Mexico - Journal entry #2

10/6/08
Yesterday was an unusual Sunday for me. Instead of getting up early for church I got up early and prepared for the day. The group would not be leaving for church until about 12:15pm because service started at 1pm.
In the morning, I was able to write in my journal and have a good quiet time with the Lord (see previous blog). He spoke to my heart and that is what I desperately needed. I reread Jeremiah 29:11-14 and it ministered to my crying heart. I was in the community room doing my devotion sitting on the couch. Several people came by. I felt a little foolish because I had been crying but I should not have felt that way because it was only God speaking to me and I was listening.
After breakfast some of the women came together to prepare for the VBS. We sorted through beads and punched out foam stickers. The men were outside discussing the construction plans for the week. Lisa Mufford was thankful that we had taken the time to prepare in the morning.
Once we finished the VBS preparation we had a couple hours to relax. I started to read the book "Sunset" by Karen Kingsbury. It has been a story about God's faithfulness and redemption.
Around 12:15 everyone was seated in the vans and we headed to church. On the way to church we had to go through another military check point. It was a little nerve wrecking. Thankfully this time we did not have to pull over and get out of the van.
The trip to the church was interesting. There are junk yards just about every 100 feet. It makes one wonder where all the cars come from. At one point, we say several pigs waling along the road. Quite humorous if you ask me.
We arrived at the church around 1pm. We were instucted to give the response of "Amen" any time a church member spoke to us. The service started and there were a lot of praise & worship. It was nice because the words on the overhead were in both Spanish and English. The songs were all familiar to us, so it made worship more enjoyable. Whe the Pastor would speak, he did translate into English. It was a bit funny, because there were times when I didn't catch the fact that he was speaking in English.
During praise & worship a coupld of women got up to sing solos. The first woman sang "How Great Thou Art." Even in Spanish the song was beautiful. The woman had an amazing voice. The second woman sang a song I did not recognize. She sang to the Lord and in her willingness to sing, even when she was unsure of herself, it was beautiful. The worship lasted for about an hour. Once the music part of worship ended, the Pastor introduced Pastor Deone. Pastor Deone got up on the platform with Gary translating. He spoke about how God is Good and why he knows God is Good. The message was short and simple. When Pastor Deone finished, the Pastor got back up and let the congregation in more prayer and worship. He seemed determine to have the service last until 3pm. After the service ended they had a meal of forditas and rice. Plus some of the children were selling donuts and coffee. The dinner was good and very filling. Whe everyone finished we walked across the street to a bakery. It was not a normal bakery. (At least not like you would see in America). We walked right past the bakers who were preparing the different pastries. Some of the group bought the pastries at 5 for $1.00.
After the bakery we headed back home with a stop @ the ice cream place. I got a strawberry & cream dessert. Some of the others got ice cream conces or frozen fruit bars. Everything looked delicious.
We also stopped in the Colonia to invite the children to VBS. We did stop @ one home where the family had a ninfant that was malnourished. When we got back to Resplandor la Vida, Gary asked if we could help provide some basic necessities for the child and the family in general. Many of the group gave money and then went to the market with Gary to get food and supplies for the infant and family.
Some of us stayed back at the dorms and rested. We did prepare a dinner of Tuna fish and salad. Lisa & I ate and came back to the dorm because we were exhausted from the whole day. We talked about how I experienced the first day. It was nice talking with her. Nicole (our other roommate) came into the room & joined our conversation for a few minutes. We were all tired so went to bed before everyone else.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~~