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Well this one about wraps it up. Yesterday was Friday and we fly out today. Have an overnight in Houston, pray safely home by Sunday.

We began the day with praise and worship as they always do on Fridays. Just a note, prayer is the work, and you all who have helped carry our group along are receiving the same rewards.

I say our team now because they have kind of adopted me in. A supernatural dynamic of the kingdom is the instant camaraderie between believers. I felt the same thing with some people we served today at the trash dump.

A man over 60 years old whose eyes are bright because “I have Jesus in my soul,” he says pointing up to heaven. Spending his whole life collecting bits of trash to sell, his only real hope is heaven.

Finally at the end of the time, we made the connection with the administrator at the bottom of trash mountain. Gave him the books that are written to help teachers teach Latin American History from a Christian view. His school is a perfect match because they serve the lowest of the low and they love the Lord. He and Eric, who runs the mission here, connected and made some plans for future outreaches and training for school.

The school offers a real chance of hope for children caught in the cycle. Truth be told, I am unable to fully relate to the difficulties they are facing, and my fancy teacher training would probably only further separate the gap. However, I am grateful that my mentor, Mr. Kelley Vincent, bridged that gap by researching, writing, and translating a book on God’s works in Latin American History. It just seemed like the best thing we could do is to give them the words of their own story in their own language. Thank you Mr Vincent and my church who bought the books.

This trip leaves me feeling a myriad of emotions. Hard work, wonderful salvations, desperate poverty, little sleep, and time away all beg the question, Am I really willing to answer the call?What does following the Great Commission look like for us later in life? How do we keep the fire alive that God reignited inside?

My only clue is in Matthew 9:38, “Pray the Lord of the harvest will send laborers into the field.”

Pray the Lord, Pray the Lord, Pray the Lord will receive the praise due His name.

They said it would be a day of “descansar” which means rest, but I knew that would not be the case. Instead we took an excursion to local towns with scenery and shopping. Was relaxing…

But on the way “home” I noticed we were not heading home. The bus stopped for a cake, we kept heading back up the mountain, approached the Mt blessing neighborhood where we build, and up in the porch we see 30 plus kids and neighbors waiting for us to arrive. Surprise!

Here they were waiting to celebrate with us. Have to be honest here, this wasn’t what I thought would be restful. I struggled, but then the music started, the kids started dancing to praise songs, we joined in holding babies, and God restored our strength with his Joy.

Big Lesson from the trip is that God does things differently than we. The life we think we will enjoy and love, the rest and comfort we work so hard to hold is rarely God’s best. Something about losing life to find it.

The men and women who work so hard here among the poor have found another type of rest. When we see all the hard work the missionaries here are giving, it feels like they are giving up a lot. Comfort, convenience, glamour. But who gets a hill full of smiling faces lighting up for them on their birthday but someone who has slugged in the mud and gutters of their same neighborhood for four years now. God’s ways are much higher.

Hot and long day yesterday. Finished the fourth house. After we dedicated the new house to the Lord, we prayed over the family as they always do. In the middle of prayer, praise erupted and after about five spontaneous songs, the team made what you might call and alter call.

It’s hard to call it an alter when the call came in a on the side of a hill atop a long flight is steps made of tires filled with mud.

After the worship, one of the gentlemen that has been working with us all week and with the team here for over a year stepped up to give his life to the Lord. Omar. A sweet spirited guy of about 30 years old surrendered.

My friend Eric explained the houses are just a hook to lead people to the Lord, but in my mind the whole day I was thinking there’s got to be a better way. Got to be a way to get people saved without such a sacrifice, While I was painting the house red, I was reminded that only by the blood is there salvation.

Today we travel outside the city to visit a more rural setting. Technically a day of rest, but the way this group moves, I don’t expect to be still. Pray again for the five full time missionaries who stay here all year round. They raise their own support. They work so much harder than us, and it would be nice to sincerely lift their hands.