We've only been in El Salvador for a week and only known each other for little more than that, but it feels like its been a lifetime.
Here God strips away the comfort of language and home, leaving only Himself and His Plans. I am learning this is more than enough.
This week I've met a lot of strangers, some of them have become friends, and all of them have a story. Though we don't speak the same language, I have learned that sometimes a smile and silence communicates more than any words I could actually speak, that listening whether I understand or not came be more sincere than a response. Less is certainly more.
In one visited village, the people poor in wealth by my standards, lived in small tin shacks. No running water, no electricity (for the most part). None of the things that would be a given to have in the States.
Church there happens in front of a small concrete stage with speakers set up into one of the only outlets. A keyboard and voices are the only musical instruments provided. The singers sing in one key while the keyboard pounds away in another key with a completely off-beat rhythm. They bring their own plastic chairs to sit, those without stand in the hot sun. And yet, they have more than I have in States.
They have joy in abundance. They have grace and patience and kindness. Each face is just as welcoming as the last. They worship God with a passion that cannot be matched by any great band I've ever heard. To God, their off key voices must be the most beautiful thing.
They praise Him for what they have and trust Him to take care of the things they don't. And then, they pray for those that have less than they do. That is what faith looks like, raw and uncluttered. Undefined by the stuff we have and in total reliance on ourselves in God.
Yesterday we went to the beach and I took in the crystal blue water and the waves that unsettled it. As I stared into the horizon, I caught a vision of myself as the coastline being constantly remade, reshaped and renewed, and God as the current: powerful, swift, and strong.
I pray that I can have the joy of these people, their passion, their kindness and their love. It's definitely what I imagine Jesus wanted.
