Day Five (More VBS and youth hostel)

STM 2011 7/19
Day Rundown:
1. Last day of VBS
2. Lunch! (On the bus... it was chaotic)
3. Worked on Computer lab
4. Worked some more on the lab
(Longer explanation of the day below)

Reflection:
Goodbyes are hard. And the older I get the more I realize they don’t get easier. (Wow… so dramatic)

Explanation: Today was the LAST DAY OF VBS!!! It’s sad because it’s only the second day. Yup. We had only two days with these kids D:
We were JUST starting to bond with these kids and now we have to leave. The day was speckled with abrupt and disappointed goodbyes. Few things are more depressing to me than an unresolved “goodbye”.
But it makes sense. Our main goal here isn’t to host VBS. Our mail vision for this mission trip was to bless the youth hostel by constructing a computer lab for them.
And the Belizean children have a Sunday school program on Saturday (that’s confusing) so they are still being nourished throughout the year.
They have God watching over them and holding their hand.
They have an almighty king who is more crazy about them than I could ever imagine.
They have a Father watching every breath that they take and every tear that they cry.
So I won’t be scared for them…. (but I will miss them).
Our job is to focus on what God wants us to do. Sometimes that means hosting VBS. Other times it means loving with our actions and giving hope to a hopeless community.
Today we loved/gave hope by pouring our sweat, blood, and MORE blood (stupid mosquitos…) into building a computer lab for the kids.
We installed insulation, dry wall, and even started to puddy the whole thing. (if you don’t know what this means don’t worry. I didn’t know what this meant 24 hours ago).

It took us pretty much the rest of the day to work on the house but the hours kind of flew by. Time flies when you have something worthy to work for.

And that’s pretty key I think. It’s so EASY for me to focus on the works and the fruits. It’s so easy for me to focus on the ministry and forget WHY I’m doing it!
I’m not building the lab for the wonderful, enjoyable experience of building a computer lab (woohoo….). And I’m not building it so that people can tell me how awesome and altruistic I am (but I wouldn’t complain if you did).
I’m doing this because I Love Jesus. And Jesus’s heart BREAKS for these people.
He sees them when they feel worthless. When they feel hopeless. When they feel ugly. When they feel broken. When they feel alone. He counts every tear they cry.
I bet He cries for them.
This thought put my heart in the right place.

So if you ever feel fatigued or stressed out by ministry, just take a breath. Remember why you’re doing what you are doing. And spend some time with God.
Let Him speak his words of truth over you and remind you who He is, who you are, and who you are in relationship to Him.
Take some time to sit at his feet like Mary, instead of running around all the time like Martha. (don’t worry, it’s okay if you rest sometimes…. The bible tells us to! :D)
I know it works for me! When I “make every effort” to enter into His rest, I know that it turns my labor into a labor of love.
Well anyway, pray for us as we finish up this computer lab. We’re also presently discussing whether or not we should return to the VBS church on Saturday so be praying about God’s guidance over that!
Thank you for your support! We Love you and we hope to see you soon!

David Ing