Learn to Live

When making this blog I have been thinking about what I want to say to everyone who reads it. Man or woman, young or old, adventurous or cautious, organized or spontaneous, etc. That makes for a broad range of people. What could they all possibly have in common with which I could talk about? I would say to all the people reading this blog, learn to live. What I mean by that is not to travel the world or make a bucket list or constantly live outside your comfort zone, as great as those may be. I mean that you should live well. Engage the people you are close to. Continue learning. Don’t become complacent or settle for something less. If you are very, very lucky, you will get to spend maybe 100 years on this planet. That is so very brief in the grand scheme of things. Get to know the people around you. And don’t just talk about the weather. Get to know them! Who they are. What they enjoy. What their beliefs are. How you can impact their lives. Don’t get wrapped up in only yourself. And save yourself the misery of getting wrapped up in “Let me tell you what’s wrong with this world.” Here’s where my Christianity comes into play, don’t focus your life on making a Heaven on Earth. The Bible is very clear that this world will continue to grow more and more wicked and evil. There is still much good in our world but nobody can deny that it is a broken world. One day God will destroy the world and create a new one. First and foremost, I would encourage you to ask God to show Himself to you if you do not already know Him. And please don’t judge Him based off of Christian people who have hurt you or you see as hypocrites or just downright awful people. Make sure it is God who you know about and not a false perception based on people. The Bible is the best place to learn about who God is, and the book of John is a good place to start.

Now, back to the learn to live thing. The reason I would say this is because it is something I have been seeing in my own life since I have been here in El Salvador. As transparent as I may seem in these blogs, I have a hard time letting people close to me. Much of this results from past relationships going sour and leaving me hurt, and so I don’t throw myself out there very quickly. I’m naturally a rather quiet person, but there are many times where my quietness is a result of me being overly cautious with myself. The problem with this, as I have seen more and more while here in El Salvador, is that opportunities are limited. Opportunities are limited for getting to know the rest of the team. Opportunities are limited for getting to know the people at the orphanage. Opportunities are limited for getting to know people in the community. Opportunities are limited for everything! I am working on and praying that God will break through the barriers I put in place between myself and the opportunities I have been given. I would encourage you to do the same, and would ask that you pray for me in this area.

What did I do this week? Days are running together, and if it weren’t for other people telling me then I would totally lose track of what day it is. Oh yeah, I remember now. I got to do a little bit of everything. I got to install some ceiling fans, tape and mud some walls, clear a plugged gutter full of mango leaves and dirt, I got to drive again, I was taught how to make pupusas earlier tonight, I braided some hair, I played my guitar, I got to learn some more Spanish, and I helped take 15 kids to the zoo. Just another week in paradise, am I right? I don’t know about your paradise but I have enjoyed being here and getting to be part of everything going on. In all honesty, it has been exhausting but worth it. I would say the highlight of my week happened last night, though, while I was over at the orphanage. I was at the orphanage in the evening for a little while, went back home for supper, then went back to the orphanage afterward. We had been watching futbol, Argentina versus Venezuela. Side note, Argentina, a crowd favorite over at the orphanage, beat Venezuela 4-1 and will play USA on Tuesday. It might be an interesting night on Tuesday. Anyway, after that game was done, they changed the channel to some sort of concert in Colombia. Through some research afterward, it was a guy named Marcos Witt. Here’s a taste of the concert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpvo-CJUY60 , y un otro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODP3pdcXwAQ. It’s okay if you laugh at his dancing in the first one, we did too. Muevete oh Dios en mi is like saying move in me oh God. I understood some of the lyrics but not the majority. I did, however, understand that they were worshipping God, as were many of the people watching at the orphanage. This concert was on for an hour and for that hour, I was sitting next to one of the young men over there, who is a year or two younger than me, and also next to a younger boy who is nine. Not long into the concert the younger boy laid down on the bench and put his head on my lap while continuing to watch the concert. He wanted me to put my arm to rest around his chest. He would periodically look up and say something or touch my goatee or show me his grande melon, which is his belly that he likes to stick out. He laid there for the majority of the concert and eventually got a blanket, came back, and went to sleep. As he was going to sleep he kept making sure that he was still touching me. Didn’t have to be much, but just something. I have enjoyed being around this boy, and it wasn’t the first time we’ve spent together but this experience really hit home how valuable simply being a younger man can be to someone looking for another person to take interest in them. They have good parental figures at the orphanage, but me being a younger man brings a different relationship. More of a mix between brother and father. Though it’s called an orphanage, not all the people there would be considered orphans, meaning they still have parents, and some even stay with parents periodically. It’s a little foggy to me but I don’t need to understand everything. What I do understand is that my presence has an impact on their lives. My presence and my engagement with them has an even greater impact. Engagement adds so much to the impact. It makes me even more grateful for my parents and their presence coupled with engagement in my life. I would encourage you if you are a parent, it’s not too late to be engaged in the lives of your children. And don’t tell me you can’t because it will be weird or awkward. I already know it will be weird and awkward, but what I want you to know is that it will be worth it. Engage people. Learn to live. 

Ryan Green

The group at the zoo