Today was officially day 3 of our mission trip and our first
day full day of manual labor type work (for other events, see Fred Noble's
riveting and exciting call of the soccer game we played on Saturday.
http://boyradd.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/peru-day-1/
We were told as we headed into a rough part of Lima that a
woman, former addict, had started a mission church there for other addicts in
that neighborhood. I saw her coming and she was everything I expected. She
walked upright, straight at us and in my Limited spanish speaking terms, with
no words I could tell she didn't take crap from nobody.
Her church was a joy. As people from her fellowship came in,
they immediately started cleaning up behind us (one of our painters was messy -
his ID will remain anonymous), taking great pride in their church home. Major
construction was going on as a contractor had hosed them and they had to redo
everything and as the story unfolded, they had church IN THE STREET when they
couldn't use the building. I'm in a neighborhood that is obviously drug-run and
beat down and they are having church in the street.
From the cool and safe confines of our church back home, I
must consider not only how good we have it, but where the focus of church is in
our country sometimes. I spend a lot of time creating environments that allow
people the freedom to be void of distraction and really get some time in on
that whole creator/creation relationship. By the fact that I hold that title,
maybe that's a product of our culture that was so apparently different in Lima.
The pace was slower. The time was not accounted for in seconds (except for us
Americans chomping at that bit, thinking about how much more we could be
"getting done") and maybe a proper adjudication of Psalm 45:10 is in
order, "Be still and know I am God."
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and
upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is
better, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:41-42
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