January 29, 2006

I awoke on Sunday morning in Tzaljala to a bright and sunny, but chilly day. I was glad I packed my sweatshirt. The night before I had worked on a sermon to deliver at the morning service. I used the scripture that my friend and mentor in missions sent me before I left Winston. Brad Spencer and his wife Tammy were the leaders of my first mission trip. We went to Villahermosa to work on the Presbyterian seminary there. We had a spectacular experience that week and I have never been the same since.

I was really impressed with Brad and Tammy’s leadership style, and being a firm believer in the CASE method…Copy And Steal Everything, I modeled my group leading style on theirs. They became great friends and I love traveling with them on mission trips.

The scripture that Brad sent me is his favorite “mission” scripture.
It is Ephesians 2:8-10
NIV 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.


This scripture really resonated with me when I read it because I really do feel like God has prepared me for this project and my role here is to actualize what He has already planned.

I used this scripture to build my sermon and I repeated the challenge from JK Yohannon to the much larger group of members attending the Sunday morning service. I asked them to search their hearts and to pray to discern God’s calling for their life, because it is already prepared for them if they will only open themselves up to receiving their instructions.

The Mariachi band played several songs during the service, which was a new experience for me. After worship we were served another great meal, then packed up and headed back to Ocosingo. The drive home was not as difficult because we took a different route that was less muddy, but did not offer the great views we saw on the trip up the mountain.

The people of Tzaljala welcomed, provided for me and offered prayers for my family and work here. They voted to accept another group from the US and offered to send their church members to nearby churches to help if a work group was coming there. Once again I have been blessed and cared for by the people of Chiapas.