, "that's because your prayers are so long and boring!"  These ladies both had quite a bit of spunk and sass to them :-).  Lauren was wearing one of those necklaces that are shaped like half a heart that said BEST on it.  I asked her about the person that had the other half.  And what their relationship was like.  We talked about what it meant to be a best friend.  Then I asked her how would she like it if she walked next to her best friend all the time, hung out with her, went places with her, but her best friend never said a word to her.  Never even said hello.  Well of course Lauren told me she wouldn't like that, and that they probably wouldn't even be best friends anymore.  I told her that's what it's like when we don't pray to God.  He's supposed to be our best friend, and he's ALWAYS there.  So imagine what it's like for Him when we don't talk to him for days at a time!  She seemed to understand, a light sort of clicked on in her head.  That was really neat to see.

My heart was in a very spiritual place in Galveston.  I don't know if that makes sense.  I feel like I grew so much by serving these people.  By meeting Tim, Jenn and the ladies of Primera Iglesia Bautista, by serving alongside my family-- my faith was strengthened.  Since we've gotten back I've been an emotional wreck.  I miss being sweaty and tired all the time.  I miss talking about Jesus all the time.  I miss helping other people.  I almost feel guilty for being here, and for having as much as I have.  My heart hurts for the people of Galveston.  I'm not sure exactly where that leaves me...but I guess it's going to take some prayer to find out :-).