ACTIVATION
Friday, June 14, 2013
The theme for the day, “Activated,”
was evident at the beginning of our day in Cypress near Houston, and
again in San Antonio at the end of our day, appearing to me like a
bookend holding up the rest of the travel time.
After everyone got ready to leave Cypress, Texas, we
pulled out enough extra Communion glasses that we brought along for such
purpose. We readied the glasses, the Matza cracker, the reddish grape
juice so we could take communion with our beautiful host family around the
kitchen table.
The children sat around the table, mostly attentively,
while Lesa shared about family, connectivity and the sacrifice of
Jesus and what the wine and cracker represents. Tears flowed from
Lesa's eyes during her sharing and off scampered the youngest
daughter, who reemerged moments later, handing tissues to Lesa.
“Take eat, this is my body which was
broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. And the cup, which
represents his blood that was poured out for you, so your sins would
be forgiven and taken care of, take, drink.” After we prayed, I sang
what I could remember of the old hymn, “The Lily of the Valley.”
It was one of the best communions I have ever been part of.
We drove together to experience some
sort of Texan pastry, the name of which escapes me, then to Chick Fil
A for the kids and us to eat together before we hit the road toward
Houston. Tears freely flowed from all of us as we parted company for
now, eager for the day we will meet again. It surprised me how raw
and on the surface my emotions were. I felt everyone's sorrow and
cried along with them almost as soon as their tears welled. Our hearts were heavy after such joy. It took us a long while to shift our attention to San Antonio and ministry we would do there to bless and support the team from Virginia who would be waiting there.
On the road again down 10 West, we got
turned around after a pit stop down a two lane road that looked at
first like we would need a four wheel drive for. I got excited about
the wild flowers on the side of the road. Stop here! We stopped to
get photos of a gate and wild flowers.
We passed an antique truck
painted with the flag of Texas but missed the photo op. Maybe its
already online somewhere. It was really cool. Jessi would love, it we
all agreed.
This was not the truck we saw. It was more rounded in the front and back, but you get the idea. I found this image on flickr and cropped it a bit to give you an idea of what it looked like. http://www.flickr.com/photos/javidjamae/3031246607/
Sometime during our travel time, back
in the Houston area, Denise saw a female motorist in need, and
stopped and helped her. She was re-activated. She got what we are
doing and is paying it forward again herself. ("Do you love me? Feed my sheep." ) We celebrated her all
over again. Activated 2013 is an appropriate name!
Oh, how glorious and wonderful our
Father's love is for all of us! So rich in compassion and mercy and
kindness!! He desires our friendship, a relationship, a partnership,
and a marriage with each one of us!
We met the Freedom Life San Antonio
church leadership team at a burger joint that had a huge room for a
long row of tables. We all sat around one table. It was a loud,
busy place.
We requested to meet them in the quiet and privacy of
their home after dinner so we could share what God is doing on the
road with us, share Words of encouragement for each one of them, and
bless them.
The time of ministry today was rich and
rewarding and emotionally charged. We love what God is doing in San
Antonio with Freedom Life Church team. You should ask them how God
brought the corp team together. It really is quite a witness about
God's divine connections and appointments and miracles he creates to
make things happen in His way and on His time.
This morning we will meet with the
women at Starbucks for food and fellowship. I can hardly wait! My
heart is already tightly knit together with the women of San Antonio,
Texas. I left a piece of me in their hearts last night and hope to
deposit more of all I am in Christ, in them, activating them for their ministries and their next things.
