POWER MINISTRY 2018 ….. WEEK ONE/DAYTWO
“Find out what that ONE thing is, and do it” (Curly’s Secret to a Successful Life – “City Slickers”)
Greetings from Acuna, … and the Men of Week One; including not only those from California, Idaho, Georgia, and Ohio, but also those from Oregon, Colorado, Texas, South Dakota, Tennessee, Arizona, and Mexico!
An integral component of every Power Trip is the morning worship, devotion and prayer time; which takes place prior to setting out for the Mexican border each morning. This week Pastor Brian Park of Riverside, California is leading us through a study of Faith. Pastor Brian reminded the men of a line from the 1991 movie, “City Slickers”; where Curly, a crusty, weathered and intimidating old Cowboy tells Mitch, one of the city slickers playing cowboy for a week, that the secret to a successful life is to find the ONE Thing and just do it.
While this jewel of wisdom mystified the character, Mitch; Pastor Brian challenged the men to consider that, as followers of Jesus Christ, growing in one’s Faith is the ONE Thing that we must pursue. He called to our minds the story in Mark 4:37-40, where the disciples were exceedingly fearful that the furious storm would swamp their boat, and called to Jesus to save them. Jesus did not say to his disciples, where is your courage … but rather said, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no Faith?” Pastor Brian stated that living by Faith commences when we take ONE Step out of our comfort zone; particularly in serving the Lord.
For many men embarking on a POWER Trip the comfort zone thing can be an issue. Pastor Brian challenged us to face any fears or anxieties about our week along the Texas-Mexico Border (as well as in all aspects of our lives) by praying for the Faith it takes to step out of our comfort zone and live for Jesus!
Much was accomplished during Day Two on the other side of not only the Texas-Mexican Border, but our collective comfort zones, as well. Day Two involved a lot of truss building (the framing that supports the roof of a structure). Much lumber was cut and used to construct the trusses that will be used to add a roof to a cinder block church structure already under construction for Pastor Julio’s Church. Trusses were also constructed to be used to construct a roof for the home of Sister Blanca. The exterior walls were framed and sided, and truss construction was begun for a church being constructed for Pastor Jose Morales. The site of his church is adjacent to a very large complex of apartments constructed by a local factory for its workers …. which appears to be a very ripe mission field for Pastor Morales. Very necessary repair and upkeep work was also done around Faith Mission; which serves as the local command center for POWER Ministry.
Work will continue on the Day Two projects during the first half of Day Three; after which we will hit the road again for a long road trip to McAllen, Texas … and ministry in Reynosa, Mexico.
Signing off from the far back seat of another fifteen passenger van (talk about stepping out of your comfort zone!