Mexico Mission Trip Day 5 Wednesdays Word - Listen

Well since this last week Wednesday would have been my normal installment of my Wednesday's Word I figured I'd tie that in to what happened that day last week. Don't be confused today is actually Friday and not Wednesday but I'm just trying to get some things down while everything is still fresh in my mind. I can hardly believe it's already been a week since we left for the airport to begin our journey home. I'm ready to go back....just not next week since it looks like a hurricane is coming.

Today started off like all the others with the early morning musical car wake up but little did I know that today would not end up like any other day I've ever had.....and not just because I got to shower. We knew the roof projects and painting of pastor's house were completed so we were waiting for our next set of instructions when an impromptu ukulele lesson/concert broke out.

Vashty (pastor's wife) practicing a new instrument

We found out that some of the roofing crew was going to help work on a bathroom and replace a sink, some would help with VBS while others would help the painting crew paint the kitchen and the pastor's office there at the church. But 1st we had to move everything out of the office and this is when we discovered a bigger problem; there was mold along the ceiling and considering everything was made out of cinder block and cement this had to have been going on for some time. So I had them find us some bleach so we could at least clean it up before painting.

Not sure what got more paint...Joe or the ceiling

Then it was outside to try and find the source. I shimmied up the gate onto the 2 foot ledge that extended out over the sidewalk and this is where the source of the problem.  Even the sun had been on this area for hours and it didn't rain the night before there was standing water along the edge and holes in the wall where the water was going into the ceiling and where there was some electrical conduit ran down into the wall you could tell water was following it. I remember thinking how our city building inspector would be having a coronary with all the exposed rebar and exposed water pipes running every which way. Now the best solution would have been getting some cement to patch the holes and all of the mortar that was missing between the bricks but sometimes we have to use the tools we've already been supplied with.

My office for part of the day

So while I was gathering up small rocks up on the ledge I had them find me some larger ones down on the ground so I could attempt to fill in the holes and then use the thick paint sealer to cover them up and hoping it would stay in place with that bit of rock as something to stick to. Luckily it did with several coats but while it would dry in between I didn't have much else to do but think and I kept remembering the bible verse about building your house on a solid foundation and not sand and about Jesus being the cornerstone to build upon. But sadly I can't remember where I put my car keys 10 minutes let alone remember what chapters these came from. So I had all these ideas running through my head in conjunction with our work projects and those 2 verses and little did I know at the time but my "hearing" was being tested to see if I was listening.

Not much room to work but plenty of space to think

Getting this patched up went smoother than I expected and I kept ducking into the shade of the trees in the courtyard while paint was drying to watch the VBS stuff going on and the kids playing in the courtyard. This was a great vantage point because most people didn't know I was perched up on the ledge just enjoying watching them interact.

I think I'm done

Courtyard soccer

After coming down from my perch and attempting to wash all the paint of my hands & arms it was finally time for lunch. It did take days though to get all the paint out of my fingernails. Before it was time to check out the shops April one of the PPM leaders called a team leader meeting to let us know the plans for the rest of the day and the evening church service. This is where God decided to be funny and really see if I was really listening. April let us know the kids would be giving testimonies during the service and that they wanted a couple from each group. Then she said something about somebody giving the message and we all assumed she meant Burt but she was like no one of you all needs to do it so just figure it out. I got up and started to walk away but turned around and said I'd do it. Joe looked at me kinda funny and said are you sure man and i said yeah I've been working on it all morning up on that ledge. I couldn't believe what I'd just agreed to do; I really am not all that comfortable talking to people. I'm pretty much what you'd call an introvert and I just agreed to preach that night. I know it wasn't my idea to do this; it was God's plan and I knew I had to do it.

Luckily we still had some soccer to play to get my mind off of it. Today at the sports complex we got a real treat and we asked the team practicing if we could use 1/2 of the field and play a game with the kids and they said yes. So we went out on the artificial turf and had some fun.

That is a boxing arena in the background

I don't know if it was the black rubber pellets that made it so hot out there but it was toasty that afternoon so we retreated to the shade when the team was getting ready to scrimmage. There was basketball going on, people jump roping and some type of knock out game where everyone stands in a circle and you get people out by rolling the ball through their legs. It was a lot of fun watching everyone play.

The finals

While we were at the park I started to ask who were the bible scholars because I needed to track down a couple of verses. And I found what I was looking for and so much more.
Matthew 7 24-27 was what I was originally looking for......

The Wise and Foolish Builders

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

But what I found next was not what I expected. I knew the Jesus is our cornerstone verse but the verses that surround it were extremely fitting considering we were strangers in a foreign land and it helped me tie my sermon together. Now I just had to get it on paper and not screw it up. 

Ephesians 2:17-22

¹⁷ He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸ For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
¹⁹ Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹ In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²² And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Luckily I snagged one of Luke's notebooks before we left home so I found a quiet spot in the back of the church and began deciphering everything that had been running through my head that morning. Now granted the quiet here next to a busy street is a different quiet than what we're all used to but what happened next was extremely cool. I don't know who organized it (but I have a hunch) but kids and leaders from all three of the groups asked if they could pray for me. I'm assuming I must looked like I needed help and really must have been sweating but we all were; plus I still hadn't showered. 


My sermon came together quickly using our work projects as a basis. Here's the gist of it: I correlated how we had found the mold in the pastor's office and how we could have easily just painted over it and covered it up like we do with so many problems in our life and that if we don't take the time to fix the problem it will grow and spread and not only will we have the original problem we'd now have the new ones. Eventually the combined problems will destroy the house and our body is that house. Just like we sought out the problem and fixed it on the roof, even though we found new problems, we need to be deliberate in fixing the problems in our lives before they grown and begin affecting every moment of every day. It will begin affecting our relationships with others but more importantly our one with God. I urged them to not waste another moment regardless of how small you may think it is because all those little things are their own water leak and eventually they will combine into a big one. And to remember it's not just about you it's about everyone you come in contact with and that you need to go to Jesus and rebuild that trust, repair any broken relationships and most importantly to forgive others so you too can be forgiven. 


I figured I had enough time and I think people were starting to complain so I showered. I figured I'd be a little more comfortable not realizing you start sweating the moment you dry off. 

Well come time for the church service and we have some great worship songs played by Ryan on the keyboards and Stephen on the guitar. Then we were all amazed by everyone's testimonies. What was supposed to be 6 turned into 10. They were all very touching, personal and emotional. Many of the things I planned on touching on in my sermon were all brought up in one way or another by different youth; which was all the more confirming to me that this was His plan all along. But I did make a new rule before I started and that was if I'm going to speak in church I go first because everyone blows me away. I realized the best way to give a sermon is to do it when it needs translated because then you have time to gather your thoughts as it's being translated. But all in all it couldn't have went smoother even though I ended up remembering things I wanted to say when we were on one of our nightly trips to the little store on the corner. It was definitely a powerful and amazing day. 

I was truly blessed to have the chance to preach at Filadelfia