Today we had a nice slow start allowing us time to recover from the long travel day. The first experience of the day is a quiet time from a devotional book we are going through as a team. Romans 12:9-10 was the verse from our reading this morning. My Bible has a heading for this section called The Marks of a True Christian. If we are in Christ, then the love of Christ should be evident in our lives genuinely. Paul is making a point that we should not be play-acting our faith but be sincere in all we do. Isaiah revealed God’s displeasure with fake believers, “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden” (Isaiah 29:13-14). Fake faith does nothing. Real faith, on the other hand, is an overflow of genuine love.
Unconditional love, according to our devotional book, is “accepting others completely (without expecting anything in return). Working to make life better for others (no matter what they’ve done).” Elsewhere I have heard it described as “to will the good of another.” There are some profound truths to be done by reflecting on these definitions and examining the way we treat people. How do I love others? That is a good question to ask. Do I only love others when I get something in return? That is not love at all. Love selflessly and unconditionally the way Jesus loved us (Rom. 5:8). This is not a definition that supports excusing sin. Genuine love abhors evil and holds fast to what is good. Instead, we are to become servant-hearted and seek to outdo one another in honoring others.
Today was a day that gave plenty of opportunity for the application of our devotional. I am happy to report that I indeed saw our team live this out in various ways. An early start was Veda cleaning up after breakfast. Each meal we saw others pitching in a hand and helping. Little things are important and build team camaraderie. Our morning service opportunities were very different for the guys and the girls. Cindy has written a summary of the girls’ experience:
Cindy:
The original plan for today was a full team work day, meaning painting and/or cement work. However, our group had to pivot because the road to where church is held on Sundays became impassable for cars after water damage from a recent storm. The guys went to fill in the holes in the road, while the ladies stayed at the guest house. We were tasked with preparing materials for the community outreach and children’s ministry we’ll be doing this week.
At first this seemed unfair, and some of the ladies expressed guilt for not helping with the “hard” labor. Kayla repeatedly reassured us that the work we were doing is important. The feelings of guilt and uselessness worsened when we had to take a fairly long pause from sorting and packing. We had made food bags to distribute to the community, but we couldn’t fill the treat bags for kids because we needed small gift bags. Kayla said we should embrace the quiet time, including swimming or just relaxing in the sun, while she went to pick some up and ran a couple other errands.
Swimming and resting while the guys were filling potholes seemed like a totally unthinkable and inappropriate idea. Eventually each of us did embrace the rest in various ways. One of the ladies said she hadn’t laid in the sun in a very long time. I encouraged her that this is actually ministry too – allowing ourselves to have Sabbath rest. During our team debrief tonight another one of the ladies shared that she felt like God allowed us to have a time of refreshment today. Jesus himself says this is OK in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
When we got to the airport yesterday, everyone received a small gift bag with small reminders of a few prayers and verses for this week. Our break and rest were an answer to one of the little prayers … may we taste the sweetness of the LORD and take refuge in him (Psalm 34:8). It was so sweet of the Lord to provide such unexpected, yet much needed, rest and refuge this morning!
Once Kayla returned, we were able to get all the kids ministry items and gift bags filled and ready. This evening we distributed the food bags, treat bags with gospel tracks, toys, and invitations to the pool day to the local families. (The pool day is where we’ll hang out with the kids, play games and share the gospel through the wordless book.)
As we were driving through the bumpy back roads to get to these people and families, I was reminded of Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 12:21-22. Here he talks about the church being one body with many members – “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.” This was our team today, representing the church. The work the men did this morning and afternoon was indispensable. People can now get through on the road to reach church for service on Sunday morning. The work the ladies did this morning and afternoon was also indispensable. The work our team did together tonight connecting with the community, and inviting them to further connections and gospel sharing, could not have happened if we didn’t prepare the packages to give. What a beautiful full circle reminder of the critical role that each of us play in kingdom work when we faithfully answer God’s call.
Brad Again:
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| See the guys rested too! |
Jocsan took the guys out on a job to repair a road near Casa Ebenezer, where the church will be gathering on Sunday. A few weeks ago, Puerto Escondido experienced heavy rain that devastated some of the roads. Trucks with 4X4 can still navigate the terrain but cars would struggle to get through. We loaded up in the truck and headed to Casa Ebenezer to get some tools. It was amazing to see the continued construction that has happened this year. God has provided for Gabby and Casa Ebenezer, and it was so good for us to see the advancement on the property. After this short stop, we drove back up the road to fix the ruts.
Jocsan and Gabby directed us to the area. Jocsan is a hard worker and has a vision. It is exciting to watch his leadership continue to grow as God has called him to step out in faith and direct the building of the orphanage and the ministry. He was patient and encouraging all day. Gabby was out helping and encouraging us. Let me tell you, David, Will, and Nick were troopers. I am proud of the way they all jumped in and continued to work hard on a very hot day doing hard work. I grabbed a pickaxe and started loosening up dirt. 5 minutes in I was dripping sweat and feeling overheated. It took a little while, but we acclimated to the day and kept working. I reminded the guys that our devotional theme for the week is from John the Baptist who was the forerunner for Christ. That means it was his job to go before and prepare the way for Jesus the Messiah. The words used in the original language of the Bible, for forerunner, refer to those who would go and build roads for the advancement of the king. So, in a way, we were being forerunners like John the Baptist, preparing the way for the people to come to Church on Sunday and hear the Word of Christ. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). Lord, may it be.
After we finished the roadwork around 1:30 pm, we were ready for lunch. We loaded up in the truck and began the trek back. Jocsan got a call that a brick delivery truck was stuck at Casa Abba. We stopped by to see if we could help. It was great to see Casa Abba again, but the stuck truck was too big a problem for us. I needed to eat some lunch and the heat starting to get to us all. I was just about to tell Jocsan that we needed to leave when he said, “Come on guys, we need to go.” We had to give up and they called a tractor, and they did get the truck unstuck.
When we got back to the house, lunch was waiting for us and we had a nice relaxing afternoon to allow the heat of the day to pass. Our day was different than the girls but it was good for the guys. The hard work brought us together and gave us a shared experience, and I was super impressed with Will and Nick’s attitude.
The evening ministry was designed to help Casa Abba build relationships with its neighborhood community. Any new ministry will encounter suspicion as people get to know the owners and operators. A new orphanage is no exception. Casa Abba’s mission is to be a safe home for orphaned and hurting children where they will hear the Gospel and be loved. It is also to be a place of hope and respite for the community. They want to build inroads into the families and community members by serving their neighbors without expecting anything in return (sound familiar?).
The purpose of the grocery bags that the ladies put together was to bless the homes of children around the community. Jocsan acknowledged the fact that on our way we would see homes with kids and keep driving, which was hard, but there was an intended area for distribution. The team embraced the mission and prepared to hand out the grocery bags, gift bags with Gospel tracts in Spanish, and toys that each team member contributed. We also had invitations to pass out for our pool party coming up on Monday. Most of the homes we went to cannot afford to go to the pool. Jocsan asked one of the little girls “what is one thing you really hope to do?” and she said, “go to the pool!” Jocsan was excited to have the invitation to tell her that Monday the pool will be free for her. Not only are the kids invited to go swim in the pool but pizza, pop, snacks, and toys will be given out. (Please be in prayer for our Monday pool party as we will be sharing the Gospel with the neighborhood kids using the Wordless Book – Thanks Mom for the training and the supplies!)
Team members acknowledge the excitement to visit the kids and pass out the packs. Several talked about the joy they saw in the children’s faces as they got a gift. Nick was thrilled to give a child the toy he purchased and the excitement the child had as they grasped their new toy. I was thankful to have been there to see Nick’s exchange. I also got to give one of the jumbo matchbox cars I bought to a young boy who had several siblings. He was the oldest and patiently waited making sure his younger siblings had received a toy. I walked up a little later so he thought the toys were out and he was partially hiding his disappointment by standing behind the cistern. I walked around it and did my best to talk to him, I don’t speak Spanish, but some actions and expressions are universal. I showed him the gift was for him and he was so excited! Everything happened so fast that it is hard to absorb all of what happened tonight.
One young lady, I will withhold her name, shared with our group how difficult it was to see the extreme poverty in real life. She said it is one thing to see it in pictures or in a movie, but it was hard to process the reality of it. It is like you know it exists, but it seems so far away. And then today we encountered it. She is right, it’s hard to fully understand until you're standing in the midst of it. As she shared, it brought back the memories of my first time ministering in the slums of Kenya and experiencing the brokenness of poverty for the first time. Having been to several countries and been to some of the poorest places, it never gets easier. There is too much to process in one evening but it affects you and shapes you.
Another young lady pointed out that, despite their poverty, they were living life and being joyful. The joy of the children and the kindness of the neighbors was beautiful. The Mexican people are hospitable and friendly. If you wave, they wave back. They are genuinely excited to meet you. In America, we become so isolated that we don’t even want to wave to our neighbors let alone strangers. It was as refreshing to see neighborliness as it was hard to see the poverty. I will share one more story shared by Beth, one of Lakeside’s missions committee team members, who has been in contact with Kayla throughout the year and heard about Juan Carlos’s mom passing away and his living with his grandma. She has been praying for the grandmother and the children for months. She had the opportunity to meet the grandmother, Juan Carlos, and Louise tonight. It was an answer to her prayers to be able to encourage her and meet her. How cool is that?! God is so good!
Unfortunately, I cannot write all the comments and all our experiences, but I think this gives you a glimpse into our experience so far.
Well, I must finish up tonight’s post. Thanks for reading and following along. We appreciate your prayers so much!
God bless.
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