remembering

Sometimes I wonder if it is strange that I like to document things in an almost obsessive manner. Give me a camera and I won't stop taking pictures. Put a camcorder in my hands and the record button will be on constant red. Give me a journal and pen, and my hands won't be able to stop writing until I've made sure the details are there.

I wonder if it's because I don't trust myself to remember. And there are some things that I don't want to ever forget.

i don't want to forget the way dirt roads feel when you drive on them. the way i had to cross over a body of water to get to a village that is only accessible in low tide. how the sun sets are different every night. the look in the eyes of the man on the street when we told him God loves him even if he smokes. how thankful the wife was when we prayed for her marriage. the love in the hugs of the people. the taste of tostones con queso. how much fun it is to make friends with random school groups that are visiting an active volcanoe at the same time as you, and somehow you get the chance to tell them you have the best dad in the whole world. teamwork. prophecy. healing. learning how to love more deeply. seeing into eyes that are full of joy even in poverty. hearing the word thank you when you barely did anything to help. being stretched in speaking spanish. finding out home isn't necessarily a place. learning how to see more clearly...to look more closely. recognizing that you can't be offered til you're broken. learning that the climb up requires a lot of laying down. volcanoes. mountain hikes. mosquitoes. miracles. restored hearts. deliverance. healings. protection. provision. divine knowledge.

I don't want to forget how faithful God is and how good He is to open our eyes up to see His beauty.

"Here everything is extraordinary"

"Everything in Christ astonishes me. His spirit overawes me, and his will confounds me. Between him and whoever else in the world, there is no possible term of comparison. He is truly a being by himself...I serach in vain in history to find the similar to Jesus Christ, or anything that can approach the gospel. Neither history, nor humanity, nor the ages, nor nature, offer me anything iwht which I am able to compare it or to explain it. Here everything is extraordinary."
-Napoleon

to life!

Active Volcano!

No joke. This thing was oozing out the smell of sulfur. I was coughing during most of the walk up to the volcano, but I would never trade that trip for anything. It was incredible.

Faith

Pastor Roberto. One of the most precious men I know.

Grace

A group of us passed this guy on the street. Stopping to say hello, we decided to sit down next to him for a chat. He was more than happy for the company. As we talked with him about Jesus, he said he couldn't receive such a gift...that he wasn't worthy of such a friend. He shared that he smoked. In his heart, he believed that before he could come to God, his life needed to be sorted out.

We prayed with him for about 15 minutes. We prayed for his heart, his eyesight, his regrets. He cried. He smiled. He thanked us. We thanked Jesus.

In the course of that time, I pray that God let him know His love.

As I walked away from that encounter, I thought about in my own life. Do I live in a way that says, "God will only help those who help themselves"? And if so, how is that grace? How is that really believing that Jesus died to allow a way for sinners to join Him at the banqueting table? Why do I often think I have to clean myself up before I can come before Him?

Just some things that got me thinking.

Tenderness

When we travelled into a barrio to gather people together for a meeting, a lot of children showed up. There was so much excitement in all of the kid's eyes. But as I looked over the fence that separated the house we were at from the rest of the community, I noticed a teenage boy standing up against a wooden support. His face was stoic. However, he was listening. As I glanced over at him, my heart felt a heavy burden-- God was up to something. Our team was about to leave, when I leaned over to my friend and asked if he would go pray for the young man. He went over. As they prayed, this young guy's countenance changed. He made Jesus his Savior that day. I don't know exactly what was going on in his life, but I know he was in a desperate state when he arrived. It was such an honor to be there at the right time and the right place, and to get to witness with heaven the transformation that occured in just a few short minutes. God is so big.