I had the priviledge this June to spend some time with my friend Melody, her husband Jeremy and their 14mo. old son Caleb. For six days I stayed with them in their 3 bed room trailer in Ensenada where they currently live serving as missionaries. What I had realized once again is the fact that God is working all the time even through the summer!
Going on this trip I looked at it as a ministry to my friends with one goal in mind based off of 1 Thessalonians 2. My goal was to make my visit not a burden but a blessing to the family. There was always some way for me to serve (for example: cleaning dishes, playing/reading to Caleb, sweeping the patio, etc...). Even the most obvious of ways to serve as a guest would be to keep one's own things tidy especially if you are sleeping in any kind of communal space. On Wednesday Melody and I went to Lomasbonitas to cut hair from 12pm-4pm at a church that does a feeding program for the kids and moms of that particular neighborhood. Lomasbonitas meaning "beautiful hills" is a poor community where most have made their own housing from scraps of metal and wood and whatever else is around. However, through three main organizations-including the one my friend works for, they build houses in replace of their "homemade" houses. By 4pm Melody and I were ready to take a rest after estimating cutting roughly 20 kids.
The time spent with Melody, Jeremy and Caleb was so exciting to meet the locals, the interns, and the staff who lives to provide for the material needs and the need for Jesus of all of the locals everyday. And what a sweet surprise Melody and I experienced as we stopped off on the side of the road where a man sold both copper and metal pots all ranging in size. As Melody spoke with the man he said that he too was a Christian who gave his life to God. His request was that Melody and I would continue to pray for his daughter and son-in-law who were not saved to pray for their salvation. How blessed and encouraged we were to have met another Chrisitian! The man said basically that mi casa es su casa-meaning that the minsitry to help the Mexican culture know the Lord made him want to serve us in return the next time we met with better prices on his handiwork. The kindness and hospitality was humbling seeing how the Lord takes care of my friends in His own way.
"May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for eachother and for everyone else..."
1 Thessalonians 4: 12
Going on this trip I looked at it as a ministry to my friends with one goal in mind based off of 1 Thessalonians 2. My goal was to make my visit not a burden but a blessing to the family. There was always some way for me to serve (for example: cleaning dishes, playing/reading to Caleb, sweeping the patio, etc...). Even the most obvious of ways to serve as a guest would be to keep one's own things tidy especially if you are sleeping in any kind of communal space. On Wednesday Melody and I went to Lomasbonitas to cut hair from 12pm-4pm at a church that does a feeding program for the kids and moms of that particular neighborhood. Lomasbonitas meaning "beautiful hills" is a poor community where most have made their own housing from scraps of metal and wood and whatever else is around. However, through three main organizations-including the one my friend works for, they build houses in replace of their "homemade" houses. By 4pm Melody and I were ready to take a rest after estimating cutting roughly 20 kids.
The time spent with Melody, Jeremy and Caleb was so exciting to meet the locals, the interns, and the staff who lives to provide for the material needs and the need for Jesus of all of the locals everyday. And what a sweet surprise Melody and I experienced as we stopped off on the side of the road where a man sold both copper and metal pots all ranging in size. As Melody spoke with the man he said that he too was a Christian who gave his life to God. His request was that Melody and I would continue to pray for his daughter and son-in-law who were not saved to pray for their salvation. How blessed and encouraged we were to have met another Chrisitian! The man said basically that mi casa es su casa-meaning that the minsitry to help the Mexican culture know the Lord made him want to serve us in return the next time we met with better prices on his handiwork. The kindness and hospitality was humbling seeing how the Lord takes care of my friends in His own way.
"May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for eachother and for everyone else..."
1 Thessalonians 4: 12
