Nothing Left to Do But Wait

Can I be honest? I love Mexico as much a the next person, probably more actually because I am here in Tijuana, but there are things I don't understand. I feel like even if I asked "Why do you do this?" I wouldn't understand. Luckily, I have read a lot of books, like, Foreign to Familiar: A Guide to Understanding Hot and Cold Climate Cultures by Sarah Lanier or Cross-Cultural Servanthood: Serving the World in Christlike Humility by Duane Elmer (both great and amazing helpful reads if you are planning on going on a missions trip or something). Also an entire week was dedicated to cross cultural communications in my secondary school at YWAM Minneapolis. But even if I am going to be respectful of the cultural differences and different worldviews, can't I still express my confusion? 

One thing about Mexico that I really don't understand  is the hospital protocol. There is a hospital ministry here at the base. Every Monday we go out to the hospital near downtown Tijuana and minister to the people outside the hospital. The side streets near the hospital are full of cars parked and people waiting inside, a lot of people are also packed outside the doors of the emergency room. Why are all these people waiting? Here in Mexico, when you know someone who has been admitted to the hospital, you are not allowed to accompany them inside. I don't know why, maybe there isn't room for extra people, maybe they have had too many "incidents", I am not sure. But what I do know is, there are a lot of worried family members and friends standing outside for hours, days, weeks, wondering and worrying. So, every Monday we go out armed with burritos to minister and talk to the people. We talked with a lot of people. I met a husband with his two children waiting outside the ER, he said his wife was having their third child via C-section. I talked with him a lot and played with his clearly over tired cute 5 year old. (We were there from 9-11 pm, so it was late.) I prayed for him and his wife and family, it was really sweet. After that I talked with a really friendly Christian family who were waiting to hear about their niece who was having her appendix removed. Some of the people in my group were playing the guitar and singing worship songs. I remember thinking how easy it would be to just join them in singing, instead of seeking out more people to pray for and talk to but I saw this girl just standing there all alone and I felt compelled to talk to her. I grabbed a burrito and walked up to her. I asked how long she was waiting there, she said not for very long. I asked her what happened, why was she there. She said her husband had been hit, (I wish I had asked her how, I am not sure if it was hit in a fight or a car accident). Her name was Marta and her husband's name was Saul. She was really open and we quickly engaged in conversation. She was 23 (my age) and she was really worried because now her husband couldn't work because of the accident and she would have to find work to support them. They have two children, 3 and 1 years old. She began to cry out of frustration and worry because she didn't know how they could afford day care for the kids and she didn't know of anyone to watch them while she worked. My heart went out to her. I can't imagine the stress of trying to figure that all out. She said her sister could watch her children, as she is the closest family member but Marta explained that she and her sister have a bad relationship because her sister judges her because it turns out Saul isn't her husband. She asked me if I went to church. I said yes and she began to talk about God and what she thinks of church. She was basically opening the door for me to share the Gospel. I was so nervous because this was all in Spanish and I am not good at sharing deep things in Spanish yet. She explained to me she doesn't want to go to church because everyone is a hypocrite and they judge a lot. But she said she liked the idea of God and she liked worship songs. I told her God loves her no matter what and that he makes all bad things into good because he loves us! I told her not worry because God is good and he has a plan and that he will provide. I could tell her heart was yearning for God, I could feel it. It was really amazing, I wish there was more I could do for her. I told her about a church I knew of near by if she wanted to start going. So now all I can do is pray that God will continue to pursue her, and that He provides childcare and a job for her. If you remember can you pray for Marta and Saul and their children too? I really think God can use this hard time to glorify himself in their lives!