Lesson Two

Lesson 2: Relax.

We are here on a mission- we have work to get done. How exciting to be in another country and working in a Methodist Church. It reminds me how awesome it is to be part of the connectional system we share in the Methodist denomination.

Our job this week is to prepare the building for a second floor. But that is not the only project. There are fences to paint, stucco to apply, a sign to repair, a driveway to dig out, and a list of other possible projects if time allows. When we got started we were pretty focused on the tasks in front of us and then we had to step back and take a deep breath and remember that one of important “tasks” we needed to include on our list is -relationships.

There are so many people we are coming into contact with that we need to be sure we take time to understand the culture we are working in and spend some of our time on the relationships in front of us.

The list of possibilities for new relationships is as long as our list of tasks. We have new friends from the US who are part of the team who came to serve. We will be serving together in the name of Christ. There are new friends at the  Inglesia de La Restauracion Methodista Unida -people who work at the church and people who come here for refuge. And there are people from the surrounding community who pass by the gate each day as we are working. It is easy to see that we have more similarities then differences. There are children running around (laughing and playing), women fixing lunch in the church kitchen, people working on projects together and people who love Christ worshipping together.

The second lesson I have learned is that the relationships matter- so we will take a cookie and coffee break mid-day and relax for a bit.

^“One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”  “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12: 28-31



Jesus, name above all names             

Beautiful Savior, glorious Lord.  

Emmanuel, God is with us. 

Blessed Redeemer, Living word. 

Jesus- name above all names. The words of this song were ringing in my ears Sunday morning at the 10:00 worship at Le Iglesia de La Restauracion Methodista Unida (for those of us who only speak English- The United Methodist Church of the Restoration).

The service was in Spanish but there were a few things that clearly spoke to us beyond the language barrier.

The name of Jesus Christ (Cristo Jesus). We prayed, we sang, we prayed some more and we heard the message. And in each prayer or song the name Cristo Jesus reminded us all why were are here and how we are joined together with these other worshippers. Our hands were raised in praise as we sang together to the name above all names. Awesome.

The sermon offered us more than you would expect for not being able to understand the language. Pastor Victor was gracious enough to include words like suffering and hope in English- we got the message. We know where the hope comes from- even when suffering is near. The Blessed Redeemer.

I will admit that my Spanish is terrible but there were a few other words that confirm our unity in Christ: Jesucristo esta agui and Gracias a Dios!

Amen. Worship was amazing.



Heartbreak and Gratitude - An unlikely pair.

We have had heartbreak. Losing my mother-in- law the week before Christmas brought a cloud of grief to our family. Once again Greg and I, Greg's dad, his sisters and their families and our children have walked through the valley of the shadow of death. We re-grieved the loss of two sisters. Our hearts are hurting.

On the plane as I made my way home I was reminded of Paul's words,

"Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. (Romans 5:1-5 NLT) "but we rejoice in our trials..." Rejoicing was not what I was feeling.

But I was reading The Jesus Mission and in it Steven Scottt says that a grateful heart  is a visible sign of faith. The more I considered Paul's call to rejoice amid the heartbreak and Scott's reminder that a grateful heart reveals faith in Christ, the more I realize I have a lot to be grateful for:

I am deeply grateful for a mother-in- law who treated me like a daughter and leaves behind a legacy of love and faith.

I am so grateful for a family that walks through grief together with patience, compassion, and a commitment to unity.

I am grateful for friends who have comforted us, cared for us, and prayed for us during  times of grief.

And I am grateful for the promises of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I don't know how we could walk through the heartaches of life without hope that God will walk beside us in this life and receive us into a glorious eternal life when we leave this place! I don't know how we would get through the grief if we didn't have faith that we have purpose in this life. I am grateful for a God who is all knowing so we don't have to be!

I am grateful for the promise that there will be a time when the tears and sufferings will be gone and rejoicing will be all we have to do! 

Until then -I will continue to be grateful for all that I have in front of me.

Grateful for the blessings,

Dawn

Living in ReVerse

Jesus was a rebel- I love that the Savior of humanity called us out on how to live according to the will of God and not the will of the world. Everyday we have opportunities to challenge a culture that encourages us to live for ourselves. These "commandments" encourage us live in reverse-no matter what the world may say. Live the way Christ calls us to live.

 

The Paradoxical Commandments
                                                          by Dr. Kent M. Keith


People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.



Teen Action and Support Center: Our Anniversary

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”                                                 Matt. 19:26

I can't believe it- It has been six years since we opened the Teen Action and Support Center. I cannot believe how much fun we have had and how many people have come to TASC for support.

It would be easy to focus on what has been accomplished since we opened, but I feel the urge to celebrate all the people who have been moved to help us and ulitimately help teens and their families. There are far too many people to list by name but I appreciate every person who has helped us is any capacity.

I also realize that God has been the guide on this project.There have been so many times when I have wondered how we were going to get something done- and some how someone would be moved at just the right time to help us. That is not an accident!

I am so grateful- grateful for a huge God who does incredible things in mysterious ways. Grateful for the group of committed people who encouraged the plan and commited to getting TASC open. And grateful for the people who have helped teenagers (who they may never meet) feel loved and supported.

I am looking forward to what the next six years might bring for TASC and confident that God will see to it that it gets done according to His purpose.

Big thanks for all our TASC supporters

~ dawn