Eternal Life

A lot has happened since I last posted! Here are some snap shots of what I have been up to lately.

Last Day of Training: QuitoQuest 2013

Going out to watch the Ecuador vs Argentina soccer game!

Going to Gualsaki over Block 1 for 3 days.

School Parade

1 John 5:13-14: "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.  This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us."

It is tough to fathom everything that has gone on this past week and a half because time just flew by.  3 others and I visited a school in the Quito area where we taught english.  The kids were so sweet and eager to learn. The teachers knew the kids from where they live, where they are academically, and how each child learns.  It was very encouraging to see their relationships with the kids. Then, the same group of us, plus 1 more packed our backpacks and sleeping bags and headed 3 hours north to a small community called Gualsaki for 3 days.  We had no ministry plans, but that did not stop God in using us there. We ate a lot of food, picked up trash for 3 hours, scrubbed the church floor, went to a huge school parade, played volleyball, picked corn, made pancakes for the family, taught them how to make pancakes, and most importantly created a deep relationship with the pastor and his family.

What struck me the most was seeing how humble and loving the pastor was.  The place where we stayed was shocking to me.  We slept on a concrete floor, with no secure doors and barely a roof and running water.  However, despite where they lived, their trust was reliant on the Lord.  Our first meal together, the pastor opened up and explained his thankfulness to the Lord in every experience of life.  He claimed that the family doesn't look to buy clothes, the Lord just provides. The first night of debrief, I begged the question of how can we live a life so radical where we are forced to be completely reliant on Him?

It challenged me the rest of time I was there. The 3 short days I spent in Gualsaki were very powerful in visually seeing how God has blessed this family every single day by relying on faith and the unity they had together.   

Faith, Unity and Storm were 3 words that sums up this week for me.  Let me elaborate.

Acts 27 was a vivid description of Paul's journey as a prisoner sailing across the Adriatic Sea.  The crew went through a tremendous storm.  Paul was angry in that everyone was in chaos.  In the height of the storm, he brought everyone together to eat and give thanks.  After, the crew debated on leaving the prisoners to die in efforts to save themselves.  However, one of the men said that Paul had to stay alive.  God had Paul in his hands the entire time.  Everyone made it safely to shore by coming together and having faith.  

So, Even when you're in the middle of a storm, and you can't see the shore; let your faith come from the Lord because you are in God's hands.  Build each other in unity; like it says, 2 heads are better than 1, and 3 heads are better than 2. My experience in Gualsaki has challenged me to continue in unity and have faith even in the midst of the storm.  The experience has challenged me to live radically in every aspect of my life.  God didn't say to follow me in a lukewarm manner, or it's okay to be choosy.  He said in Matt. 6:24, "Take up your cross and follow Me."  Being comfortable in the world can be so easy for North Americans, but being radical for the Lord is so much more rewarding in an eternal way.  

Finally, tomorrow I will be leading my first team.  We will be working in an Episcopal Church for several days, and going to Rio Bamba.