During the first week I told the kids, “Guess what kids, these hotel workers get at best one day off a week, and some only one day off every 15 days. They work between 10-14 hours a day for $3.50 a day, and even in this economy that is BAD news! The owners are making thousands of dollars off us and yet the workers live in the basement of the hotel without any air-conditioning and often not even a fan. They feel inferior and are worked to death.” Tears filled several of the girls' eyes.
Later that day they brought me carefully written thank you notes for the kitchen staff, the maids, the desk workers..thanking them for specific things they appreciated. I was kept busy for the rest of our stay there translating thank-you notes.
The hotel staff couldn’t believe the notes and just smiled as they began taping the cards up on the walls or propping them on the desk.
One night I found the night worker, Marlon, furiously cleaning after 12 p.m. Usually around 12 pm things would slow down enough for him that he could catch a few winks. Sticking my head into the kitchen I saw dirty dishes and sticky counters.
“Marlon, do you have any dish soap?” I asked him. “Whatever do you need dish soap for? ….Oh No you don’t!" So saying Marlon gently shoved me to my room and said, "It is late! Go to bed! You are tired! You work too hard!”.
I turned around and said “Oh, so because I am from the USA and am a guest I get more tired than you? I don’t think so! You are JUST as important and valuable as me and you are tired too! So I am going to help you and clean up the kitchen!”
“No way! You are so not going to be allowed to help me! You are the guest! This is my job.”
“Ya and you work way too hard for way too little and it is about time someone helped you out! Forget it my friend, I always win these kinds of arguments.” Right then one of my 14-year-old girls stuck her head out of her door.” Mrs. Glassford, I can’t sleep. I am so excited about my meetings tonight. So many people accepted Jesus. I just can’t sleep!”
“Cool! That means you can help me clean up the kitchen!” One hour later we were finished and Marlon and us too could all go to our rooms to bed. Marlon walked us to our room as he put his arm around both of us. As I looked down on his friendly brown face his eyes filled with tears! “Honestly, I have no idea what I am going to do..what we are all going to do when your whole group leaves. You all have been so good to us! You’ve become like family! You have loved us as equals for no reason! Thank you so much!! Please don’t forget about us when you leave and keep in touch! You’ve made us feel special and this place is going to be empty without you all”. Giving him a hug we said “You are special, all of you and we love you all! And yes, you are equals with us!”
My 14-year-old helper and I exchanged glances…this was not going to be the only thing we did for these hotel workers! We were extra determined to show them Jesus because most people would rather see a sermon than hear one any day.
God worked out an amazing miracle so that we could give a mini-evangelistic campaign to the hotel workers. The managers of the hotel were not interested in loosing their workers for an hour a day for some meeting. So we worked out a deal. Directly after lunch, while their workers were in our meeting, part of our group washed the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen! When the hotel workers found out that we were going to have meetings just for them, many of them hugged us and squealed for joy!
Each day, a different teen member preached.
We gave them all Bibles and Bible study materials.
Which they treasured. (The night guard could be seen reading his materials every night.) Two of them have made decisions to study further with the idea of preparing for baptism!
One night as I was traveling to the various sites to see how the kids were doing, my SDA taxi driver was so very kind. He took 2 groups of kids every night to the meetings and they just loved him. As I talked to him he began to profusely apologize for being late that evening (he had always been ½ hour early). I told him “even the best of people run late sometimes, don’t worry. It’s no big deal! God still made sure the kids got to their sites on time.” He smiled and told me about all the car trouble he had been having. But he said “However, the devil isn’t going to win this one! So I am not discouraged.” As I talked to him, I very carefully found out how much he had spent on his car. (He was not a rich man by any means. He made about $8.00 a day with his taxi after expenses. Frankly it takes at least 12-15 dollars a day to live with a family in Nicaragua.) We talked about all kinds of things as we drove between the churches that night and when I got out I slipped him some money. The man was flabbergasted. It was painfully obvious he hadn’t planned on me giving him anything. He was embarrassed but so touched. Out of his $300 debt we were able to give him $280 of what he had spent on a new radiator, new oxygen control, new hoses and other things that he had replaced on his car.
The last night I was there he explained why this had meant so much to him. When he (Oscar) was a very young boy his father had abandoned the family. When Oscar was 25 (he is now 29 or so) he decided to look up his Dad. To his shock his Dad was wealthy, very wealthy, owning several chains of stores and hotels. When he went to look up his Dad..he was finally allowed to enter the mansion of a home. His dad said “What do you want?!” Oscar said, “I just want a Dad. Not money, just a Dad. I’ve always had this hole in my heart for a Dad. Are you my Dad?” The greedy wealthy man said “Well it is true I was with your Mom and you were the product of that but my life is much to busy for another son. Now I wish you well and no harm but I can’t be bothered with you. So out you go…hope you have a good life.”
With tears in his eyes Oscar said "I just wanted a Dad! Is that so bad?! I truly wasn’t after money but knowing he had so much and he wouldn’t even give me time, my heart hurt deeply. And here…you hardly know me and you give me $280?! It isn’t about money, it’s about belonging.
You all have felt like family to me and you have no idea what it means to me! You have NO idea how wonderful it feels for perfect strangers to care about me when some of my own family don't give me the time of day! Thanks for showing me what Jesus is like!”
At that, we both cried. His family is now a part of mine. They are my brother, sister-in-law, and nieces and I don’t plan to ever lose contact with them.
Your overseas family is waiting for you to come, but how will you meet them if you don't go on a mission trip? They will be part of your family now and you can enjoy eternity with them in heaven! (For more information on how you can participate in a mission trip like this one go to www.sharehim.org)
2 comments:
it's wonderfull to hear what went on in background! always! and that trip was such a blessing!!!! wow! I'd better stop before i get emotional!! :P there is SO much from this trip, and all the trips that could be told, honestly! it would take weeks and years to unpack it all!! good thing we have eternity hu?! :D and we get to hear how our angel held the car togeather for just ONE more trip, and how God kept our 19 year old translator alive, and all that stuff that the devil was doing at different churches. i am SO glad we serve the God of all creation! that that Satan is just a created being. a defeated enemy, a papper lion. an ilusion, of might, if seen threw the eyes of faith. but keeping in mind, that if we go by our power, and see him as powerfull, then he becomes deadly.
i have read thes stories way to many times not counting the other many many times that i heard them from you over my short time living next door plus the ones from nicaragua i experianced first hand sooo what i wanted to ask was...are you gona put any more stories on anytime soon??? not to be impatient or anything...
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