When I was a young boy growing up in San Antonio TX, my family lived in a house with a large front yard covered with a dense, spongy carpet of St. Augustine grass, a gleaming white concrete walk made a lazy “S” from curb to front door.  When the lawn was cut and edged it was the greatest thing to run around barefooted feeling the coolness of the deep grass contrasted against the brutal summer sun on my neck.  The massive back yard had a different personality altogether.  An old Mesquite tree dominated from the middle of the yard.  There was also a leafy Mulberry that extended dark shade to a good quarter of the area inside of the fence.  The shade from both trees prevented grass from growing underneath them, so there were thin and bare spots where gnarled tree roots bulged upward from the hard ground. Walking barefoot in the back yard was sure to yield one of two consequences.  First, stepping on Mulberry fruit would cause near indelible purple and red stains on the bottom of your feet, this was the lesser of two evils. Secondly, that ugly, sappy, smelly Mesquite had long thorns that could poke through the sole of a cowboy boot if you were not watching your step, the sole of your foot had no chance at all.  Even with its well defined dangers, the back yard was more interesting than the front, captivating my attention such that, I could to spend many of my summer hours there. On occasion when mischief would overwhelm me, Mom would sentence me to “The Back Yard” (TBY). Even though it was my go-to place, having choice taken out of the equation, I could do little more than sit inside the fence, looking outward, and wait to be liberated.

As missionaries, Chuck & Robin (SGSP Aviation Ministries), find ourselves in a similar situation, limited by self-quarantine protocols, shortages, and a flood of negative -19 news.  Like when I was a boy, we could just sit idle, looking out until liberated, or we can look for ways to serve creatively.  Last Sunday during a streamed church service, a Pastor in Dallas shared that health care workers and first responders were needing reusable cloth masks, and calling on the sewing community to mobilize.  Several organizations provided the specific pattern and guide for a *basic mask.  I downloaded the pattern and Robin exclaimed “that’s so easy to make!”  A nearby children’s home, here in Guatemala, where Robin teaches sewing skills to staff and volunteers were experiencing the same shortage.  Not a few minutes later, I could hear the whir and click of a sewing machine………..well you know Robin.

*Yes, we understand that according to experts, masks of this type have no medical rating, and only a minimum ability to protect a user from -19. They may however, prevent an individual from passing -19 outward.