The other morning I went running with a friend from here in Choix (I'll use Bob in place of the guy's real name). As we were nearing the end of our run and starting to get really tired, we begin encouraging each other and motivating each other to go hard until the end, saying things like, "only two more laps!", and "Come on! We got this!" We were both thinking about how bad we wanted to stop a couple laps short, but yet, with the help of motivation from each other, we knew we could finish strong to the end.
As we sprinted the last 100 meters or so, my muscles were aching, lungs were burning, but the finish line was in view, and there wasn't anything that was going to stop me from reaching that point. If you have ever going running before, you most likely know exactly what I am talking about. Crossing the finish line, and slowing down to walk a cool down lap around the track, we bumped fists and congratulated each other saying things like, "Yes, we did it!" and "Waita go man!" We also talked about how all the "suffering" was so worth it in exchange for the feeling of accomplishment and for the way the body feels after a good run.
I got to thinking while we were talking, and I asked him, "Bob, wouldn't you like to be able to say that at the end of your life as you stand at the gates of Heaven, ready to enter eternal life?" Just like running, in life there is going to be pain, there is going to be exhaustion, there is going to be a temptation to stop short of the goal. We might get mocked, we might even be killed because of our faith. But, "if we die with him, we will also live with him; If we endure, we will also reign with him!" (2 Timothy 2:11-12) What an awesome promise from the Creator of the World. No matter what kind of suffering or pain we go through in this life, IT WILL BE WORTH IT!
So if you ask, "what are you doing in Mexico lately?" The best response that I can think of would probably be that I am just living here. I am simply living here, trying to build relationships with young guys, and praying that through our relationship, they would come to know Jesus, or if they are already believers, that they would grow closer in their relationship with their Heavenly Father. Isn't that what we should all be doing as followers of Jesus Christ? No matter if we are in Mexico, Africa, or Lancaster County Pennsylvania, that should be the goal of every single on of our relationships.
Here are some pictures of a Saturday night singing time we had out in front of the house. It was a fun night of praising our Father in song and being in fellowship with young people from other churches. There were also unbelievers there, giving us a chance to share the gospel through song.
Our guitar amp wasn't working at the time, so we hooked up 2 guitars to car speakers using 1 AUX chord and one guitar chord. It was a pretty cool setup. :)
This is most of the group that was at the house that night.
