1 Thessalonians 1:3

"We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." -1 Thessalonians 1:3

I love the way that Paul words this sentence. I love it because of the way he pieces together work & faith; labor & love; and endurance & hope.

When we acquire faith in Christ (and not just a belief in Him), we begin to choose to work for Him. We can be assured that when we work for Christ and lay down our lives for Him, He will bless us. 

Although we do not need to do good works to receive God's love and spend an eternity with Him (because of Christ's sacrifice and resurrection), our faith in Him produces good works. As we follow Him and continue to grow in love with Him, we want to labor for Him. We want to because we love Him. It is similar to the way we respond when we love others. When you love and care about someone, you choose to serve them because you simply love them. So, our labor is prompted by love.

Endurance. We are called to endure hardships, persecutions, and life on this place called Earth that is not our home. How do you endure something tough? I know that for me, I endure through hope. I endure because I have something to hope for and I have something to look forward to. Jesus Christ gives us hope because we know that when we have faith in Him, we have eternity with Him. We will be brought back home.

So, to sum this all up - Our work and service for Christ is produced by our faith in Him. Our labor is prompted by our love for Him. Our endurance is inspired by our hope in Him.

NINOS DE GUATEMALA!

Hello. So, I guess that I never really blogged about my trips to Guatemala this year...I should probably explain them in detail before referencing them [these trips kinda made a huge impact in my life...and God used them to spark (and fan) a flame of passion within my heart]. 

My team worked with a group of inner-city kids through a church in Guatemala City, Guatemala. The kids randomly signed up for a week-long program run by a group of crazy white college students. GRINGOS. Yeah...we were that group. Apparently it's a big deal to see someone who is white walking around in Guatemala. We were the classic tourists (even though Guatemala isn't a common touristy spot) with cameras, spanglish, and pasty-white skin...I give them [Guatemalans] every right to make fun of us ha.

Okay for real here - 

It was incredibly evident that the children we worked with do not receive the validation and attention that they need. Some of those children go home to over-stuffed apartment units. Some of those children go home with no parental supervision. Some of them go to a home housing gang members (gang-members being their parents). The majority of the gang-member parents are fathers so it is common for the children to lack a fatherly-figure.

When I say that it was evident that those children do not receive enough attention and validation, I truly mean it. It was evident in the way that they interacted with us. They soaked up every single moment that they could with us. The tiniest bit of attention and validation that you gave them sparked the grittiest, mile-wide grin possible. These children are beautiful and their smiles break my heart. There is something great to be learned from these children.

Remember when I said, "they soaked up every single moment that they could with us"? Those children soaked up every moment with us because they needed that validation and attention. They received joy through it. The kids did not want to waste any time with us because they had love for us. 

The way that the kids soaked up every waking moment with us is a great example of how we should soak  up every moment with God. Every waking moment. We desperately need His attention and validation - we were made for it. We receive joy through Christ.


I truly love those children in Guatemala. However, I must be honest. There were times when I was so physically exhausted that I wanted to give up [and take a nap]. The group of children in December absolutely loved piggy-back rides. After giving 5 piggy-back rides in a row (multiple times per day) I was exhausted...really...another one? The kids in March loved playing freeze-tag. They would always make us [college students] be "it" - it was exhausting! Anytime I heard a child shout, "Rachel! Freeze tag!", my initial thought was "not again!"

We must remember that faith is not based on feelings. Sometimes, we simply just aren't "feeling it." Sometimes we don't feel super excited and emotional about God. Can we still have faith in Him? Yes. Can we still spend time with Him when we are not feeling it? Yes, and you will be blessed. Although there were times when I was exhausted and did not feel excited to be with the kids, it was well worth the time. Every single second. I did not feel "emotional" about the kids all the time, but I still loved them and persevered in soaking up time with them. It was a blessing. Let us persevere in our relationship with Christ out of love for Him. Let us soak up every moment with Him despite how we are feeling.

The Metaphorical Dance

Ballroom Dancing. Yes. I am taking a ballroom dancing class. I nearly dropped the class before the first day of it because when I think of "dance," I think of me tripping and doing a face plant onto the floor. I made myself go the first day and told myself that I could drop it only after I tried the class. Okay, I admit that I absolutely love the class despite my clumsiness.

Before my first dance class this semester, I begged God to place someone I know in the class with me or another christian. When I walked into class, I sat next to a girl and began talking with her. As we discussed why we chose the majors that we did, I mentioned that I chose my major because I wanted to do some form of ministry. Often, when I mention ministry a person gets really excited or stares at me with a blank face like I am foreign. I may have received the second option this time and although I shouldn't have assumed anything, I figured that she is probably not a christian. 1. Who am I to judge that? 2. Tal vez (perhaps) God wanted me to chat with her and share His love with her that day.

By the end of the first dance class I was disappointed with God for not revealing to me another christian. I still enjoyed the class and was enthusiastic for the following week. 1. I expected God's timing to be during class. 2. Who am I to tell God when to time things out haha?

Whelp. As I was walking back to my apartment from class, a guy from my class was walking the same way. We were still fairly close to the building where our class was. It was one of those moments where it was obvious that we just came from the same class and we were close enough to chat. I debated whether or not I should talk to him. Then, he randomly began talking to me phew. As we walked back to our places, the conversation of God came up. We discussed our majors and life after college and he mentioned how he felt God calling him to work overseas. If it wasn't for his boldness and God's Holy Spirit, I may never have known that this guy in my class loves Jesus too. It was...a great moment. After arriving back from my first trip in Guatemala, I began considering long-term oversees mission work (huh? yeah; God definitely put that one on my heart because...I would NEVER consider that even half a year ago whaaaat). Over the weekend and specifically that Monday of my first dance class, I began doubting the idea to move overseas after class because of all of the logistics involved. I started shoving the idea aside. When the guy in my class spoke about overseas work, that flame in my heart for oversees mission work flared up and God reminded me that He is capable of anything. If He wants me somewhere oversees, He'll do His thing. I just need to be willing. Okay hey God.

So...this metaphorical dance. Say what? Ballroom dancing really reflects a personal relationship with Christ as well as relationships with others. I also really love metaphors and God is continuously using this class to share metaphors with me. There are so many metaphors and each one probably deserves its own blog post. I'm only going to share one or two in this because this is already lengthy. 

Okay. Metaphor from today:
The dance instructor taught us another "dip" (where the guy dips the girl and it looks extremely frightening and deathly). I was...to say the least...feeling quite the opposite of my enthusiastic teacher at that moment. She said that "as long as the follow [the lady] follows the man and allows him to do his thing, then everything will go well." (Given that the man listens to the instructor and follows what she says to do). 1. The instructor was absolutely correct regarding her statement. 2. I absolutely love this dip now haha who knew? 3. Metaphor...

Okay - We really must trust God and surrender our lives to Him (much more crazy than a 1 credit dance class haha). When we allow Him to step in and do His thing, we are choosing to follow His lead. When we allow Him to lead as we follow Him (even in uncomfortable, scary, unknown situations), things begin to flow together and everything works out by God's grace. We can see how God abundantly blesses us when we lay down our lives for Him.

Metaphor...related to relationships con otras personas (with other people) - a healthy, intentional dating relationship between a man and a woman looks quite similar to the dance example (and example with God). If a man is in Christ and is pursuing Him and seeks God's instruction...when a woman is also in Christ, pursuing Christ (not the dude), and seeking God's instruction, a beautiful relationship can happen that portrays our personal relationships with Christ. Not everything will be perfect, but things will go well and the two people will be blessed when the man relies on Christ's strength to lead the woman. (The ladies have to do their part as well - patiently follow and submit (although only called to once married I guess) because of her trust in the Lord). When the woman allows the man to lead as she follows him, things go much smoother (and this is very apparent in ballroom dancing). As both the man and the woman intentionally place Christ at the center of their relationship and play the roles they were each meant to play, a beautiful demonstration of a personal relationship with Christ is orchestrated!

Oh. I found out that there are at least three other Christians in my class...now we head back the same way from class and it's great...sometimes those walks are the highlight of my day [snowball fights, random searches for free apples on campus....]