Our first few days in Chile...

My heart felt torn as I looked at all of the children in the rusted metal hospital beds around me. Ages ranged from infant to three and four year olds. Most of the kids that were awake were crying or looking bewilderedly about the room from their parent's arms. The rest were lying in feverish sleep. Worried parents stood at each bedside, some with tears in their eyes. All we had to offer was hot milk and some prayer as their children laid there, possibly dying. One of my team members, Geo, asked me to pray for a little girl with a plastic bubble around her head. She wasn't more than two. In the middle of the prayer I choked up and ran out of words. What was there to say? Her uncle cried silently as I handed it over to Geo, who picked up the prayer in Spanish. There was another man at his infant's bedside with tears in his eyes. The baby wasn't moving, it laid there in a bundle, hooked up to oxygen and IVs. Such were the rooms we visited throughout the children's hospital. These kids were dying of some sort of pneumonia virus that could probably be treated in an American facility, and here they were in cold metal cribs. 

My eyes teared up constantly throughout the night as we handed out meager cups of steamed milk and offered prayer to whoever wanted it. It wasn't easy. I realized how blessed we are in America. I was also saddened by the fact that this kind of ministry is illegal in "the land of the free." I felt so humbled by the fact that I go about my day to day life, my job and school, without a single thought to people who are suffering and in pain all over the world; people who could be comforted and changed by steamy milk in a plain white styrofoam cup and hands on prayer. 

Another thing that has touched my heart is the way these people worship. The Chileans aren't wealthy. Most of the living areas are pretty "ghetto" by our standards. Even though they struggle through life physically and financially, they gather to worship with all of their hearts. In their meetings, they cry out to God. They expect to be changed and touched by the holy spirit. They are hungry for God and for the Word. And God ALWAYS shows up. Their passion and zeal for our Lord is both humbling and inspiring. It has only been three days, but I've already learned enough with my team for a lifetime. I can't imagine what the rest of the summer has in store...but I'm really excited!