Change is on the Way

Ok, so this week has been filled with meetings! Meetings. Meetings. Meetings. I am not a huge fan of meetings, to say the least, but it is safe to say that sometimes, these meetings are a necessary evil. These particular meetings have been exceptionally excting. You see, our church is getting ready to make some pretty cool and important changes to our weekend services.

See, we realize that God intends for us to not only be in relationship with Him, but in relationship with each other as well. And, to be honest, we just aren't providing that kind of opportunity at our church right now. But soon, we will! And that is very exciting!

I don't want to get into all of it right now, since we are busting out the good news this weekend during our services, but suffice it to say that it is going to be an amazing time for the people of New Hope to really connect with each other. I am very much looking forward to seeing how this will impact our church and the Kingdom of God! It's gonna be awesome! :)

Well, off I go to meeting number 3 of 4 for the week. Wish me luck! :D

Como Esta!

Well, we're back. And what a great journey it was. I wrote before we left about hoping and praying that we would be able to show the people at the Casa what it truly means to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God, and in my humble opinion our kids (and amazing sponsors) did God proud.

From the moment we stepped on the bus at New Hope on August 25, our students proved over and over again that they are willing to get their hands dirty for Jesus. Whether it was sitting in the parkinglot at Maid Rite for 2 hours waiting for a new bus because ours broke down, or holding a child who had recently peed his pants; whether it was painting the same stinking flours for the fourth time just to make sure, or filling holes til the ground was once again level; whether they were walking around with their buddies in the middle of Mexico, or holding a child who was on the verge of falling asleep, our students proved that they are willing to love with the love of the Lord. I enjoyed watching them worship Jesus through song, of course, but even better than this was watching them worship Jesus by tying a child's shoe, swinging them around for the 100th time or just holding them when they skinned their knee.

As we were saying our goodbyes to the kids at the Casa, I was moved to see God at work in the lives of our students. It never ceases to amaze me when God works His way into a semi-hardened heart and helps them see that with His help and love, they can do anything he asks of them. The tears rolling down the faces of our students (both guys and girls!) was a friendly reminder that God uses small children to break our hearts for what breaks His. I am reminded of a song by Brooke Fraser called Hosanna. The lyrics to the bridge go like this:

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me
Break my heart for what is yours
Everything I am for your kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity

I feel like our kids really lived out the words of this song as we moved through this week together. Their hearts were broken; their eyes were opened; they learned what it means to love like Jesus; all of this for the Kingdom of God.

Thank you, Jesus for teaching our kids what it means to love and be loved. Thank you for showing them that they can do ministry for you. I pray that these students would not soon forget the things that they saw, heard and experienced at the Casa. I pray that the faces of the Casa kids would filter through their minds and their hearts and be imprinted there forever. Break their hearts for what breaks Yours, Father, and all for Your Kingdom's cause.

Thank you to the sponsors who took a week out of their very busy lives to not only love on the kids at the Casa but the kids from New Hope. Your examples and leadership will not soon be forgotten and your time spent with the Casa kids will forever be something etched into my memory. You are an example not only to the Casa kids and the kids from New Hope, but to me, as well. Thank you for allowing me to look into your lives as you interact with your own children and those that God placed in front of you to love.

I love you all! :)