WHY HOPE?
For anyone that is familiar with the Canchias of old, you might recognize this cabin. It is closest to the main building (Ambassador House.) Some might remember that it went by the name Esther. It is now called Esperanza (Hope.) In some ways, it’s particularly fitting that this is one of the first cabins we are resurrecting. Hope is beginning to bud again in the community. Christ-centered hope is rooted in faith and it gives us a “confidence in things hoped for, the assurance of things not seen.” Should we be surprised then if we lose hope? The bible is rife with people who temporarily lost sight of hope. King Solomon himself noted that “hope deferred makes the heart sick.”
A few months back, we began cleaning the old medical clinic up so that we could offer medical attention to people who don’t have access to care. You might remember a story I shared of an older woman who lives in the community. She gave me a warm hug. Her face told the story of a difficult life but the sparkle in her eyes shone past her weathered skin and beamed with optimism. She looked hard into my eyes and said, “Gracias a Dios y gracias a nuestros amigos Norteamericanos. Muchas gracias.” Thank God and thank you to our North American friends. Much thanks. I learned that several people had been fervently praying, for seven years, that they would once again have access to medical attention. Hope had begun dwindling on those cloudy slopes and now, new shoots of hope were pushing their way up through the rocky soil.
Hope is integral to our Christian walk and it is a powerful thing. Some may be familiar with the study done at Johns Hopkins with rats in a tank of water. When they sensed that there was no way out, they drowned in just a few minutes. But when the rats were plucked out of the water before drowning, allowed to recover and then placed back in the water, they swam for hours; some for a couple days before they began to succumb. Of course our hope, rooted in Christ, is so much more meaningful.
Why is that? Is it possible that tomorrow morning, we could wake up and the illicit drug trade will have come to an end because the head of the Cartel decided that he cared for the welfare of all people more than the illegal empire itself? It’s not patently impossible but I don’t suggest holding your breath. Jeanette and I can confidently say that we will remain married. Are we fallible? Sure we are, but we know something of the character of each other and that gives us assurance. You see, plain hope is just wishing on a star but Biblical hope has power because, and ONLY because of what we know of the character of Christ.
On February 2nd, we will have a worship service, a commissioning of sorts for this new journey. Please, if you can make it there to Canchias, come on. But don’t come looking for an experience, come looking for the Author of the experience. That’s where the power resides. I HOPE, that is, I have a confident expectation that it will be a wonderful time of worship and community.