Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Right or Left?



Recently I took one of those online tests that tell you whether you are left-brained or right-brained. I scored 50% for each. This is not the first time that I have landed in the middle of my brain. It helps me understand why I have such a struggle when faced with major, important, life-changing decisions. Logic (left-brain) fights against emotion (right-brain). Nowhere has this been more true than when I faced deciding how long to stay here in the DR.


Here is what my left brain had to say (taken from a letter to my monthly partners):

“My heart’s desire is to finish my time here well. To me, that means leaving the sponsorship program in better shape than when I arrived and having someone who can take over the role that I have in overseeing sponsorship for the DR. If I were to leave this September, neither of those things would be true.

With the departure of two sponsorship coordinators in April, we now have seven of our ten sites without a coordinator on location. In addition, two families who play major roles in Kids Alive work will be leaving this summer – one for a six-month furlough and the other indefinitely. At this time, there isn’t anyone who could step into my role which will now include directly handling sponsorship at the sites without coordinators…

… I know there will always be a need for workers here, but several factors give me the freedom to end my term at that time. By end of this year, three people who will work in sponsorship are set to arrive in the D.R. One of those is a candidate for taking my position. Also, there are several others in the application/fundraising process who will potentially arrive within the next 12-14 months. With these new arrivals, I believe my work will be done.”


Here, however, is what my right brain was saying (taken from the same letter):

“My return in January was difficult. Emotionally, I was dealing with my mom’s death. Physically, I had contracted a virus which seemed to hang on and wipe out all my energy and strength. I wanted nothing more than to come home.”

While this part of the letter was shorter, the desire to be with my friends and family easily overpowered my logic for many, many days.

 
Fortunately, the left brain and right brain can work together. One day I visited one of our children’s homes. There I met Hannah (not her real name), a 15-month old girl who had only been living there for one week. She was limp and passive. When this strange, white woman took her to hold, she offered no resistance, and there was no change of expression or sound from her. Her arms and legs were thin and weak. Her belly was slightly swollen from the poor nutrition. She simply watched with her huge, brown eyes. My right brain was immediately engaged. Remembering how active and healthy my own grandchildren were at her age made me want to cry. I wanted to do all I could to ensure that she had a safe place to grow and thrive.

Later when I returned home, my left brain kicked in. How could I best help this little child? By staying here one more year for all the reasons listed above, plus for this little girl and so many others like her. That is the decision I have made. I will stay here in the DR working with Kids Alive until June, 2017. At that time, I will return home to be with my family and friends. Even though I won’t be physically here, I will continue to find ways to partner with Kids Alive to bring hope to the hurting children in the Dominican Republic.

Thank you, little one, for helping bring my brain together.

 
Prayer requests:

·         Pray for Hannah. That she will gain both physical and emotional health. That she will grow up learning about Jesus and his love for her. That she will receive Him into her heart at just the right time.

·         Pray for my health. Since returning in January, I have struggled through various viruses and parasites. Right now, I am trying to recover from a cough. Pray that my immune system would be strengthened so that I can fight off illness to be able to perform my work efficiently and to enjoy my life here.

·         Pray for the sponsorship work in the upcoming year. Pray that God would bring in people at just the right times to cover the areas where help is needed. Pray that I will have wisdom and strength to meet all my responsibilities.

·         Pray that God will provided everything that is needed for another year here.

·         Pray, most of all, that God would be glorified in me and in the work Kids Alive is doing here in the Dominican Republic.



 For information on how to help me stay in the DR one more year, click on my fundraisers page on this blog.