Don't Forget!

Note to self: Mud makes your shoes feel about ten pounds heavier. Especially Mexican mud. Probably.
This is one of the simpler lessons I took away from the weekend I spent down in Tijuana, Mexico this past Christmas Break. I’m a member of the Evangelism Club on campus and as kind of the culmination of our semester we spent four days on an evangelism trip. It was a really unique time – focusing on evangelism for four straight days. I don’t have a lot of experience “evangelizing” in the first place, but I have even less experience evangelizing in Spanish. So basically, the best kind of opportunity for God to teach me some things about myself, who He is and the Gospel in general.

Note to self: God doesn’t need you. Not even your voice.
It was definitely not too exciting to lose my voice the night before we left on this trip. But it was ok at first - I figured I would just wait it out and it would come back in about a day. But three days, lots of tea, and some interesting cough drops later, I continued to sound like a seventy-year old chain smoker. Or worse, because I think they can usually be understood without having to spit in people’s ears. But my voicelessness wound up being an awesome reminder that no matter how much things stray from our plans, God is totally and completely in control. Not only this, but He honestly doesn’t need me to carry out His perfect will. He just uses me. And sometimes that just happens to be more in the form of smiles, wiggling eyebrows and spit-filled ears.

Note to self: Cute kids sometimes have firecrackers hidden in their pockets. Literally, not figuratively.
Our first night down there, Friday, was spent helping a local church with the hosting of a children’s event. This means we traipsed around handing out invitations inviting people to a free movie. Back at the church, there was some singing, a short message, and a showing of an animated nativity story movie. (It was during this movie I was surprised by a bright light and loud *pop* courtesy of the impish boy sitting next to me). Afterwards, everyone had hot cocoa and we played a couple of games with the kids. It was freezing cold, but simply wonderful if I do say so myself.

Note to self: Dogs are scary and should be avoided at all costs.
Saturday and Sunday afternoons we walked around and passed out gospel tracts and invitations to the services we were hosting that night. Most of the houses were gated, so if people weren’t home, we just stuck the tracts and invitations in their gates. At one point, several of us were walking along the street, past a parked car. All of the sudden, a large scary dog jumped out from under the car – I am almost positive this dog actually came out sideways – and attached his mouth to Tim’s leg. How Tim detached this dog I didn’t really see, since I was a little too busy screaming, but thankfully there was no harm done. Physical harm that is. At another house, while speaking to a lady (well, I was observing), a little dog wandered out of the gate and decided to make Jana’s leg its fire hydrant. Simply fantastic. Any slightly warm thoughts I had ever had of dogs were chased away by the leg-clamping, leg-watering dogs we encountered that day.

Note to self: Ladles in big pots of hot chocolate should be held at all times. Unless you enjoy disappearing acts and consequent liquidy ladle searches.
The evening services were held at two different local churches and consisted of a time of worship (accompanied by our instrument-playing guys) and then a gospel message. Saturday night Adrian spoke, but Sunday the pastor of the church we were at, Cristo Vive, preached. I didn’t understand a word that was said (besides Jesus) but I loved knowing that the gospel was being passionately taught and just sat there praying for the people around me. Afterwards we once again enjoyed hot chocolate, cookies, and conversation (or attempts at it).

Note to self: You are always less than you imagine yourself to be. And God’s grace is so much greater.
One night I was really struck by my ungratefulness for my salvation and by my very poor comprehension of the nature of God’s grace. I am so selfish and willing to accept God’s grace poured out on me, but this hasn’t spurred me to long and to work to see it poured out on others. I tend to be pretty content to just watch people wither away without ever knowing my beautiful Savior. Even though I know I don’t deserve God’s grace, I still think and act in a way that denies this. In reality, there is not a single reason I should receive it any more than the next person. Yet, it has been given to me. So why do I not long that everyone else should taste the sweetness of undeserved mercy alongside me? I claim that my hope and my joy is that one day I will be forever in the presence of my Savior. The communion I will have with Him, the ability to gaze upon His glory, will be my inheritance. But it has not pierced my soul to think that while I stand in the presence of my beautiful Savior for all eternity, there are those who will forever be separated from Him. My prayer is that seeing God’s Son rejected will tear us apart. That we will ache with the knowledge that the people around us do not know Christ. And that we will do something about this.

Note to self: “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace” (Acts 20:24).