On the cusp

4 hours.  That's all the time left before we meet at the church (at 2am!) for a short bus ride to the airport and first step of a 2 week journey.  The send off service was a great boost for the team - thanks to all who were able to come.  We heard prayer requests from the students and leaders for health and safety and energy and open hearts (both ours and the Guatemalans we will be serving).  And we heard prayer requests for the parents who have entrusted their children to God's hand, that they will not worry but trust God's provision and care.

My learning from tonight is that grace matters.  Each of us on this trip will face "stretching" moments, where we have the opportunity to try something we may think is too hard or too different or too whatever.  We may succeed, and in that success grow stronger to push on to the next opportunity.  But we also may fail.  There is opportunity for growth in failure, too, but I believe applied grace provides the positive light necessary for that growth to occur.  So one of our goals as leaders for this team will be to help the students (and each other!) see the reality of God's grace and use that as encouragement for us to be graceful with each other and the people of Guatemala.

We have, by setting ourselves out as misionaries, accepted the call of  Philippians 2 to "have the same mindset as Christ Jesus".  But that is a tough road.  What that calling actually entails hit home with me after watching our mime team perform their skit "Forgiven By His Love", followed by our drama team performing the Lifehouse "Everything" skit.  They both illustrate man's relationship with God, showing God's strength (amazing grace in spite of our failings) and our weakness (how easily we get distracted by destructive selfish pleasures).

In the coming days we will have opportunities large and small to experience God and to be the means for others to experience him.  Through the daily posts we hope you are able to trace the threads of grace that will weave together over the next two weeks to form a tapestry illustrating how amazing our God is.