The last couple of days have been filled with training, worship, planning, and even a little bit of actual ministry. To find out what our team has been up to, check out the Red Team blog here. As for my personal blog, I’m going to try to communicate what I’m thinking and feeling as we do the things we do. Also, please be aware that I’m having some technical difficulty in posting pictures on this blog, but I hope to be back in full operation soon.
So, here we go.
Every morning, we have an hour of quiet time, followed by a worship and debrief time during which we praise God through song and share what He’s laid on our hearts. It’s a rich time with the Lord every day. If only I could slow down like this at home to find two hours a day to spend with the Lord! What a difference it makes!
Today was terrific. After our worship time this morning, we finished up a training on church planting and cultural awareness that we started last night. The training totally jived with the things I’ve been thinking about how the church is not a place you go, but a group of people with a common mission: to glorify God in all the earth. If we have no building, we’ll start a church in a house. If we have no house, we’ll start a church under a tree. It doesn’t matter where we meet. The important thing is that God’s people gather together to glorify Him and share His love with others.
After lunch, we were sent out to do some ministry. Each team was sent to a different colonia (which is what neighborhoods are called in Mexico) to talk and pray with people. You can read the details of what we did on our team blog, but what really struck me was the peace with which the Christians we met live their lives. These are people who for the most part are building their own houses out of wood pallets and scrap metal. They have no running water, no power, no pavement on the roads, and yet they carry with them an abiding trust that God will see them through.
How is it then that back in the U.S. we have it so much easier and yet we have so much more anxiety? Judging by availability of modern conveniences, we should have so much more freedom, so much more “leisure time.” And yet, we’re busier, more stressed, and less free in nearly every imaginable way.
Could it be that we have filled our lives with business and junk to the point that we no longer have any life at all? Could it be that we all need to unplug, slow down, and take a breath or two?
I’ve noticed that many of the people here have a saying that pops up in response to almost any situation. They say, “Esta bien.” Literally, it means “it is well,” but it really comes across more like “it’s okay.” The remarkable thing is how frequently it pops up.
You drop a plate and break it? Esta bien. Our plans have to change at the last minute? Esta bien. I have to build my own house using whatever scrap materials I can find? Esta bien.
No matter what it is, esta bien. We would do well in the U.S. to say, “esta bien” a little more often, and “but what about (blank)” a little bit less.
