Today I went back to Ojojona to finish the never ending house with Nolan, Karis, and Rainer. We got there, told the lady that we would finally finish her house today because we brought our two best chainsaws, and we started to get to work. So me and Nol try to fire up the two 24 inch blade Stihl chainsaws and... neither one worked.
I remember thinking, "You've gotta be kidding me."
Richard, the preacher at the church in Ojojona, showed up to try and help. He couldn't fix the chainsaws (go figure; the house is cursed). So we went with Richard to his house back towards the city to pick up his chainsaw, then we went to buy oil for it, and then back to the house. We fire up his chainsaw and... it also does not work. Again, go figure; this house never ends.
So Nolan and Karis and Rainer left to go and get another chainsaw from the bodega in Santa Ana, and me and Richard stayed at the house. After trying all of the chainsaws again until our arms were sore, we eventually gave up and waited on Nolan. He came back with a chainsaw that actually worked (praise!!!) and we finished the house up. It took forever, and we did a lot of dangerous stuff trying to get it done which I won't post on this blog because I know that certain persons would not appreciate knowing how their son stood on a 2 x 4 and chainsawed the side off of a wall (whoops, I said it). So we load up in the truck, and think we're about to leave.
Not a chance.
Richard then informed us that the other house that a different crew was working on LAST FRIDAY in Ojojona was not finished. They had told us that it was... Grrr... So we went and looked at the house, realized that it needed a door, a window, and one more wall. One problem: no hinges. So we made a trip back to a hardware store in the city, bought the basegras, and went all the way back out to the house. Nearly two hours later (yes, we ran into some problems at that house too; imagine that) we finally finished the house. We got the family inside and prayed with them and as we were praying, I realized that the grandmother was crying as she prayed. After the prayer, she looked up at us, with tears in her eyes, and thanked us and thanked God for the new house.
Okay. So, reflection time: we started two houses last friday in this community, and we finished them today, five days later. And I can personally testify that these houses were not started... how should I say this... they were started terribly, and were not, by any means, houses that I was proudest of. But the lady in the first house was so touched by the generosity and Christ-like attitude of our group that she was coming to church now. And one of the ladies of the second house was so touched that she was moved to tears and praising God and blessing us for what we had done.
I was confused.
But I guess it makes sense. I was frustrated all day; I mean, it was a very frustrating work day. But when I'm frustrated, when I'm thinking that nothing is going right, when I'm thinking that the day is a bigger problem than a blessing, God has a way of showing off and saying, "Think what you want about what you see around you, but I am still God, I am still alive and working in your world, and I am still good."
As frustrated as I was today, I got back to the apartments around 4:00, showered off and put on fresh clothes, grabbed Kale and we caught a cab to Cafemania. We sat in Cafemania and watched one of Louie Giglio's talks online, listened to some Chris Tomlin, and talked about spiritual stuff for three whole hours. And it was AMAZING. We talked about seeing people like Jesus would see people: as souls, as people made in the image of God, as persons who are fearfully and wonderfully made. And then, how "ironic," Louie's talk ("Unthinkable You" on 268generation.com) was on that exact same topic. So after we watched that, we talked about it a whole lot more, and we started talking about trying to put it into practice. We left and walked to Little Caesar's for some pizza and breadsticks and canelitas, and as we went, we really tried to look at people the way that Jesus did the whole way. It was eye-opening, and I could feel God stirring inside me as I viewed people how He views them; not judgmentally, not focusing on exteriors or labels, but looking at them as a person. And that is going to be my goal from here on out: see people as Jesus sees people. And all of that great quality, spiritual time really built me up and gave me the encouragement I was desperately needing.
Then, check this out: we get back and get invited to this devo some other mission group is having on the roof of the apartments. They're from some church of Christ in Nashville, and they are an amazing, open, friendly, and Christ-centered group. We sang praises and prayed and talked about Christ for a couple of hours on the roof, and they were very welcoming to those of us that joined them.
When I am feeling down, He always has a way of lifting my head.
So I am so refreshed and recharged spiritually right now. I am looking forward to tomorrow, and the rest of the week, and the rest of my life. Because God is God; alive, well, working... and good.
So good.
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