Can you do me a favor? It's easy. Can you drive a Toyota Sienna, head down to Mexico, sleep in the dirt, and minister to kids for a week? There's a catch: you'll be sleeping next to roosters that don't understand when to crow, in a cow field, it will be super windy so likely you won't sleep much, you can't shower, and I'll be messing with your team before you go? Oh, and the lesson of "Duck and Cover" might come in handy. Sound good? Thanks! I'll meet you there.
Love,
God.
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I know I've slacked a bit on the blogging front. I've had a lot going on in my life the past few months, and most of that has taken a lot of processing internally; not quite blogging material. But today, I return and what's on my mind is Santo Niño, Cuernavaca, and the Mexicali Valley. Some of you may know that I went with my church to Mexico over Spring break. We took about 70 high school students, and 30 adults and translators. We split into 6 teams of 15 or so, and had a drama team. Each team went to their own church to partner and do ministry. It was awesome. And now that I'm back, it has taken almost three weeks to work through in my head how I've grown, and where God revealed himself to us throughout the week.
Often we are jaded by the unrealistic stories in the Bible. I mean, really? Sitting in the belly of a fish for 3 days... people scattered throughout the Earth and languages changed... a flood covering the Earth and drowning everybody... people dropping dead because they lied about how much they tithe... spit in the dirt to heal blindness... the stories go on, and on, and on...
But I can honestly say that scriptures are alive, dynamic, and relevant today. The healing in the Bible happens today, the phenomena in the Bible also happen today, the revelations of God still happen today! Mexicali this year was a revelation of how real and incredible scripture is for us.
We went down to Mexico with the idea of, "We're going to do ministry WITH the churches of Mexicali, not FOR the churches. We're going where God already is." So we searched for God in what we did, people we met, and experiences we had.
The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind.
And there was wind! The squished tent is mine. All day, all night, for a few days non-stop. It was brutal. Tents were ripping, poles were snapping, chairs were flying across the camp, it was difficult to drive, play soccer, and really just be anywhere in the wind. Oleg actually got trapped in his tent for a bit because the wind was holding the door of his tent shut.
After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
And the ground shook! We happened to be in Wal-Mart during the quake. 7.2 centered just outside of Mexicali. I can honestly say that it was terrifying. We knew God's protection was over us. Without a dought he brought us all through that. But protection and presence passing by are two different things. And we still searched for God.
"After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper."
Se llama Daniel. (His name is Daniel) Those on my team might say that "gentle" wouldn't necessarily encompass who Daniel is. I would object. Yes, he played a bit rough, wrestling was one of his most favorite past times, but he was such a wonderful kid to just sit and have a conversation with. He was one of the sweetest boys at our village. And on Wednesday, after the winds, after the earthquake, and after the fires from the earthquakes were extinguished, we felt God's presence.
When I say feel, I mean like dripping off our fingertips, air almost too heavy to breath, the only reaction was to succumb to the tears welling up in our eyes. God was there. There was so much love that He moved 8 kids to accept the death of the Son as a sacrifice for their sins and desire to follow him for the rest of their life. And Daniel prayed with passion and conviction that he was sinful and Jesus was the only answer.
We searched for God's presence all week. Please don't read this as, "God didn't show up til Wednesday." That's definitely not what I mean. God was there. God protected our team of 100 people during a 7.2 earthquake and hundreds of aftershocks, God delivered us from the winds and allowed ministry to still happen, God broke down the barriers of insecurity and shame to bring together an incredible team that was able to be open and real with each other.
But God's presence, for me, was evident on Wednesday. And now it's almost three weeks later, I still haven't been able to shake that feeling and image form my mind, and the truth of scriptures is brought to my attention.
How incredible is that the stories and scriptures about Elijah still hold truth and power today?
I love experiences like this where the scriptures come alive. I love when God's love and desire becomes so real that the only response is the fall on my knees in awe and joy. I love when I find myself so deep in the reality of God's mercy and plan for humanity, that there is no distinction between my tears of joy and the waters of grace in which I wade.
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Dear God,
Thank you!Love,
Brian
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