“From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised. The Lord is high above all nations; His glory is above the heavens.” Psalm 113:3-4
As we awoke this morning,
you couldn’t help but lift your eyes and think of the glory and majesty of our
God. We arrived after the sun set last
night, so the magnitude and splendor of our surroundings was hidden by the dark
of night. As the sun began to rise, the
mountains came into view and their grand magnificence made us worship the creator
who spoke them into existence. The mountains behind the hotel were mostly dirt
with some small vegetation, but they soared thousands of feet above the 10,000
feet that we were already above sea level.
As we looked around, we were able to see the snow capped mountains that
seemed almost to merge with the sky. The
sight is difficult to describe in words, and impossible to share without seeing
it yourself. God is majestic, powerful
and amazing – the firmament showed us His handiwork.
We headed in for breakfast
and the spent some time in God’s word.
We talked about the book of Philippians and laid the ground work for the
devotionals for the rest of the week.
Then we prepared to leave and headed off to the church and childcare
center at Yungar.
We arrived close to 9:00 and
we jumped right to action. The team
split into 4 groups. Three were painting
and 1 was working on tearing off the roof above the kitchen and classroom. They worked well, and much was
accomplished. They worked on painting
the front and outside of the buildings, the bathrooms. It was awesome to see the entire team engaged
in working on the various projects and working together.
About 1:00 the kids showed
up and we fed them lunch. The team
surrounded them and began interacting right away. They were trying to speak Spanish, and in
return, many of the kids were trying out their English. The group sang songs with the kids, they did
a skit and the kids seemed to love it.
They did a craft with the children which allowed for a bunch of
interaction, and the kids loved that too.
At 4:00, we went to the
soccer field and played some soccer with the kids. 10 on 10 at nearly 10,00 feet above sea
level. It was difficult to breathe as we
ran, but it seemed like they had a great time.
We played for about an hour and a half, and then told the kids we would
play again tomorrow. I think they will
be inviting some of their friends to come – we really had a great time.
The day ended with dinner
and our wrap up/worship session. I love
to hear these kids sing and pray. I love
to hear them process their day. I love
to challenge them to make the patterns they develop here permanent in their
lives. Only God knows what impact this
week is going to have on these kids.
Tomorrow is another day of
the same – well, maybe – you never really know…
Thought for the day: During the evening wrap up, one of the kids said,
“YOLO”. And I thought about their
culture and the idea that “You Only Live Once” is a mantra that encourages them
to get the most out of life. Yet it
seems that the idea is that since you only live once, do whatever crazy things
you can imagine doing.
I heard a poem one time that
basically states a similar idea, but it goes like this…
Only one life ‘twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Yes, I will only pass this
way once. I will die at the end of my
life, and there isn’t a second chance to do it all over again. As a matter of fact, the day that has just
been spent cannot be reclaimed – it is gone forever.
So do I want to YOLO and get
as much for me out of the day that I can, or do I want to make sure I give the
most for God today.
Lord, help me keep my
frailty and temporary existence ever before me, and may it challenge me to give
everything I have for you and for your glory.
May the fruit of my daily life be eternal fruit, and not just the things
that satisfy me today.
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