There are people in this world who go to faraway places to relax or refresh themselves. Places such as Disney World, the Bahamas, or Hawaii. As I prepared myself for the trip to Shell Mara, Ecuador, I didn't know what to expect.
There was excitement and fear building up within me, but mostly there was fear. An excitement and fear of flying for the first time and the fear of going outside the United States to another country. Not knowing how to communicate with the people, as I myself speak no Spanish at all. Also, not knowing how they would accept me, an outsider.
We as Americans have that inner being that I can do all, and feel belittled when someone tries to step in and help us when we are doing things taht we can do on our own. So I prayed to God to open my eyes and heart, to help me to be open to new things, and to be a servant to the people of Shell.
Upon our arrival, our work consisted of adding a third-story roof, which in time will be the fourth-story floor when the school is completed. Their labor skills differed and their means of equipment is far less sophisticated than waht I've worked with. Although the work was hard and intense, I often found myself in that oh so familiar role of, "Why are we doing it like that? It would be better or easier if we did it like this." After being in concrete construction since the age of 18, I thought that there was only one way to do it, and that was the way I knew.
As the hours and the days went on, and through our daily devotions and my alone time, God started revealing to me that I was there to serve the people of Ecuador. That it wasn't about me and what I knew, it was about using my talents and the gifts that God had blessed me with to help others.
I saw the people's love for God. They wanted nothing more than the presence of God; they sought nothing but Him. They believe that God will provide their needs with all they ask of Him, and they praise Him for whatever they receive. Good or bad, they trust in Him.
I'm so blessed to have abundantly more than I deserve and all that I have is through God's love for me and my family. Sometimes, we see things that we think we must have (that new car, those $100 shoes, or that new gun), but God has a way of stepping in and taking me back to Ecuador, to how lucky I am to have the things that are the most important to me. Seeing their lifestyle, and what they have, and how their love for God rules all things in their life makes me have to stop and pray, "God help me not to love the material things of this world. Keep my heart in tune to You to be Your servant, God, and to listen to your voice. All that I am, and all that I have is Yours, and it's because of You and the love You have for me. It's not about me, God, it's about what You want me to be and how to serve You in whatever way that You will shine through me for others to see."
We live in a world today where we think that we are the best and must have the best. But the word of God says through God we are everything, but without Him we are nothing. From time to time I tend to go to my laptop, let the pictures scroll, go to my place of renewal, and thank God for His divine love and grace and for calling upon me to go to a place that showed me that it's not about me and my ways; it's about serving Him and witnessing to those in need.
We all need the place of renewal, but wherever that place is, we need to have the presence of God with us to reveal to us what it is that needs renewed.
-- Teddy Clark and his family attend First Church of the Nazarene in Macon, Missouri, USA. Teddy has recently received God's call to full-time ministry.