Monday -- Morning with the Son

If you wake up early in the morning and walk to the amphitheater to see the sunrise, you are treated to a host of sights and sounds. The birds chattering in the trees. Roosters crowing in the neighborhood perched precariously on the hill across the street from the City of Children. There is the smell of pancakes or hot cereal rising from the ninos’ dorms.

Then at 7:25 a.m. we’re back down the hill to the plaza and the porch to the American kitchen to begin our day with God’s word. We’ve already seen his handiwork splashed across the morning sky and in the lives of the people, young and old, that we serve beside. Each morning, we all come to sit together and mediate on the morning’s devotional that the interns have prepared for us. We do this here. We don’t all do it at home. Why is that? There is something about this place that we thirst for God’s word and community and sitting together in his word and sharing his heart. Something we might avoid in our other lives. Is it the lack of distraction, being unplugged and separated from the stress and struggles that weigh us down at home? [Note: It’s fun being somewhere that when you see a group of teens huddled together it’s because they’re praying and not because they’re crowded around someone’s phone.] Or, do we thirst because we serve? A wise man in my life once told me that God doesn’t make muscle bound Christians. What he meant is God gives us strength when we have a need for strength. Yes, we have a need for spiritual strength back at home but we don’t recognize it. Here we do. Let’s make the next 51 weeks like this one.

This will be a glorious day. Even though we packed more than ever before into Sunday, much of the real work begins today. We start construction on the house in Maneadaro and visit the church and distribute food and toys to the children there. We begin crafts with the children and start our puppet shows. Our teens will share their testimonies with the Mexican teens. Little Toy Story snacks will be crafted. We’ll have classes with the mamas and a devotional with the papas here. We’ll divide the children into teams and camp-style games will be organized and played. There are children to hug and to laugh with. So much to do. And while we’re lost in service and focused in others, somewhere along the way when we least expect it but most need it, we’ll turn a corner and we’ll see the face of God smiling in a child’s eyes, in a sunrise, in one of the mamas thanking us. He’s here. He’s where you are as well. We can’t wait for the next glimpse. Lord knows.

[By the way, thanks so much to those of you who have commented on our posts. We appreciate the encouragement and we read these aloud to the group during our nightly gathering before prayer.]

This morning's devotional. We hope you'll join us in our morning meditations.

A map to give you some idea where our activities here take us. The City of Children is actually in the El Sauzal area north of Ensenada. The house we're building and the neighborhoods we will distribute food, toys and cloths are in Maneadero south of Ensenada.