Good morning, Lord. Thank you for the gift of rest to set aside time to worship you, to be restored in body, mind and spirit.
We began our day a little later and slower which combined with last night’s early arrival gave us some rest and recovery time before we resume building projects on Monday.
We traveled to Bruce Hepburn’s mission where we had devotions from Clay on Hebrews 11:7. He urged us to listen fearlessly to the voice of God, that still, small voice or impression from God. He tied this verse to the one from Christ where he tells us that His sheep hear His voice. We followed that with singing. Then, Bruce spoke to us about the history of the mission. They’ve been here for 15 years and built 250 houses in the Colonia. Many men bought quilts which the ladies make and sell to raise funds for their household. We drove out on a ‘road’ out of the mission and headed to Alianza for lunch and church. Lunch was fantastic, delicious and was served by many translators at Alianza.
Today we went to second service where many of us served as ushers. We also stood in front of the congregation and sang a song. Alex spoke about what his first POWER trip meant to him and Ben spoke about all the things POWER is doing in Reynosa, fulfilling our Acts 1:8 mission.
Clay spoke powerfully to the people about Noah and how he listened to God and obeyed. Noah preached to his generation for 120 years and no one was saved except Noah and his family. But he listened. Clay continued to speak about our standing for the gospel truth despite the false gospels in the world. He killed it!
After church we got into vans to go to various projects in the area. One group went to Big Heart orphanage and met Micah, his wife Jenny and their kids. They’re full up with 18 kids. They also run a school with 600 kids. Other groups gathered beans or Bibles or supplies and we all ended up at Senda de Vida to offload all those supplies. We then heard from Hector and Marilou. They have 1500 people at Senda de Vida 1 and 3000 at Senda de Vida 2. About 200 people a day are sent across the border legally because they have a sponsor. He has a lawyer who makes sure that the refugees have all their paperwork in order. He said his greatest need is for missionaries, for people to dedicate their lives to God in the service of others. We distributed LOTS of toys to the children. We also delivered 180 bags of beans each weighing 50 lbs. It takes 9 bags per meal for all 4500 people. So that’s enough for 20 meals. It was a heartbreaking visit to see so many people desperate to come into the U.S. and the conditions surrounding Senda de Vida.
Crossing the border took about 10 minutes! Thank you Lord. We went to have BBQ at Rudy’s. Delicious as always. We also met missionaries from Refugio orphanage and Mexico Missions. It was a nice and relaxing dinner as the men have truly bonded as a group.
We retuned to the Retreat Center looking forward to our final work day while reflecting on the day. Lord, we thank you for this day of rest and ask you to fill us with strength to finish well.