Day of Adventure Part Deux

Ok when we left off we had DVD theme music stuck in our heads after we had tested 100 DVD's to give out the next day.

We headed back to Peggy's to rest for a time and then met back at church about 6:00 for devotions with the team. We got to hear some of the guy's fishing adventure and it sounded like a great day for the "guys". Five hours on the lake in a dugout canoe (even if it was a big one) with no shade and 95* did not sound like a fun day to me. That's why they make guys! Anyway, they caught about 25 piranah so they were happy and not even sunburned. Imro had bought them each great cowboy-like hats to cover their faces and necks and it worked.

Though I didn't see it personally, the pictures they brought back showed a very primitive area with thatched huts and no plumbing. This is the rain forest where the indians live. Ted told us later in the week that in that culture you have to be careful where you hang your hammock when you go to bed at night because if you hang it by a young lady and you're still there in the morning next to her hammock then you are married! Go figure. They marry as young as 13 and because that's their culture the law does not interfere. Also, as I mentioned earlier, they have no concept of protecting the environment and the guys said it was heartbreaking to see them toss their wrapper and plastic bottles in the lake when they finished with them.

Anyway, back to devotions. Tonight was Cody's turn. His scripture passage was from Job which is pretty heavy for a young man his age. BTW, for those of you who don't know who Cody is he dates our daughter Taylor and has for two years now. Job 2:9-10 "Then his wife said to him, 'Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!' But he said to her, 'You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?' In all this Job did not sin with his lips." Cody said that Job showed leadership over his family by setting the example of not blaming God, but understanding that we all taste both the joys and sorrows of life. None of us are exempt. By Chapter 42, Job has completely surrendered himself to God's sovereignty and admits that he knows nothing compared to God. Cody desires to stive to be like Job.

When it came time for him to give his testimony, I'm sure he was a little nervous with me sitting right next to him, but he was very open and honest and willing to be vulnerable and we all had sweet affirmations for him afterwards. This is the most time he and I have ever spent together and I have truly enjoyed watching him blossom under the acceptance of the men whose company he's been able to keep. It's always the case that the further we get from home and the expectations of others that we start to see what we're capable of and I feel like that's something of what Cody is experiencing on this trip. I'm so glad he came.

Dinner was for the team and all of the host couples at "The Lucky Twin" Chinese restaurant. Again they brought out dish after dish of delicious food till we could eat no more! Being here is like being in the South. They truly have the gift of hospitality and more than once it's made me think of my in-laws and how much they would enjoy and appreciate all that we are experiencing down here. These people are so warm and generous and I feel so at home here. I wish so much that Bruce could be here with me to be a part of it, and yet this is a very personal experience for me also. God has things to teach me and would not want me to be distracted by family. It's too easy to fall into those familiar patterns and not be forced to put yourself in His hands.

The only question that keeps running through our collective heads is this: we came to serve and yet we all feel as though we are the ones being served. So the question is if we are not to serve than why are we here? That answer will be different for each of us. It is a little frustrating to come to a place expecting to be useful and productive and see God continue to put us on hold each day. (Except Pastor Tom, of course, who came to speak at the conference. He's the only one who knows!)