Mexico and Moments

So, I´d be lying if I said that I was excited to leave Guatemala and come to Mexico. I´d be lying if I said that I had a great attitude about it and immediately fell in love with Mexico like I did with Guatemala. I´d be lying if I said that I never held the wealth of this community against them. But, I´d also be lying if I said that I haven´t grown from this experience and learned some important things.

It really hurt to leave Guatemala, and, for a while, I felt as if a huge part of my heart was still there. Have you ever felt as if part of your heart was somewhere else? Not fun. But last night, Mexico and I had a moment. My brother and I went for a run yesterday evening, and the sun was setting over the snow-capped mountains and volcanoes that surround this city; it was beautiful, and God and I had a nice little conversation while I was running. After running the track for a while, we left to go back home stopping on the way to run up the 200-ish steps to one of the 365 (literally) churches. It was pretty hard, but the view at the top was awesome. The whole city was stretched out in front of us with the aforementioned snow-capped beauties standing sentinal and the sky a rosy-pink-turned-brilliant-orange overhead. In those moments (when I thought I was maybe dying), I fell a little bit in love with Mexico. Not the way I did with Guatemala--a different kind of love, but, regardless, God took a wrecking ball to the walls I´d put up agains Mexico.

Another thought from today: first of all, Lent in a predominantly Catholic country is very loud. Every Thursday and Friday around 6am people begin setting off bomb-sized fireworks in our street, and the Church bells (remember, there are 365 Churches here) start going crazy. This morning, as I was lying in bed being very ethnocentric in my thoughts of, "Lent in the US is so much quieter!" I put in my ipod. One of the songs that played was "For The Moments I Feel Faint," and the line that really stood out to me this morning says, "so I take my insufficiencies and place them in Your hands." I had to marvel again about a perfect God Who would want my insufficiencies. But He does! He uses my weaknesses for His strength, and that´s a good thought for me as I apply for and pray about service terms for next year.