OCA 2014 Postscript

Well, everyone is now home, and all the bags have made it at least as far as the church. The majority of the bags checked on the middle flight yesterday (which included all 23 of the service bags) were held back in Dallas allegedly by customs, a fact we did not discover until none of the bags showed up in baggage claim in Minneapolis.  It got squared away and all the bags were delivered to Wooddale this morning.  Hopefully by now all the team members have their belongings back home safe and sound. One unfortunate side effect was that the aroma on opening our bags in my garage were none the sweeter for having been pent up for an additional 24 hours.....

Tomorrow (Sunday 9/29) at 9:45 we will hold the Senior High Ministry reunion service, where all of the students who traveled to Colorado, Chicago or Guatemala will come together to celebrate their different (but common) experiences sharing the Gospel and being in the middle of God at work. It will be a very energetic time I am sure. Everyone is happy to be back in their "normal" surroundings, but hopefully they will not be quite as comfortable as they were before their respective trips.

Hopefully God has planted at least a small 'burr under their saddle' to keep them itching to continue their service here in Minnesota. Those who were paying attention saw God work in both big and small ways. Our God is master of the universe, but he also knows and cares for each one of us as distinct individuals. Going out from this trip we pray that the people God touched through our presence would get connected to their local body of believers and continue to grow in their faith. And we pray that each of us will remember those moments on the trip that God touched us and use those altars to embolden us to continue to grow and proclaim our faith.

As a final Word of the day, we look to the team devotional again. In 1 Chronicles 29:10-13 David praises The Lord publicly. "Praise be to you, O Lord, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name." Above all else, the OCA team wants the same result- that all the glory and honor for whatever was accomplished by the team should flow directly to God.

In closing, we ask for your prayers for courage to continue our individual and collective faith journeys. You all have been a tremedous blessing and encouragement to us. As we each step into our next adventure, this is the prayer we want to take with us:

         I would be your hands and feet
         if you would be my heart.
         I would sow and reap for you...
         If I could only start.

         But fear it does encircle me-
         Entangling tongue and will.
         I want to give my best for you...
         And yet I linger, still.

         Please take my hand and give me strength;
         You promise this and more.
         Please light my trembling heart aflame
         And push me out the door.