I’ve been in Dilla, Ethiopia for about three weeks now. It’s
been a beautiful time, but a little more challenging than I anticipated.
Honestly, I think I was a little nonchalant in my mental/spiritual preparation
for this mission, because it was “only” ten weeks and the last time I was on
foreign missions was for a full year.
Rookie mistake.
When Sr. Antonieta (the same sister/doctor that I worked
with in South Sudan) asked me to come to Dilla to help with a clinic they were
trying to open, I knew there was a possibility that the clinic wouldn’t be open
yet, even though I came over a year after Sr. Antonieta. The physical buildings
and the whole organization of the clinic required a lot of work. At this point,
the clinic is ready, but we don’t have enough staff. We have posted notices for
what we are looking for, but have received little to no interest. So the clinic
remains closed, and I would be absolutely shocked if it opened before I left in
August.
So, what does that mean for me? Basically, I don’t have a
set daily job, which means every day looks different doing whatever tasks the
sisters need (the sisters also have a college and two kindergarten schools.)
This was really hard for me at first because I felt like I was not truly being
helpful and I started to questions why I even came here at all. Then, one day,
I spent about an hour ironing curtains for the hall in which the college
graduation was taking place and I couldn’t get Mother Teresa’s words out of my
head, “Do small things, with great love.” Small things still require GREAT love
and that great love is what brings glory to our Lord.
Those small things, humble my own heart, quiet my own pride
so that I can make this mission truly about what the Lord wants to do through
me. It’s not about what I can do for the people. It’s not about coming home
with incredible medical stories and a long list of all the lives I impacted. It’s about supporting the sisters and the
long-term work they do here. It’s about listening to the Lord’s call daily, and
obeying Him even when His call is so very different from my expectations.
Humility is a difficult thing to appreciate. It’s hard to
see how becoming little can be so great, especially in a society that values
power and self-gain over almost anything. Ultimately though, I know that there
is a God infinitely greater than me. Only when I humble myself and allow Him to
work through me, only then can greatness come.
He wills nothing but good for my life. I place all my trust in Him and
as challenging as it is, I ask Him to make me small so He can be glorified.
