Wednesday, August 21, 2013

594 - Stories!

This story may not be new to everyone.  If you've read my most recent prayer letter, this is just copied and pasted from there.  But, I wanted to share this on my blog, because I don't know that everyone receives my prayer letter.

Expect more updates soon!  I'm currently in Quito, Ecuador visiting David Shenk and Alyssa Rodriguez, the two Mennonite Mission Network workers in Quito.  I've only been here a few days, but I already have a TON of stories to share!

This story, is one that I wrote after listening to a couple share at church!  Their story really touched me, so I hope that it will touch you all as well! :)



Edwin and Jazmin married fairly young and they were very happy to start a family.  They were a little worried when their first daughter, Jeimy (now 18), was born, otherwise healthy, but with Down’s Syndrome.  They found themselves worried about the challenges that she would face in her life, and the hurtles that she would have to cross; they were in general worried for their new precious daughter.  Around two years later their first son, Jean Carlos (now 16), came into the world.  He was a perfectly healthy baby boy, and is now an integral part of the church’s worship team and the youth group.  A few years later they had a bit of a surprise when their third child, and second son Edwin Davíd, was born with various mental and physical disabilities.  Within his first few short weeks of life he had to have 3 life saving surgeries.  In the 12 years that he’s been alive he has had 13 surgeries in total.
Edwin stood in front of the church and told us about the pain that he and his wife felt when their second special needs child was born.  Edwin was convinced that he had done something earlier in his life to cause his children to be born with special needs.  He’d grown up with family members who were witch doctors and he thought that perhaps God was sending their punishment on his children.  He had at one time been a bit of a partier, and thought perhaps that God was sending his own punishment on his child.
The pain and hardships that Edwin and Jazmin’s children had to go through so early on in their lives caused a riff in their spiritual lives.  At first they were angry and disappointed with God.  Slowly however, they began to see that God could, and would work through this situation.  They joined a church and got more involved. God began revealing more of how God was able to move in their lives and change how they were viewing the hardships that the children that they love madly were dealing with.  That is not to say that they did not go through hardships in their lives, especially with Edwin Davíd.

The point in the Edwin’s story that made me choke up the most was when one day after school Edwin Davíd came home and then sat on his father’s lap.  He asked his father with that childhood innocence, “Daddy, why did God make me the way that I am?”

When Edwin repeated his son’s question to the church, you could almost hear everyone in the sanctuary’s heart drop for just a moment.  Questions like that hit you like a 2X4 across the back, it takes your breath away.  This is a question that is hard for adults to fully fathom, how could you possibly explain something like God’s goodness and mercy to the child that you love with your whole heart when it’s something that you yourself don’t fully understand?  This was Edwin’s worry.  However, God gave him the words to speak.  He told his son that he loved him just the way that he was, and that he should never feel ashamed.  God had a beautiful plan for his life, and he had been given a chance to show people God’s love in new and different ways.

That seemed to be enough for Edwin Davíd because he has never stopped loving.  I can say that I know first hand that when anyone walks into the church, Edwin Davíd is there to greet them with a great big hug!  He loves to love.  He has no shame, or embarrassment.  He just loves.  During worship he claps, dances, sings, and lifts his arms up to the God who created in him an uncanny ability to love others.

When Edwin reached this point in the story he had his son join him in the front of the sanctuary with him.  Edwin Davíd had prepared a song that he wanted to share with the congregation.  The emotion and symbolism in the song and the situation moved me to tears.  He was nervous when he started; he was a little shaky to his song start alone, just as he had been when he was born.  His dad was by his side, but he was the one singing.  He slowly gained confidence and started to really get into the song.  He was singing of God’s love and mercy and with every fiber of his being, he believed the words that he was singing.  He was singing about his own story.  He was sharing his story as an offering to the church, and lifting it up to God.


This song must be one that most people in the church knew because half way through everyone joined in and with tears in their eyes started singing along.  Edwin Davíd didn’t have to be worried or scared, his story was at the heart of church and it’s members.  He was not going through life alone, he didn’t ever have to worry about not having support.  As I sat there and watched, and listened, I saw the church become a part of Edwin Davíd’s story as they all joined in.  I observed the church lift up their collective story of love and of mercy to God as an offering, and I am touched that I have been blessed enough to be a small part of that story.

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