A Trip in Missions, Pt. 5

Welcome to my first post from Mexico!!!  I have Internet!  I’ve been in Mexico for 5 days now and it’s been WORK!  Lol!  I haven’t done much architecture for the building, but I have the plans.  I’ve also been working with the children and teaching them English on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  The main thing that I’ve been doing is uploading videos onto sites like youtube and vimeo for Vida Internacional.  The videos are for the free Bible Institute that is offered for Spanish-speaking people.  There are a LOT of videos and they have to be edited before I can put them online.

For those who know me, I am, by no stretch of the imagination, a tech wiz!  Still, my limited knowledge has been more than enough for the work (only by God’s grace).  That’s true, both in the work and in the opposition…

I told you before about the opposition rising up in Mezcales (where I am).  It turns out that it is a lot worse than I first thought.  The missionary, Lee, befriended this guy who was helping him to perfect his knowledge of Spanish.  The guy, as Lee puts it, is a genius with words!  Not only that, but he has a lot of Bible knowledge—able to quote full chapters of Scripture.  The sad thing is that he is exactly what Jesus spoke of in Matthew 7:15-16—a wolf masquerading as a sheep.

He’s the one that was tapping Lee’s phones.  Not only that, but his daughters work for Telmex—the equivalent of Comcast or Verizon in Mexico, offering both phone and Internet services.  They investigate the customers of Telmex for security purposes, and they are on board with what their father is doing.  Technology is crazy these days...to be able to hack someone's webcam so that you can see into their room is something that I wouldn't even think to do!

So, back to my limited tech knowledge, God has been totally empowering me to do online battle against all types of spyware, trojans, and other malware!  It’s only through Him that I could summon the knowledge I’ve used, which was previously unknown to, or forgotten by, me!

Still, the work has been stressful, and the threats have been forcing anxiety on both Lee and I.  He and I sat a minute ago after today’s English lesson ended and we talked about the dangers in Mexico.  He asked if I’d heard about any of those dangers, to which I replied that I only knew what my mom kept reminding me about.  Lol!  He was super surprised:  “You don’t watch the news?!”  Haha!  The truth is that I don’t.  I’ve found that watching the news only succeeds in spreading fear and worry.  Learning about drug cartel murders would only help me to stay away from Mexico—the very place that God has called me to!  

Anyway, I’m resolved to stay and work hard!  :-)  After all, as Max Lucado, referencing Matthew 8:23-27, puts it, “It’s not the absence of storms that sets us apart.  It’s whom we discover in the storm:  an unstirred Christ” (Fearless, pg. 8).  I’ve taken comfort in the song below over the past day and a half…especially the last part:  “You make all things work together for my good.”  A wonderful reminder, indeed.

Shoveling Snow and the Basics of Colossians 3:23-24

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

- Colossians 3:23-24

Not much tops the feeling of a job well done!  It's too bad that I was deprived of that feeling this past weekend...  My mom wouldn't let me go outside to shovel snow with my dad and older brother because I was still recovering from having my wisdom teeth removed (darn...I love snow!).  In any case, they cleared the driveway yesterday.  BUT!!!!  After my follow-up dentist appointment today, my dad went back outside to clear some of the ice that had accumulated; so, of course, I went to help him (joy!).

As you can tell by the language I've used so far, I kinda like physical labor; I find it enjoyable and fulfilling.  I like it even more when there is help around (more fellowship to pass the time and/or shared work).  So you can imagine my happiness when I saw the plow truck coming down the street!  Check out the before and after shots of the street!!!

Before                                                                    After

Can you see the difference?  Lol!  This could be turned into one of those picture search games where you look for 7 differences between 2 pictures!  That same truck came down our street 3 times, and the roads didn't change.  The ice wasn't THAT tough.  On the 3rd time through, I noticed that the plow wasn't even down and that the salt machine wasn't even on!  My dad made a comment about how they're just driving around so they can say they did work and get their paychecks.  Wow....

It's little things like this that help me to understand why God gave us the instructions in Colossians 3:23-24.  I mean, who actually wants to pay for half-hearted workmanship?  I know I don't!  ...sadly my tax dollars were already at "work" in this case...

But what's interesting to me is that the noted Scripture says that we are to work hard in WHATEVER we do.  That means it can be a paid job, a kind act, a personal hobby, or anything else we choose to put our hands to.  "WHATEVER" we do, we must put our all into it; working to the Lord's satisfaction.  Let's be good servants!
For those on the East Coast:  ENJOY THE SNOW!!!!!


{sigh} I want to have a snowball fight now...it'd be great to work at that with all my heart!  :-)