Beginning of the End

Most of our 'formal' ministry on the island has come to an end as the sports camp for kids we were supposed to run this morning got cancelled. Though it's disappointing, I trust that God has something greater in store for us still.

Today, we'll be getting to tour the island some more and just see the beauty of God's creation. We'll also be heading to a beach in Rincon and see if we can outreach to surfers there. Athletes in Action also has sent a high school basketball team and a college basketball team here to Puerto Rico to play games against local teams, so we will be helping out at their games later this afternoon. Should be exciting.

Praying for a genuine love for the people of Puerto Rico, so that those who have heard and will hear of Christ will live out to edify their fellow brothers and sisters on this island through their God given roles in the body of Christ.

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.
- Romans 12:4-5

Waters

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep my faith will stand
- Hillsong

Pulling each other across the water on boogie boards, attempting to skim board and catch fish with our bare hands, playing with geckos and starfish, and chilling in the beach kick started our day today. It was a fun time, but even more so, the beach today just reminded me of the realities of life.

First of all, the sea, like life, we can't see everything going on, but rather only what's in front of us. On one side of the beach the sea was full of waves and lots of rocks, seaweed, and whatever else was in there. It wasn't that pleasant to say the least. I was always stepping on stuff out of nowhere and the waves really did throw people around quite a bit for a non-surfing beach. Waves always come in our lives that can throw us around. There are always random bumps here and there that come unexpected. As we walked across the beach to another part we also saw a bunch of things that just shouldn't be on a public beach. To me, that reminded me of the purging that needs to be done in our lives. After that, we got to the cleanest beach area I've ever been to. I could see the sand at the bottom of the sea as clearly as you could see the bottom of any pool. The waters were calm, and it was just relaxing and peaceful being there. That just reminded me of God's peace. He will always bring me through the storms of life, into the shadows under His wings.

The rest of the day was pretty cool as some of the students from training camp came to visit. We also had the chance to do some campus outreach today which went really well. We even got some connections with the school's Christian group.

Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
- Psalm 46:10

A New Creation

In about an hour we'll be holding a baptism service at a nearby beach. It'll be exciting to see a couple of our Puerto Rican students and also a couple of my teammates get baptized and publicly declare their love for God.

After baptism we'll be spending some more time at the beach, we'll be running another ministry perspectives workshop, and do some more campus evangelism. Definitely praying to see how God will use our team today.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come.
- 2 Corinthians 5:17

Servant's Heart

Make me a servant humble and meek
- Kelly Willard

I gotta realize that life isn't about me and my wants. Ministry isn't about what works best for me. Discipleship isn't about getting things my way and making 'minions'.

As we talked today about ministry perspectives again, I was humbled again by how Christ lived His life. He came to serve and not to be served, and I've really gotta learn and live that. He came to love unconditionally in His service, and i need to find that heart. He was always there when needed, and I have to learn to be that guy who will always have a friend's back. Things won't always go well for me, but I can trust in His love to carry me through.

A test of that heart came today in the orphanage. This orphanage had 20 children up to the age of 8 who have come from abusive households. None of them knew English, so it would have been easy to just chill and not do much for 2 hours while others worked. Yet despite not understanding the kids at all I decided to try to just show them love by being with them and praying over them. Seeing the joy on their faces as we played with them, picked them up, and spin them around was priceless. Having to leave and seeing the sadness on their faces though was heartbreaking. These kids need to meet Jesus and find hope.

Yea...humility is hard, but God, my humble King will lead me.

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tired it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
- John 13:3-5

Filled To Be Emptied

This is my prayer in the harvest
When all that's within me feels dry
I know I'm filled to be emptied again
This seed I've received I will sow
-Hillsong

As I end up waking up later than intended for the second straight day, I'm reminded of how draining and tiring missions work get. I know that by myself I can't get through the next 6 days of this trip, so I'm gonna have to learn to trust in God. Physically there's a huge battle going on, not only for me, but also for most other members of the team. What's kinda scary is that the spiritual battles that are bound to come will be even tougher. Despite all this, I know my God will sustain, and He has already proclaimed victory. Time for my heart to believe as strongly as my mind...

Today we go through another ministry perspective workshop which I'm personally very excited for. We'll be doing some more campus outreach and see how God works. We'll then head over to a local orphanage and see how God uses us there.

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
- John 15:5

Salt and Light

Great refreshing day after 2 hard days.
Today, God once again reminded me of how small I am compared to Him as we saw the view of Puerto Rico from a lighthouse on top of a cliff, and enjoyed a sunset by a beautiful beach while body surfing.

The bigger message He put on my heart however was to shine bright everywhere I go. As we had our training today on ministry perspective, God definitely spoke to my heart. I was reminded not top just focus on the outward appearance of things, but that ministry for Christ starts in my heart. As my heart is drawn to Christ, He guides where He wants to go.

As a Christian, a chosen son set apart though Christ's death and resurrection, I am called to be salt and light to the world. In keeping my speech 'salty', I'm too PRESERVE truth, and cause others to THIRST for Christ. I'm called to shine bright in my daily actions so others can see Christ. It's not about running camps and ministries, but about how I can bring Christ to people daily.

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
- Philippians 4:20-21

Bittersweet

Training camp done. Usually we'd be heading home by now if this was just another AIA camp, but we've got one more week on the island to see what crazy stuff God has in store.

Our first week in Puerto Rico was incredible! God blessed me with an awesome team and also blessed us with a passionate and humble group of Puerto Rican students. Now that training camp's done, it's exciting to see what will happen next, but also saddening knowing that we might not see some of these students ever again until heaven.

The week was life changing not only for me, but also for many students. One of the students shared with us that through this past week, he learned more about Jesus and the Bible than he had his whole life. This student is a leader, he grew up in church, and he definitely believes in Christ. It's both encouraging and saddening to hear what he said because of what that says about his country's spiritual condition. A few other students also shared about how they should be in training camp for either a club team, professional team, or school team, but ended up at camp and have no regrets. Others just don't want to go back home because they want more. Boy, God is good.

Today we'll be running a training on how to run on campus programs for university students and staff. I'm excited for not only the Puerto Ricans and what they'll learn, but also for our team to see what we can learn to take back to our schools. We'll then be doing some campus outreach as summer classes have started, and that should also be a nice experience.

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
- Ephesians 5:1-2