Bearing Precious Seed Trip: Part Three

 After spending several weeks down here I have spent lots of time with Bro. Hector and his family. And oh how God used this family in my life. I watched Brother Hector as he led the programs in the park, how he cared for the little ones that were around, how he reached out to those on the outskirts of things, how he interacted with his kids and how he touched his wife just to let her know he loved her, I watched him as he talked about God and I listened as he told stories and magnified his God, I saw him give up his lunch for someone less fortunate, I watched him spread Jesus and share hope. I saw compassion.

As I was in prayer for the last trip of my journey I asked God to show Himself very real to me and work in mighty ways. Then I sat back and waited for Him to work, having faith that He could do so. There were no rain clouds that needed to disappear, there were no long border lines stretching for miles that needed to move, there were no loud distractions during the meetings...it seemed as though there were no big things that needed to be solved. I kept watching and I kept waiting. The days kept going by soon it was Monday and our first meeting was over, then Wednesday and we just ended our last trip in Mexico for the summer, Thursday morning came around and I knew it was time for testimonies.  I knew that after some distribution, supper, some preaching, late night games, and breakfast, we'd close up the kitchen, clean up the rooms, lock the building and say goodbye to missions trip for the year. Here I was seeking the Lord and asking what it was He had for me this week. Don't get me wrong I was learning the whole week, but now I was really asking the Lord what the driving purpose of this week was for me.

Testimony time came around and I knew that the Lord wanted me to share. Now let me just stop here. Testimony time is one of the biggest blessings of any ministry, be it church, camp, or missions trip. Down at BPS we volunteers and staff just love hearing how God has worked in people's lives. Testimonies at BPS show us that God is not only working in the hearts of the unsaved people and bringing them under conviction, but it also shows that God uses these trips and experiences in the lives of the people on the trip.

 We were preparing brunch and could only listen to a few testimonies. I thought I'd missed my chance to testify in the morning and hoped that there would be an opportunity in the evening service to share. Then things went faster than planned in the kitchen and I was able to rejoin the group giving testimonies. I headed immediately to the line to speak. I didn't know what I was going to say, really, I just knew that the Lord wanted me to speak. I started gathering thoughts in my head and then I got up there and I began to talk. I looked at Brother Hector who also became my adopted father and then my lips utter these words. "I know brother Kenn doesn't like us to get up here and talk about his staff, and I'm not up here to brag on Brother Hector, but he needs to be publicly thanked." I see him wipe his eyes and lower his head. My voice gets shaky as I hold back tears, but I go on. "When I look at him I see Christ. Thank you for letting Christ work through you. All summer the Lord has been teaching me about compassion through preaching and in my devotions, but when I came down here and I saw Brother Hector, I saw compassion. I needed to not only hear about it, but see it. Thank you." I spoke a few more words and then I left the stage and went back to the kitchen.

During this time the Lord was showing me that He wanted me to learn compassion, beyond what I had learned previously in the summer. What a tremendous lesson He taught me, and is continuing to teach me!

[I love this picture because it reminds me that hope is just an arm's reach away]

Thursday night preaching always closes up the trip for the week and for this week it was the last night of the summer at BPS. I sit and listen to our last message for the trip. It's about the feeding of the five thousand, which is one of my favorite stories. The speaker reads the passage and starts developing the verses and bringing out points. He reads Mark 6:51-52 and then he says this:

"the disciples were following Jesus just for the works sake, not for the person of Jesus Christ. They saw the works, but they didn't see Who was doing it." 

I write it down and then it's like it reaches my heart. That was me- "God do this! Work here! Etc." and then I realize while I may not have seen the things I expected to see, I saw God. By His goodness, I didn't miss Him like the disciples did. I start to rethink over the week and reevaluate how I saw Him. No matter how much effort we would have put in to the week, we couldn't get people out to the meetings, we couldn't come up with the words to say to them, we couldn't bring conviction to their heart, we couldn't save them, BUT GOD could. And He did.

In some houses over the past few weeks darkness has been shattered by God Himself.

This brings my journey at BPS to a close, this was definitely a life changing trip for me, and I am looking forward to another trip down there hopefully in the near future!