Tony moved to the Tijuana area about 17 years ago and has an incredible story. He is a jack of all trades and has found numerous ways to serve the community and aid in ministry around him. Amongst his many skills, he is a mechanic. He has gone to work serving a local rehabilitation center by helping with vehicles and he has also served other missions organizations, getting vehicles into shape so that they can travel further south into Mexico. Tony has somewhere around a ten year relationship with the rehab center, doing various work for them. It turned out that the land on which we were building his house was actually gifted to him by the rehab center. The plot was incredible, sitting on the edge of a steep hill with a view of the surrounding valley.
It was very striking just how much pride Tony took in his little plot of land and new home. He is also a gifted concrete finisher and we could tell by the glass like finish on the floor of his new home that he had gone behind the Amor group that had poured it for him and finished it to perfection. He recently purchased a hydraulic lift at a huge discount and we saw where he planned to install it so that he could have a shop where he could work on vehicles to make a living and serve his community. Tony also showed us a beautiful truck he has been slowly building piecemeal. This was the first time I took notice of the phrase he was so apt to use in our conversation, “Little by little.” He showed us the truck and the beautiful paint job, opening the hood to reveal a shiny engine. He took us around the vehicle showing us what needed to be done, “little by little.” He assured us that although there was still a way to go, it would be completed, “little by little.”
(Tony's partially completed pickup truck.)
He took us around the property in the same way. He showed us where he would like to build another wing to add a living room to his home “little by little.” He showed us where he would build a bathroom, “little by little.” He also showed us a spot where he envisioned installing a barbeque. Tony’s motivation for all this work was not to have a big house or acquire more and more things. The reason he desires all of these additional furnishings is to have a place to host others. In his simple words, “Kids like barbeques and picnics.” For this reason, he wanted the extra living area, barbeque pit and bathroom. Tony does not envision this place simply as his home, but as one more way to serve his community. This man was truly motivated to use everything he had, both material possessions and talents, to serve those around him.
(Tony's old home.)
(Tony's new home.)
(Tony's land.)
For reasons I have yet to fully process, Tony’s words really grabbed a hold of me on that day. I think part of it was definitely gumption. As I looked around the property and heard his expectations, I honestly doubted whether they would ever be met. Tony is an older gentleman and still has a lot of goals, and that’s part of what I loved about the situation. My logic dictated that there was no way his vision would ever be realized, but his commitment and fervor convinced my heart otherwise. I also couldn’t help but take that phrase, “little by little” and apply it to my life.
I have high expectations for the growth I have yet to do as a man, and I keep expecting myself to morph into that man by tomorrow or the next day or the day after that. Every time I notice myself doing or saying something that doesn’t line up with what I believe to be God’s vision for me, I tend to get upset. I think it might be a little bit wiser and less vexing to take up Tony’s strategy. I also have some pretty intense desires for what my life will look like. Being a person of extreme impatience, I expect to see the things that I want developing immediately at the pace I desire. I think the truth is, possibly just like Tony, I am striving for some goals I will never reach. This is the way things should be. While striving for lofty goals, I will hit many milestones along the way that I would not have reached had I set my sights lower. Even further, what matters as I grow is not the joy I receive but how well I serve Christ and those around me with what I am given. Just like Tony's plost and new home, I need to be constantly aware that every thing I have is a gift and what is important is how I use it to serve. There is a lot that’s going to happen in my life and a lot that’s going to help me be the servant leader and lover that I want to be, but I am human and as such irretrievably broken and flawed. I’ll just keep working and praying that little by little my soul will become as beautiful and useful as Tony's vision for his land.
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