To say that i love to eat would most definitely be an understatement. If i find something i like, you better believe i am going to mow down. I am still coming around on the vegetables but the Race has really grown my ability to eat things i wouldn’t normally eat at home. This past month in Ecuador, we ate and boy did we eat well.
Our days were very busy and at times exhausting so the thought of going to a different persons house every night for dinner was challenging but we were so blown away by the hospitality and the love that these “strangers” showed us. I quickly began to look forward to those long days because i knew that i would have a wonderful meal prepared for me every night. It was crazy to see how these families just welcomed us into their home as if we had been lifelong friends. We laughed with them, we prayed for them and just shared some amazing time together.
As each night went on, i began to feel very convicted and upset that we don’t have this same concept of sharing and having fellowship with each other in the American church. We fill the pews on sunday mornings and sunday nights next to each other but for the most part, that is the extent of our time together. We are so reserved to ourselves and our busy days that the thought of anymore added stress just puts us on edge.
I think that we should take some pointers from the Latin American culture and change the “status quo” of our Western lifestyle. I believe that it is so crucial to have fellowship with one another outside of the church walls. I hope that this is an encouragement to all of you as it was to me. I know that there are a lot of people that are doing this already and i commend you, but the reality is that the majority of us have missed the boat on it. I leave you with this charge, open up your home and your dinner table and share in fellowship with each other. It is a beautiful thing.
