Day 1 in Colombia:
Last night we enjoyed a fantastic cookout with the leadership of the LaEsperanza church here in Santa Marta. 25 of their men from the church leadership and school came to greet our team of 10 with open arms and a traditional cookout complete with Chorizo, Carne Asada, and some peach tea. We spoke in broken English and Spanish.
Mostly we just smiled at each other. We sat together, tried to cut steak with breaking plastic forks and knives on styrofoam plates. I was blown away at hearing some of their stories of faith, how long they had been serving as leaders of the church and the hardships they have endured to build a community of believers in this city and part of the world.
I was humbled to share a message with the men from 1 Peter 4: 7 - 11 talking about serving each other with hospitality without grumbling. It also discusses the role as stewards of God's grace to each other. We were humbled by their great show of hospitality. God's grace was certainly present as we just experienced each other as men unified in our great understanding of God's grace and mercy in our lives.
This morning, as we are about to deploy to the desert for 4 nights, we enjoyed a breakfast on the roof here. (pictured here). I watched a young Colombian family join us for the wonderful breakfast spread they offer here at our hotel. This man, his wife, and two kids are decked out for the beach. You could tell, just like me and most of the men reading this blog, that he had a tough morning already. Sunscreen all over the kids (halfway I might add), his wife looked like she barely was speaking to him, and they were trying to get the kids to eat some fruit loops before they went over to the beach 2 blocks away.
I thought - hey, this guy isnt much different than me - right? I mean he probably busted his tail all year for this vacation, drove who knows how long to get here, get these kids out to the ocean and just enjoy a nice time with everyone. And like some of our vacations, the best laid plans sometimes go off the chain when we least expect it.
As men, we all want to provide these nice things for our families. We want to build memories and traditions that will last lifetimes. Regardless of culture or place in the world, we are called to keep pushing to make that happen. It has been such a great experience seeing how other men across the world struggle to be that man and yet all of us are blessed with God's grace and mercy.
Off to sleep in the hammock with some alleged wild desert dogs. Can't wait to see what God has in store for us with the Wayuu people.
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