The Days Are Flying By

The “Poo Crew” is an effective unit of four strapping lads: Ben Hacker (a.k.a. Master Chief Bunchkin), Dan Hughes, Jake Rozema, and Sean Hayes. They are loading cow manure from a location that is a short drive from the ranch and then unloading it at the ranch to be used for fertilizing trees around the grounds. Among other things, trees are a great source of shade for those living in a land scorched by the sun. This area is so arid that every little bit of nutrient helps. All four have risen to the challenge and have already set new records in manure moving history. If you want to get a flavor of their manure moving adventures, and the other work projects that have been undertaken, check out the video clip below.

Now you don’t have to be a Christian to taste the goodness of tight-knit relationships. But as Christians, what sets our fellowship with each other apart from the rest of the world is our shared focus on Christ and the fruit that the Father bears among us by His Spirit. God is able to get things done in us by His grace that are foreign to rest of the world. It is in this vein that we are getting frequent tastes of God’s goodness throughout each day. God is knitting our hearts together as we regularly hear from His Word, sing His praises, seek to serve people His way, and recount publicly how He is at work in each of our lives. Please continue to pray that God would meet us as we gather and grow us in Christlikeness. According to several accounts, this week has been a greenhouse for growth.

This morning Calvin Brown shared how he became a Christian and then after lunch Melissa Bartelson shared how God has been at work in her life. One cannot help but praise the living God for what He is doing in their lives and in our midst!

We continue to be marinated as a group in daily devotions on the fruit of the Spirit. This morning Mark Beach focused us on kindness and goodness. Mark directed us to several passages that speak of God’s desire for us to pursue good works. One verse that popped in light of our focus on the fruit of the Spirit was Titus 3:14 “And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.”

Tonight we are going to climb on an old school bus with the kids from the ranch (which will be an experience in and of itself), make our way to Guadalupe’s main drag and enjoy some ice cream together. Please be praying that we would love on these kids in a way that would please our heavenly Father.

Tomorrow we’ll put a half day in on work projects then commit the balance of the day to throwing a party for the kids of the ranch. We’ll be cooking out, swatting at a piñata, playing kickball, and then declaring a water balloon war (filling the 1500+ balloons with water will be the focus of three teams tomorrow morning). Again, pray that our team will give themselves to the kids tomorrow with joy.

The team is in good spirits. There is an awareness that the days are flying by and we will be leaving in just a few days.