Over the past 2 weeks my team has been working with a church in Palenque called ´Iglesia de Olivo´. We have been involved with going to a lot of house churches, doing wednesday night services, and over the weekend we watched all the children when there was a guest speaker from Guatemala. Everyone in our church has been so open and welcoming towards us and it has been such a joy to work with them.
One of the things that has stuck out to me so much though is the community within the church. There is a group of about 20 members that are involved in everything. When we go to do house churches, all 20 of them are there. When we are cleaning the church before wednesday service, all 20 of them are there. When we take a day trip to the river, all 20 of them are there. It is incredible to me how committed they are to their family, their church. And not one moment of it is out of obligation. Some of my favorite moments with this church have been during our house visits in the neighborhoods. Everyone piles into these tiny houses as much as possible and are so intentional about their love for whoever we are visiting. They all pray over these families with such passion and desire for the Lord to be working. And the Lord does work. He is moving in a way I cant even describe.
Watching them and getting to be a part of their community for a short time has made me look back and examine the churches from the States. I love my church and the work being done there and I know the Lord is doing some incredible things in the U.S., but I cant help but think how amazing it would be if we too had this community. If someone was sick or just needed prayer, how many of us would come together to pray over them? If there was a family in our neighborhood who didnt know the Lord, how many of us would visit often and bring in the Word of truth? And when we have guest speakers come visit, how many of us offer our time to fellowship with another believer?
This type of community sparks a unity that is undeniable. It is a unity that I think the Lord intends for us to have, and one that only comes from a body of believers. I pray that this is something we continue to experience as we move from country to country, and something that we can take back home with us to continue.
