Rise Up/Wake Up

The last week in July, I had the opportunity again to travel to Dominican Republic on a mission trip with Bless Back Worldwide. I'm not sure why I am surprised when God wrecks me on these trips. I’ve lost count of the trips I have taken, over 20, but on every trip there is a moment of reckoning and a reframing of my perspective.

This, however, was my first trip NOT serving in a medical capacity. I wasn’t expecting the wreckage.

I thought I would just be chaperoning a group of youth from my church, Moments of Hope, experiencing their first exposure to poverty and their first exposure to real need. I was there to provide support, counsel, and Biblical navigation through the often-emotional response to seeing such poverty.  We spent the mornings doing physical labor (in 95-degree weather with 95% humidity). We painted a building on which our youth team laid block last July. (Yes, this seems like a long construction process, but when you pay as you go, it takes time to build a structure.) The afternoons were spent coordinating a kid’s camp, like a vacation Bible school.  

On the first day of camp, we noticed an 8-year-old girl carrying an infant no more than 8 months old. She sat in the corner, feeding a bottle to the baby, shying away from participating in the activities.

Through our translators, we learned that her parents had been deported within the last few days. Supposedly, there was an older sister around, age 17, but we never saw her.   The village in which we were serving housed hundreds of Haitian refugees.  If you don’t know, Haiti (the country that shares the island of Hispaniola with the DR) is in a chronic state of anarchy plagued by gang violence.  For the last few years, Haitians have been pouring over the border into the DR to find safety.  According to one of our guides, the population of the DR is 11.4 million.  But, it is estimated 5 million Haitians are currently seeking refuge in the DR.  The strain on economy, resources, infrastructure is palpable, and the DR government is trying to deport many of the Haitians.  This village was experiencing nightly deportation raids.  It was not surprising that the parents had been deported, but it was shocking to see that the children were left behind.  As soon as our team realized the situation, we took turns holding the baby so his sister could experience camp and just be a child.

There are no words to describe the condition in which these children live.  Food is scarce and the stress of daily survival is daunting.  On previous trips, I’ve seen grown women get into a fight wherein one woman bit another woman’s lip completely off!  And, I’ve met a 17-year-old who had four children because she was being trafficked to feed herself and her children.  Yet, in that week of camp, the giggles, the squeals of joy, and the reckless abandon of just being a child was beautiful to experience.  These kids had a few hours of freedom.  This girl had a few hours of NOT caring for her baby brother.  As our ministry partner provided a daily meal for these children, I marveled at how older siblings shared their food with younger siblings without being asked. 

It was joy to watch these children.  Pure unadulterated joy.  It made me realize there is a reason the Bible says come to me as little children:

Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.  Matthew 19:14.

But, this little girl haunts me.  I cannot get her off my mind.  I have no idea if or when she will see her parents again.  Yet, she also inspires me.  If she can wake up to joy in her circumstances and rise up to selflessly care for her baby brother, what more can God call me to do?

Just days after I returned from the DR, I had a phone call with our pastor's wife.  I had been asked to emcee a women’s event at the end of August and we were connecting on the theme.  Our last event focused on the theme, Rise up.   This event:  Wake up.

I immediately started praying for God to give me a story or a vignette that would go along with that theme.  And, I went to Google to find examples of “waking up” in the scriptures and to further understand the concept. 

Romans 13;11:  Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep.  For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.

1 Corinthians 15:34:  Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning.  For some have no knowledge of God. 

Revelation 3:2:  Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found our works complete in the sight of my God.

Luke 21:36:  But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man

Mark 13:35:  Therefore, keep awake-for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow or at dawn

I loved this AI generated response:

In the scriptures, "wake up" often signifies a call to spiritual awareness and action, urging believers to rise from spiritual slumber and live a life of holiness. It can also refer to a literal awakening from sleep, sometimes linked to a sense of divine timing or a need for prayer and intercession. 

I realized God had been teaching me about rising up and waking up for weeks . . . maybe even for the last year.

One of my favorite verses has always been Isaiah 58:10:  If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like noonday.  

That sounds a lot like “waking up,” doesn’t it?   A few chapters later, Isaiah is describing the nation of Israel in 60:1:  Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you . . . Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Again, the idea is that if you wake up, rise up, you will be blessed and others will be blessed as well.  It’s the same Hebrew word for "arise," just one is an imperative to get up the other emphasizes if you do, you will bring others along into the light.

I was reminded that I do not have to travel abroad to be spiritually awake and aware of the needs around me and to serve others.

Then, as if I was not listening, a patient came in with a story (that he has given me permission to share).

In this new practice, my staff and I spend time every morning praying for every patient on our schedule. Certainly, not all patients who seek us for care share our faith. However, we pray that we can be instruments of healing and the hands and feet of Jesus to them. (The one year anniversary of opening this practice passed while I was in the DR. I cannot believe it's been a year as every day is such a joy and a blessing!)

This past week, a patient called wanting to come in to update what was happening in his life. I had not seen him in months but knew from the medical records he had been hospitalized multiple times and was undergoing cancer treatment with significant complications. I did not recall discussing faith with this patient at all.

We chatted a few minutes, reviewing his records, his prognosis and his treatment plans. 

Then, he said:  “I really just want to tell you about meeting Jesus.”  I was startled.

According to the records, the patient spent several weeks in the ICU.  He was truly at the point of death.  He was mentally in a state of encephalopathy due to toxins in his body. He was restrained due to thrashing. He had no awareness of his surroundings or his condition. The family was told this could be the end.

Yet, the patient described in detail his experience of being in a loud room, with piercing, screeching sounds and a sensation of being pulled, although he was not sure where.

Then, suddenly, he was transported to a quiet, calm place and Jesus appeared to him.  He just knew it was Jesus.  The words Jesus spoke to him: WAKE UP!  Go back. You have more to do.

Immediately, he awakened in the ICU.

A few days later, he was discharged home with a new perspective on life.  This patient experienced Ephesians 5:14-20:

Wake up from your sleep, Climb out of your coffins; Christ will show you the light! So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times! Don't live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants. Don't drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him. Sing hymns instead of drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ. Sing praises over everything, any excuse for a song to God the Father in the name of our Master, Jesus Christ.

I know his medical history. I know the challenges he is facing. But, his whole demeanor is changed. He is at peace. He is attending a church. He is not afraid of death. He is awakened.

God is not subtle.  I prayed to understand awakening and God just said look around.

This trip to the DR awakened me to needs of others and to the importance of serving and finding joy in all circumstances.  Coming home, I was reminded of and awakened to the privilege to be able to do something I love so very much. It is not often that calling and vocation align, but I have been given that blessing in my life.  And, because of my vocation, I get to see and experience miracles of healing and waking up from death to life.  I don’t take that lightly.

God is always calling us to rise up and wake up.  Our Women of Valor event on Waking Up is next week and I cannot wait to hear what our pastor‘s wife and her daughter have to share with us!   Please join us for the event.

https://momentsofhopechurch.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/3068054

May you prayerfully ask God to awaken you to spiritual awareness and action?