For any of you dudes who don’t know I’m in Mexico right now. I’m serving with Youthfront Missions in a small town outside the city of Moneterrey, which is in the state of Nuevo Leon. Each week a group of high schoolers come down and we build a house, do a bible school, and run a small store on the donations that the students bring down. It’s a crazy summer. My job is direct the crew that builds the house.
That’s really not what this is about, but I figured it was important.
This past week we had a group of people who were very work oriented (from northwest Iowa). I grew up with a lot of people like this, and I figured that we would have a really easy week as far as work went, but that maybe the spiritual discussion wouldn’t end up being very profound. I was right. The week went by with the guys building a really awesome house, and not really talking much at the team meetings that we have every night. I was sort of frustrated, but I figured the house was going up well, and my job was not going to be a problem. I was so confident of that fact that I really didn’t pray for the house that much, and I really didn’t interact with the group that much.
We got to the final meeting, and I expected more of the same. I didn’t expect any big realizations, and I sure didn’t expect to see any emotions come out. This is about the moment when God reminded me that I really don’t know anything. The toughest, most competitive guy in that group concluded his statement at our final meeting saying, “I just realized this week that I don’t give a damn about what I get out of this week. Maybe it will be a year from now, but I know that God will use this trip in someone’s life.” He had a long view of what God could do with a week long trip. The reality is that despite me being so lax and lazy this past week, that guy still heard from God.
There are a bunch of other things that I wish I could share about, and I know that this story doesn’t really seem to be much, but it really is. God will work with or without us. He wants us in there with Him, but if we don’t choose to be there, He will accomplish His will. What amazed me this week was seeing a hard heart become soft, and an accomplishment focused mind give away the quest for achievement. That’s God. That is God using a measley week to change lives. I’ll be praying that this guy follows through on what he has learned, and I’ll be ready next time God wants to use me.
