In case you dropped by to see the Day 3 blog posting, and saw the great photos, but nothing else — well, like everything during POWER week, there’s a story behind this. And this story involves a dead battery in the POWER truck.
If you noticed the “Getaway Day!” posting from the road, we had just finished up lunch at Faith Mission, and were on our way to Laredo for dinner at the Sirloin Stockade. Then it was down to the McAllen and Hidalgo area across the border from Reynosa. To put that into perspective, click on this link for a Google Map of the 329 mile 6+ hour drive (not including dinner in Laredo!).
After we wrapped up our visit to the restaurant, van and driving assignments were passed out. Your blogger David McKnight of Riverside, CA was assigned to drive the Box truck. Before leaving, however, we found a dead battery in the POWER truck. So instead of getting on the road for the three hour drive to McAllen, we tried jumping the POWER truck’s battery with the Box truck’s battery.
After a few attempts, we tried pulling the truck to start it. That did the trick! We were off to the hotel in McAllen. It’s just that we didn’t arrive until after 3 AM. So, your tired blogger chose sleep over blogging.
But, we’re back tonight! And here’s a recap of Day 3…
Craig Gilbert continued his POWER devotion this morning. “To be men of POWER,” Craig said, “you must also be men of obedience.” Craig explained how a man of obedience acts and trusts — and that results in blessings. He used the example of how a parent expects his child should be obedient 100% of the time.
“How obedient are you to God?” Craig asked. “25%. Maybe,” he said, answering his own question. “Hey, we have horses at the ranch,” he added. “If they were performing at 25%, they’d be at the glue factory!” Then he spoke about how acting and trusting results in blessings.
“There is a simple formula throughout scripture: FAITH + OBEDIENCE = BLESSINGS.” And he used the example of Abraham in Genesis 22:17-18, where because of Abraham’s obedience through testing, God blessed him and his descendants. “If you want God’s favor,” said Craig, “you’d better be obedient.”
And in fact, that’s what many of the POWER men are doing this week. They feel a calling to participate in the annual POWER trips, and many come back again and again.
Continuing on the theme of building, David McClellan explained the importance of getting the projects as far along as possible: “We’d like to get the siding and the roof on at the Ramirez home project — since the family is sleeping under a piece of canvas right now.“ As is always the case, these building projects impact many people.
Today the POWER teams worked on Sunday School rooms for Pastor Geraldo, two houses, a storefront at Mission 1 — and the JOY (Jesus, Others, You) Tour in Acuna, where the local children are blessed through POWER’s attention to the poor neighborhoods in the city. Be sure to view the photos if you haven’t already.
Well… You already have an idea of how the day ended. Tomorrow, building projects continue in Reynosa!