Friday, March 9, 2012

Clueless...

September almost seems like yesterday. It was then that I spent a week in Las Lisas, Guatemala as part of a medical team from West End Assembly of God. On Sunday I fly back to the same community, this time with a different mission: construction. Besides destination, this project has something very much in common with the September trip: I don't really know what I am doing. In fact, I'm clueless.

I am no doctor or nurse. I don't know how to run a pharmacy. I've never pulled a tooth or used a scalpel. I may or may not have done a few of those things while in Guatemala, but I am still certain that won't qualify me to practice as an MD.

Similarly, I am no builder. My grandfather built houses for a living, my father can fix pretty much anything. I am pretty good at telling the difference between a Phillips head and flat head screwdriver. We may be building homes, installing doors and windows or applying stucco, but I bet when I come home I won't be a licensed contractor.

The good thing about being clueless is that I can't rely on myself. I'm forced to look to others and to God for help. I'm fully aware that I'm not going to be the next Guatemalan version of Bob Vila or Handy Manny for those of you with preschoolers. Not because I don't want to be, but because I simply lack the skills.

It's not my job to be a doctor or a builder. Its my job to simply be a follower. A believer. A part of the body. A doer. God has the rest figured out before I take a single step on the rich soil of Las Lisas.

The upcoming week in Guatemala will be a success. Not because WEAG is such a great church, not because the team is the most skilled set of builders in the western hemisphere, and certainly not because of my screwdriver identification skills. It will succeed because the God we serve will fill our knowledge gaps.

You may not be a doctor or a contractor. You may not be a world traveler. You may feel like me, that you lack any real "talent" or "skill". But world changing doesn't require you to be talented or to have skills. Sometimes it just requires you to be clueless. And faith takes care of the rest.



He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
Ephesians 4:16 (NLT)

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