A Little Further Down the Road

Yesterday morning my son Jonathan and I went with a team of people from here in Leon, Nicaragua to visit the children our church supports through our program, Promise Kids Foundation, in the small community called La Ceiba.  Although La Ceiba is not too far outside of the city limits of Leon, it is a very rural and extremely poor community.  It is also the community in which a little girl, Mayerling, lives.  She is the little girl my family supports.  

Although I've met Mayerling a number of times now, I asked our team of workers if I could visit her home and maybe meet one or both of her parents. Knowing that there have been many difficulties in her home life, I wanted to catch a first-hand glimpse of her situation.  Thus, we ended up driving a little further down the dirt road we take to La Ceiba, driving further than we normally drive and going much deeper into the community than we usually do. We passed homes made of aluminum and plastic. The better ones were block structures. Children were out running around, a mom was preparing corn for tortillas, a toddler stood by the roadside in just his diaper, and pigs wandered across the road.  We finally arrived at Mayerling's home, a simple block structure with a couple of pieces of furniture and small television inside. Part of the floor was concrete, the rest was dirt.  There was a place for cooking and washing in the back.  

Mayerling's father had just gotten in from harvesting peanuts in the fields. He was glad to have worked, but was hot and tired. He explained their family situation. Mayerling greeted me with a hug, a smile, and, like usual, spoke very few words. I gave her the gift I had brought for her. We took some pictures and spoke a little bit about school.  As usual she was very polite. And, her dad expressed his thanks for what we were doing for his daughter.  Then it was time to head back to meet the rest of the children who were gathering for the day's program.   

Through it all, I was reminded that one never really knows what they will experience if they will take the roads before them just a little bit further. Had I only traveled to the place I normally go, I would have missed out on seeing Mayerling's house, speaking to her dad, and experiencing firsthand the situation she lives in day to day. By going a little bit further down the road, I now have a better understanding of Mayerling's life and know better how to pray for her and her family.  

And, I'm reminded of the fact that this is, in many ways, what Jesus did for us. He didn't stay in the comforts and glory of heaven. Rather, he took the long road, traveling all the way down into our world and into our lives. He came all the way down the road that we might meet him and that he might lead us to our Heavenly Father. 

The Apostle Paul wrote of this when he spoke of Jesus, "...Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness." (Philippians 2:5-7 NIV)

Like our Lord Jesus, sometimes we need to go a little bit further down the road.  

Have a great day!  

Pastor Tim Harris 

www.pifny.org