As I was
talking to my dad a few weeks ago, we got on the subject of when my parents will
be coming to Honduras to visit me. They don’t have any set plans to come, but
at this point in our family it’s pretty much assumed that if one of the
children moves somewhere, our parents will be visiting them, no matter where on
the globe. They’ve gone from Seattle to Austin to Kenya, all just to share in a
little part of our lives. And then you know, the whole moving to the Dominican
Republic with me for a couple years. What can I say? We are adventurers.
Personally I
love this unofficial tradition. I love being able to show my family the work I
am a part of. One of my favorite memories in my entire life will always be
walking through the Santo Domingo airport with my grandparents who just a year
prior didn’t even dream of coming to visit me in the DR. And there they were
for two weeks, living life with us and participating in the work we were doing
there. For weeks before they came I had announced to my Dominican friends that my
grandparents were coming. I think they were probably just as excited as I was
when the time actually came for them to arrive. I will always remember when
they met all the people I had come to love so dearly. Swelling with pride, I
would introduce my friends, and then with an equal amount of pride I would say,
“This is my grandma and grandpa.” They colored with my neighbor kids and played
cards at our friend’s house. We sat around our plastic table in our plastic
chairs and laughed, and they helped us hand out the food from our ministry
truck. Watching my grandma interact with Ariel, our ministry driver, was just
as entertaining as I knew it would be. I wouldn’t trade those days for
anything.
So
naturally when I moved to Honduras I was waiting for a day to be set for my
parents to come visit. There are so many wonderful people here at El Sembrador
that I can’t wait for them to meet. I already know where I’m going to take them
in town to eat baleadas and which friend’s house we will visit to drink coffee
and play Rummikub. I know the places I want to show them around campus and the
stories I will tell about each place. I know exactly which students will come
up and want to meet them without acting shy. I know that after I introduce them
to everyone my friends will each pull me aside and say that my dad looks very
young and that my mom looks just like me.
I’m excited
for my parents to come, but I was a little worried about what I would do to
entertain them. Don’t get me wrong, I love El Sembrador and I never have a dull
day. But I was worried my
parents would get bored of my normal, everyday life. When I mentioned all this
to my dad, I said we might spend a few days here at the school and then travel
a little bit to other places. And then my dad said something that surprised me,
and then it surprised me that it surprised me.
“Well, is
there a work project or something that we could help out with while we are
there?”
Huh.
Why didn’t
I think of that?
Why did I
automatically assume that my parents wouldn’t want to help out and join the
work that I am a part of? Suddenly I realized that while I was worrying and
making plans for my parents to enjoy themselves, I was actually limiting them
and their experience here. My dad wanted to get involved, and I almost missed
the opportunity to let him. And that would have been a shame; a shame for my
dad and a shame for El Sembrador.
And then an
even bigger thought struck me: how many times in my life have I limited
somebody’s chance to get involved in something great or something important
just because I thought they wouldn’t be interested? I can think back to the
many times I got to be a part of something awesome. What if whoever had gotten
me involved had chosen not to include me because they didn’t think I would want
to be included? How sad that would have been.
I’ve
decided, after this small off-handed comment my dad might not even remember saying, that I’m not going to keep my
ministry and my passions to myself anymore. God has put some cool stuff in my
hands and I want to share it! Maybe first I will share it with my parents. Then
who knows? There’s a lot going on here at El Sembrador, a lot of great things.
Do you want in on the action? You’re totally invited. All you have to do is
ask, and I will also keep inviting you as things come up. Even if you can’t
come for a visit there are other fun things you can do to get connected. And I
hope you will do the same for your passions! Keep inviting people to join you
(invite me too!), because you truly never know who burns with the same passion
and who would love to help you along the way.
Let’s stop
limiting each other! We need to follow God’s example; he is constantly inviting us to join him in
whatever he is doing. He always wants to show us around and introduce us to the
people he loves. When I think about that it makes me feel limitless. There is
so much we can do in this world, and we can do even more when we work together.
