Universally Contagious

I knew there would be a language barrier when I came to another country.
I knew that at times it would be hard to communicate.
I knew that I wouldn’t always be able to understand.

I just didn’t know it would be this hard.

Tuesday morning my ministry team attended a medical camp. A medical camp consists of doctors and nurses going to a venue at an outside village where they give free medical attention, diagnosis and medicine, all sponsored by the local hospital that partners with Bibles For the World. My ministry team traveled with the medical team where one of us helped with registration, one helped at the “pharmacy,” and the remaining 8 went into a nearby building where we wait for the patients to come for prayer if they would like.

Last week we did the same thing at a different village. The only difference: last week we had an interpreter who helped us talk with the patients.

The morning begins and slowly the men, women, and children file in to the building. You shake someone’s hand, smile, motion for them to sit down, point to their name on the paper to get them to say it for you, and somehow motion to places on your body until they point to where they are hurting/having problems. Next you put your hands together as the praying hands symbol, and hope they nod their head. You pray, they get up and say “thank you” (in their language,) and they walk away. Repeat that 250 times.

Now what’s hard about that? Nothing really. Unless you count the fact that they cant understand you, and you can’t understand them.

I knew there would be a language barrier.

I didn’t know it would be so frustrating.

I began feeling so irritated and upset with myself, and with God. I wanted to say more. I wanted to talk about Jesus. I wanted to talk about how wonderful my Savior is. I wanted to say, “You have a beautiful smile! God is going to help you through your pain and HE can take it away. All you have to do is trust in Him, and know he is the ULTIMATE physician!” I wanted to give them reassurance that if we come yearning for God, that he promised he would answer.
What’s wrong with that paragraph?
The repeating phrase: “I wanted…”
I left that day discouraged, and feeling useless.

Thursday morning my ministry team left for a VBS in a village near where the medical camp was. I sat next to the window in the ambulance (our transportation, that isn’t really used as an ambulance because it has 3 rows of seats.) The ride was about 35 minutes. On the way, I looked out the window and began smiling and waving at the people, because we are such a spectacle to them. “Woah, look at the white people!” (This actually happens, lol.) We passed about 200 people. At first I didn’t pay much attention to what was going on, but then I remembered a conversation I had Saturday with my family.

I told them about the small language barrier at the first VBS we conducted. My sister proceeded to say, “A smile is the same in every language.” When we were talking it was more in a joking manner, but there is so much truth behind it.

Passing these people you can see the poverty in their clothes. You can see the many hours of hard work in their hands and the sweat dripping down their face. You can see the struggle in their countenance. You can see that they are usually busy and maybe having a bad day…..but every time I smiled at someone and waved, they smiled back and waved.

Not just a smile that meets the lips. It’s a smile that reaches their eyes. One that isn’t forced but is genuine. It hit me like a brick in the face.

I don’t have to speak to someone to show God’s love. All I have to do is what the Lord says. If He says to move 2,500 bricks (which we did today, in 3 hours, boo-yah,) or if He says entertain 150 Indian children during a VBS even if they don’t understand you- act goofy in the Lord, or if he says pray for my people. What He says, you do. He will get the glory for it no matter what.

Just like Ruth told Naomi: where you go I’ll go.
Lord, where you send me I will go. Even if where we are going is hot. Even if no one can understand me. Even if I have brick dust in my hair that won’t come out, (you make beautiful things out of dust, check out my last blog post :]) I WILL FOLLOW YOU!

The Lord reminded me that someone doesn’t have to understand my prayer for healing to happen. They don’t have to know what I am praying. The only thing that matters is that we are praying to the same God. He revealed to me the importance of my countenance. The people of Manipur won’t remember us if we are down in our own self pity. The people of Manipur will remember us because we obeyed God and trusted in His word.

We, as Christians should be the happiest people in the world- even if the circumstances aren’t too ideal.

“A merry heart maketh a cheery countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.” – Proverbs 15:13