I recently
had a birthday, and birthdays always get me thinking about my life as a
whole. Perhaps because of my age, I also find myself thinking about what impact my
life is having on those around me – am I making a difference in the world, as I
wanted to when I was younger?
The violence
and drama of this week here in Boston have added to these questions, and some
friends at Emmanuel Gospel Center pointed
me to a piece by Rev. Fred Rogers, of Mister
Rogers fame, as a way of helping kids process what has gone on. In it Mr.
Rogers said,
When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the
news, my mother would say to me,
"Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping."
To this day, especially in
times of "disaster," I remember my mother's words and I am always comforted by realizing that there
are still so many helpers –
so many caring
people in this world.
Certainly we saw many helpers in the
midst of this week’s bombing!
When I think about the ‘helpers’ I
have known in my life, one of the people I think of especially is Dr. Helmer
Juarez of Guatemala. David and I met
Helmer on our first trip to Guatemala
in the ‘80s, when we went there to adopt Charissa. Helmer and Susy were directing an orphanage
for children who were victims of the civil war – many of them had seen parents
and other family members murdered and
were very traumatized.
When that orphanage closed down just
a few years later, Helmer and Susy had located family
members for every child except one. They didn’t just take care for the kids and love
them – which would have been great in and of itself –
they did the hard stuff,
seeking out people who were scattered across a country that was embroiled in
violence.
A man of few words, Helmer is
creative when looking for solutions -- and often demanding. He is not afraid to risk and not hesitant to
partner with others. And, as
Compassionate Ministries Director for the region, he invests his life in projects that will leave a God-honoring legacy --
deworming
projects for thousands of children whose growth and development have been stunted by
parasites
microenterprise
loans for women who’ve never had money of their own but
are
determined to start small businesses to enable their kids
to eat well and go to school
tutoring
and hot meals and windows of opportunities for kids living in urban slums –
who
become the first members of their families
to attend college
agricultural projects that enable
indigenous, subsistence-level farmers to triple their corn production and
result in their kids getting educated, entire families getting to know Jesus
Christ, and new churches being started
the
development of a Nazarene hospital that will not only serve those with little
access to medical care, but will provide compassionate care for numerous
pastors and their families
What kind of legacy are you working on?
