this past week i had the opportunity to take 8 students from our ministry to Juarez, MX to build a house with Casas por Cristo, an organization that builds houses for families who are in need.
i wish that i had enough space to recap all of the events and highlights of the trip, but i am afraid that would make for one really long post. but i did want to share a few thoughts from what was a really great trip.
i have spent the last couple of days reading posts by students on facebook....it has been great to read the things that God has been doing in these students lives as a result of the trip. i have heard students talking about how the people that we worked for and with helped them to think about what it would look like to live a much simpler life and about how they taught them so much about what love is really all about.
but here is my favorite reaction that i have heard from students...
they just said over and over again that these people had so much less than they did, and yet, they were just as happy, if not more happy, than we were. and that was truly revolutionary...that is awesome!
i have been thinking about how i often say that my goal in what i am doing is to mess people up for God in the best way imaginable, and i feel like that is exactly what i have had the opportunity to experience as a part of this trip. God is definitely working in and through these students, that is for sure!
1 comment:
Hey Brad,
There is an Andrew Peterson song that expresses the sentiments of your students. He has this awesome song called "Land of the Free" that is one of my favorites. I'll see if I can find it online and email it to you. In the meantime, here are the lyrics... I think my favorite line, is "I'm shackled by the comfort of my couch". It is so true how easy we have it, yet find ways to complain. I wish I could be more like Elba! (see below)....
The Land of the Free
(Verse 1)
Little Elba how’s the sun in South America?
does it shine upon the faces of the poor?
do they see in it the brilliance of the place
that’s been prepared
and dwell upon the hope of what’s in store?
Or are they just like me?
do they only see
an opportunity
to complain about the heat?
(Verse 2)
Little Elba, how’s the rain in South America?
Does it fall upon the rooftops of the sick?
Do they thank the Lord for coming up with such a
great idea
and dream about a place beyond all this?
Or are they just like us?
do they gripe and fuss
about the rain and mud
when they’ve had too much?
(Chorus)
‘Cause I’m just a little jealous
of the nothing that you have
unfettered by the wealth of
a world that we pretend is gonna last
they say God blessed us with plenty
I say you’re blessed with poverty
‘cause you never stop to wonder whether
earth is just a little better than
the Land of the Free
(Verse 3)
well, I’m weary of the spoils of my ambition
and I’m shackled by the comfort of my couch
I wish I had the courage to deny these of myself
and start to store my treasure in the clouds
‘Cause this is not my home
I do not belong
where the antelope
and the buffalo roam
(Chorus)
and I’m just a little jealous
of the freedom that you have
unfettered by the wealth of
a world that we pretend is gonna last
they say God blessed us with plenty
I say you’re blessed with poverty
‘cause you never stop to wonder whether
earth is just a little better than
the Land of the Free
so I hope you’re safe and dry in South America
‘cause I’m feeling pretty good in Tennessee
may you never be so happy you forget about your
home...
Your home in the Land of the Free.
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