One Body, Many Parts

Urban Promise Honduras: where your coworkers are also your soul-siblings, your challengers and encouragers, your sources of truth and wisdom, and most of all, your dearest friends.

Today I want to take a break from the usual story-telling routine to highlight something about UPH that is truly awe-inspiring to me. Something that we have not yet touched on in this blog: the amazing UPH staff. Together they form a team so infused by God’s presence, and so propelled by His strength, that all the stories you read about here are made possible.

In light of the recent departure of three very beloved coworkers, and the upcoming departure of a fourth this month, I have begun to truly reflect, for the first time, on the miraclethat is this workplace and this team. There is something remarkable about the way the members of the UPH staff support and challenge each other in all endeavors (in and outside of the office), and complement each other perfectly in the completion of our work, united in our goals while so distinct in our strengths and weaknesses. With the greatest love and sense of humor I will declare that there has not been a single staff member of UPH, past or present, who has not possessed a BIG personality. From the first camps in 2009 to today, every member of this team has brought something unique to the UPH table, which has come to hold a feast for all who sit around it.

Here are four of the fabulous people who have spent months (and years!) working side by side with me here at UPH: Kristin, Jason, Tiersa, and Rachel. Soon they all will have turned the next page and continued their lives of service elsewhere… leaving me as a sad yet eternally grateful UPHer here in Copán.

All who know these individuals have been blessed beyond words by their exceptional talents and personality and wisdom. Each one so different, yet so essential to our team… And where to begin! There is Kristin—deep and creative thinker, lover of poetry, sonatas, and all things artistic, connoisseur of teas and dulces and quality time with good friends, witty commentator on human nature, and dear teacher and friend to many a child at many a UPH camp… Jason—constant fountain of laughter and banter and joy, over-the-top actor in all camp skits, mentor and challenger to many an angsty 15-year old boy, resident of local coffee shops for entire Sunday afternoons, and creator of new and indelible footprints in the soil where UPH plants its seeds… Tiersa—intentional and loyal friend, unfailing magnet for all eight through ten year-old girls, generous giver of unexpected candies, notes, little gifts, and acts of kindness, beautiful singer of worship songs, and humble yet dedicated turner of the wheels of the UPH machine… and Rachel—ultimate example of crazy Spirit-driven enthusiasm, brilliant chef and sharer of delicious concoctions, universal older sister and outpourer of encouragement, motivation, and wisdom, powerful and unfaltering walker in the presence of God, and founder of the most amazing program for teenagers that Copán Ruinas, Honduras has ever seen.

Have I even scratched the surface of the MAGNIFICENCE that each of these individuals radiates? I could not accomplish that in a hundred blog posts. But what I know is this: in the midst of all the sadness, God provides us in His grace with a certain clarity that allows us to see the forest instead of the trees, to appreciate the beauty and goodness of a certain loved one in its overwhelming fullness, to feel the true impact of the rapid yet miraculous transformation of our lives as it unfolds, uncontainable and startling, before us.

And I owe the transformation of my heart, in so many unique ways, to these people.

I have been forever changed.

Thank you, Kristin, Jason, Tiersa, and Rachel, for through you we have all come to know the love of God in a clearer and more undeniable way each day.

Now, as we welcome new and talented staff onto the UPH team, we wish you all endless blessings and joy in your next steps.

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ… If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.

1 Corinthians 12: 12-18

-Katie Sugg