Psalms 4 and 5

Due to the limited time I'm able to spend on my laptop while completing my rotation in Cleveland, MS, I would just like to share a couple of psalms with you...the first of which is a like a prayer to God before falling asleep, and the next one a prayer to God as you begin the day. I've heard that just about every emotion is represented in the book of psalms, and I love how these two are represented by things we do every day--going to sleep and waking up.

First, the 4th psalm:

Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have relieved me in my distress:
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.

O sons of men, how long will my honor become a reproach?
How long will you love what is worthless and aim at deception?
Selah.

But know that the Lord has set apart the godly man for Himself;
The Lord hears when I call to Him.

Tremble and do not sin;
Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still.
Selah.

Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and trust in the Lord.

Many are saying, "Who will show us any good?"
Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O Lord!
You have put gladness in my heart,
more than when their grain and new wine abound.
In peace I will both lie down and sleep,
for You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety.

Psalm 5:

Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my groaning.
Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God,
for to You I pray.
In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice;
in the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.

For You are not a God of wickedness;
no evil dwells with You.
The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes;
You hate all who do iniquity.
You destroy those who speak falsehood;
The Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.
But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house,
at Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You.

O Lord, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes;
make Your way straight before me.
There is nothing reliable in what they say;
their inward part is destruction itself,
their throat is an open grave;
they flatter with their tongue.
Hold them guilty, O God;
by their own devices let them fall!
In the multitudes of their transgressions thrust them out,
for they are rebellious against You.

But let all who take refuge in You be glad,
let them ever sing for joy;
and may You shelter them,
that those who love Your name may exult in You.
For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O Lord,
You surround him with favor as with a shield.

Pura Vida! (pure life)

Well, I made it back from Costa Rica. I really had a great time serving and meeting pretty much everyone (including those coming from the States) for the first time. From the States, we had 1 doctor, 2 dentists, 2 nurses, 2 pharmacists, 1 pharmacy tech (and mayor), 1 teacher, and me. We arrived at different times into Alajuela (near San José) Wednesday evening. We were meeting up with a church that is eager to have their entire congregation known as those who serve others in the name of Christ. One of their particular locations of interest is a church on Isla Venado (Deer Island). Costa Rica's government has done what seems to be a good job in providing electricity and clean water to a majority of the country, including this island. Therefore, we knew there would be electricity and clean water, but stores in which to purchase supplies would be limited. That Thursday, we went to a local supermarket and purchased several supplies. It was good for me, because I was sent off by myself to find items...it gave me a way to practice and learn some new Spanish!

Later that evening, we met with the church there in San José (or somewhere around there) and they had prepared food for us...it was amazing! They all were so hospitable and nice to us. Some of them were going to join us on our trip. Included on their team were a few extra doctors, dentists, and nurses.
Well onto the part concerning our time on the island. We left early Friday morning by car and traveled around 2 hours to Puntarenas, a strip of land jutting out from the Costa Rican mainland. From there, we took a ferry across to Playa Naranja on the peninsula west of the mainland in the Pacific Ocean. Getting back in the cars, we drove about 20-30 minutes to a little landing where fishing boats were waiting on us. Those boats took all of us and our luggage across the island.
Once on the island, (we were going to be sleeping in the church building), we began setting up in a few different buildings in order to accommodate for dental equipment, rooms where patients could get a physical evaluation, an area large enough for a pharmacy and evangelism, and a location for bible school for the children. We worked all afternoon, evaluating the patients' health, pulling teeth, treating patients, giving them medicine for healing, and sharing the good news with them. For dinner that night, the preacher's wife and some ladies with the church cooked us the staple food from the island, seabass, and it was so good! See, fishing is a main source of food and income on the island, but fishing has been bad recently. With this area being a common route for drug traffickers going between South and North America, it's very easy for the locals to be bribed into aiding the traffickers for the simple reason that they need supplies, and the traffickers give them a means to an end, since fishing is down now. It's a serious concern for the people there.
That night, you could literally see lizards crawling on the walls and ceiling around the entire interior of the church building where we were sleeping. But despite this, I slept well.

The next day we saw more of the people on the island. Some of the most common medications handed out were vitamins, anti-parasite pills, allergy medications, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, Zantac, and a variety of antibiotics. I was able to brush up on the limited Spanish medical language I know when writing prescription label directions for the patients.
Now, with this being the first trip I've been on that was strictly a medical mission effort, spending all of my time in the pharmacy was a difficult thing, knowing that there was a Bible school full of kids going on a few yards away. Kids, especially in places like this island, can really bring a smile on your face when you already have a lot on your mind. I remember I felt really nauseated that morning, so I took a break from the pharmacy, walked around a bit, and finally decided to go spend some time with the kids. I promise not 5 minutes after I got there, all feelings of nausea left me. The kids spent a lot of time making crafts that were connected to Bible stories and did a few memory verses. These kids were so smart, too! It took them no time to learn the verses.
Over the day and a half we were on the island, we treated people about 350 people. I remember hearing a few stories of how some people had dealt with particular pains for years, and were now gone. I remember hearing how some of our doctors and dentists spent some late nights helping people figure out what was going wrong with their bodies. Needless to say, I think everyone rested well that night. Apparently I was sleeping so well, everyone wondered (jokingly) if I had died.

The next morning, we joined the church in worship. The entire church went to the front of the building and sang a song about friendship to us (not totally sure...couldn't understand pretty much all of it), then the kids went up front to sing to us. It was really touching, especially to those who could understand. I saw several of our friends from the church in San José crying. I went with the kids to their Sunday school, where they learned about Jonah and the whale. Afterwards, they all took turns hitting a piñata, which was great fun, because every kid who wanted to hit got to...finally we just broke it open for them!
Remember how I said I felt nauseous on that one day? Well, I felt bad again on that Sunday morning, too. It finally clicked as to what was happening. I had brought some doxycycline tablets with me (an antibiotic that can have some protection against malaria and traveler's diarrhea). I've taken the capsule form before, with no problems. But I took these tablets too far away from when I had eaten, and it made me very nauseous (it helps to take them after eating something). The nausea was so bad on Sunday, however, that I had to take a sublingual hyoscyamine tablet (which can ease stomach tremors), and that made me feel better. Therefore, lesson learned about how my body handles doxycycline tablets.
After many goodbyes, we packed up and left the island. One thing I do regret is that I had brought a couple of soccer balls for the kids, but never got to play any soccer with them! Hopefully they're having a good time with them, though.

While riding the ferry back across the bay, we all witnessed one of the most beautiful sunsets ever. Here's a picture
We arrived back to the Alajuela with few incidences. The last full day we were in Costa Rica, we wrapped up the trip with a little sightseeing at a volcano and at a place called La Paz (if you ever go to Costa Rica, you should visit this place!!) It was an amazing way to witness and thank God for His creation and all of the beauty and variety that exists in it.

Well, I guess I could've written about this trip any number of ways, but I wanted to avoid being too detailed (which is hard for me to avoid haha), while giving you a good sense of what God was able to do on this island through us. It was a wonderful trip, and I hope one day I can visit this island in Costa Rica again. There are several people from the States and Costa Rica I wish I could talk about, but it would at least double the size of this post, so I'll end it here.

P.S.: pura vida is a common phrase spoken by Costa Ricans...and maybe other Central American countries, but I don't remember hearing it in Honduras. But it does have some meaning to me, because when I have experiences like this, they seem so pure, and I believe it's these experiences we should cling to as we live our lives so we can remember the peace and comfort God's Spirit gives us as we serve others in His name.

buen día, costa rica! cómo estás?

Well, tomorrow I'm heading to Costa Rica for about a week. I've decided not to bring my laptop on this trip (which will be good!), so unless I happen to stumble upon a computer with internet down there, I will not be posting updates while I'm there.

I'm really excited about this trip. I've never been to Costa Rica before, although I have heard it is very beautiful. In many ways I wish I could say I'm heading to Honduras this summer, but pharmacy rotations will prevent that from happening. But it's ok! I'm just so grateful for the individuals, and ultimately God, for allowing me to serve those who are struggling to survive through illness. I'll be heading down with a small team of doctors, pharmacists, dentists, and nurses to help treat illness many Americans would recognize, as well as many they won't (parasites being a big one that is rare in the US). The only real details I know at this point is that we will spend 2 or 3 days on this island...I know we take a ferry from the mainland to a fishing boat, and then take the fishing boat the rest of the way. Oughta be a good time! :)

This is my fourth time to leave the country, and there's always a slight feeling of reservation before I leave. You know, you're leaving the comforts of American society, the benefits of clean water, food, and hot showers; cars with automatic transmission (still need to learn stick shift some day); the ability to flush toilet paper down the toilet; air conditioning; etc., etc. You get the picture. Thankfully, for each trip I've made, this feeling has lessened considerably. I have no doubt that God will provide everything I need down there, therefore I can help give people the things they need. Another reason this comes easier for me now is that I beginning to see less and less Costa Rica, Honduras, America--I'm beginning to see people and places for what they are: creations of God, with all people made in the image of Yahweh. I don't know if I'll ever get to point where I can take the word "beginning" out of that sentence, but at least it's a start.

I have heard a lot of people say over the years, when discussing foreign missions, that it's not for everybody, that there is a lot of need here in the United States. I agree, yet disagree. Venturing outside of America's borders to serve others might not be for everybody, but it's not because I say so. I believe God calls you to do what He needs you to do...you just have to have an open heart to take a chance and trust in Him. I do feel, however, that everyone should visit a place where people suffer from the absence of the things they need, even if just once (I hope not just once, though!). I'm sure you could find places like that in a few places around the States, but I guarantee you the level of suffering there and the level of suffering you see in a dump in Tegucigalpa, Honduras is drastically different.

Venturing out into the world to serve others also starts the process of breaking down the walls of nationality. We as Americans are fed patriotism for our entire lives, and after only a few years, it can affect our perception of America's place in the world--we just need to drop that and realize when we decide to put on Christ, our allegiance is no longer given to [insert your country here], but to Christ and the life (the normal life) he calls us to live. The phrase we've heard a lot in the media is that we need to turn America back to God. I'm sure the meaning behind that can have a variety of meanings, but this is my opinion of what I'm hearing in that phrase: "we have lost our moral standards as Americans and we need to stop our sinning and become 'real' Americans again". Like I said, that's my opinion. But I will suggest we need to worry less about the moral state of the nation and telling others how to live their life (just as you have chosen how to live yours) and instead, focus more of finding ways to change the state of the church. It's not very hard to see how we have failed as the church in living the way Jesus teaches us. Look at the church buildings we have, look at the disproportionate amount we who live in America have compared to the rest of the world...we have waaaayyy beyond excess, while so many people (with many being our own brothers and sisters in Christ!) having next to nothing that they need, and look at the amount of time we spend worrying about how we "do worship" on Sundays and/or Wednesdays rather than living lives full of worship to God in serving others every day of the week as he charged us to do through Jesus.

Ok...well I guess I digressed from Costa Rica a little bit, but my mind tends to fly all over anyway, so I'll warn you that will probably happen a good bit. However, a lot of these ideas are interconnected in my mind.

Well, I look forward to sharing with you what's going on in Costa Rica and how God is working to transform his people and steadily bring His Kingdom of love and mercy, bit by bit, down to earth.

Cuidaté y Dios te bendiga!

what is a normal life?

This is largely a post explaining the blog title and my purpose in doing this. "Trying to live a normal life" is a paraphrase of something said by one of the people who live and work with WeWillGo Ministries in downtown Jackson, MS (http://wewillgo.org/). The idea is that we, as a people, generally want to live a normal life. However, when we look at what society tells us is a "normal life" and then when we look how Jesus calls us how to live, we should begin to feel some discomfort. I think most people who declare that they follow Christ will say that we need to follow the example of how Jesus lived--but that's it...words are spoken, but relatively little action is taken. I'm guilty of it...it's easy to say something that we've heard all our lives, because this is the way it's been taught to us from our society, church and blood families, friends, etc.

The fact is, the life Jesus tells and shows us how to live is actually quite the polar opposite from how society (of course, my perspective is coming from an American perspective) teaches us how to live. I mean, how Jesus tells us what a normal life should look like should be a pretty flawless example, right? Especially if we call Him the Lord of our lives. Just a few differences in how these two types of normal lives look include:

• fully relying on one's self to succeed (America) vs. fully relying on God for all of your needs (Matthew 5:25-34)
  
• saving up to establish financial security and a relaxing retirement (America) vs. giving up everything to serve others who literally have next to nothing in such a way that every person's needs are met (Acts 2:44-46)
  
• retaliate against those who do you wrong...whether personally or nationally (America) vs. loving your enemies (not just your neighbor), even if they go so far as to take your own life (this may make some of you uncomfortable, but Saul was a Zealot, a Jewish extremist who terrorized early Christians, yet Jesus, who renamed him Paul, chose him to be the one who would help bring the good news to the rest of the world...can you think of any people we call extremists today??) Violence only breeds more violence, from what I've seen. (Matthew 5:43-48, Acts 8:1-3, Acts 9)
  

Well, I'm sure I there's a much better way to summarize what the title of this blog means to me...it actually means many, many more things to me, but what I really want you to get from this is that if you are going to call Jesus your Lord...if I am going to call Him my Lord...we have got to re-evaluate what that "normal" life should look like compared to the life our society and upbringing teaches us. I promise you, there are a LOT of differences...I only listed three. I in no way profess that my life is any kind of an example of this life Jesus talks about...I'm only beginning to discover this amazing way of kingdom life that Jesus shares with us, and I am trying to allow Jesus to show me how I can participate in it. I am a screw-up and a failure in many ways, yet I know that despite the innumerable flaws you and I have, the Holy Spirit can overcome those and do the impossible through us.

This blog is an avenue for me and you to share our perspectives on this life Jesus calls us to live--a life that should be considered normal to us. I welcome any stories you have concerning people in whom you've seen Jesus (ask yourself, "where did I see Jesus today?") or moments where you've seen the Spirit working in communities or events. Moments where I see the Spirit working through individuals and groups of people get me excited! I hope it does the same for you, too. :)