Light the Darkness

Revealing

Cally Parkinson and Greg Hawkins, the Executive Pastor at Willow Creek, authored the book, Reveal.  It came out a year ago and introduced great insight into the church life in America.  A lot of controversy kicked up because the findings portrayed the American church as very consumer oriented so the finger pointing began.  What really matters is that we agree that we need to improve our ability to develop disciples that live out the love of Jesus. 

Rather than recap the most recent findings that are coming out in a sequel, Follow Me, I want to point you to the site where the learnings are unpacked.  If you want to learn more go to http://www.revealnow.com/.   I especially encourage you to listen to the interview with Bill Hybels.  Indian Creek was one of the churches surveyed.  I'm excited to learn from the others.  I'll write more about this later but I'm also thrilled to learn that the basic building blocks of the spiritual life are prayer and Bible study.  No one can do that for you but when you do it--you meet with God!  What could be better than that?  Okay, I said I wouldn't do all the digging for you so check out the website and tell me what you glean.

Back

We had a 5 am wakeup call to leave Monterrey.  After a drive across town in the dark we turned in our car and made it to the airport by 6:30 right on time.  We flew to Houston and had a layover then we flew back home to KC.  It is good to be home!  Now I can be a nurse to Belinda and catch up on the work I missed.  I had very limited access to email but as I read through them today I am so pleased with the way Indian Creek is working, serving and ministering.  And of course a church is only as good as the people who make it up so that means you are the ones making it happen.  Thank you!  I couldn't head off to Mexico to perform a wedding for one of our members if there wasn't such a solid base.  You are a joy to serve.

The night before we left we took some pictures at Chipinque.  We have many good memories there of times with our students.  It was also the place where Kristen and Jessica got lost while hiking down the mountain.  We split our group up that day so there were only two adult sponsors.  Mary Davey was with a young girl who was having a physical problem that later required us to take her to the hospital.  I couldn't go up the mountain to look for Kristen because I had to stay with the rest of the group.  It was getting dark at the time so I had to make a choice, stay with the kids and help the majority.  Or go after two, one of which was my daughter.  It reminded me of what God did in giving up His own son to save us (only on a MUCH smaller scale).  God provided when a Mexican couple on a hike ran across the two young teens (at that time) and as God would have it, they spoke English and were able to guide them out just as it got dark.  Praise God!

Driving up there last night reminded me of God's faithfulness.  What a mighty God we serve!  

The Camp at El Burro

Today we visited a church located in the little town of El Burro. Pastor Juan Miguel pastors a congregation that is hosting a church from outside Austin, TX. They are providing a sports camp and doing a building project. We took the opportunity to scout out future possibilities. We also checked out the camp where the workers stay and it turns out that it is one our youth stayed at about ten years ago. I recognized it when we drove in. They’ve improved it a lot. It brought back many good memories (and some not so good ones of nights where Montezuma got his revenge). We tried multiple times to coordinate meeting our students at the market and decided to just go anyway. Guess what! We ran right into them there. They are doing well and looking forward to leaving early tomorrow morning with bittersweet feelings. You would be so proud of them! I know I am. Today was Melody’s birthday. Unlike in the U.S. where the bride and groom take off from the wedding Melody and David stayed in Monterrey to celebrate her birthday with their families. It was a very sweet time, very relaxed and a lot of fun. We went up to Chipinke and saw the city from near the top of the Sierra Madre mountain range. It is a spectacular view. We said good bye to everyone tonight because we have to leave our hotel at 5 a.m. It has been a very special and unique experience to see how three different cultures interact. We have an amazing God and He loves diversity.

What a Wedding!

The wedding for Anna Melody Cepeda and David Anthony Macri was amazing!  It was the first cross cultural and bilingual wedding ever for me.  What an experience.  I only wish Belinda could have been here with me and I’m so sad she had to miss it.  (Belinda, I tried to call but the call would not go through).  The pictures and words will not do it justice but here goes. 

Melody and David wrote the ceremony.  They chose an outdoor setting in a beautiful courtyard called Los Nubes and the day was spectacular.  There was enough cloud cover to keep it from being steamy but not so much that it wasn’t sunny.  The wedding before their wedding chose not to take down all of their decorations until Monday so there were some extra special touches that were available for free on Sunday night.  It seemed to be a gift from God.  It was breezy and if you’ve been in

Mexico

in July you know that was welcome.  At times it got a little two windy and it blew some of the flower stands over and it made lighting candles nearly impossible but it didn’t seem to phase Melody (I told her it wasn’t the devil trying to disrupt but the presence of the Holy Spirit).  We laughed about it.

There were different add-ins to the typical American ceremony like the Father-in-Law handing coins to David and talking about the stewardship of money, the giving of a family Bible and a necklace that looked like lace that was called a yoke where they took on the yoke of God as His servants.  It was very touching.  At least until Enrique confused the “y” and the “j” in English and said “marriage is the joke of God.”  It made me smile J  About half the ceremony was in English and half was in Spanish.  So they handed out earpieces and had a translator.  People wore the earpieces during the ceremony and throughout the speaking part of the reception. 

I performed the ceremony even though I’m not licensed in

Mexico

so I’m not sure how that works but no one seemed concerned.  Melody has dual nationalities and David is Canadian from an Italian family living in

Ohio

.  Liz, the sister of Melody, sang in Italian. I guess they will figure out the legalities later. It was gloriously complicated.  It makes sense that they met on a plane.  The world is truly flat these days!

They had a great meal for about two hundred fifty guests outside under a canopy complete with  fireworks and a Mariachi band.  Wow!  My favorite part was when David and Melody danced Melody sang the words of the song to him as they danced and it was obvious how happy they are.  It actually brought tears to my eyes.  Love is a beautiful thing.  I’m glad that when God thought of life He thought of love.

Teamwork

When our youth came down to Mexico this week they picked up where Olathe Bible left off.  They put in the rafters and put on the roof of a house.  They also painted it.  Today our students put on the first coat of mud (cement).  It was hot!  As Andy Elliot put it, “It was raining sweat!”  There is no breeze once you are inside the house.  They worked hard.  Don’t let the size of the house fool you there is a lot to do.  I spent the afternoon with our students—what a privilege!

Several blocks away Megan Lathrop led an English as a Second Language class.  She went through a box of clothes and had the students (children and adults) tell the colors.  After they finished all the colors in the box they took turns standing and telling the colors they were wearing.  A few houses down Logan Lindahl led a small group of students in meeting the family that lived where they dug the trench.  Yesterday they dug a 50 foot trench so water could drain when it rains.  Today the family had questions about why the students would do what they did for them.  Jake from the Youthfront team, who lives there year around, went with them to translate.  Jake will be there to continue the next conversations that come up after our group leaves.  Conner Spriggs said it is the connection with the community that she likes best. 

They will take Sunday off to rest and go to church.  Then Sunday evening they will dedicate the house started by OBC and finished by Indian Creek.  Monday they will put on the second coat of mud and go to the market in the afternoon.  Monday night they say goodbye to the students in a special time of bonding.  Tuesday morning they pack up to drive nonstop for twenty plus hours. We have Melody’s wedding tomorrow so we will next intersect with our group at the market.  I’m so proud of our team but I’m even more thrilled with the teamwork within the body of Christ.  We will depend on the next team to paint.  That’s how it works when you play as a team!

Picture Imperfect

I’ve struggled with perfectionism as long as I can remember.  When I went through Breakthrough a point of emphasis was to let go of an unrealistic set of expectations for this very imperfect world in which we live.  Of course the hardest part of perfectionism to let go of is the fact that I’m not perfect.  Believe me; I have many people lined up to remind me of that!

Today I had breakfast with Enrique and Eleazar Cepeda.  Enrique has long been a mentor to me.  Eleazar is Enrique’s older brother.  He is a gifted evangelist and pastor.  I gleaned everything I could from the nearly three hour conversation.  It was a blessing.  I hung on every word! 

One thought that took a deep root in me was Eleazar’s revelation that God chose love over perfection.  God the Father is the only One who could claim perfection and He was surrounded by it in heaven.  Yet He chose love knowing that free will must be granted with love.  Still He chose love.  He created the angels and gave them free will.  The most beautiful one rebelled, led a rebellion against God and tries to this day to usurp God.  God conceived man and because of love gave man free will.  Adam and Eve chose their way over God’s way and led humanity into sin.  If God valued perfection over love He would have quit on His own creation.   But again He chose love.  He sent His only Son, Jesus.  The devil fought Him and mankind crucified Him.  God continued to love.

Have you ever thought how humiliating this whole scenario must be for the only Perfect One, the angels, mankind and even creation wrapped in imperfection all because of love?  Some would say love isn’t worth it, humiliation, rebellious creation, imperfection everywhere are laid at the feet of the Creator.  It looks weak to love.  Add to that the words of those who would blame the fault of creation’s failings at the feet of the Creator.  What kind of love is this that allows rejection in order to make room for free will and with it the only chance that true voluntary love might be born?  It is love of another kind! 

Today the depth and weight of God’s love sank in deep.  Not only did my love and appreciation for God grow but it also made me want to be more like God.  Even thought to do so means I need to value love over perfection.  When I choose to love I also choose to embrace my own imperfection and the imperfection of others and it is okay.  Love is the more excellent way.

The Walls are Up

At the work site in Croc the walls went up today.  In these pictures you will see what the little shanty houses look like before they are torn down.  You will also see a house OBC built last week and we finished this week.  Finally you will see the one our students are building presently.  The ones who weren't building the house were either working with the children in classes or were digging a trench to drain off the rain water.  There is a lot to do and our team is getting after it.  You would be proud of them.

I want to close with a flashback to 1988.  We were on our third trip to Monterrey.  One of our interpreters offered to let us swim at her pool.   The kids were doing well so I went out on a porch on the second floor.  From there I had a great view of the city.  While I was praying and looking over the city I felt like God told me that we had something significant and long lasting to do in Monterrey.  At the time it was a thought that was a bit hard to grasp but now, looking back over twenty years, I can definitely see the truth of that now that we have been coming to Monterrey for all these years.  God is faithful!

That encourages me when I think about the other things God has told us!

Monterrey Work Camp

Kristen and I made it to Monterrey today and after eating lunch headed out to meet our team at Croc.  We've been building houses there since 2002 as a church.  We connect with YouthFront which has ministries located on site in Croc sponsored by their Kansas City ministry.  In this time over 70 homes have been built by youth just like ours on a one week summer experience.  Today our youth were painting a home started by Olathe Bible last week.  They finished it and put the roof on.  At the same time another group was pouring a foundation for the next home.

Even more exciting than this is the fact that over the years the message is getting through.  Each church does ESL (English as Second Language) classes and a VBS.  Only now the locals are leading the VBS and our group is assisting.  After school programs are running throughout the school year led by those these youth teams have reached.  There are Bible studies that meet in the evening in Croc and one church has started and another one is close to launching.  Jonathan, a pesky 15 year old boy when Kristen was on summer staff here is now a leading member of the Staff as a 21 year old.  I love the long term effect of working in the same place over the years.

I led the first team to Monterrey in 1987.  For ten years I came every summer, sometimes twice.  When I transitioned out, the next year Jim Davey, who had been assisting, took right over.  When Jim moved to Anderson Ed Roche took up the challenge and when he moved into IT Ben Stears who grew up in this youth group started leading.  So we have 20 years of ministry in Monterrey and six years in Croc (just south of Monterrey). 

We came out for a wedding but tomorrow we are going to go connect with our youth again and keep building into the lives of these friends.

Handling Adversity

Belinda and I went for a jog/walk (one of us jogging one walking) on Tuesday night.  We were supposed to go to the Prayer Room for our time with God at 11 p.m. Things didn't work out the way we through.  Belinda stepped off the inside of the track and broke her ankle.  We spent the next 3 hours in the ER.  She came home with a lot of pain and a walking boot.  It also meant she will miss the trip to Mexico for Melody Cepeda's wedding.  Melody is like a daughter to us. 

I'm really proud of the way that she handled the adversity.  She was a trooper from start to finish.  She kept a God ward focus and fought through the disappointment in an admirable way.  I'm sure God was honored by her attitude and her words.  Wow!  That is hard when you are disappointed.  Please pray for her as Kristen and I go on to Mexico.  I know she will be supporting us in prayer.  Good job Belinda.  Your true colors were shining through.  Great witness for the One you serve.

Tears of Joy

Today I talked to a friend who just completed Breakthrough 2 on Sunday.  He told me about the powerful healing he found through the process.  If you want to know his story, write me and I will send your email to him and he can communicate with you.  I want him to tell his story and I want you to hear it.  It is still new and fresh but if he wants to write about it publicly I'll be glad to share that story in due time. 

Here is the part I feel free to share, Jesus is the Healer, the Redeemer, our Savior and He is ALIVE and at work today.  His fingerprints are all over this process.  I found myself weeping (snot was going everywhere because I didn't have a Kleenex handy) as I listened to the healing story unfold.  ONLY God can lead a healing that goes to the core and is so profound that my friend looks and feels like a new man.  Yes, it looks good on him!  I am so thankful and grateful we serve a LIVING God who gets involved in our lives in such a personal way.  All I could say when he prayed at the end of our meeting was, thank you God, thank you God, thank you God!

Honestly, one reason it touched me so deeply is because I can identify.  I've been through the process and I know that other than my choice to follow Christ, a sanctifying time in my life, and my decision to marry Belinda nothing else impacted me so significantly.  I think God would meet anyone in this process if they would be 100% committed to the process.  The last number I added up was over 200 from Indian Creek Community Church have been through BT.  If you want more information visit the Heart Connexion website.  In any case join me in thanking God and rejoicing with my brother (try crying too, it's a gift from God--and it will clean out your sinuses).  God is GOOD!