YOLO - SLR

   
You Only Live Once.

      "Kayla..." I whispered into the darkness, hoping she was still awake and would listen to the amazing thing I had to share. "Psst...Kayla!"

     "What?"
    "Oh good, you're still awake." I was fairly bursting with excitement. 11:00pm or not, I had to get this out or I would surely explode! "Can I tell you something?"

    "Yeah, sure. What is it?"

    "I am, right now, this very second - I'm fulfilling a lifetime dream!" Now, I'm possitive that my excitement was conveyed in my voice...but Kayla must have been half asleep and missed it. Her whisper was laced with astonished confusion.
    "Sleeping in a hut in the middle of the jungle?"

     "Yep!"
     "How old were you when you knew you wanted to do that specific thing?"

     "Six!"

    Not many people my age can say that they have traveled out of the country. Even fewer can say that they've traveled out of the country five times. And still fewer can say that they've been to the jungle, lived in a hut, and swam in a Panamanian waterfall.

    But that night in San Antonio Gamboa, Panama a ten year dream came true for me. I was curled up in a pink mosquito net with five other girls, sleeping on a slatted hodge-podge of branches that served as the floor to a hut. Not just anyone's hut either! We were staying in the hut where the leader of this village lived; the leader and pastor!

    I am an adventure addict. You can imagine what all this did for my brain!

    Earlier that night we had come to the Wounaan (wo-NAHN) village in time for church. A mixed group of students from the United States and Wounaan Indians came together at dusk to worship the One True God together. We spoke different languages, we came from different places, we had different skin tones, different backgrounds...but we all knew what was important in life. We knew that we only lived once, and that we needed to live right.

    Voices raised in joyous praise, people (myself included!) danced because of their happiness, hearts were full, smiles were broad. I cannot even express how the Spirit settled in that place, but it was in that place that I saw Christ's sacrifice come to life. These people lived an hour and a half outside of the nearest city, they didn't have a doctor near enough to get a hold of in an emergency, their homes were lifted above the ground five feet because of the rain, and they had one bathroom situated at the top of a hill for the entire village - yet they were more openly infatuated with their Lover than any Believers I have ever met. In their intoxicating company it was only natural to forget my "southern baptist" ways and dance for God. And I believe it was the best worship "experience" my heart has ever had: to forget boundaries and rules and simply love my Jesus.

    These people not only worship like it is their last time, they witness like it is their last breath. They have found a need, a desire, in their hearts to share their Lover with those in the surrounding villages. In spite of what it might cost them, laughing in the face of danger, the people of Panama long to spread the name of Christ to everyone around them. Even the smallest among them.

    Pastor Lucciano stands no taller than my eye. I am short, he is certainly small. Yet his small form was often seen some yards in front of my team, walking with the urgency of two Apostle Pauls stuffed into one body. His passion for Christ, and for seeing the people of his country come to the Cross is beyond me! His selflessness is something that has been gifted him from God, it certainly is not of this world.

     Several weeks ago, Pastor was in the hills of Panama when he noticed a ruckus. A group of men were kidnapping a young girl, God knows what their intentions were. Running to her side, Pastor looked into the eyes of the hulking man and said "You can take her, but you have to get through me to do it." That was all it took, the distraction worked and the girl ran to safety, but Pastor did not come out unscathed. He was stabbed seven times over his body during his Spirit led rescue mission. he wounds haven't healed correctly, and a few weeks ago flies got in them. They laid eggs. Pastor Lucciano is a very sick man, infact, he may be battling cancer.

    His body may be wasting away, but never have I seen a man with so many odds against him fight so passionately for the souls of his countrymen. On days that my team and I wanted nothing more than to simply climb back in bed, sit on a rock, fall on the ground and just lay there for Pete's sake - he walked on, making sure we wasted no time in getting to the next ministry. If it were climbing a mountain, or praying for a sick friend, he rose to the task and gave glory to God.


    Pastor Lucciano knows that we only live once, that we need to live right. He is choosing every day to live selflessly and follow the call. He picks up his cross daily, his cross is much bigger than mine.

    The Wounaan tribe knows that we only live once, that we need to live right. They live in light of the joy of Christ. They live in constant praise, infatuation, and awe of their Lover.

    I know that I will only live once, that I need to live right. I have not allowed the fear of what could happen, the uncertainty of the future, or the pain of the past keep me from following God into new places (mentally, and physically).

     You Only Live Once - So Live Right.

                   John 9:4 "...we must work, for the night is coming when no man shall..."