The Little Things

After living here for several days, I can begin to understand what being a "full time missionary" means. I often wonder how Larry and Nancy can do what they do day after day, and it still amazes me. But I find that there is always something to do, and you have to pace yourself. You are not going to get everything done in a day. Having said that, I have gotten to see (and do) all the little things that may never get noticed by volunteer groups, or social activists, but nonetheless make the mission possible. For example, Larry and I were dropping off supplies at a church stateside for a volunteer group that would arrive tonight. We found the storage area littered with dust, dirt, and wooden pallets. So, Larry and I moved all of the palets, swept the room, and organized all of the palets in a way that would prevent someone from breaking in through the flemsy back door. If we saw something out of place, we would put it back. We would move things that were probably ok where they were, to a better place. We did a lot of things that no one would ever notice, but they needed to be done.
As we took our time buying supplies and delivering them today, we did a lot of little tasks that were very important, yet not glamourous or overly noticable. Each time I would seem to sigh, as if it was just another thing to do. Clean this, spray that, move this entire half of the room upstairs, etc... But at the end of the day, I found myself doing things because I saw that they needed to be done. No sigh, no extended thought, just that something needed to be done. This to me is similar to doing the right thing because its the right thing, a daunting task as well. But the more time I spend learning what it means to serve constantly, the more I realize its in doing the small things that others will just put aside, try to slip by, or leave for someone else. I only hope to apply this ethic to other aspects of my life, professionally and personally.

adios para ahora, y vaya con paz,
"Mateo"