Carrying Jesus' Stuff

During my early days in Guatemala, our mission clinic team visited San Antonio Palopo along the banks of Lake Atitlan.

Tropical Storm Agatha had recently devastated many towns around the lake. San Antonio Palopo was not spared.

Their docks were washed away, and a mudslide ripped the town in half, taking dozens of homes and people with it.

Walking along the edges of that disaster, I imagined what it looked like before the storm.

I considered which homes we could rebuild and how to best shore up the surviving structures.

Bulldozers rumbled in my head when I turned and saw our young guide admiring a flower with a group of smiling and giggling children.

I thought, “How cute!” and returned to planning the renaissance of San Antonio Palopo.

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Years later, I found myself wandering through another disaster area.

My brain juggled rebuilding options and costs. Fundraising plans swirled in my head. It was overwhelming.

Then, I looked up and saw the same guide from San Antonio take the hand of one of the victims.

Whatever she said made the woman smile, and they shared a hug.

This time, I realized what I was doing wrong. I extended a hand to another victim and asked how he was doing.

Yesenia has always had better instincts than I do when it comes to this type of thing.

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We buy stuff. We do stuff. We use our stuff to spread God’s love and the Good News of Jesus.

But our stuff doesn’t work right if we just box it up and ship it out.

We go with the stuff because smiles, hugs, and kind words make our stuff Jesus’ stuff.  

Sometimes, we don’t even need to bring any of our stuff.

We just go, and Jesus provides stuff.

And all we have to do is share it.

Yesenia has always known that.

I hope she never lets me forget it.