Bread

     We will Rise!

As we gather ‘round the table,

At the banquet of our King,
We lay down upon your altar
all our hungers deep within.
You may take all that we give.
Use our every strength or weakness
so that all the world may live.
When we eat this bread and in You believe,
We become Whom we receive.
And from death and strife, we will rise!
Fill us now with love and grace,
As we strive to be Your presence
That Your life we may embrace.
To reflect Your life and worth:
Make us all Your sons and daughters,
One in faith in You, O Lord. REFRAIN
We will rise!
Not death, not life, none on earth or above
Will ever separate us from your love!
In the breaking of the bread:
Pledge of future hope and glory,
Of our rising from the dead. REFRAIN
We will rise!

This song tugged at me while hearing Mass.  For some reason, I resonated with it and made me think about my work.  I had a skype call for the evaluation I was doing that overlapped with the Mass but I asked if I could move the call 30 minutes later, which was just perfect.  Happily, I was obliged. So right after the Mass,I proceeded with the call.

God's perfect timing really... The song was about bread.... being bread for others... and while I sat there with my set of questions, the 2 reps of the ESFVL Team we have in Syria described to me in detail the different challenges they had to contend with while implementing the project. Now, Syria is without question, one of the most challenging context there is.  Then you have the onset of Covid-19.  

When this was related to me -- "Women had to walk for miles, leaving children behind and unaccompanied at home, so they could get bread from the "nearest" town that has bakery," I felt the tears sting. But there were 20 other questions that I needed to ask so, I had to reign in my emotions.  

When the call ended, the tears did flow. I'm grateful for the teams and volunteers working closely on the ground, really. The challenges as they described them to me -- all happening towards the end of the project, during Ramadhan, with the distribution having to take place during the Eid Holidays -- all seemed insurmountable.  But they managed it just fine. Surprisingly, and also in a way, not that quite surprising really.  

I've always counted myself lucky, to be in an organisation where I get to meet very dedicated individuals who work long hours without complaints.  Smiling, joking around in the vehicle after waking up so early to manage a distribution under 50 degree heat for hours, without breakfast or lunch (not to mention the weeks and days of preparation that had to be done), is such a common sight. Exhausted definitely but you would see everyone smiling, talking about gorging on food while going back to the office...   Amazing, amazing women and men.  So gratefully to have come across them even in the most difficult and complex situations. 

I've said this countless of times and I'll say it again. I am grateful to be having this job. No matter the long hours and brain-wracking, heart-wrenching moments not that far in between.  I am privileged and everyday, the thought of it humbles me no end. It drives me to work even harder and to give myself even more into the work that I'm doing. I am in this thing wholly -- brain, heart, emotions, body, limbs, sweat, tears, happy smiles...  Thank you, God!