Where He leads...: Another great week!!

Another great week!!

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Spanish Church

Last Sunday marked my first time visiting the 1st Baptist Spanish-American Church. I had a wonderful time! Even though God has blessed me with an independent spirit, it was still a bit intimidating to walk into a church where English is rarely spoken and you are the only Caucasian in sight! I received many friendly greetings and noticed smiles on every face I saw. I felt at home there. I was reminded of my time in Mexico and almost let my mind drift into believing that I was truly back in Matamoros. The only time I felt uncomfortable was when the Pastor was asking who the visitors were. About 6 individuals or families stood up and introduced themselves to the congregation. The ladies I was sitting around were smiling at me, encouraging me to do the same. Finally, I mustered up the courage, stood up, and introduced myself and told a little about why I was here, where I worked, etc. (All of this in Spanish, mind you!) The service was great... Lots of upbeat praise music. And by God's grace, I was able to follow along with the sermon nearly 100%. Afterwards, they had lunch and then prepared for their two Sunday afternoon ministries. 1 - English classes. 2 - Going out into the neighborhood to minister to the Hispanic community. Last Sunday, I didn't have a coat so I stayed inside to sit in on an English class. Yesterday was my second visit to this church and after they fed us red beans and rice, a group of us rode over to an apartment complex that, since Katrina, houses hundreds of Hispanic residents. We introduced ourselves, invited them to English class, and spoke with them some about the church, God, and other things as they were interested. I plan to continue to be involved with FBSAC, especially on Sundays. There are many great friendships to be made, like with Elva, a beautiful, petite, 40-something lady who told me today of her childhood in Guatemala... How her mother was an alcoholic, spent some time in jail, during which Elva had to live in an orphanage at 8 years old. When her mother was released from prison, she forgot to ever pick up Elva from the orphanage. Adoption papers had already been started for a family to take Elva out of the orphanage when finally her older sisters intervened and arrived to take her home. Elva reminded me as I was leaving today how everyone, every person, has a story to tell about their life. We have all been on a unique journey, and it is exciting for me to meet new people on my own journey and listen to them share with me where they've been, the place they are at now, and what they see for themselves in the future. Elva's story encouraged me to continue praying for Manuel, and the other children in the orphanage I spent many days in during my time in Matamoros... that God would provide for them in a special way when everything and everyone else in life may abandon them.

Work and Radio Interviews

This week I have been busy with my job, organizing the mission trips for groups coming as early as this month and especially for the many "Spring Breakers" who will arrive in March. There is one group coming nearly 24 hours from Amherst, Massachussetts! For those of you who are near a computer on Fridays, it will be a common thing for me to be on Lifesongs Radio at 9 & 4 CST. You can listen through an internet broadcast by going to www.lifesongs.com. On the right you will see a picture of a speaker. Click it or click the link that says "Listen Live". It will take you to a page that shows a Windows Media Play button. Click it to open the live broadcast. MissionLab has a 3-minute segment each Friday morning and afternoon, and often that duty will fall on me. I was quite nervous this past Friday morning, but I should be more comfortable with it from now on!

Up on the Rooftop

No reindeer paws or Santa Claus, but at 9am on Saturday there were 8 freezing bodies roofing what was once a nursing home and is now being re-built as a drug/alcohol rehabilitation center. The 8 bodies included myself, Travis (co-pastor of the church plant "Sojourn"), Hoot (the Head of the Campus Police for NOBTS), Jeff (recently moved down here to work where work is needed after Katrina) and Eddy, Jose, Heraldo, and Warren (four men from Bethel Men's Ministry -- a drug/alcohol rehab facility for men struggling with addiction which attempts to get them on a right path with society, with themselves, and with God). Typically Sojourn has a greater turnout of volunteers, but apparently everyone wanted to sleep in that morning. It's a good thing we weren't scheduled to gut a house that morning, or Travis and I would have been in a mess by ourselves! But God is awesome, and He had everything under control as this was a unique morning of partnering with Hoot and the men from Bethel. We had a great time getting to know the men as we stayed on that roof for hours, and hours, and hours. In fact, we typically close shop at 3:30, but because of delays in supplies (and also a late lunch that didn't arrive until after 3!), we worked well past 5:30 and arrived back to campus around 7pm. Did I mention it was FREEZING?! :) But I am not complaining... I had a wonderful day and hopefully I will get a chance again to help with the reconstruction of this facility, and I look forward to what God will do through this ministry. Please join me in praying for Eddy, Jose, Heraldo, Warren and the other men of Bethel. They have a tough journey ahead of them. For some of them, success is right around the corner, while others will find themselves once again trapped by their addiction and back on the streets. Let us not be quick to judge, but instead, quick to intercede for people like them who have few others who will take the time to encourage and pray for them.