Time Flies...

Hello again from a very rainy night in Belize,

From the very beginning of our journey, Eliu told us that Sunday was going to be a very important day. He expected a large crowd and let us know that the people of this village had been long anticipating our arrival. We were a little concerned that the rain storms would keep the people away... but a little rain doesn't bother the people of Belize. I am happy to report that today we were blessed to serve 122 people.

We were thrilled to have so many people show up to our clinic. What a wonderful problem it was to have to set up an outdoor waiting area. But, as you can imagine, serving 122 people made for an extremely busy day. 

All I kept thinking as person after person stopped at my station was how fortunate I was to serve so many people today. How blessed I was to see more smiling faces than I had the day before. How many more times I had the chance to watch as someone's face light up because they could now see clearly. How many more times I could feel joy and the incredible feeling of accomplishment with each smiling face that came to my table. Man, how time flies when you're having fun...  

Before we knew it, 122 people had passed through our stations, leaving only fond memories in their wake. Like the 90 year old man who loved his glasses so much that he didn't want to take them off and wore them to each remaining station. Or, the German woman who was so delighted to be able to speak German with our fellow team members and talk about her home country that she staid far after she had received her glasses. Or the family of four who were so delighted with our work and mannerisms that they couldn't help but show affection to us at every station. They were not simply happy to go through each station and move on... they wanted to get to know us on a person level. What a joy they were to us.

We made an impact on each of the 122 that we helped today, but it is the ones who made an impact on us that we will carry in our hearts. I for one know that God has placed me here in Belize for a reason. Perhaps my purpose is something far greater than I can see in this moment. Perhaps my purpose is writing this blog every night so that the people back home can feel connected to us in some way. Perhaps my purpose is making the person across from me at my station smile. Personally, I hope it's that one... it's the one that gives me the greatest joy. Tonight as sit on the rooftop writing, I can still see those smiling faces in my mind and know for certain that we are doing good work here in Belize.

The hard work continues tomorrow, so for now I will say goodnight.

I'll check in soon.

Bye for now.