“I freely and heartily yield all things to your pleasure and disposal.”
Tonight we continued our devotion time with the Wesley Covenant Prayer. If someone asked you for a snapshot of what being a Christian was all about you could sum it all up by Matthew 22:36-40, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest? He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Ultimately, loving God and loving our neighbor as we love ourselves is what is most pleasing to God.
Mission trips often serve as a way for us to intensely live out our faith. We focus almost all of our attention on God’s will and very little on our will and are often times more aware of God’s presence and direction. Today was certainly a demonstration of His presence and direction.
Our van ride to the school takes about forty-five minutes through tight traffic, winding and bumpy roads that are often shared with cattle or horses. Once again as our van arrived at the school we were greeted with smiling faces that beamed with the light of Christ. The children crowd in close to say “Hola” and reach for a hug. It is within these moments we are reminded of the importance of presence.
As mentioned earlier, we had prepared five presentations for the students and staff to share our history and culture. On Day 3 we presented “American History” first to the elementary students and then again after lunch to the high school students. As we worked our way from natives arriving from the land bridge from Asia through the American Revolution to today, Pastor Chris (aka “Uncle Sam”) did a marvelous job keeping the kids of all ages engaged. To our surprise and great pleasure, the history of Honduras was presented to us.
Today we started with “Americans, Who and What Were Are”. We shared key facts and figures about our great nation, our churches, and our sports – particularly those in the Kansas City area. Pastor Chris wore a Chiefs shirt and Royals cap. Of course sports could not be considered complete without mention of the Jayhawk-Wildcat rivalry. There was great delight from the students as we worked our way through Mickey Mouse, Superheroes and Star Wars. Many of the students sang along to “Let it Go” from the movie Frozen and of course the “Minions” brought a smile to all. But without a doubt, the “Evolution of Dance” video was met with great enjoyment and before it was all said and done…everyone was dancing!
After a drum solo by Pastor Chris we shared our Holidays and Celebrations. We started with the celebration of our own birthdays, celebrated the 4th with a fireworks display video and closed with the celebration of the birth of Jesus and “Joy to the World.” Presentations on our “50 States” and our “National Parks and Landmarks” with Pastor Chris dressing as a Park Ranger are yet to come. But today as we watched the smiling faces, heard the laughter and shared in their delight, there is no doubt we were in the presence of God.
We closed our devotions tonight with the question of what will it mean and feel like to carry God’s will over into the rest of our lives? We need to freely and heartily yield all things to God’s pleasure and disposal. God has put each of us into a path and we must be willing to work His plan through us and around us. Thy will be done, not mine.
