Remembering Spring Break 2013

 One of our tasks while in the DR was giving water filters to families who otherwise would not have clean water.  Here, one of the girls and the Missionary Craig are putting in a water filtration system.  I imagine that we gave out about 30 of these in a nearby village called La Rinconada.  It costs $60 for this and it provides clean water for 10 years.  All they have to do is provide the bucket.

 Here is one of our favorite friends that we met in the village in which we stayed.  His name is Mudo.  I assume he is around 8 years old.  He is both deaf and mute and showed all of us what a true servant is like.  He always made funny faces for pictures, but he has one of the widest smiles I've ever seen.  I cannot wait to see him again in July.

One day, our job was to paint the church green.  We brought all of the paint supplies and painted both the inside and the outside of the church and stained the swing set one morning.

 I think these are houses that are in Quisqueya, the town to which I will be moving.  The school that I'll be living at (Emanuel House) has kids from the poorest neighborhoods in the town.  These are typical living conditions.  We got to visit on Tuesday.

 

We set up tents in the church or slept under mosquito nets.  This a a quick view of what the inside of the church looked like.

Do We Truly Believe?

I've skipped over to the New Testament during this time of Lent and hopefully will get back to the Old Testament soon.  But it has been very interesting reading about Jesus and the Jews and in general how they treated him.  I think sometimes we forget that to the Jews, Jesus was this man with whom they had grown up.  He was a normal person with a mom and a dad.  And then, he was proclaiming to be the Son of God.  He proclaimed that he had once been in Heaven with God.  And, ultimately, he was proclaiming to be Christ.

I tend to gloss over readings like this thinking that the Jews were fools.  How could they not believe?  But then, if I really put myself in the Jew's place... this familiar person was proclaiming to be the Christ.  Maybe I would have been skeptical too.  Jesus is very harsh with them saying in John 5:39, "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life.  These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life."  The Jews had read about Jesus.  He was fulfilling scripture & performing miracles right before their eyes, and yet they couldn't see.

Today, the scripture still hasn't completely been fulfilled, the savior has not come back again, and all of the terrible things that are to come haven't happened.  And thus, it is impossible to see God's Kingdom in its entirety. But, if we read the Bible carefully, and if we believe it, we should see more clearly than the Jews did.  God has made promises to us as believers.  We must be able to see what God does for us every day.  And then, we must remember. In John 3:3 Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again."  My question is do we see the Kingdom? Do we see the pieces of the Kingdom that God reveals to us on earth?  Will we one day be able to see it in its fulness?  Do we truly believe?  Or, are we like the Jews, staring at Jesus right in His face and yet still doubting? We've seen his glorious miracles, yet we still don't completely lean into Him because we don't understand Him fully?  We've read about what He will do, yet we try to control the situation?

May God replenish us by keeping us in His word.  May God fill us with the hope that is found by reading His word each day.  May God help us to cling to His promises, thus allowing us to live out His will with a fulness of trust, faith and humility.  

To God be the Glory Forever. Amen.

Ephesians 1:17-18
I pray  that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

Living in the present, excited for the future

I just got back last night from the Dominican Republic sharing the love of Christ with Dominicans in a village called San Jose. (Above is the church where we stayed and painted.)  It was truly one of the best mission trips of my life.  I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to spend the week with Craig and Joanna McClure (our Missionaries) and the girls and fellow teachers from Wesleyan School. 

And today, I'm back in the states.... So quickly I am struck by the fact that I am living between two worlds.  I'm excited about the plans that God has for me in the Dominican Republic and excited to see how He works out His plans for me here in my last two months as a teacher at Wesleyan. 

I am reminded of the verse from Philippians 4:6-7 which states, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. The last day of my trip, I asked that God would help me leave behind anxiety and nervousness regarding the details that have to be worked out before my move.  Please continue to pray for His continued peace.  Pray for the Lord to work out the details of selling my house, the process of it being sold, and continued wisdom and guidance. He is all powerful, mighty and majestic!  Thanks be to God!

Unworthy, Celebrated, and Loved

Well, it's the season of Lent.  Growing up in the Baptist church, we never really celebrated Lent nor acknowledged it much, but over the past few years (being a part of a non-denominational school-community and being a member of an Anglican church), I have been exposed to the season and am starting to grasp it's meaning a bit more.

Lent is a time of recognition -- recognizing that I am a sinner. When you see people on Ash Wednesday walking around with ashes on their heads, it's a reminder that they fall short and when we look in the mirror to see that same ash, it's a reminder that we fall short too.  We are all sinners who one day will return to the dust of the earth.  Lent is about recognizing our shortcomings in how we live, the relationships that aren't right, the depths of our souls that aren't pure and bringing all of those to God, knowing that He is the only one who can not only help us, but cure us.  And the best part of it all?  His desire to cure us... to make us better... for us to live in complete freedom with Him is completely and utterly undeserved, unearned and there is nothing that we can do to merit such a freedom or love for us.

My devotion this morning (taken from Sacred Space for Lent 2013) comes from the story about the prodigal son.  He went out, left his home and his father and brother and did everything wrong.  When he came back, he said, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son."  But the father told his slaves to clothe the son in a fine robe, put a ring on his finger, and to put fine sandals on his feet, and he celebrated with his son.

The Lenten season is about becoming humble enough to understand, just like the son did in the parable, that we are unworthy of God's love, of this life,  and of the eternal rewards in Heaven.

Yet, because we know that truth, we push on.

I am overwhelmed by His calling on my life, yet I push on.  I sense a lack of balance, yet I push on to draw closer to Him to find it.  I doubt Him, yet I push on to recognize His power. I  don't understand His love for me, yet I push on learning more about Him each day, seeking a deeper understanding of His love.  I am confused yet I push on, listening carefully for His words of wisdom.  I recognize more and more each day that He is big and I am small.

May the Holy Spirit enlighten my mind and my heart to respond to His teachings. - Amen