Let Your Little Light Shine

Matthew 5:16 says, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

This has been one amazing week. It all started with nurses' chapel on Monday, where seven of us nursing students got to speak on our experiences at clinical thus far and what we have been dealing with. Since we have already been submerged into the community, we have already dealt with a lot more than the other APU students who have not begun their service sites yet. After this week, they get to go out and work in the community as well, but they wanted to hear about what to expect first. All seven of us spoke on our own topic and utilized our own personal stories to get our message across. I spoke on my struggles in clinical with how women are treated here and how many people are dying of AIDS when it doesn't have to be a death sentence with how many medications they have to treat it and maintain it. I encouraged them with John 16:33, which says, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." In this verse, God lets us know that we will without a doubt face tribulation in this world, but He promises us His peace that surpasses all understanding because He has overcome the world. In the mean time though, don't hide your lights under a bushel (like the well known Sunday school song "Don't hide it under a bushel - No! I'm gonna let it shine"). I encouraged them to engage in the moments given to them and to expound upon them. I encouraged them to leave their personal struggles at home and only bring smiles to the people of South Africa. Smiling may seem like such a small thing, but in that smile, you're showing them the love of Jesus within you. After everyone shared, I wrapped it all up by tying all of our topics in with two quotes. The first is by Gandhi, which I thought was appropriate, since he made his stand against racism here in South Africa. "Be the change you wish to see in the world." You may not be able to change the world on your own, but you can control who you are and what kind of legacy you leave here on this earth. No matter what, one must always remember that Christ is still on the throne. The second quote I left them with is a well known prayer that we have all been dealing with, the serenity prayer. "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." We may not be able to change everything, but I strongly believe that God can use us in the small things, which could turn into something big. We may not be able to stop the spread of HIV here in South Africa, but we can touch individuals' lives with the love of Jesus along the way.

Tuesday was a struggle. Encouraging others and actually applying your own encouragement to yourself are two separate things. I didn't feel like smiling on Tuesday. I was at clinical at Ethembeni, which is a hospice center for patients who have life long illnesses, such as AIDS or cancer. The center is a lot like City of Hope in Duarte, CA. Anyways, I saw two patients with full blown AIDS, Vincent and Jacob. Vincent was in excruciating pain due to his prostate being enlarged, which caused his bladder to not be able to fully empty into his catheter bag. When I first saw him in pain, my fleshly response to myself was, "Well, he's dying. We can't do much about it anyways." You see, AIDS attacks your immune system and all the fat and muscle in your body. Both Vincent and Jacob were so wasted away that they looked like death itself. When I saw them, I wanted to go sit in the corner and cry, but how could that make any sort of difference or show them Jesus' love for them? We ended up calling the ambulance for Vincent because Ethembeni only administers medication, not any other medical care. As we waited for the ambulance, I asked both Jacob and Vincent if I could pray for them in Zulu. They were both very receptive and thankful for my prayer. I prayed that God would give them strength and courage and that he would make His love for them known to them. When the ambulance came, a volunteer, Thuthu, and I helped him walk out to the ambulance. As we were easing him out of bed, I realized that I could easily pick him up myself and carry him like a baby out to the ambulance instead of Thuthu and I walking on either side of him, but that would remove any dignity he had left. I pray that God continues to use Vincent to minister to others, but I also pray that God takes him home to run freely with Him if he believes in Jesus. If not, I pray that God uses the Christian center, Ethembeni, and the volunteers there to show him Jesus' love before he passes away.

My buddy, LG, and I are leading a D-Group of a bunch of girls here on campus. A couple of them have been struggling with how a loving God can allow such suffering in the world. What did I do to be born in a prosperous country like America? If I was born to a mother with HIV here in South Africa, would I even be given a chance at life? A couple of nursing girls and I talked with Reg (our fearless leader here at African Enterprise who is full of wisdom and Jesus' love) about this the other day. The way he put it was so clear. Basically, what he said was that we have taken the world's viewpoint on life. We have grown to think that since God is loving, life should be peaches and cream; BUT God is also a just God. Jesus says, "Take up your cross daily and follow Me," not "If you follow Me, you will always be happy." Instead of asking "Why does a loving God allow suffering?" we should be asking "Why does a just God allow joy and pleasure in this fallen world? Who am I that God should love me and care for me and want a relationship with me?" We have the wrong mindset, people! Thank You Jesus for even giving me, a little ant on this earth, a chance to share Your love with the lost people on this earth.

Yesterday was an amazing day. We all had the chance to go on a canopy tour. I had no idea what this meant till about a week ago, but we got to go ziplining through the trees of South Africa like Tarzan and Jane, touring the canopy of trees. IT WAS AMAZING!!! Just when I think "it couldn't get any better than this," I'm always proven wrong by a new day. I got to see God's creation from the viewpoint of a bird or a monkey. We would literally fly from one platform to the next, simply admiring God's creation and screaming like little girls. I am in love with this country and what God has been teaching me here. God is good and His mercy endures forever.