Berean Bible Church - Mexico Trip - Final Day

Today is our last day in Puebla, Mexico.  And the great thing about the final day is the rehearsing of all that has been done...

Day 1 - we flew into Puebla - not Mexico City like last time - and we avoided the closed airport by coincidence.

Day 2 - we went to church and by coincidence happened to be here for the celebration of the school's graduates.

Day 3 - we happened to be here the very same day that Vicky was found needing serious surgery.  We also happened to be used by God to do a number of very necessary and useful jobs.

Day 4 - By coincidence, the team brought a financial gift down for the church and the shortfall on Vicky's surgery costs was exactly what the team brought.  By the way, the work continued and the team accomplished much.

Day 5 - The team continued the assigned tasks and they did a great job.

Day 6 - Coincidentally, the ENTIRE team got sick - no real reasons - others remained healthy (even Erin who is another American visitor).  Much of the work  was completed this day, but sickness laid most of us down for the next day.

Day 7 - The pastor decided, by coincidence, to send out an SOS to the church and a score of members joined us in the effort to finish the work that was begun and prepare for the fair tomorrow.

What an interesting list of coincidences that happened by chance... or, as we understand it via God's Word, what an amazing set of circumstances that were ordered and directed by our Loving Father.

Today was amazing - with only Mike and Matt still struggling physically, the rest of the team (Matt included) went to see the pyramid and do some souvenir shopping.  We were only out for a couple of hours because we had to get prepared for the fair.

As we arrived back, we were met with many church members that were already preparing for the evening by shucking and cooking the corn.  We had lunch and then got right to work.  Setting up booths, preparing tables, lining the floor, drawing the "snail" hopscotch, etc.  Things were buzzing around the Dios Es Amor church.  We were expecting a large crowd. 

At 4 o'clock, the festivities began, and we were ready.  Kids, families, old, young, people just kept coming into the church.  The sky was overcast, so we moved everything inside, but it worked out nicely.  The people were all given a "boleta" (ticket) and had the chance to play each of the games 1 time.  Somehow they found a way past that - but we didn't mind we had plenty of gifts and the team enjoyed seeing them laugh and have fun.  Each family received a copy of the "Jesus film" on DVD as they left along with a tract sharing with them about Jesus.  Most made "wordless book bracelets" at one of the stations, and they were introduced to the gospel there as well.  What a great outreach.

Our prayer now is that the fruit of this activity helps with the VBS they will be having here next week.  Only God knows why He purposed to have us here this week - but one thing we do know - it was NO COINCIDENCE!!

Thought for the Day:  I loved watching the "body of Christ" work together today.  From the cleaning of the floors to the playing of the games, God was honored as His people moved in rhythm and flexed to serve the people of this community.  If only 1 person heard the gospel for the first time today, it is all worth it.

The thought this always brings me to is - How glorious heaven will be when we do it perfectly!!  How amazing it will be to walk together face to face with our God and in unity, without any factions and segments, the body will glorify our Father forever.  Holy, Holy, Holy - we will be saying - not as a habit or out of requirement, but rather it will be the reality we will be living in.  We will be forever amazed at the wonderful God who called us to Himself and as one body we will serve Him.

Much like this team did today!

Berean Bible Church - Mexico Trip - Day 7

For those of you who know me - I had to do it...  I won!  Last night, Alan and Heather spent most of the night checking on team members, giving them medicine and checking temperatures.  I had the privilege of ranking the highest as I registered 39.8 C (103.6 F). Not necessarily a competition I wanted to win.

Thank God for the fact that Alan and Heather (although experiencing most of the same symptoms as everyone else) didn't get a fever, and were able to care for everyone else.  They only got about 2 hours sleep last night, but that didn't stop them from finishing the work we had to do here.  Both of them took some time throughout the day to lay down, but tonight I am praying that they get a good night's sleep.

Jonathan was able to get up today as he felt a little better, and was able to finish some of the electrical work - putting switches in the bathrooms.  Alan finished the painting in the room and the storage room.  Most of the team was still in bed by late morning.

As a result, Manuel did something they had never done before.  He sent an S.O.S. text out to his people at the church, and probably close to 20 people came to help put the classroom back together and clean up the facility.  What a blessing it was for him to see the people respond to the need - and what a blessing for us as they served us by helping us finish the tasks that we had begun.  It was awesome to see the body at work.

Mike, Erin, Rachel and Matt were still struggling late into the afternoon, but they were getting up and moving around by later evening.  We are praying that they will be well enough to serve at the fair tomorrow.

I have been extremely impressed with the team this week.  They have done a lot of work - they have cared for each other well - they have ministered to the people - they have built relationships and friendships that will last well into the future!  The first day I mentioned the street light keeping me awake, and every night since, Mike made it a point to put a towel on the window to keep the light out.  What a kind and considerate service to me.  Alan and Heather's ministry last night was overwhelmingly humbling as they took over all the responsibilities of the team since I was sick.  Watching Rachel and Erin care for Vicky has been a joy, and seeing their love for this little deaf girl that extends beyond just sympathy for her injury or her plight, but truly a love for this "unloved" child has been exciting to see - reminds me of James 1:27.  John has constantly been working and looking for ways to serve - his heart of service has been exemplified by all of the work he has done especially when he wasn't feeling well.  Matt's connection with the people by using his Spanish has been a huge asset to the team, to such an extent that even the locals turn to him to communicate with the rest of us. Laurie and Kaitlynn have been a great example of Jesus by taking the "less notable" jobs and doing them with excellence - taking time to care for Janelle and Erin as they worked closely with them.


We are looking forward to a great day as the team is wrapping it up early tonight and getting ready for bed.  We might go to the pyramids in the morning and then we have the fair in the afternoon.  It really is my desire for the team to have the opportunity to see a little of Mexico while they are here, but that is really up to how well we are feeling in the morning.

This brings me to my - Thought for the day:  As we talked with Manuel and Ruth this evening (they shared their ministry from beginning to now), they shared how they felt bad about the whole team getting sick.  This is a new situation for me as I have never had an entire team get sick - usually not more than 10-20% of the team shows signs of any type of illness - so this has been very unusual.

However, this I know - NOTHING happens apart from my loving Father's hand, so from the beginning of time, He knew how this week would play out.  He knew we would be here, we would accomplish the work He set out for us, we would build relationships with the people here, and we would get sick...  Really?  Yes, I believe He has brought this sickness into our camp for His honor and glory AND for our good.

I don't understand it.  It doesn't make sense to me. Why was it necessary for us to get sick for Him to accomplish what He wanted to accomplish?  The truth is - I don't need to understand, I don't need to have any answers.

What we rest in is what James tells us in the beginning of his book - "Consider it all joy" when the trials and difficulties come, because God is in control!

Oh that we might live this way all of the time.

Berean Bible Church - Mexico Trip - Day 6

Today is day - SICK!  I know the title says "six", but we awoke this morning with a variety of unhealthy symptoms.  We are praying that this is a quickly passing issue - since we are 3 days away from leaving and being stuck in an airplane seat for a couple of hours.

However, this is Berean - a little throw up, diarrhea, head ache, dizziness, etc isn't gonna stop this team...  Well, okay we moved a little slower today, but still much was accomplished.

The work morning began with the finishing of the tile in the classroom (cleaning it and sealing it), painting the railing on top of Librada's home, Mike began the carpentry work - building a shelving/closet unit, and lifting up a bed frame to be used as a medical evaluation bed, painting of walls in the storage room and the classroom, re-screening the screen door outside Librada's home, tiling the small bathroom in the nursery.  Some of the ladies were busy throughout the day doing prep work for the VBS that is coming in a week.

It has been a great day, but a very difficult day because of sickness.  As you can tell by the picture, rest and sleeping were also an integral part of the day.  John was actually taken to the doctor for a shot, Kaitlyn went with him and was treated as well.  As the day was winding down, we sat around with a thermometer checking everyone, and sure enough, six members of the team measured with temperatures ranging from 99-101.  It became a game - who could beat Kaitlyn who registered a 38.8 - last I heard, she was the winner.  Yeah, different teams have different games they play on the trip - this is a first!

Interestingly enough, we are in the book of James this week - so of course Alan reminded us to "consider it all joy".  He also mentioned I might want to think about using another book for study on the next trip.  Seriously, we studied chapter 2 this morning, and it was a great reminder that we should look at people the same way God does, and be slow to judge.  When we are reminded of the depth of sin we were in before Christ saved us, we are able to extend that level of grace to others.  To often, we as believers want to stand above others, or call people to a standard that God did not raise.  James strictly warns us that were judgement exists apart from mercy, the judgement we will received - from a Just and Holy God - will be merciless as well.

As the day winded down, most of the team found their way to bed early.  Medicines were being distributed like the snacks were at the beginning of the week.  I even ended up with garlic in my ear because of an earache that began last night.  Fun - without a doubt!

Thought for the day:  Before the day even began, a song was stuck in my head that has rung out throughout the day.  The words say, "To my audience of one, You are Father, and You are Son
As your spirit flows free,Let it find within me A heart that beats to praise You."  What an amazing thought as we walked through this day that was full of sickness and struggles - Our God is watching, He is near, He is actively involved in the every day activities that we experience.

However, the question for me today was, "do I live in such a way that I am conscious of my audience?"  I know that I am aware of the "audience" of the people around me.  Sometimes they cause me to think differently, act differently, and live apart from what I know is best and true.  But what if I lived as if God were the only one watching?  What if as I worked, my work was checked by God Himself?  What if as I parent, my decisions, words and corrections of my kids we constantly monitored by our loving Father?  What if the activities of the day - playing soccer, watching movies, eating, talking... were all a show for the creator of the universe?

Could you image the worship in church if the only one listening were God?  What about our outreach to those around us - would it be affected if we knew God was looking in?

We all know He is - but do I live that way?

Berean Bible Church - Mexico Trip - Day 5

For a group of 10 people, they are doing an amazing amount of work.  Although I must say, the group consists of more than just the 10 people from our team.  We are a work crew of 29 - including Janelle, (and her friend, Erin), Lazaro, Adolfo, Joel, Alejandro, Brian, Fernando, Jafet (Banni), Ezequel, Jose Carlos, Juan Carlos, Fer (Fernando), Wendy, Librada, Clarita, Yanet, and of course, Pastor Manuel and Ruth.  It truly is like one big family of people working together - each one doing their part.  Sounds a lot like Ephesians 4.  I am confident that this body is being built up together in love.  God is doing some amazing things here.

I guess I need to record some of the details. 

The morning began as every other so far - Mike is the first one up, and Alan isn't far behind - getting a pot of coffee ready.  Breakfast is around 8 and devotions are around 8:45.  Matt continues to do a great job of leading worship and getting us in the attitude of worship as we study God's word and get ready to worship as we work throughout the day.

By early morning the road crew finished the laying of the paving blocks and they finished the gravel around them, and the job was complete.  We were able to find out exactly how good the job was when the sand truck showed up shortly after it was completed and drove right up the paving stones to deliver a full load of sand.  There was very little movement, so it was a job well done.

During the same time the tiling crew was working and they were in overdrive.  Lazaro (the "supervisor" of the job) had decided to mix the concrete on the floor - so they could mix a lot more in a shorter period of time.  By the middle of the day, they were more than 3/4 of the way done.  It is a lot of mixing of thin set and concrete in a wheel barrow, so the team is taking turns having different people mix. 

On top of those two major jobs, there were countless more "smaller" but not any less important jobs to be done.  For instance, Heather had the privilege of giving Vicky a bath, Rachel painted the stairs to Janelle's house, Kaitlyn did various odd jobs like sharpening pencils, Laurie did a bunch of jobs to help with the preparation for the VBS and the fair that is coming up.  Erin helped with Vicky - keeping her occupied for most of the day.

Right before lunch a decision was made to lay some paving stones by the garage, so the team got to work digging up the path between the sidewalk and the garage.  This became a full afternoon job.  Not the digging of the path - no, that took only an hour or so - it was the placement of the stones that seemed to cause the difficulty.  By the end of the day, the stones were in place and the job was nearly complete.

After lunch a variety of other jobs were begun.  Mike began working on the planning for a few jobs - the raising of the bed in the small room (to be used as a medical examination room for the children), installing a place to hang the guitars in the storage room, designing and building a closet in the storage room, and a couple of other carpentry jobs.  While Alan, Heather, John and Matt worked together on the tiling, the rest of the ladies were working on the VBS and Fair needs.  From cutting designs in paper, drawing signs, making designs on cloth, etc.  They were busy all day prepping for the VBS that Ruth is expecting to have 500 people attend.  We are also expecting 2-300 people on Saturday for the "fair" that we will be putting on.  We are praying that God would use both events for His glory and that others would come to know Him as Savior as a result.

Vicky's family has yet to come get her, and she has become a huge part of the trip.  She is really feeling the pain of the surgery and is begging to take the cast off.  She has a ton of energy and she is very animated - for a deaf girl, she communicates very well.  She didn't eat much for lunch, and afterwards, Heather tried to rock her to sleep (she didn't sleep well last night), but she wouldn't have it.  We need to continue to pray for her recovery and for her future.

Alan and John seem to be doing very well - they are doing the work and seem to have no complaints.  We need to continue to pray for Alan as he is experiencing pain, but he is working through it.

Overall, it's been a very productive day.

The evening ended with some singing and a recap of the day.  We talked about the upcoming events - work tomorrow, work and sightseeing on Friday, and then work, sightseeing and the Fair on Saturday.  There is much left to do and the team is ready to get to it.

Thought for the day: I worked with Adolfo some today, and was amazed at his ability to understand what is needed and what is going on.  He is a 14 year old boy working like a man and keeping up with the rest of the crew.  Apart from the occasional noises he makes to let you know he wants or needs your attention, you would never know he is deaf.  He is alert, active, involved, and works very hard.

Another incident today highlighted my thought for the day, and it was about when Heather was giving Vicky a bath.  She said that she was told that Vicky was afraid to take a bath because her family makes her bathe in cold water.  They said, "why waste the hot water on a deaf kid?"

The thought??  In a culture where the deaf, the blind, the lame are considered equal with the dogs - useless and not really human, Iglesia Cristiano Dios Es Amor is shining the light of the gospel to the local area by caring for the outcasts from society.  James 1 tells us that "pure religion and undefiled is this, to visit the widow and the orphan in their distress".  What an amazing opportunity we have to be part of the "pure religion" of the people of this church.

Where would these kids be without this ministry?  Only God knows - and because of that, He planted this church and this ministry here to love them.  Oh, what a wonderful God we have!
 

Berean Bible Church - Mexico Trip - Day 4

This morning we awoke to clear skies - the views from the rooftop of the church were amazing.  The volcano behind the church is snow capped and was spewing steam high into the atmosphere.  The sight is just gorgeous. We didn't get to sit around long and admire it though - we had much to do. 

After breakfast and some worship time lead by Matt, and some time in God's word, we broke into our groups and began to attack the list of jobs we had for the day.

Today's jobs included painting of the metal stairs leading up to the roof, beginning the tiling of the floor in the classroom, laying the paving stones at the end of the driveway, painting the doors around the facility, helping grade papers... and a bunch of other minor jobs around the church/school.

We experienced some more difficulty in understanding what they wanted us to accomplish, and even more, understanding why we were doing things the way we were.  For instance, the driveway group was trying to figure out exactly what the connection to the road was going to look like, and there seemed to be a variety of answers -  block all across the bottom, block just where the tires are going...  eventually they got it figured out.  The tile group has had an interesting time since the floor wasn't level.  Instead of floating the whole floor (as the group thought would be best), we broke up the concrete and leveled a portion of the floor yesterday, and today we are putting almost 2 inches of "thin set" and concrete mix under the tiles (the group has gone to calling it "thick set" because it is so deep). 

Regardless, it has been a great day and much was accomplished.

We do have a few things that happened today that we need to be praying for. 

• Vicky returned back to the facility and Ruth is worried that her family will want to take her home (which is a problem because they have not taken care of her very well because she is deaf), and if they do take her home Vicky might ask them (as she has us) to take the cast off because she does not like it.  Apparently, a relative of Vicky's had a cast on his broken arm and the kids took it off because he did not like it.  Due to the fact that she had surgery and has pins in her elbow, this could be very critical.  We are praying that God would allow her to stay here (at least for the time being), and if it is His will to allow her to remain here to grow up at the church/school.

•  Alan was working earlier today, and it seems that he might have injured himself.  He thinks he might have a hernia.  We are praying that he would have wisdom to know how hard to push, and when he needs to stand on the sideline.  

• John tripped today and banged both of his toes - nothing critical, but with cuts on both big toes, he could be hindered with the work he has to do.

Over all, the team has been healthy and doing very well.  Most are extremely tired because of the nature of the work, and with a team of only 10 people, there isn't much time for breaks.  They are doing a great job though!

After dinner this evening the team and the locals stood around in the kitchen sharing pictures, stories, talking and laughing together.  It was the highlight of the day.  Learning Spanish, teaching them English, as Mike said it, "it was like a family should be".  We were all reminded that because of Christ we are part of a family - what an exciting thought.

On that note - Thought for the day:  Oh what fun it has been today as team members are learning words in Spanish - we learned :
     Shovel - Pala
     Pick - Pico
     Level - Nivel
and a bunch of other words.  Anyway, the team was having a lot of fun learning words, and then trying to remember them, use them, and not get them wrong.  We also took some time to teach the people here some English words as we learned their language.

Language is a barrier to us, and keeps us from having deeper and more meaningful relationships.  Or is it?  I have been thrilled to watch the team interact with the people both the deaf (who are teaching us sign language) and the hearing Spanish.  We are connecting as we laugh together, work together, play together, eat together.  The barrier seems to be broken where the body is one because of Jesus.

Makes me long for the day that we will all be together in the presence of our great God - and will be able to worship together and will be able to understand each other.  Language isn't a barrier for our Father, and someday, some glorious day, it won't be an issue for us as well.

Oh, how I long for that day - so I say with the Revelator - "even so come Lord Jesus"!

Berean Bible Church - Mexico Trip - Special Update on Vicky

As they say, "here is the rest of the story" - from Ruth...

Now we have a new prayer request. Saturday a work team arrived at the church. Sunday was the school’s graduation ceremony. Everything went very nicely, though we were disappointed several students did not come. Janelle, one of our teachers, will not be returning in the fall. She had gifts for each student, so she decided she would visit the students that had missed to personally deliver her gifts. She went to Vicky’s house that same afternoon and discovered Vicky had fallen and injured her arm badly. She came back to church and described Vicky’s arm.

Manuel, Librada and I went to see Vicky right then, and wound up taking her to a general doctor (Jorge, our brother in law) who ordered X-rays and other treatment. Librada kept Vicky overnight and yesterday morning we took her for X-rays that showed a broken elbow. We went to see an orthopedic doctor  (César, Jorge’s son in law, who “just so happened” to be in town because he was recently hospitalized himself and unable to travel).  Who said it would be necessary to do reconstructive surgery and insert pins. They explained all the reasons the surgery needed to be done as soon as possible. Obviously, it had already been too long. César offered to do surgery with no fee, Jorge offered to be his assistant for no fee, and he also said he would find an anesthesiologist who would give us a reasonable fee. So the medical team was taken care of right then and there. They told me to find the hospital.

I remembered a small surgical clinic I had visited once, and went to see what they would charge, and after waiting well over an hour, I was able to talk to the director and come to an agreement. The school has a small medical fund that we had intended to use to purchase glasses for two or three of our students that need glasses. It’s not enough to cover the entire cost of the hospital, but we stepped out in faith anyway.

Meanwhile, Manuel tracked down a family member willing to go with us to sign all the paper work.

At 8 o clock last night, Vicky went into surgery, and came out before 10. César was very pleased that everything went very well. Vicky has two external pins that will be removed in a month.

Just before she went in to surgery, Manuel called to tell me the wonderful news that the team had given him a gift to help cover the medical expenses. We are so very thankful for this provision. By the way, the team is here to lay tile in our classroom. We are excited about having an even tile floor, because the concrete floor was very uneven and difficult for Javier to maneuver in his wheel chair. The team is also doing a host of other things at the church, including some of the things Librada and I would normally be doing for them.

Librada has offered to keep Vicky at her home during this time of recuperation, and we are hoping the family will accept her offer, since Librada can provide much better care.

I’d like to tell you a little bit about Vicky. She comes from a very underprivileged family. She is the middle child of a single mom who has currently abandoned them to live with yet another boyfriend. Vicky is living with her widowed grandfather and a single aunt that recently become a mother. The grandfather tries to provide for all 6 of them as a brick layer. Nobody in the family knows much sign language, so communication with Vicky is very limited. Right now, Vicky herself is not quite sure how to communicate with only her left hand. She’s very bright, though, and is catching on to how to sign one handed. It was sweet to see her pray just before going in to surgery.

Would you please pray for her too? Thank you! God bless you,

Ruth for all of us

Berean Bible Church - Mexico Trip - Day 3

Sure enough, Berean Bible Church does not disappoint!  They have sent another "work horse" group.

The work began today, or at least the "scheduled work that we had planned" began today.  We started the day by eating breakfast and then looking into God's word by discussing the first 12 verses of James 1.  We were reminded of the command to "consider it all joy" when we encounter trials.

Our work day began a little slow since the tile could not be started until Lazaro (spelling) prepped the floor. No problem with this group - we just started a number of other projects.  Matt and John tore out the toilets in the nursery bathroom so we could tile that floor.  Laurie, with the help of some of the others throughout the day, began moving the schools curriculum from broken folders to the ones that the team brought with them.  Rachel and Erin spent some of the morning playing with the little children that were here.  Heather and Kaitlynn were taking turns taking pictures and helping with the various projects.  Mike and Alan ended up helping in the school room breaking out the concrete because the floor was not level. Needless to say, the morning went rather quickly, but much was accomplished. 

As the afternoon arrived, the team was working on the same projects they began in the morning, with the addition of digging out the road at the base of the hill (where the sewer line meets the road).  Matt turned to me and asked, "Didn't we do this the last time we were here?".  Sure enough, we were digging the same dirt area we dug last time, but this time with a different purpose.  The road is washing out and is at too much of an incline for the cars, so we are putting in blocks to assist the cars in making it up the hill, minimize the erosion, and generally look a little nicer from the road.

We knew it was a true Berean trip when someone yelled up the road, "turn the water off!".  Why?  Someone had hit the water line (that the Berean team installed last trip).  Over the next 30 minutes, John, Matt, Mike and Alan worked together to repair the pipe.  It took a quick trip to the hardware store for supplies, but eventually the line was repaired.

Some of the highlights of the day would include the fact that neighborhood boys are working along side our team - helping with everything from shoveling, making concrete, and mixing the concrete.  They are hard workers, but they also love to play soccer with the team.  Adolpho (one of the deaf children) has been working along side of us - as a 14 year old, he has been impressive to work with.

One of the most interesting parts of the day was a special visitor we had.  Six year old Vicky joined us today.  She is a student at the school, but she missed the graduation on Sunday, so Janelle decided to visit her.  Janelle and Ruth found her yesterday with a bandage on her arm - placed there by a "witch doctor" - and the bandage was stopping the blood flow to her hands.  They removed the bandage only to reveal a very bad injury to her arm.  Not sure how bad it was, they took Vicky to the doctor.  By the days end, Vicky had surgery on her elbow that was broken.  X-rays revealed that it had been broken before but was not repaired.  The surgery expenses are expected to be $1000, and Ruth said they had 1/2 of the money necessary.  The team informed Manuel this evening that they had brought down a $500 love gift from Berean Bible Church, and they would love to assist with the need if that was the best use of the money.  God had provided for their need before the injury even occurred - isn't God great??

The rest of the day was spent eating dinner, going to the farmacia for ice cream, talking, singing, and preparing for another day.  It has been a very productive day.

Thought for the day:  Every trip the group talks about why we are here, and ultimately the answer is to do whatever God has planned for us, and to do it for His glory.  Today we shoveled dirt, broke concrete, graded papers (Erin and Rachel), breaded chicken (Kaitlyn), filled notebooks... all for the glory of God.  We played soccer, laughed with kids, hugged the children, read God's word, prayed, sang...  all for the glory of God.

The thought for today is, how is this any different than when we are at home?  I should go to work - for the glory of God.  I should go to a movie - for the glory of God.  I should watch TV - for the glory of God...  and on and on the list goes.  What is the difference?  or What makes the difference?  Not what I am doing, but why and for Whom.

If today were your last day on the planet, how did you bring glory to God today?  Did you sing to bring Him glory - like the birds do?  Did you work to bring Him glory - like the ants do?  Did you make noise to bring Him glory - like the oceans do?  It really is that simple - if we are all about Him.

Just a thought.

Berean Bible Church - Mexico Trip - Day 1 and 2

It has been a wonderful trip so far with 2 days down and 7 more to go.  The trip has been extremely unusual as the chaos of the "starting of the trip" started 2 days before leaving. 

Since I was in Florida last week, and my wife found out her sister's cancer had spread, she decided to stay an extra day to visit with her sister, so I ended up flying home on July 4th.  Two flights later - Tampa to Dallas, Dallas to Chattanooga, I was home.  But only for a brief stint as I headed off to Philadelphia on Friday - Chattanooga to Atlanta, Atlanta to Philadelphia.  Only to connect with the team on Saturday and fly 2 more flights - Philadelphia to Houston, Houston to Puebla.  (by the way, we had a 9 hour layover in Houston - talk about fun!!)  Seriously, the chaos of travel was 3 days long...

Anyway, God showed Himself faithful because when we were fishing for flights, Ruth Lopez (AMG missionary in Mexico) suggested I look into flights in Puebla.  Usually they are higher cost, but this time they were not.  Yes, over 6 months ago, God was looking out for this team, because if we had scheduled our flight into Mexico City like last time we would have been stuck somewhere without a flight because of the Volcano that erupted.  God is faithful and good - all the time.

We had a long day trying to arrive here, but there were some notable moments. 

Like - the first flight I was asked to change seats with a 12 year old girl in row 12.  She was a window seat (which I really don't prefer), but I agreed so she could sit with her mother.  The short story from here is I ended up being moved to the exit row sitting in the aisle!  With the exception of the good food and drinks they serve, I felt like I was flying first class.

While waiting in the airport we played rage, ate pizza (and some other foods), rode Rachel around in a wheel chair, talked about waiting until we were almost late for our flight and then running through the airport to just make it (that was Heather's idea), taking pictures in the shuttle and the elevator...  We had fun just waiting for our final ride.

The evening flight was uneventful - we arrived in Puebla on time and by 9:30 PM we were at the church.  We had some food, talked briefly about Sunday, and headed off for bed.

Sunday morning we began with breakfast, setting up chairs, moving tables, making sandwiches for the graduation party, and we talked about our study in James for the week.  Matt even led us in singing songs - it was a great time of worship. 

Then the fun began.  The people started showing up for the church/graduation.  Three students graduated today.  It was a blast to be a part of.  They performed, shared verses, Bible stories, we sang, and Pastor Manuel gave a challenge.  The deaf students were thrilled to be graduating, and it was cool to watch the interactions of the families and the church members - loving this group of kids that the local society said should have been discarded.  What an amazing ministry they have here, and we are thrilled to be part of it.

After the graduation we served food, cake, and then some of us headed outside to play ball with the kids.  Soccer and then basketball were the game choices, and the kids seemed to have a great time as we laughed and played together.  Mike and Alan worked up a sweat as the kids were relentless chasing us and the balls down.

Eventually we cleaned out the room that we will be tiling tomorrow, and people headed home.  We were so thankful for the extra hands as it kept things from taking too long.  We began pulling out all of the stuff for the carnival, the school supplies, the food items, etc. out of our bags and preparing for the week.  In the mean time we found out that we will be doing some carpentry work, some drywall work, replacing binders for the school (the team brought many of these down - they were donated to AMG), and we had some electrical work to do.  John solved an electrical problem that others couldn't resolve, and he did it in just a few minutes.  I was impressed. 

We also found out that we will be digging!! Sound familiar??  Where the road beside the church meets the concrete road the dirt has been washing away so they have been mounding dirt on the road.  We are going to level the dirt, and then put in about 220 paving blocks on a 15-20 foot section of the road that we already dug up once.  The digging won't be anything like last time, but it will be time consuming - and we don't have 30 people. 

Needless to say, the team is excited about getting started tomorrow.  We had a great time talking about the day this evening and preparing for tomorrow.  By the way, we played soccer for about 1 1/2 hours tonight as well - it has been a long, but profitable day!

Before I get myself in trouble - today marks my 23rd anniversary and although I am many miles from the one I love (and the one who has showed me what true love is), I have been able to spend many moments today reflecting on the great gift God gave me in her.  My wife is an amazing woman - evidenced by spending 23 years with me - and I am truly blessed to call her my best friend. 

Thought for the day:  One of the new students at the school is blind.  She is probably 10 years old (I haven't asked yet), but I met her today and she asked me to take her picture - a picture she will never see.  I watched her being led around by adults and kids alike - she is very interactive and trusting.  I was told that one young boy, Diego, accidentally ran her into a tree - but she bounced right back. 

At one point, she was led over - by one of the kids - to a woman who was helping serve the cake.  The lady couldn't stop what she was doing, so I helped lead this blind Spanish girl to her seat - helping her dodge chairs, people, tables, etc. All the while she was holding a piece of cake in her hand - and I had a tray in one of my hands.  It was extremely difficult, but eventually we arrived at an empty chair at the table and I was able to seat her and hand her off to another person.

What a lesson in faith.  This girl heard my voice only once before in the day, and that for only a second or two, and mostly in broken Spanish.  Yet she followed my lead without question and we safely made it to the chair.

There are times I feel like I am in the dark and I have no idea where I am going.  However, I have a good and powerful God - whose voice I know - and I can be confident that He will lead me to a good place.  Not necessarily an easy place, but it will be a good place.

That is what faith is - not blind following of the unknown, but rather a confident obedience of what is known but not yet seen.  God has been good in the past - His word reminds me of this regularly.  And I know - as this little girl showed me - that I can follow His lead wherever, and He will keep my foot from harm, and the conclusion will be His glory and what is best for me!