Recklessness

The following is a sermon I preached on Genesis 22:1-14. Click here to read the scripture passage before reading the sermon.

Recklessness

Today’s scripture lesson is an uncomfortable one for many people for a variety of reasons. This past week as I thought about this scripture passage there was this song that kept coming to mind. It is a song by Jars of Clay called Like a Child and I’d like to read a few of the lyrics to you. The song goes something like this:

They say that I can move the mountains

And send them falling into the sea

They say that I can walk on water

If only I would follow and believe

With faith like a child.

Sometimes when I feel miles away

And my eyes can’t see your face

I wonder if I’ve grown to lose the recklessness

I walked in light of you.

Let me reread those last two lines:

I wonder if I’ve grown to lose the recklessness

I walked in light of you.

What a powerful image that song leaves with me, the image of one walking recklessly in light of God. It is what kept coming to my mind this past week because the recklessness this song talks about having lost, is exactly the way Abraham responds to God in the scripture passage for today.

To most people even the thought of sacrificing their child seems reckless and I’m sure it did to Abraham too. We can tell just from the way God commands Abraham that this is something difficult and painful. If you don’t mind, grab the pew bible in front of you and flip to pg 19. Let’s look again at what God says to Abraham. Genesis 22:2 reads

Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”

As God gives Abraham his instructions, God almost seems to be dwelling on the difficult and the negative. God doesn’t just tell Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son, his only son, whom he loves. Each phrase God uses to describe Isaac becomes more intense and, I would imagine, more difficult for Abraham to hear.

It is indeed a painful command to hear. After all, this is the son that Abraham and Sarah have been waiting their whole lives for. This is the son, the heir, that God promised Abraham. This is the son that was too good to be true, that was too ridiculous to believe possible that both Abraham and Sarah laughed at God’s promise to give them a son. This was the son through whom God had promised to make Abraham a great nation. Isaac was the fulfillment of God’s promise, the sign of God’s faithfulness, and the opening into the future God had promised.

Now God was asking Abraham to give all of that up. God was asking Abraham to recklessly follow God, even when it seemed like it would undo all of God’s promises. And on top of that God wants Abraham to go to a distant mountain but doesn’t even tell him which specific mountain to go to! Instead God essentially points Abraham in the right direction and says, “I’ll point it out when you get there.”

I can’t imagine how difficult those words must have been for Abraham to hear. But as difficult as it is for me to imagine how Abraham must have felt, it’s even more difficult for me to imagine Abraham’s response. Abraham doesn’t say anything. Not a word. A few chapters ago Abraham was willing to negotiate with God. He’s willing to challenge God on the justice of God’s actions towards complete strangers. But when faced with the sacrifice of his son, Abraham is silent! He doesn’t try to bargain. He doesn’t whine or make excuses either. Instead his response isn’t a response of words at all but a response of trust-filled action.

Verse three of the passage says that early the next morning Abraham got all of the necessary things together, loaded them on a donkey, and then set out with Isaac and two young men in the direction God had told him. Abraham doesn’t waste any time. He gets up early the next morning and sets about the task God’s given him. The only thing we are told about the journey is that it took three days. Three days. How long must that journey have seemed to Abraham? How often must he have been given the opportunity to doubt? Those three days must have been long and difficult for him, yet he never loses faith and he doesn’t turn back.

On the third day, Abraham and his son go on alone to the place God had shown Abraham. He tells the men with him that both he and Isaac will return after they have worshipped God. And Isaac, noticing there was no lamb for the burnt offering asks his father about it. Abraham’s response is simple, “God will provide.” Even in the very midst of something that seemed entirely reckless Abraham’s response is one of trust and faith in God. Abraham trusted God would not lead him in the wrong direction.

Abraham even went so far as to bind Isaac and put him on the alter. Abraham trusted God right up to the end and, in the end, God does exactly what Abraham said. God provides Abraham with a ram to sacrifice instead of Isaac.

Abraham was able to follow God even when it seemed reckless to others. But I think Abraham realized something most of us often forget. What God was asking Abraham to do seemed reckless in our limited human perspective but Abraham trusted that God would be true to God’s promises and that ultimately God’s purposes would be fulfilled. Abraham trusted even when he was being led into places that were really uncomfortable.

When God called Abraham, he responded not by making excuses, and not even by trying to bargain with God as he had before. Instead Abraham’s response is not one of words at all but one of trust and willingness to walk recklessly in the light of God.

Just like Abraham, we are called to have faith like a child in God, even when it seems reckless, perhaps especially when it seems reckless. I think that’s the real reason that this passage is so uncomfortable for so many of us. It’s not Abraham’s silent obedience that’s uncomfortable; it’s the still audible voice of God. For the God who called Abraham, who makes profound promises, and who asks Abraham to walk so recklessly, is still speaking today. Perhaps what is most uncomfortable is that God asks us too to walk recklessly in the light of God.

As the church, the community trying to live in faithful relationship to God, God is always calling us to grow. Often that growth is difficult and at times, it seems like God is asking us to do something seemingly reckless. To many people, doubling the number of people Calvary serves in the next ten years is reckless. It seems like a huge and daunting task but it is what God is calling us to do. God is calling us to recklessly reach out, that other might come to know God more fully.

God also calls us individually to different things. Are you one of the people God is calling to ordained ministry? If so, it can feel like a really reckless thing to do. Maybe you haven’t even made it out of high school yet and accepting a call to ministry feels like such a huge task. Maybe you’re already actively at work in another career, and it feels reckless to take a pay cut and go back to school. But if God is calling you to it, God will provide even when things seem reckless. Are you one of the people God is calling to ministry?

Or is God calling you to recklessly risk your popularity at school by befriending the uncool kid? Maybe God’s calling you to reach out to the person at work who’s going through a divorce, or the person who always eats lunch alone. Maybe it’s your popularity God’s calling you to risk.

God is calling all of us, individually and collectively to so fully trust in God that we are willing to walk recklessly in the light of God. God called Abraham to walk recklessly in the light of God, and calls all of us to the same type of recklessness. Just as God provided for Abraham, so too God will provide for us when we recklessly follow God.

But the really amazing part is that we worship a God who not only calls us to walk recklessly in light of God, but we worship a God who loves us recklessly. God loves us so recklessly that God sent God’s son to be with us and ultimately to die for us. God sacrificed God’s son, God’s only son Jesus, whom God loves, for us. Imagine how recklessly God would need to love us to be willing to do something like that. God loves us recklessly and calls each of us to walk recklessly in the light of God. If God loves us so recklessly as to die for us, then certainly we can recklessly trust in God.

How is God calling you to recklessly walk in light of God?

Vacation

In just a few hours we will be leaving for our vacation in the Grand Canyon. We will be gone for a week so I probably will not have an opportunity to blog. But I will try to at least send some pictures to the blog.

Simplicity

Read Mark 1:1-8 before reading the rest of this.

Did you read it? No really, read Mark 1:1-8 before going on. If you don't have a bible handy click here.

One of the things that strikes me about this passage is the simplicity of it. Mark gives us a lot of details about what John the Baptist is wearing. But even in the details there is a bare simplicity about the presentation of the Gospel message. Mark tells us of an old prophecy, of a little water, of basic clothing, and of a simple diet. The message is simple, clear, concise. And all the more powerful because of it's simplicity. We don't get distracted with extras in the story. Just the basics.

Perhaps this is so striking to me because of the difference between the way the gospel message is presented in the gospel of Mark, and the way it is so often presented in today's world. We live in a society of excess, where most of us feel like our houses, and more often than not, our lives, are cluttered by needless things. Sometimes clutter is in the form of random material things that fill our houses and preoccupy our thoughts. Sometimes clutter is in the form of mounting to-do lists that distract us from focusing on God.

We live in a cluttered world and yet God speaks to us a simple, profound message. God tells us of God's love for us, of God's desire to be in relationship with us. How does the Gospel message become cluttered for you? How does your life clutter the gospel message?

Made it through customs in

Made it through customs in miami

We have landed in miami

We have landed in miami

We r at the gate

We r at the gate in santo damingo

Friday in the D.R.

Calvary Friends and Family,

What a day! We got an early start and arrived at the work site about 8am. It was cooler which helped with the digging. We finished several more holes, and when we left at noon, about 10 of the 12 we were working were completed. Bob struck up a baseball game on the upper part of the lot using the bat and ball the Rec Ministry team provided. The kids (Bob and Dave) had a great time. The Dominican youngsters enjoyed it too. When we left the site for the last time, we got a great picture of the Calvary team standing in the bottom of one of the holes with the Dominicans standing around us. A load of rebar (steel reinforcing rods for the concrete) arrived and several Dominicans worked during the afternoon starting to cut and bend them for the concrete work that will begin right after we leave.

After lunch we had a little time off and Bob and Dave went with Nardo and Nieves to buy some rice. We bought 30 bags each 7 lbs. Then Jenn, Bob, Dave, Sarah, Ed, Katie, and Terri loaded up the rice in a pickup truck and rode out to the Bateys with Nardo, Salvador, and Flor. The Bateys are migrant worker camps outside of town, mostly populated by Haitian workers who cut sugar cane. The poverty is extreme in the Bateys. We passed out two bags of rice to each of the 15 families living there and at each house we heard a heartfelt "Bendiga", which means God Bless You. We were all fighting back tears. Dave however, was fighting just to stay in the back of the truck. While crossing the stream that cut through the dirt road leading to the camp, he nearly fell out of the truck trying to video tape the journey. No doubt since we were doing God´s work, He heard your prayers for our safety and gave Dave a gentle push on the tush back into the truck. Dave was then sternly ordered to sit in the bed of the truck for the rest of the trip.

On the ride back we stopped at Flor´s church in Calejone which we helped start in 2005. It was a very moving time for those of us who worked on it to see it now complete. We look forward to coming back some day and seeing the huge church Nieves is starting finally complete. We will know it is resting on foundations we helped dig, but the real foundation is the strong faith of the people in this community.

Meanwhile, while the rest of us were at the Bateys, Rachel and Anna were bonding with Nieves daughters who braided and beaded their hair. It was a 4 hour process. Jessy stayed behind to offer encouragement. The girls look beautiful, but they will need to refrain from sudden head motion. You´ll see.

After another great dinner, we went to the special church celebration the community had planned on our behalf. It was a joyous time that began with a high tempo set of praise songs that went on for over 25 minutes. Nonstop dancing, jumping, clapping and singing. The program was highlighted by several songs and dances that the young girls did for us. During one of the dances the CD player quit, but the congregation immediately started singing the song and the girls never missed a beat. It was a perfect metaphor for the way this community supports each other.

When it came to our turn to provide some music, Dave attempted to match their tempo and enthusiasm with "Joy" and "I´ll Fly Away-Will the Circle be Unbroken". The Circle was Unbroken, but one of his guitar strings was not. Injury to teammates from flying guitar strings was narrowly averted. Fortunately there was a spare guitar which he grabbed to close the set with the ever popular Open the Eyes of My Heart. This was also one of the songs the girls danced to for us!

The service ended a bit abruptly when the Lord decided it was a good time to begin a thunderstorm. Huge umbrellas appeared immediately (standard equipment when you hold church in the street) and the service continued as the rain alternated between light drizzle and some moderate rain. At the conclusion, blessings and gifts were exchanged, followed by hugs all around and ice cream was served. Then the skys opened up and it poured. We huddled in the small shed they use to store their equipment and chairs. We know the Dominicans were a little disappointed that the rain spoiled their party plans, but our spirits were not dampened a bit. It was sad to say goodbye to so many people who have become such good friends over this week.

We finally got back to the house after 11pm and when we opened the door to the stairway upstairs, a small lizard jumped down on Rachels head. There were screams and panic, but we finally calmed Ed down. (Insert smiley face here since Dave still can´t get the punctuation to work on this keyboard.) Turns out the lizard was only trying to save us 15% or more on our car insurance! (Dave has no email chaparone tonight and he is tired so you´ll have to deal with the cheap gags.)

Anyway, we leave tomorrow morning for the long trip back home. We are anxious to get back home, but leaving this wonderful community is hard. We heard a 100 times tonight "When will you come back!" We don´t know for sure when we´ll be back, but we all know a part of us will remain here forever. We could not have done this without the prayers and support from the Calvary community. Your presence was felt throughout this week and we look forward to sharing stories, photos, and video we took while down here. See you Sunday! We´ll be easy to spot with farmer´s tans and braided hair.

Bendiga!

Your Brothers and Sisters in Christ in Yaguate, DR

Written by Dave.

Thursday in the D.R.

Dear Calvary Friends and Family,

We were greeted this morning by clear skies so we headed to the work site where we found at least a foot or more of water in each of the holes. First we bailed the water out by drawing upon our bucket brigade experience from the previous trip to the DR. After about a half hour, the holes were empty, but very muddy. Along with our DR friends, we jumped into the holes and started mucking them out. Soon we hit fairly dry dirt and progress improved. We worked hard all day and made significant progress. About 6 holes are done and the others should be finished tomorrow. 12 down, 30 more to go (after we leave). We had another thrill at lunch today with an announcement over the Santo Dominigo radio station about our work in Yaguate. We were each named and they dedicated a song to us. After lunch we returned to the work site and continued work. By the end of the afternoon, there were more people there than shovels and picks, so Bob started a baseball game with some of the boys that were hanging around.

After we finished at the work site, several of the team went for a swim in a nearby river. The water was crystal clear and cool, so it was very refreshing to the team. While traveling to this river, they saw a large backhoe (digging machine). Then Bob and Jenn got out of the car to have their picture taken by the machine since we are SO missing such a machine at the work site. Apparently the security guards nearby assumed they were terrorists and prohibited any picture taking. Terri managed to pull off a good James Bond move and snap a few pictures on the sly. (Clearly she has some secret life we dont know about involving some government agencies or possibly witness protection. She has not been very clear on this.) Salvador is not going to drive us anywhere again because he doesnt want to become a person of interest to the local authorities. Hopefully we are not detained at the airport on the way out. If we are, the team is going to ditch Terri and claim we dont know her. (This story is slightly exaggerated.)

After dinner we went to the house of one of the pastors in the community and had a service in his living room that spilled out into the front yard. Dave played the song Breathe and the ever popular Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord. It is becoming his signature song, kind of like Tiny Bubbles was for Don Ho. (If you cant tell, it is getting late and we are getting punchy.)

The plan for tomorrow is that we will start early and work till lunch, then get cleaned up and go to some nearby Bateys where Haitian migrant workers live in the afternoon. They live in very poor conditions and we plan to provide them several large bags of rice.

By the way, the Spanish version of Windows XP on this computer has the keyboard scrambled so punctuation marks are a real challenge. Havent yet found apostrophe so dont think Dave skipped 3rd grade English.

Until tomorrow,

Your Brothers and Sisters in Christ on Mission to Yaguate Republica Dominicana.

Written tonight by Dave Meadows and chaperoned and editted by Terri King.

Wednesday in the D.R.

The Peace of Christ be with you!

Today, other than being Bob King´s 55th birthday, has been a slow day. Happy 55th Birthday Bob King!!!! (Jesse wanted to make sure I mentioned it was Bob King´s 55th birthday. I think she wants the whole congregation to know her dad is 55. So happy 55th Bithday Bob! Hope it was a good one!)

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Today was a slow day. It rained heavy most of the night and when we woke up it was still raining so we could not work at the site. For breakfast we had soup, which was actually quite nice on a rainy morning. Since we couldn´t work and the road to the Batas was flooded, we went to Santo Damingo to go shopping. We mostly just walked around, a few people got a few items. It was mostly touristy stuff.

While in Santo Damingo we stopped at what the Locals call ¨The Light House.¨It is a monument to Christopher Columbus. There is a large Moseleum and his bones are there in a box. Apparently once a year the box is opened so anyone who wants to can come and look at Christopher Columbus. I suppose that´s just so all the locals can say they have met Chris. There was also a museum with things in it from all over the world. It was not entirely clear what some of the stuff had to do with Christopher COlumbus, but it was neat to look at anyway.

Before we headed back to Yuguate, we stopped at a large grocery store. At which point your popcorn addicted pastor went in pursuit of some popcorn and olive oil. I am happy to report said pastor did in fact find said items with relative ease so tonight we all enjoyed a tasty treat and the Dominicans all got a good laugh at the crazy pastor who wanted to make popcorn on the stove!

We headed home from Santo Damingo and had lunch. Then many people took a nap. We had several hours to just relax and hang out. Terri spent awhile coloring with some of the kids at the house. After dinner we all loaded up and went to teach Bible school to the kids, or so we thought. We got there and there were a lot of adults too. It took us a little while to get it sorted out. In the end we just ended up teaching the kids, but really I think they had intended for us to teach the adults too. We tried to tell them we didn´t mind teaching the adults too, but that message literally got lost in translation. Oh well, someone else ended up teaching the adults, so every one learned and everyone had a good time.

After Bible school we came home and had popcorn! yum! Now we are winding down for the evening. We are wondering how the worksite will look tomorrow. We are hoping all the dirt piles did not fall back into the holes with the rain. We are also hoping that we do not have 12 swimming pools when we get to the worksite tomorrow.

We can tell your prayers have been with us. It is awesome to see the way the Dominicans intergrate the Bible school with their building project. As we work hand in hand to build the foundation of the building, we also work hand in hand to make firm the foundation of the church. There is truly an understanding that our spiritual foundations are just as important as a building´s foundation. And let me tell you, this church is indeed built on Christ our Rock! When the winds blow, and the hurricanes of life come through, this church will be just as firm as it is today! Christ has indeed made for us a firm foundation! And each of you is a part of that. Each of you have helped with your prayers, with your gifts, with your encouragement. You may not be physically present with us, but you are here with us in spirit. And it is the Holy Spirit that carries us through.

God´s peace be with you.

Blessings,
Jen and team

It rained all night &

It rained all night & is still raining. We r going 2 the market in santo dominga.

Tuesday in the D.R.

Today we dug several small swimming pools or fish ponds. They started out as foundations holes for support columns, but it rained hard for an hour after we left the site. We expect to swim tomorrow.

There was a lot of sun and life on the worksite today. We have yet to see a backhoe, but there has been quite a turnout of locals, of all ages. The men work hard, the women (inspired by our women) have picked up shovel and pick, as well. Even the teenagers joined in and dug a 2ft by 6ft by 6ft hole. Terri spent a lot of time playing with the children. The most notable thing about these people is that regardless of work or play they have joy beaming out of them. We have been richly blessed to work beside them.

At lunch, Nieves brought out a radio and urged us to listen. After a few minutes we heard an announcement in English, followed by same message in Spanish. It was a welcome addressed to us that was broadcast throughtout the area. Nieves had called the large Christian radio station in the capital of Santo Domingo and told them about us. It made us feel very special.

We were very tired by the end of the workday, but after dinner we went to an evening service at a private home. The service was held in the carport. Lots of singing and praise. Dave played Open the eyes of my heart Lord, a song which the locals know in Spanish. We had praises, prayer, song and a sermon with a very pentecostal flavor. At the end there were handshakes, hugs and smiles all around.

Finally a few notes particulalry for the folks that came in 2005 . . .

We have been blessed by very reliable electrical service, so the fans run all night making sleep easy. The accomodations are very nice with the upstairs completely finished. It has not been quite as hot, and since we have had church service essentialy in the street, it has been more comfortable. What hasn´t changed is the warmth and acceptance of the people here. We are blessed in many ways.

Its getting late and time to sign off.

Your brothers and sisters in Christ in Yaguate, DR

We r going 2 an

We r going 2 an outdoor worship service in the rain. Good thing it is warm here!

During lunch nieves had the

During lunch nieves had the radio do a shout out 4 us. They welcomed us in english and then explained what we r doing in spanish

The local women r following

The local women r following the crazy american women and have joined in the shoveling and picking

We hit water in 2

We hit water in 2 holes so those two r finished. Only 46 more.

Still digging

Still digging

We r headed off for

We r headed off for more digging. Look out everyone, we r coming back with big muscles.

Monday in the D.R.

Greetings in the Name of Our Risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
>
>We have had yet another fabulous day. It all began with FOOD! We had...oooh...`potatoes with cheese (Yum!), fresh pinapple, mango, and coffee. We had a quick devotional that talked about the way our lives clutter the gospel message. THen we loaded up into the van and off to the work site we went. Much to our dismay, there was NO backhoe  :(  So, that does not mean we get the day off, that means WE are the backhoe. SO we grabbed some picks and shovels and away we went. There are about 48 squares where there will be columns, footers need to be dug for each square. Basically, we have to dig 48 holes by hand that are about 5ft by 5 ft square and 6 feet deep. Yes folks, you read that right, 6 ft deep. remind you of anything? Let´s hope it´s not an omen.
>
>Today Sarah went with Nieves to her school. Nieves teaches kindergarten and Sarah got to be the teacgers aide for the day. She said all of the kids were really cute. IN the evening Sarah went with Nieves back to the school and then to the work site. She made alot of friends with the local kids.
>
>Mean while, back at the ranch..oh, we mean the worksite, we took a break for lunch. However, Bob and Nardo went to the bank and took the van. SO the rest of us were given rides home on the motor bikes. Sometimes there were three people on the bike. Jessica and Terri were being oblivious again and so they missed the memo about the rides home. They turned around and everyone was gone so they started walking but the locals told them to stay put and they would come back with the motorbikes. Not to worry, Wilber and Jeyurus made sure to bring Terri and Jessica home safe. Wilbur was sure to get there first so that he could give Jessica a ride home. Ohh lala.
>
>Lunch was wonderful. and so was the nap most of us took afterwards. We spent some time planning the bible school that Alba was hosting in the evening. Others went back the the worksite to continue performing their new found missioni n life, to be human backhoes! (insert superhero noise here). Katie spent alot of time translating songs into spanish and trying to teach the rest of us muscially inept people how to carry a tune, and the right tune at that. Picky picky! We went to the bible school which went very smoothly and was quite fun. It turns out that one of the songs Katie spent a long time translating, they already knew...but with different words! oh well, we smiled and clapped. Dave did a wonderful job playing the guitar. THe most interesting part of the bible school were the chickens that kept flying into the tree we were sitting under. SOmetimes the chickens didn´t quite have enough strenght and they would fall out of the tree. Jessica screamed like a scared little girl. All of the 5 year olds made fun of her for the rest of the night. The rest of us were just thankful that the chickens didn´t poop on anyone. God was watching our for our hair...ok really it was just an effort to conserve the scarce water.
>
>After Bible study, we had more food! We had lasagna, with awesome garlic bread and Limonada (Limeade for all of you americanos). Then we had to make Anna go eat because she was infatuated with her email. She did eventually eat. We promise she will not come home malnurished!
>
>THe background music for our dinner tonight was a street preacher. There is a car driving through the streets with a speaker system attached to it and a large crowd following it. Hmm, we are getting wonderful evangelism tips here! Anyone have a car they would like to donate? Do you think Mt. Airy would cite us for a noise ordinance? Oh well, we´ll work it out. Maybe frank will give us the autoparts store if we don´t preach in the streets.
>
>Alba wants to teach us to dance tonight so we will see how well that goes. I´m sure there will be itneresting email material for tomorrow so stay tuned. Tomorrow, same bat time, same bat channel.
>
>Until our next email, know you all are in our thoughts. We are safe, content, and pleased to be with our brothers and sisters in Christ. What an awesome reminder of what it means to be part of the body of Christ all over the world. We are, indeed, part of a global movement, the work of the holy spirit transforming the world. God´s peace be with you!
>
>Blessings,
>Jessica, Jen, Ed, Anna, and Rachel.

There r 48 columns. Each

There r 48 columns. Each square that needs 2 b dug is 5ft x 5ft and needs 2 b 6ft deep. Pls pray for everyones health

So the backhoe did not

So the backhoe did not show up 2day which means we dig by hand. We are digging footers for columns.

Sunday in the D.R.

Hola amigos en cristo!  This morning we had a wonderful breakfast of hard boiled eggs, bread, freash mango, melon, and pinapple, and some cereal!

Then we had devotions which Dave and Katie led in song.  We thought of you the whole time!  After we had our devotion, we went to the market!  It was filled with lots of people, shoes, underwear, and food! 

Then we went to the worksite to see what progress the Dominicans had made.  Today they were digging the footers for the columns.  Some of us got to try our hand at wielding a pickaxe.  We are happy to report, no one lost a toe in flip flops, although we did have a close call!!  We had an impromtue song and dance lesson from the younger girls that were at the worksite.

After we went to the worksite, we went to THE BEACH!!!!!  Some of us waded out to a small reef.  Others of us just put our feet in the water!  There was a lot of glass on the beach and garbage, but the water was very crystal clear!  Some people played football with our friends, others wandered and took pictures, and now some look like tomatoes! aka JEN!  She is mad at me now!  She says there are other red people too, but she needed the aloe! 

Then we came home and ate a much needed lunch!  Everyone was soo hungry!  Even Dave and Katie who had a hot dog snack at the beach were hungry!  Then we slept!  YAY Sleep!

After everyone rested, we got ready for worship!  Everyone was more dressed up than we have ever seen!  As always, the music was amazing!  Jen read First Corinthians 12:12-20.  Then she preached and Richard was the translator from English to Spanish.  Dave and Katie led the music with Enrique.  The church seems to be changing the culture.  Their self-confidence has improved and it seems to all be related to the church!  It is amazing to see the difference in the people! 

Now we are headed to bed!  We are tired, FULL of food, and RED!  Well, only some of us!

God Bless You all... Le Bendiga!

Jessica, Jen, Dave, Katie, and Ed!  Everyone put in a little effort for this email!