OSC--Guanajuato 2010

I can’t believe the trip is over.  Time flew.  What an amazing week.  God is good—ALL the time.  This marks the 6th short term trip I have been a part of, and I cannot remember one going as well as this one did.  In no way am I discounting past trips, far from it; however, in terms of my stress levels, team dynamics, and the need for semper gumby (the motto of ALL short term trips!) this trip was by far the smoothest!  The  only hiccup along the way was Hodge’s flight delays and one could (and probably should) argue that those were God’s way of reminding Hodge that He is in control and not Hodge.  Things went as planned and in most cases better than planned.  We were on time or early for everything.  No one got sick.  No one got hurt.  No one got into any major fights or arguments.  No events had to be scrapped.  No crafts flopped.  No pointless work projects (moving bricks from one side of the platform to the other, only to move them back again the next day!).  No awkward VBS lessons.  No inedible meals.  No major facility problems.  Nothing!

Not only did things not go wrong, but things worked out in ways that only God could have orchestrated.  The sermon on Sunday and the Sunday School lesson were in Spanish, so only a couple of us understood them—but it was as if the teacher and the Pastor had taken a page directly from our team devotional.  3 times that Pastor repeated nearly verbatim a point made in our group time the night before.  On Monday our devotional talked about David rending his clothes and dancing before God with joy…Monday night Jake ripped off his shirt and danced through the meadow after encountering God in a real way for the first time in his life.  On Tuesday Alex and Andy realized our group was moving too quickly during the work projects and gave us some new assignments.  A free night to decompress turned into a great time of team bonding.  On Wednesday a night out turned into a night to remember.  On Thursday Hodge left, and then returned…which led to a group lesson that turned into a turning point for our youth group.  On Friday a free day of fun almost turned to tragedy as a young boy was struck by a policeman on a motorcycle…but that near disaster reminded us of God’s sacrifice through Christ and turned into a powerful challenge for our group as we went home.  On Saturday a day of travel turned into a chance to reflect and countless opportunities to see new friendships forged and new leaders emerge.

How can I sum up this past week?  One word—God.  God showed up.  God moved.  God spoke.  God intervened.  God blessed.  God orchestrated.  God painted.  God wove.  God was…well, God.  I sure am glad He Is!