never. .. . .

tonight i was shocked.

i really shouldn't have been. i have heard it a thousand times.

after a rousing game of "chicken foot" here in mexico i pulled open my computer. immediately some pictures came up. alejandro was looking over my shoulder. he started talking in spanish. quickly he called for the others to gather around. "look there are pictures of us!" (or at least, thats what i understood him to say :)). after showing the ones from this past week, i dug through folders on my computer and pulled up an album marked "mexico spring 2008", exactly a year ago.
over the years i have taken off photos of things, knowing i could put them on my external hard-drive and never look at them again. however, mexico pictures have a special place in my heart. and the ones from spring of last year even more so. that was the trip i met for the first time the guys from sandia. a little village high in the mountains. master adobe builders. the poorest people i know. the hardest workers i know. that week, i learned a TON working alongside alejandro, sammy, and victor. spanish phrases i still remember and how to put the adobe on just right. getting in the car to go home after that week i remember telling my dad that next time we came, in october, i wanted to go to sandia and do a dental clinic there.
october came and went. we worked in hualahuises all that week. i was disappointed. what about going to the mountains? i realized my spirit of discontentment. God wanted us at the DIF that week. joe shared the gospel as danny translated and about 30 people heard a clear concise message given by my 15-year-old brother. God knew what He was doing.

i started flipping through those pictures in that old album. immediately, the guys started calling out names, "scott! he es my friend" . . . "mira! sammy y pablo esta en lodo!" . . . . "jesse, kelsey, scott, ryan" . . . . "reece, nathan" . . . .
i was shocked. they remembered. it has been a whole year. they still remember names, conversations, and . . . they heard the gospel for the first time that week. during lunch one day a testimony was given and a question was asked. all three men responded. yes, they wanted Jesus in their life. a few weeks later they returned and brought 5 more men with them. they too received Jesus as their Savior.

i have been to mexico more times than i can count. i was in argentina last summer. sometimes i find my self wondering if its worth it. i look at my bank account when i get back and its always quite a bit lower. i missed out on fresh powder on the mountain or finished projects still at home. does it even make i difference if i go on a missions trip? aren't there people that live in my city i could minister too?

they remember. they know. when a life reaches out and touches a life, it makes a difference.
i don't know where you are at right now. maybe God has turned your life in a different direction. thats great. where God wants you is the BEST place to be. i know i have resisted many times going and talking to someone or complained about the cost of a missions trip. but would it be worth it if even 1 person were saved from eternity in hell?

if you had a hose and every time you turned it on it cost you $700 would you turn it on to put out a fire on a person right in front of you? or would you hold onto the hose and keep it off, letting that person burn to death in front of you.

"he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." - jim elliot

think about going on a missions trip this year. if you let God work you have the power to change at least 1 life (your own) and you are sensitive to God's spirit maybe 2.

is that worth it?