Where Mercy Meets Grace

This is the truth of the Gospel.  At the cross, mercy and grace collided.  Both were present in full force, and neither was greater than the other.  The magnitude of mercy met with the greatness of grace, and neither gave an inch.  Both had to be present for the Gospel to have it's full effect.

Fast forward 2000 years, and you will find a struggle that has continued as long as these two forces have been in place.  What is the difficulty?  Allowing the truth of one to rule over the other.

Mercy had it's place at the cross.  When we realize the fact that God's holiness demanded a punishment for sin, and that His wrath needed to be poured out on the ones who have sinned against Him, Christ taking our place was a huge act of mercy for us.  Christ realized the full wrath of God upon Himself.  Jesus took our sin and our punishment so that we did not need to experience the consequences that we justifiably deserve.  Mercy was not passive, but active in moving us out of the way so that Christ could receive Gdd's wrath that we should have experienced.

Grace also showed up that day.  Not only did we not receive what we deserved, but due to Christ's gift of His own perfection charged to our account, we received membership into the family of God.  No longer are we foreigners.  No longer are we enemies.  No longer are we outcasts.  We are heirs with Christ.  We are part of God's family.  Yeah, grace made it possible to approach a holy God not only without fear of experiencing His wrath, but more importantly, an expectation of experiencing His joy. 

Here's the struggle though - both were equal at the cross.  If we emphasize the one to the neglect of the other, we have missed out on the full gospel message.  We want to be amazed at God's grace that has given us freedom from sin and it's power in our lives.  Yet, if we magnify His grace to the neglect of His mercy, we forget the depth of sin and the massiveness of His wrath that was poured out on Christ.  Mercy tends to keep us humble.  Appreciation of grace left unchecked could lead to an arrogance of being selected to receive the grace.

Yet the alternative exists as well.  To the point at which we emphasize the mercy that God had on our sinful soul to the neglect of His grace, we can find ourselves seeking to payback the one who took our punishment.  Mercy cleared my slate of sin and so I am no longer a slave to it, but if I am not careful, I will find myself a slave to good works for the benefit of earning the gift I received.  A proper view of grace keeps us free from this bondage.

Neither of the two stand alone.  Neither of the two reveal the whole Gospel message.  Both are necessary to give us a balanced understanding of the truth of the Gospel.  AND a balanced view of both will give us the ability to share them with others.  To the extent that I understand grace, I offer grace to others.  To the extent that I understand mercy, I offer mercy to others.  Both are necessary in the Christian walk. 

Where do you tend to lean?  Lean toward either to the neglect of the other, and you are missing out on a key part of the truth of the Gospel.  Thank you God for both your mercy that took my place on Calvary, and your grace that made a relationship with you possible.  You are a great, merciful and gracious God!

Which would you prefer?

It's your special day.  Might be a birthday, an anniversary, a retirement party, a graduation, whatever.  Everyone you care about has gathered together for the event.  You are going to be receiving many gifts. You are going to be honored.  The day is all about you.

Then it dawns on you, these people you "care about" don't spend any time with you the rest of the year.  They don't pay attention to anything about you. They don't call.  They don't write.  They don't visit.  And you start to wonder why they are making such a big deal about this event.

As you begin to open the gifts you are even more confused.  The gifts they are offering are nice, some are even very expensive.  However, they don't fit you.  I mean, the colors are not your colors, the items are not items that you would use, the gifts do not fit your personality, your passions, or even your patterns. As you open the gifts the givers talk about how much they spent, or how rare the gift is, or how lucky you are to receive that gift. You are not impressed, but they all seem to be.

You thank everyone for the gifts.  People stay, talk, eat cake and ice cream, and eventually leave.  It is then you sit and wonder what this day was even all about. Was this really about me?  Or did my friends just find a way to make themselves feel better for "honoring" me?

Another "ordinary day" rolls around.  You don't expect a party, you don't expect gifts, you don't even think that anyone else will think about you.  This is really just an ordinary day.

However, you are again surrounded by friends, real friends.  They are talking with you about things that matter to you.  They spend time hearing about the things that are important to you.  They respond by doing the things you want done, the things you need done.  They give of their time, their energy, their "wealth", to meet the needs that you have.  Day after day they listen and respond.  They interact with you regularly.  They want to know how you are feeling, what you are thinking, how they can help you. Interestingly enough, you find yourself being all about them as well.

Two options - one gets you lots of gifts on "special" days, the other gives you the sense of being "honored" every day. Which sounds more appealing to you?

Many of us treat God much like the first group of people.  We meet with Him on His "special" day and give Him gifts - our work, our service, our money, our "worship", our singing...  And I wonder if God is asking, "Where are you the rest of the time?".  And I wonder if He doesn't look at our gifts and say, "What is this?  I didn't ask for this?  I don't even want this."

If the second scenario is more appealing to us, how much more do you think it appeals to a holy, loving, gracious and merciful God?  Don't you think He deserves more than our occasional gift that we boast about in our own spirit?

I do.

God help me give you all of me - even the worst of me - daily, that I might be reminded that You are a wonderful God.  Help me daily pursue you that I might know you more, so that my gifts of praise and worship would reflect Your very character, that You might be glorified in me.

Quick, easy, and accessible, but is it beneficial ???

Okay, I know you can't read it, but this image lists the multiplicity of "social networking" sites online.  I was amazed when I googled "social networking sites" and found this image.  I never dreamed there are so many.

That being said, I have to ask a question I posed a number of years ago when I started with this "blog" thing.  Is technology benefiting us?  Are relationships being developed?  Are people really connecting?  Are deep and meaningful interactions possible with these mediums?

I ask this because it seems that if you are not up to the latest, greatest craze in the electronic world, you are assumed to have something wrong with you.  If you are not texting instead of calling, if you are not twittering instead of e-mailing, if you are not posting your latest thoughts on Facebook, Linked-in, or some other site, you are "out of touch".

We are constantly being barraged with possible ways to simplify our lives and our interactions with others.  However, I am not certain that simplicity is what we should be looking for when it comes to things that really matter.  And I am confident that without doing the work to establish real relationships, deep friendships, eventually we will find ourselves connected to thousands of people with no one really knowing us.

The deepest longings of man are to know and be known.  I want to know others, I want to be known by others.  The scariest things in life are when I take the risk to get to know others and exposing myself to them to be more fully known to them.  If this is done in the safety of anonymity, then the risk is taken away.  Without the risk, there is no reward.  I cannot truly be know anonymously, and I cannot truly know others anonymously. 

I am not saying that these networking sites do not have their place, but I will ask that we wrestle with how much time and energy we are going to spend on them.  Sit down with someone across the table and talk.  Have a conversation with a group of people on a couch in the living room.  Face to face.  If you find this difficult to do, if you find yourself wanting to "hide behind" your phone or your computer, maybe it's time to lay those things down and build some real "social networks".

Just a thought.

What is wrong with me?

Charles Schulz, creator of Charlie Brown, developed a character who struggled with this question most of the time.  Have you ever felt like something was wrong with you?  Have you ever wondered why others seem to get it right, but you tend to mess up?  Especially as it relates to the Bible and the things of God?

In Romans 7, Paul records an internal struggle that helps us understand the heart of the apostle.  He tells us, "For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want." Paul was human.  Paul struggled with sin just like the rest of us.  Or do we struggle like this?

I heard a preacher talking about the beatitudes yesterday, and he was referring to the passage, "Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted." (Matt 5:4), and he explained that the mourning that Jesus is talking about is the "mourning" over our sin/sinfulness.  I don't want to re-preach his sermon, but he did a great job making his point.

While he was speaking though (I was driving back from Knoxville), my thoughts were brought to this section in Romans, and the struggle that Paul records.  He is wrestling with the law of the flesh and the law of God which obviously is more powerful.  However, it seems that occasionally, or at least much more often than he would like, he bends his will to the law of sin.  His desire is to follow completely the law of God, but the "law of his members" wins out sometimes.

It is this struggle that exposes the heart of the apostle to see him "mourning" his sinfulness, to the extent that in 1 Timothy he refers to himself as the "chief" of sinners.  He recognized more of the depth of his sinfulness than any of those around him.

It is into this "mourning" that the blessed message of the gospel shines through!  Christ's righteousness is sufficient for me and my belief that this is so allows me to be declared righteous before God.  What is the greatest blessing I can receive?  Is it not that my sinful, wretched flesh that I struggle with daily is only limited in my demise to the extent that I do not rely on the righteous perfection of our Savior?  It no longer has any power over me (unless I chose to allow it to) because as Paul goes on to remind us in Romans 8 - we are conquerors through HIM (in Him, clothed in His perfection).

What is wrong with me?  I am sinful.  I mess up.  I fail.  And as a result of this I should mourn my condition.

BUT, in CHRIST I stand before the Father clothed in His righteousness.  This is the blessing that we receive.

Praise be to God for His unmeasurable mercy and grace.

New England Bible Church - Guatemala Trip - Day 7 and 8

As typically happens, the rest of the story is often left to the imagination as we wrap up our week and head for home.  I often miss jotting down thoughts for the last few days, so I want to make sure I highlight the final events of the trip.

Friday morning we awoke without much urgency and relaxed, ate breakfast, sang songs and did our devotional.  Eventually the Wilson clan showed up and we finished our time in the word and made our way to Antigua.  We went a different way than I have ever gone because we were stopping to see the Stricklands, and we met them at the cross on the side of the hill by Antigua.  The view was amazing as we surveyed the Antigua valley and took pictures at the foot of the cross.  It was an amazing experience.

From there we went to the coffee plantation.  We toured a music museum and the coffee plant.  Both were interesting, although I am not a big fan of tours.  Most of what they told us on the music side was written out so we could have spent more time just looking, but the coffee part was rather interesting.  I found myself taking pictures of flowers for most of the time – as if that is something new – I got some great pictures.

After the tour we headed off to the market.  The team shopped for a couple of hours and I actually bought a hammock chair for my wife.  She had mentioned it two weeks ago so I wanted to surprise her – only to find out she had texted me that morning to remind me.  After the joyous shopping experience (sense the sarcasm), we headed off to McDonalds for ice cream and then off to the center square. 

At the square we saw a street performer who pulled one of our kids into the act.  Interestingly enough, I had just started filming before he pulled him in – How convenient.  They were hilarious together – the performer is very animated and fun to watch.  Anyway, the team really enjoyed it.

After the square we headed off for dinner.  Brian and his wife, Phil and a few from his family and the Stricklands joined us – we had a wonderful time.  We had steak, chicken or fajitas.  The food was delicious.

Eventually we returned to Thelma’s and had our usual end of week encouragement/blessing time.  I LOVE this part of the week – it is wonderful hearing the body build itself up in love.  To hear people that have plenty of reason to complain about each other choose instead to speak the truth of love to others and build their faith in Christ is awesome.  This group was no different – they did an excellent job lifting each other up.  We went until about 11, and then had to finish our time together in the airport the next day.  God is doing great things with these people and I am excited to hear about what He does with them as they return home.

Saturday morning we woke up, headed to the airport and headed home.  Lee got bumped to first class (he took Hannah’s ticket – she didn’t want to sit alone).  He was offered steak and chicken and he chose a salad instead – next time Tyler sits in first class – I am confident he would take advantage of the good food.  As a matter of fact, he flew first class from Miami to Boston – I wonder what he ate??

Eventually I arrived back at the airport in Nashville and spent the night with my wife at Days Inn in Nashville.  Although she was asleep when I arrived (got up to open the door, but went back to sleep), it was great to see her.

Another trip met expectations and even surpassed them.  God is faithful.  God is good.  It is all for His glory.  AMEN.

New England Bible Church - Guatemala Trip - Day 6

The final day in Los Esclavos began with breakfast, devotions and packing to prepare to leave. The team was obviously struggling because they were wrestling with various emotions as they were excited about heading back to Guatemala City but were sad to leave the children they had built relationships with.

We had much to do in finishing the projects, but only a couple of hours to complete it. We also had the opportunity to go on home visits and give out bundles of food, so that was going to limit our time as well.  All that being said, the team got right to work on the projects that we had to finish, and by lunch time we had made 2 house visits – handing out bundles of food/oil, finished the kitchen and put all of the furniture back in (including the new shelves we completed building this morning, and we cleaned the office completely and put it back together.

The team did an excellent job of balancing relationships with the kids and getting the jobs done.  The women in the kitchen were thrilled with the increase of space that was now available as a result of the wall being torn down and rebuilt.

As we ate lunch, the children surrounded the table and gave each of the team members a gift – a hand painted sculpture – for them to take home.  It was humbling to have the children give to us, but they really enjoyed the opportunity.  The team also gave out gifts of candy, clothing, and hugs and kisses to the kids.  It was a wonderful time of closure as the team loved on the children.

Finally we took our team picture with some of the workers and then said goodbye to the masses of children that gathered to see us off.

After a 2 hour drive back to the city, we arrived at Thelma’s house.  It was a very welcomed site to see Thelma at the gate of her home.  I love staying here.  Thelma loves hosting teams, and every team that has had the opportunity to stay here has loved being with Thelma and her grandkids.  Sammy, Sassy and Kiki came in an served us dinner and then cleaned up after.  They are fun to watch as they minister to the teams.

After dinner we recapped the day – as we always did – and sang songs.  The team laughed together, shared with one another, and gave glory to God for what they had heard and seen today.  This is always my favorite part of the day.  I love to hear what people are learning and what experiences they had for the day.

We wrapped up the evening by playing cards and sitting around talking.  This group knows how to enjoy being together – I am truly blessed to be part of their team.

Tomorrow is Antigua – and I really love that shopping thing – I hope the Olympics are on the television then I will have something to do while the team shops.  Tomorrow my wife and daughters head to Carson-Newman to drop Kendra off.  Dee really needs prayer.

 
I am excited about going home Saturday – it will be wonderful to see Dee in Nashville!

New England Bible Church - Guatemala Trip - Day 5

We awoke to a new day, and I was feeling better, the stomache seemed to be a little more under control.

We had breakfast and spent some time in the Word, and then headed off for Matochos.  We tried to get there a little sooner this morning, but due to the traffic (as a result of grading of a mountain next to the road) we again were stuck in the car for about a half and hour or so.  The fellowship is wonderful, but you can sense the anxiousness of the team to get to work and finish the tasks that have been set before them.

As we passed the “grading” point, I looked up and noticed that some of the rocks were falling – just as I was telling the team, rocks began pelting the van – Phil sped up and we got out of the “danger zone”.  We really weren’t in danger, but it was exciting.

Finally we arrived at Matochos and got back to work.  The wall needed completion, the bathrooms needed to be painted a second coat, the floor tiles needed to be laid, the kitchen needed painting, the tables needed to be finished and a bookshelf needed to be built!  Yes indeed, we had our work cut out for us.

Early on, Isaac was running around with the kids – it is hilarious to watch the kids responding to him and the other kids.  Most of the team members spent a little time interacting with the children before we began working.  It is wonderful to see the connections that are being made.  Jody was handing out “dulces” (candy), you know that she was a favorite person.

As the day progressed, many of the jobs were being finished, or were completed enough to be ready to finalize tomorrow.  They are doing a great job.  Lee spent most of his day on his knees – laying the tile in the kitchen.  Along with Y, they got that room done!  I was very impressed, especially since they did not have all the tools that they needed, and Y had never cut tile before.  They did an excellent job.

At one point in the day, I pulled out the guitar and all the kids gathered around to sing.  As they sang their worship songs praising God, it was very moving.  I love watching the passion and zeal of kids as they sing about God.

Pastor Tyler and Matteo had the opportunity to speak to the men of the church briefly in the afternoon.  As he shared in our evening time together, it was a wonderful and encouraging time for the men of the church and for Tyler and Matt.  It is neat to see the body of Christ working together to encourage one another.

We headed home a little later today, so dinner was at 7.  After dinner we met for our debrief and worship time.  We sang songs (I had to play because Lee’s fingers were sore from laying tile) and then the team shared the lessons they learned and the wonderful experiences they had today.  I am always encouraged as the team sees their connection to the ministry here, the impact they have had for the week, and then the desire to deepen and lengthen that impact.  I pray that as they go home their passion for the people of Guatemala continues to grow.

Tomorrow we finish here and head back to Guatemala City.  I am SO looking forward to talking with Dee.  It has been way, WAY too long.  I do miss her and the kids.  Kendra heads off to college on Friday, so I am going to miss that, but I know God will be there for her.  Enough for tonight – tomorrow we do it all over again!

New England Bible Church - Guatemala Trip - Day 4

Today began very early as I awoke at 1:30 in the morning feeling nauseous.  I kept thinking that if I got up I would get sick, so I would just lie still until morning.  The night was long!  When morning finally broke, I did experience some of the difficulties other team members have had in the past, and I learned a lesson in compassion.  Twenty trips already, and I have never been sick to the degree that I was limited in my efforts – praise the Lord, but today was a little different.  I was fighting just to stay up most of the morning as we walked through devotions and then headed off for the work.  When we finally arrived, I had to sit down and eventually ended up lying down just hoping to get better.

This was not to be this morning – I was “destined” to be sick, and God was going to get the glory.  Sure enough, the rest of the team pulled together and did the work that was necessary – they didn’t even need me.  It was exciting to watch the work getting done, but it was a lesson in humility as I really desired to be part of what they were doing, but physically was not able to do much.

Instead, while the men worked on the wall in the kitchen and the women worked on painting the bathrooms, I ended up playing my guitar for the children.  They loved singing with the music – I even attempted some Spanish songs.  They really did well.

I rested again while the team ate lunch, and after lunch we did a few home visits.  These visits were a little different as the homes were nice (on Guatemalan standards), but those that went on the home visits were genuinely impacted by their lack of “stuff” and joy in their spirit regardless.  It is always amazing to see people who live with very little who share their joy with us as we talk with them.  We visited Maria’s and Wilmer’s homes – Maria’s parents farm the coffee fields they live in so they can live there for free, Wilmer’s parents sell bread right next to the church.  We even purchased some – it smelled so good!

After the home visits, we got back to work (or should I say they got back to work) as I took my place flat on my back again.  Actually, at one point, the kids came over and were kicking me (lightly) to see if I would wake up and play them more songs.  I asked God to give me strength, because I was really hurting.  I should have prayed that the kids would go away J.  Seriously, God gave me the energy to sing and play with the kids, and even do it with a smile on my face.  It was hard, but in His strength, it was extremely joyous.

In the afternoon, the kids sang “Feliz Cumpleanos” (Happy Birthday) to Andrew.  Today is his 17^th birthday.  And at dinner the ladies that serve us dinner sang to him as well.  Then they told him to “bite into” the cake they brought out to him, and when he started to, they pushed his face into the cake.  It was hilarious, and he responded by laughing.

After dinner we met to sing and share the lessons we learned for the day.  The younger people are still a little hesitant, but I know they are having a wonderful time and are learning much.  As we closed our time, we prayed together – a few people prayed sentence prayers and then Tyler closed us.  It was a great day.

As the meeting ended, we planned to head to our rooms, but the weather was so nice that the adults sat by the pool and talked.  I really enjoy this team, and I pray that God blesses them for the work they are doing.   

I pray that their church catches the vision for the people of Guatemala that Tyler has obviously caught and is seeking to grow in his congregation.

 
Well, I am tired and after last night I pray I can get some sleep.  Tomorrow is more of the same work – we have much to do.

New England Bible Church - Guatemala Trip - Day 3

Monday, Monday, la-la-la-la-la… Not an ordinary Monday though – especially when you are waking up at 6 in the morning in Los Esclavos, Guatemala.  We knew we had much to do today, and the team seemed excited and ready to go.  We started off the morning with devotions in Romans (after breakfast) and then off to Matochos to tear down a wall and increase the size of the kitchen.

We arrived on time at Matochos, and the kids were out waiting for us.  I love seeing the smiling faces of the kids as we arrive – they know we are coming, but do not know what to expect.  And of course, the new team members have no idea what they are going to experience as well, but both the kids and the team members usually blend quickly.  As is my custom, I stirred up some trouble by getting the kids wound up – I love to see the kids smile and laugh, even if it is me they are laughing at.  They bring such joy to life – we can learn much from them.

After a brief introduction to the people and the job, we began working.  Breaking down 2 walls between the kitchen and the office – making the office smaller, but the kitchen much larger.  The work went rather smoothly until some AMG Mission Adventure team leader busted out the frame for the doorway and it landed on the water pipe and broke it.  I’m not one to point a finger at a dumb move, especially when the finger would be pointing at me.  It was a brief setback, but after a few minutes (and a pipeline repair) we were back to work on the wall.  By the end of the day, the walls were broken down and we are ready to build new walls tomorrow.

Throughout the day, team members were playing with kids, talking with kids, drawing, telling stories, constantly interacting with them.  Lian visited a 6-7 grade class and sat in as they had a bible lesson and then the class recited 18 verses.  She was impressed with the ability of the kids to say the verses.  Lee spent some of the afternoon telling a story to wide-eyed kids all gathered around him.  It really was cool to see their interaction.  Brooke played hopscotch with some of the girls – they really enjoyed watching her learn to play it their way.  The boys were playing ball as they had opportunity and kept the kids busy throwing the football and kicking the soccer ball with them.  The teens on this team are doing a great job of blending in and loving on the kids.  I know that their church is going to benefit from them as they go home and share with the people there what God has done in their lives.

After dinner we shared our highlights for the day.  We sang some songs as Lee lead us in worship.  Then we shared the things that God was teaching us – it was neat to hear the things they are learning about contentment, love, living with purpose, being used by God, and allowing their faith to be broadcast abroad as they live a life like the apostle Paul (studied that in Romans 1:8-17 this morning). 

Overall it was a great day.  The team is sore and tired as many of them have never swung a sledge hammer before – especially Jody and Nicole – but they did an impressive job.  I am certain many will be a little slower tomorrow, but we will see.  I did have the opportunity at dinner to give everyone a backrub – I think they were well deserved.

Tomorrow we head back to Matochos to build the walls to close in the new kitchen and then begin the process of putting it all back together.  Amazingly enough, while in this transition, the kitchen ladies will still need to cook dinner for 220 kids.  I pray that God gives them the grace to put up with our mess, and the ability to finish the task they need to with the limited space.  I also pray that the team continues to grow as one in focus, in unity, and in purpose as they love and serve the people of Guatemala.

It is late and I am a little tired – I miss the fact that I cannot speak to my wife and kids, I pray things are going well at home.

New England Bible Church - Guatemala Trip - Day 2

Sunday Morning in Los Esclavos, after a good night’s sleep (as good as it can be when I am away from home) . we prepared for church and a visit to Oratorio.  We ate breakfast (eggs again – we had eggs for dinner yesterday), did our devotional time in Romans, and then headed off for church.

After a 30 minute ride we arrived at the church.  The music was already playing and the church was already singing.  How could I tell?  As is the cultural norm, it was extremely loud – even outside.  We found out that the pastor was away, and they wanted us to share in their service.  Lee and Jody gave their testimonies (Lee did it in Spanish – very impressive) and Tyler shared from the word.

There were a few lessons for me in that service.

·          

      The music was loud, uncomfortable and unpleasant to my ears.  I have a choice to “criticize” or judge them, or I can choose to worship God regardless.  Interesting enough, if they are singing and worshipping with a heart toward God, He is pleased and receives their worship.  It isn’t about me.  This is true everywhere – it is not my place to choose “worship” that appeals to me – but rather worship that pleases God.

·         The people were longing for the Spirit to come and be with them.  Their prayers seemed to be a prayer of calling God to come and be with them.  I wanted to say, “As children of God, He is here.  You don’t need to beg or plead for His presence.”  As I sat and thought about it, they need to know that, but I need to develop a deeper longing for God.  Maybe I am too “content” with the fact that God is always with me.  Maybe I need to long for Him more.  I need to desire God more.

·         When a person begins to pray – everyone prays.  It can be distracting, it can be noisy, but everyone is engaged.  I have always wondered about this, but while really thinking about it today, I realized that often in our churches when someone stands to pray, others check out.  Our thoughts go elsewhere.  The people here purpose to pray with the person praying whether or not they are praying for the same things is irrelevant.  God is not distracted.  God is not overwhelmed by the amount of prayers.  And they seem to know this.  I need to make sure that I engage in the prayers of others who are praying.

After dinner we went back to the hotel for lunch (finally something else – Spaghetti!) Then we headed to Oratorio.  We took a tour of the facility directed by Gilberto.  They showed us the classrooms, told us some stories, and then we all played on the new soccer/basketball court.  Finally we went downstairs and had some snacks.  Six of the 8 teachers were there, so I asked that one of them share their testimony.  After she shared, Matt shared his story. It was a great time of connection with our team and their staff.  I am confident that we will be able to pray more wisely for them.

En route back to the hotel we passed a group of people/police on the road.  A man had been hit by a car and was still lying on the ground.  Based on the attention he wasn’t receiving, it was obvious that he was dead.  We had been driving with the van door open, and so as we slowly passed, he was right below my feet.  It was a sad moment, but a reminder that the message that we bring is critical – we never know when it is someone’s last day on earth.

The team is doing well, but Isaac and Joseph (two brothers on the team) are having some difficulty.  They are rooming together, and seem to be having some difficulties.  I pray that they can find this time to grow together and learn to serve each other as Christ served us.

Tomorrow we start the physical work – I am really looking forward to that!  Enough for today – more tomorrow.

New England Bible Church - Guatemala Trip - Day 1

My day actually began yesterday when I left Chattanooga on the shuttle to Nashville around noon.  My flight was supposed to be at 5:05 PM, but we didn’t take off until after 6.  Eventually I arrived in Miami and headed to the hotel for a few hours rest. 

Saturday morning began bright and early as I took the 6:00 shuttle to the airport to meet the team for our 9:50 flight.  Everything went extremely smoothly, so I was sitting at the gate shortly before 7:30 – way too early!  Needless to say, if I had taken the 7:00 shuttle, things would  have been backed up and I would have arrived at the gate 10 minutes late.  Too early is always better than too late.

The team arrived at the gate around 9:00 am.  We all introduced ourselves – Isaac seemed a little out of it, I didn’t know if this was normal, but no one else seemed to think so.  They had been up all night, so I wasn’t too concerned.  We waited around for our flight and eventually we left for Guatemala.

We arrived in Guatemala on time – 10:25 in the morning.  We went through customs and immigration smoothly and were on our way to Verbana (the main campus) shortly thereafter.

Today was a day of waiting – we waited at Verbana (as we toured the campus), we waited at the hotel (Los Esclavos – the slaves) for our rooms to be finished, and then we waited for dinner. I think God is trying to teach us something very early in this trip – we need to wait on Him.

The hotel here does not have wifi, so I don’t have any way to skype home.  This is going to be a very interesting week.  Dee needs our prayers as Kendra is getting prepared to leave for college on Friday.

Anyway, the team met after dinner to talk about how they saw God today, and they mentioned the lightning (it has been storming most of the evening) the landscapes, the people, and the way the body of Christ is working together to minister to Guatemala (as we saw other teams on the plane with us).  I look forward to more intimate, more specific ways they see God work in their lives as the week progresses.

Tomorrow is church, a visit to Oratorio, and the team is going to see Reparando (a movie about the history of Guatemala and a ministry to the people of Guatemala).  This will be eye opening as they visit an indigenous church and see the history explained.  I am praying that God gives them a burden for the people of Guatemala.

Well, enough for now – I didn’t sleep very well last night – hopefully tonight I will get more rest.