Trip Update 4
Sorry for the long break! We were in the middle of our Worship Conference ‘Glorify’. Back to the updates...
Thursday began pretty similar, but one of the pastors addressed the conference regarding dancing before the Lord and how we need to base our opinions off of what Scripture has to say about this. And then he danced. It was hilarious! It kinda reminded me of C.J.'s plate-spinning demonstration or of Josh Harris' kick-boxing demo (remember that, Medana? ;o). Then one of the members of the church gave us all a gift to commemorate our time there. That was a huge sacrifice on his part!!
Afterwards, Pino spoke...and I actually understood most of it! :o) And it was amazing because it confirmed the word the Lord had given me that morning during my quiet time. I love when He does that!!! Following that, Todd read Sproul's "The Priest Who Wore Dirty Clothes" in Spanish and had everyone sit around him on the floor. It was amazing!!!! Again, I understood most of what was read, which was such a blessing! The Spirit of God began to move during this story that was written for children (Sproul's ministry had Miguel's wife translate the story and may be publishing it soon!). As tears filled my eyes, I watched as men moved from sitting to kneeling with their faces on the ground. Most everyone was crying, some weeping, as the Gospel was told through this story. Todd did a wonderful job in telling it and his passion for the Gospel was clear as well. Needless to say, it was hard to move on to lunch after that!
That afternoon, we rested and FINALLY got to serve the people dinner!! They had been serving us and having us eat first. So we were able to convince them it would be our privilege to serve THEM on our last night with them. I love being able to do that! Thanks, Al! :o)
That night, Todd encouraged us to sit with someone we didn't know...with much fear I obeyed (no comments from the peanut gallery! ;o). I thought it might be a very silent interaction with the other person because of the language barrier - thank God for smiles! Ha! After sitting for a while in silence, I remembered the pictures I had brought along to show some of the people. I had pictures of some of the previous team members who couldn't make it, including baby Joey's picture. Taraleigh was pregnant in Cuba and the ladies especially enjoyed seeing him - almost two years later! Anyway, I pulled the pictures out and had a great conversation with them...in Spanish!!! Woohoo! :o) It turns out that Danny has stayed with this couple before. They were very precious and I'm so grateful for that interaction.
During worship, there was ministry time for the young married couples. It’s pretty amazing, because some of them have gotten married since I first met them four years ago! We also sang ‘Breathe On Us’ from Metro’s new Glorify CD. Among others, Abot and I played violin on this song which was so much fun! Unfortunately we didn’t get to play that night, but it was still cool to sing it in Spanish!!!!
Afterwards, Ton and Al called a meeting of our team up on ‘la placa’. We spent some time praying for what God had done, for the people and for what He would do in the days remaining there. Ton had worked it out so that we each had a card from someone back home! How cool was that? Thanks, mom! :o)
It was a great end to a great conference. For those of you who don’t know me very well, I like control. A lot. :o) Even more, I like knowing what’s happening and not being surprised by things. I like planning and seeing what was planned happen. Needless to say, being spontaneous and flexible is not one of my strong points. God was clearly working on that this trip (though events did not occur simply to make me flexible, I know :o). It was amazing to see the grace supplied by Him to be able to ‘go with the flow’ and not be stressed out. There were times that I didn’t do so well, but there were also other times where I knew that the Spirit was giving me the grace to respond correctly. I am so grateful for that! I am grateful to see Him at work and to know that He IS changing me. I just might start being more flexible…maybe. :o)
So, until tomorrow (hopefully!), enjoy these pics and the video…
Thursday began pretty similar, but one of the pastors addressed the conference regarding dancing before the Lord and how we need to base our opinions off of what Scripture has to say about this. And then he danced. It was hilarious! It kinda reminded me of C.J.'s plate-spinning demonstration or of Josh Harris' kick-boxing demo (remember that, Medana? ;o). Then one of the members of the church gave us all a gift to commemorate our time there. That was a huge sacrifice on his part!!
Afterwards, Pino spoke...and I actually understood most of it! :o) And it was amazing because it confirmed the word the Lord had given me that morning during my quiet time. I love when He does that!!! Following that, Todd read Sproul's "The Priest Who Wore Dirty Clothes" in Spanish and had everyone sit around him on the floor. It was amazing!!!! Again, I understood most of what was read, which was such a blessing! The Spirit of God began to move during this story that was written for children (Sproul's ministry had Miguel's wife translate the story and may be publishing it soon!). As tears filled my eyes, I watched as men moved from sitting to kneeling with their faces on the ground. Most everyone was crying, some weeping, as the Gospel was told through this story. Todd did a wonderful job in telling it and his passion for the Gospel was clear as well. Needless to say, it was hard to move on to lunch after that!
That afternoon, we rested and FINALLY got to serve the people dinner!! They had been serving us and having us eat first. So we were able to convince them it would be our privilege to serve THEM on our last night with them. I love being able to do that! Thanks, Al! :o)
That night, Todd encouraged us to sit with someone we didn't know...with much fear I obeyed (no comments from the peanut gallery! ;o). I thought it might be a very silent interaction with the other person because of the language barrier - thank God for smiles! Ha! After sitting for a while in silence, I remembered the pictures I had brought along to show some of the people. I had pictures of some of the previous team members who couldn't make it, including baby Joey's picture. Taraleigh was pregnant in Cuba and the ladies especially enjoyed seeing him - almost two years later! Anyway, I pulled the pictures out and had a great conversation with them...in Spanish!!! Woohoo! :o) It turns out that Danny has stayed with this couple before. They were very precious and I'm so grateful for that interaction.
During worship, there was ministry time for the young married couples. It’s pretty amazing, because some of them have gotten married since I first met them four years ago! We also sang ‘Breathe On Us’ from Metro’s new Glorify CD. Among others, Abot and I played violin on this song which was so much fun! Unfortunately we didn’t get to play that night, but it was still cool to sing it in Spanish!!!!
Afterwards, Ton and Al called a meeting of our team up on ‘la placa’. We spent some time praying for what God had done, for the people and for what He would do in the days remaining there. Ton had worked it out so that we each had a card from someone back home! How cool was that? Thanks, mom! :o)
It was a great end to a great conference. For those of you who don’t know me very well, I like control. A lot. :o) Even more, I like knowing what’s happening and not being surprised by things. I like planning and seeing what was planned happen. Needless to say, being spontaneous and flexible is not one of my strong points. God was clearly working on that this trip (though events did not occur simply to make me flexible, I know :o). It was amazing to see the grace supplied by Him to be able to ‘go with the flow’ and not be stressed out. There were times that I didn’t do so well, but there were also other times where I knew that the Spirit was giving me the grace to respond correctly. I am so grateful for that! I am grateful to see Him at work and to know that He IS changing me. I just might start being more flexible…maybe. :o)
So, until tomorrow (hopefully!), enjoy these pics and the video…
5 comments:
Oh my! How could such a funny video make me cry?? Precious! I have loved hearing about your trip and what the Lord did in the hearts of the people there, but what I am most excited about is the Lord's work in your life Jennifer! I look forward to helping you "go with the flow" I love you!!!
From Tammy:
Yeah, thanks for updating. I'm very encouraged as I read what God is doing there. I will continue to pray for the people there.
I love you, too, Tara! ;o) I missed you soooooo much on that trip.
Aww he's so cute! I love when he does the "digging" move. :)
Jenn,
This video is priceless! And I love hearing how God is working on your heart as you're serving Him in a country such as this! This was a trip you'll always remember - thanks for the blog posts to make it a memory for us as well!
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