MAYARO :)
So today some of the Deaf and I went to Mayaro to repair the roof of Bobby and Mala's home. For the past ten (10) years, Deaf Church has been taking place at their home in Mayaro allowing the Deaf community closeby to have the opportunity to hear God's Word and meet other Deaf. This was my first time there and I LOVED IT!!!
The breeze, the background waves, the overall atmosphere. It felt like I went on a one day vacation. BEAU-TI-FUL.
Mr Cleavon took a small group and I there early Saturday morning. I may have been the most excited person in the van lol. I was looking forward to going for the entire week and I was just bubbling inside on our way! I was not disappointed. I could go on and on about the wonderful atmosphere there and the scenic view but I think one of the most outstanding things is Bobby and Mala's humble, simple, awesome home! I am so glad I went!
I guess for the average person looking on, the house bears no outstanding, enviable features. I invite that person to look closer. Look again! You'll see a home built with hard work and love. Each board secured to another with a labour of love. Each stone across the pathway thoughtfully laid to warmly welcome its guests. Each room, each corner obviously well planned and constructed by the designer. Love lives there and if you take a walk further inside, you'll find contentment, joy and laughter lodging.
On this Saturday morning, I walked into a home; a home filled with people who came for one sole purpose - to repair, to rebuild, to reconstruct. I think as old, rusty sheets of galvanised were replaced with new sheets of aluzinc (not sure if that's spelt correctly), as rotted wood were replaced by sturdier, stronger lengths and those that promised to serve for some more years were ridded of termites, as old nails were replaced with new and the boards and aluzinc and nails were secured - pong pong pong - my mind was also being renewed. At the end of the day, my thoughts were revised. What was important just one week before became insignificant.
I observed how the hearing men worked with the Deaf. There was no competition, no strife, no discord; only togetherness, oneness and a work towards a specific goal. We prayed for the sun and God responded to our request. The sun was our overhead witness. No rain. Praise God! :)
Mr Cleavon came and he worked and he helped and he cut wood and he ponged and he advised and he laughed and the work of his hands revealed that his heart was with us. We had planned to leave at 4pm but Mr Cleavon simply stated that we'll leave when they have completed the roofing. lol I laugh at myself because I was keeping tabs on time (concerned about Mr Cleavon and the time I told him and the church) but Shevon was telling me not to worry and here was Mr Cleavon advising that we leave when the job was done! lol I have a habit was telling people to relax, now I have to tell myself - "Alana, relax" lolol
Mala also caught my attention - ever so humble and hard working. She reminded me of my mom. I had cut my finger while cutting some veggies and before I blinked my eyes she got a napkin to stop the bleeding and was at my side with a plaster to cover the cut. She only had to know about a request for water and it was there. I mentioned that I wanted some of her fever grass, she got up instantaneously and dug out a few pieces for me! If the boys needed something, she was on it. Mala - so hospitable and selfless; a wonderful woman, mother and wife. It is not surprising that she will open her home weekly to serve the Deaf community.
It was t
he first time that I met Mala's husband Bobby. He is really a skilled, resourceful and hard working man. I looked at him work and I called him the contractor of the wok! lol He knew what he was doing and he overseered the entire operation with a zeal and commitment that is uncompared. I really respect him and admire him. He was especially innovative and it was interesting to see how he was able to put everything to good use. He flipped a bottle of water over, attached it to a stick, punctured a hole in the bottle cover and used it to water the plants. He made a table with small pieces of wood. I could tell that their home was not just the warm touches of a caring wife but also the labour of a resourceful, "nothing must go to waste" husband. :) I smile to myself as I write this blog! :)
Shiva also left an impression on me. Mala and Bobby are his parents. I looked at him work with joy and as he spoke to me I could only see humility shining through. He told me about the turtles that come on the stores to make young ones. I was initially shakened when he told me that he has drunk the liquid in the turtle eggs. Bobby and everyone else insisted that it was good for strengthening the back. I'm sure I'll learn alot if I stayed there for a week. I will be a totally new person.
I want to also make mention of Colin (boy in green). He was supposed to meet us at church but we left him because he had not arrived or responded to our texts. It so happened that he travelled. A man saw him in Mayaro, called us and I directed him to the house. He dropped Colin there. Though late, though the victim of many playful "talks" about his lateness, Colin Welsh worked diligently, skillfully and purposefully. Mr Cleavon pointed this out to me and I observed him I saw a focussed Colin, hammering away, lifting and fixing and alining and working. I was proud of him. It was really good to see him doing something constructive with such concentrated attention and motivation.
This week I began reading a book by Kay Warren called "Dangerous Surrender". She states:
"...if you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead, and a place t
o sleep, you are richer than 75 percent of the people in this world! If you have any money in the bank some in your wallet and some spare change in a dish somewhere, you are among the top 8 percent of the world's wealthy; 92 percent have less to live on than you do! If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million other people in the world. If you can attend worship services at church without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than three billion people in the world." (p. 22)
Proverbs 28:6 Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a rich man whose ways are perverse
Proverbs 22:2 Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all.
Matthew 16:26 What does it profit a manif he should gain the whole worldand lose his own soul?
1 Timothy 6:6-12 6But godliness with contentment is great gain.7For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 11But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
1 Timothy 6:17-19 17Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
Matthew 6:20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
This trip to Mayaro changed my life.
Tuesday 24th February 2009
