It's Thanksgiving morning back in the states. Yesterday, I was thinking of all of the people who were preparing to spend the holiday with family and friends. The thing that I thought about most was all the stress that people put on themselves to have the house look just perfect, cooking way more food than can be eaten on that day, worrying about what to wear, if everyone will get along, if anyone will be critical of your own cooking, will the kids get too rowdy, etc. By the time most families get together and end the day, they are worn out, stressed out and burned out. I think the pilgrims were just happy to be able to gather together in what ever clothes happened to be clean at the time, bring whatever food they had available and just hang out together. They were thankful for all that God had given them in this new (to them) country. They were focused on their faith in our God and giving Him glory on that day. I picture it as being calmer than most celebrations these days.
Getting back to the basics of life (as the song goes). I think that's why I like being in Nic. It is very basic. You eat what is available and are very thankful for it. You get together with people and no matter how difficult the travel can be, you are thankful for that time of fellowship with them. No one is trying to impress anyone. No one worries about being judged or criticized for material things. You just share life with others and are thankful for all the blessings from God (no matter what day it is).
Today, we will be going back to El Sauce to do a feeding, 2 fiestas, a Pastor's conference and the last night of the crusade. I'm thankful for the team from Paragould AR who are here serving with us, for reliable transportation, for food to eat and clean water to drink, for the body of Believers in El Sauce who have worked very hard to make it possible to serve there this week, for the Voice of Hope ministry and staff for being here in Nic, for the chance to be here serving this year, and most importantly, I'm thankful for my God, who created me, sustains me, directs me, loves me, forgives me, teaches and strengthens me and is ever faithful.
Time for breakfast and to start this wonderful day. Thank You Lord for another day to serve You.
We got to El Sauce and went to an area where we did a fiesta the day before. We helped with the feeding of a few hundred people. They remembered us from the day before and I think that the team was very touched to be able to go back to this place again. We then went to do a couple more fiestas. At the beginning of the second one, German grabbed me for a quick 'numbers' session to get money squared away since it was the last night of the crusade. I didn't get the chance to tell the helpers where I was, but they stepped up great and handled everything. They had become pros during the week.
We had our last dinner cooked by the hosting church. It was chicken cordon blue with those great potatoes, veggies and rice. The food was delicious and we paid an excellent price for everyone. It was such a blessing to have the meal prepared for us. (we had originally planned to haul our dinner with us everyday)
The crusade went really well. The music was great. I love the Nic music and this night did not disappoint. Pastor Charles spoke about the crucifixion. We had beautiful crosses made by a man in El Sauce. Also, each person over the age of 10 was given a nail to hold during the message. Pastor Charles referred to the nails frequently. Then at the invitation, he asked that anyone who had made a decision for Christ to bring the nail and drop it in the bucket near the stage. A lot of people came forward.
At the end of the evening, a ticket was drawn for the motorcycle. A family won it and was very excited. Soccer balls left from the week's ministry, as well as many New Testaments were given out to the people in the crowd. I was told that for the week, over 1800 people accepted Christ. A very fruitful harvest.
Many of the churches in El Sauce were holding special services to enable the new believers to be brought into their flocks. Pray for the followup and discipling that will take place in the days and weeks and months to come. God is awesome and worthy of all Glory!
It was a long ride back to Leon and we were glad not to have to make that drive again this week. At On the Run store, the team said goodbye to the translators and gave them gifts. It's always touching to see those friendships that have started over the week of working together.
We made it home and in bed by 11pm or so. A very busy week, but very fruitful. Thank you God for letting us be Your tools.
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