Ok... It's been three weeks since we returned from
Puerto Rico so I'll a little delayed on getting out information about the summer, but let me update you on the basics of the summer, the work our teams did, and what the Lord taught me. Here we go:
I. Basics
We (Gage, Kelly, and myself) spent 5 1/2 weeks in Arecibo, PR handling our four mission teams that came to serve alongside Primera Iglesia Bautista de Arecibo (1st Baptist Arecibo). We worked under the leadership of Pastor Jorge Alvarez, and alongside many brothers and sisters of the church. Our role was to staff/lead the teams so that they were set up to serve without hindrance, but also to be sensitive to where the Lord was leading us to work. We also were to pour into the teams and pray for the Lord to open their eyes to a larger view of Him and His glory, but basically, we were to lead the teams in logistics, safety, and spiritual matters. That played its way out differently for each team, but in a nutshell, that was our assignment. We had four teams come down for one-week trips. Each group was different and unique, but each did have one thing in common. They all wanted us to tell them that they were the best, so we did. Just kidding. We didn't, but it never failed that we would indeed be asked that in some form or fashion multiple times in a week. Anyway, moving on to the work....
II. The Work (by group so if you're only interested in one of them, then skip to it.. haha)
A. Crosspoint Baptist Church (Starkville, MS) - Crosspoint was a group of ten that came down and worked in the local elementary school. Since it was summer time, the kids were out of school, but we continued serving so the door would remain open for the church and future teams. Nevertheless, the team was given the assignment to paint the school, but we never want the groups to JUST do service projects. We always want to give them the opportunity to be around the locals and practice sharing their faith. In Crosspoint's case, we were able to work beside 20 high scool/college students that the city paid to work at the school. We found out that 4 or 5 of the 20 were believers so we were excited to be able to work alongside of the lost. Each day we painted together (or painted while they watched us), and we had a break time and enjoyed a Puerto Rico treat called a "limber" (kind of like a popsicle). During the break, adults and students would share their testimonies, then the group was walked through the gospel later in the week in the group setting. No one came to Christ this week out of the students we were serving, but one girl (Courtney) from the team did. It was amazing to see as Matt (their leader) and I had previously talked about her not being a follower of Christ (yet) earlier in the week. We were hoping to see the Lord do a work in her, and sure enough, HE did. They also were able to pray, evangelize, and throw a block party in another community in Arecibo. It really turned out to be a great week, and I'm actually planning on making a trip this fall to Starkville, MS so we may see each other soon.
B. First Baptist Church (Sarasota, FL) - This was our largest group of the summer (33 total), and probably the most interesting one. The week started 40 minutes after we dropped the Crosspoint group off at the airport, so... Relying on solely the Lord's strength was key. Since this group was larger, we did multiple projects, but the continued theme of this week was that our God is sovereign and He has the plans, even though we didn't know them at many times. The group arrived Saturday, and our projects would begin Monday. Well, we received a call Saturday night that let us know that we would not be able to be working in the community where we had planned to have a VBS. Then Sunday is here, and we don't know where half our team is going to be. This definitely looks like a problem since out of the 33 people, we had project sites for about 8-9 who were doing a concrete playground. As the story goes, we get in contact with a government community center in the worst part of Arecibo (to my knowledge). It's actually a place where heroin and prostitution are very prevalent, and we are given the opportunity to run a VBS for the kids of this community. What a blessing. Really, the church we work with has not been able to work in this community the past year because the drug lord position had changed hands, and it was no longer safe for the teams. Not only did God open the door for this VBS, but He also gave us the opportunity (myself included) to go over a wall into a homeless/drug community where we were able to serve and pray for the people who were there. None of that would've happened if God had not shut the door to the VBS in the other community first, allowed us to trust Him, and follow His lead to this housing project community. This team also helped prepare decorations (which wouldn't have been done w/o them) for the church's own VBS, did much more painting at the school (including personally painting two teachers' rooms), laid a concrete foundation for the kindergarten playground area, and many more projects around the church. It was definitely a special week as well, as we saw kids make decisions to place their faith in Christ for the first time in their life. Thanks again Mitch and everyone else who came from Sarasota.
C. Whitesburg Baptist Church (Huntsville, AL) - This group came for their 2nd year in a row to Puerto Rico, and one specialty about this week was that Gage and Kelly (our interns) actually serve and are members at Whitesburg. They just took 6 weeks off to serve in Puerto Rico this summer. Anyway, this was a group of 24 who began a new VBS in another area of the projects and started a whole new construction site away from the school. The VBS went really well as the group did a great job explaining their Bible stories through various skits and activities. We saw the Lord work in the hearts of a few young ladies for the first time this week as well. It was amazing to see the opposition we faced whenever we would try to pray with these girls. The chaotic level went from about 6 to a 10 instantly as we saw our enemy rise up. It was almost as if every other kid in the building would be under Satan's control. The spiritual battle for the souls of these children was evident. As long as we were eating donuts, coloring, and playing games, we really faced no opposition, but as soon as serious talks or prayer time with some child would start, the opposition would as well. It really is good to know that Satan is no challenge for the Lord, and that all opposition Satan causes doesn't happen unless the Lord allows it. His sovereignty is true. It really is, and we ended up seeing those girls come to Christ, which was definitely one of the highlights that week. The other half of the group began preparing and building a room for the family of a dad and his four kids. The mother died two years earlier so these children are being raised without their mom. The kids actually got to attend the VBS going on in the projects. There's a picture of them in the post before this one. This group was a blessing as they loved to pray. It was great to go to the Lord together in so many occasions. Also, special thanks goes out to Mrs. Debbie and Amanda (& others) for your help. You definitely served us. Lastly, always remember not to mess with the water in Puerto Rico. It's a serious deal as we witnessed a swat team come in to help the electric/water company get the water turned off in a safe manner. Ha.
D. First Baptist Church (Texarkana, AR/TX) - Most of this team was from Texas, but I put the AR state abbreviation just in case. This team included 25 individuals who had a similar week of work projects as the Alabama group. They put on a VBS, and they continued the work at the house the previous group had left behind. Their VBS though was the place that the Florida group was initially intended to be. The community is named Barrio Brera (my apologies on spelling), and it's a place that the Lord has put on Pastor Jorge's heart. The church did not go looking for ministry opportunities in the case of Barrio Brera. This community came asking for help, and we believe the Lord has indeed opened this door for a reason so the Pastor and church have decided to walk through it. This is the same place the Mississippi group prayed over as well, and overall, the week at VBS went well. This group switched out construction and vbs teams (for the most part) halfway through the week. Each student who wanted to do each site got their opportunity, and I think it worked out well. The construction team did basically finish the project, which is always nice to see. We were also able to pray with/for this family before we left. Please pray for the family. The family is Catholic, but the kids say that they want to start going to FBC Arecibo. Also, as far as we understand, the father is lost. It was such a blessing to be around them most of the week since the kids also didn't go to VBS due to it being a further distance away. The VBS crew also got to prayer walk/evangelize the area of the construction site. This is also supposedly a rougher area of town so it was good to get out, meet people, share, and pray for the Lord to make His glory known in this community among these people. We were blessed to have five groups go out to do this, and although our group only had a few stops where we were able to engage with people, I believe this might have been the best time of prayer walk/evangelism I experienced the whole summer. It simply was great. The group actually was able to do this on three different occasions this week, but during one of them, I was helping at the construction site. To the Texas group, I do say thanks. It was a joy to have a group of 25 come with only 3 of you having international missions experience. I pray that the Lord will continue/start to give you a passion in your heart for the nations and for His glory to be spread throughout them.
III. What the Lord Taught Me
I understand that this blog is getting long, but I said you could skip any part if you wanted to so hopefully you're still up for reading. I will try to be shorter though. Ha. The Lord taught me a bunch of things this summer, and just reminded me of many previous things that He's taught already. I'm not going to share them all, and I probably cannot remember them all, but here is a couple that have stuck out and will be used wherever the Lord leads me.
A. My words are no good. Really, apart from the Holy Spirit speaking/teaching through me, my words in and of themselves are not good. They may sound good, and they may make someone feel better temporarily, but as for eternal purposes and eternal effect, my words are just that.. my words. No matter how persuasive, cunning, or crafty I think I am (which reminds me, please pray for the Lord to continually humble my heart. I need humility my friends.), I have come to the conclusion that my words apart from the Holy Spirit have no long-term effect for the good. They may and probably have been used for the bad, but everything and anything good comes by God and through God. Now... Do I believe this enough to practice it daily? I wish I did. I still think sometimes that if I explain myself just right, then this person can get it, but the truth is that unless the Holy Spirit opens a person's eyes, they will forever be blinded to the Truth and any other eternal treasures. Really, please pray that my reliance will continue to shift from me to Jesus Christ. I understand this is sanctification, and it will continue until I die or the Lord returns, but still... I covet and want your prayers. Thanks. Also, here's some good words for sure. Take time to read a couple of these passages (if not all of them). I assure you that they are way better than anything else written in this blog. (1 Cor. 1:17- 1 Cor. 2:16; 2 Cor. 4:1-7; Romans 3:10-20; & John 3:27-36)
B. My standard/comparison must be Christ. This is a broad statement, but basically, the Lord reminded me in all that I do, the standard that is already set is Christ. There's no room for comparing to others and trying to decide what's fair. Don't get me wrong; I do believe it's good and right to be just in all things, but that may not always look fair. The main situation used by the Lord to show me this is the position I held this summer in Puerto Rico. I was our site director, and in previous years, the site director would get $500 a week to do what I did this summer. Well, with the emergence of Trek-X, now our site director gets to pay monthly tuition for the program while serving the summer in our respected countries. Basically, in focusing on the situation, instead of being paid $2,000 for 4 groups of teams this summer, I paid $2,000 to have the same role. It was definitely a struggle as good trip reviews from youth ministers were pouring in not to think I deserved a little more than a thank you. For a guy that struggles with thinking more highly of himself than he should, one can easily see that it would be a temptation to take on a wrong mindset. Many days I did have that wrong mindset, and the ONLY thing that can fix a prideful heart like that is to focus on the cross of Christ Jesus. All things are put into perspective when Christ is the standard. No longer does self-pity linger, but instead, thankfulness abounds. My eyes would be open to the fact that it's pure blessing that I even have the opportunity to do what I'm doing. The whole mindset and view changes when your comparison is no longer your surroundings, but instead your Savior. This was not anything new to me, but it was definitely a reminder that was needed daily (and sometimes multiple times a day). Also, out of this situation, I saw that really, if I got what I thought I wanted, I'd have more money, my name elevated, and a boastful heart. All things that not only do not line up with how the Word tells us to live, but also... at the end of the day, I want my heart to be set on the fact that no matter what happens, Christ is enough. If Jesus Christ is not enough, but I have to have something else to be satisfied, then I'm not at a good place at all. Ultimately, I'm glad the Lord didn't allow me to be paid with something that is temporary, but He gave me more of Himself through the process, and that is worth far more than anything money can buy. (Matt 6:19-24; Proverbs 16:16)
IV. Additional Stuff/Wrap-Up
I did not want to leave out what might have been the most enjoyable part of my summer in Puerto Rico. I was blessed to be able to walk through Ephesians with four young men this summer. We prayed, read, and memorized scripture together, and it was by far one of the most rewarding experiences of the summer. If you are not currently meeting together in a small group with other believers, then do so. It's biblical. Ask the Lord to provide the people, and follow where He leads in obedience. It'll be worth any effort put forth. Sam, Sayd, Hector, and Kenny, I thank you for the blessing that you were to my life.
Also, thanks to all the others from this summer, especially our interns, Gage and Kelly. Without you two, well... It just wouldn't have been the same, and it would have been so much more difficult. Nearly impossible. Thank you for your service.
So... I believe that wraps it up. Hope you enjoyed the update, and more importantly, the scripture included. Thank all of you who have prayed, are praying, and will continue to pray for Puerto Rico and/or Trek-X. Dios te Bendiga. God Bless You.
