Caborca, Contentment, God's Overarching Sovereignty, and Other Weighty Matters

"Teach us, O God, that nothing is necessary to Thee. Were anything necessary to Thee that thing would be the measure of Thy imperfection: and how could we worship one who is imperfect? If nothing is necessary to Thee, then no one is necessary - and if no one, then not we." ~ Jeremiah Burroughs

It was late Friday night that we - the East Valley Caborca team - returned home, and I've taken a few days now for some thought and clarification. I've learned - or, at least, am trying to learn - never to speak too quickly about anything - and writing is exactly the same way. Hm, where to begin...

CABORCA EXPERIENCES
The body of Christ in action
Dust
Unity
Pastor Abraham
Cold
Great Mexican Food
Cross-Cultural Evangelism Team
Ministry in the city
Asparagus
Campo Viva
Worship
Children's ministry
Clowns
"beautiful feet" (thanks, John!)
Different Tribes desiring to hear the good news
Peoples from Southern Mexico responding to the gospel in repentance and faith
Campo Rocio
Believers with ONE purpose UNITED in GOSPEL
Cold cement floors
Gospel tapes in various languages
Ministry in the camps
Warm fellowship
La Alameda Village
The Passion
Friendship
Washboard roads
Chucking the deuces for Jesus
More dust
Campo 25 de Enero
Bibles arriving just on time
The prayers of our SENDERS back home
Many open doors
The power of God
Love
Abundant life
Spiritual warfare
"Yo quiero nadar en el rio de Dios"
"Swimming"
Hundreds of people heard the truth
Many of those responded
Rejoicing in Heaven
Rejoicing on earth
Instant coffee
Alfonso
Oatmeal
Ministry in the villages
Praise God from whom all blessings flow (sung in Chol, a Chiapan dialect)
God saving peoples through His people
God's great glory

To elaborate...

That first weekend we spent in the actual town of Caborca itself, in ministry with an amazing, very Gospel-centered national church there. Our main focus was a poverty-stricken colonia on the outskirts of the city, Santa Cecilia. That Saturday night, while the Jesus film played on the side of the RV, I joined the prayer team inside. It's always been incredible to see how God works when His people pray. In the midst of our prayer, the movie turned off completely, leaving our audiences to nothing but the dark and cold. We prayed fervently for the tech team that night. I've seen, on past trips, that God's sovereignty is always better than whatever else we may have had in mind, and I know that He will never impede anything that brings Him glory. Within minutes the movie was playing again. None of our audience had been lost. And better still - we had seen Him work.

As the movie wound up, a prayer request came in for a young girl named Myra, who had expressed interest in the Gospel, and was eager to know more. Once the Gospel message began, I felt an inexplicable urge to get outside and see what I might do. Searching for any opportunity to be of use, I noticed, at the very edge of the crowd, a young girl about 14 talking - or gesturing - with a few members of our team. Myra! It had to be. I made a beeline for the girl, and immediately introduced myself as Ana. She shook my hand earnestly, and told me her name was Myra. Gravity was the only thing that kept me from going everywhere at once. And then suddenly - as though spiritual warfare began in that very moment - I lost all words. There was nothing that I could say to this young girl, so desperate for answers, even for a friend. How I longed to share with her the hope that I had - the hope that can only be had in the Gospel - and yet, there I was, helpless. And then I realized - I had the testimony of God's grace and great mercy in my life! I had been saved - therefore, I had something to share, a story to tell. What could I possibly say that would be more real, more relevant to this young girl's life? From then the story of my own story - let me rephrase, GOD'S story in my life - gushed forth. It was no longer me speaking, but the Christ that was in me. What a beautiful thing it is to be merely an instrument in the hands of an almighty and truly awesome God. Example of glory #1.

The weekend over, the real central part of our ministry began: the camps. In Caborca, (and in many other cities across Mexico), agricultural 'camps' are instituted that house workers to plant and harvest the region's multiple crops. Most all of these people are brought en masse from the South, being promised higher wages and a place of shelter. Here in these camps can one often see the depths of real poverty. And here in these camps, there is a great need. Drawing from past experience, I knew exactly what to pray for in my own heart. I have a very great tendency to depend entirely upon myself: my reliance, being a rather veteran missions worker, is often on myself, on my abilities, and my expectations, my focus, are often distracted from their goal. I prayed that Sunday night, and I prayed all through Monday morning and afternoon. Slowly, I began to feel my heart prepared. The Lord used a piece of good Christian literature - The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs, a devout Independent minister from the early 17th century. One particular paragraph took me entirely by surprise, and taught me a valuable lesson. The English, at times, borders on the archaic - but it makes the simple truth spoken all the more beautiful.

A gracious heart is contented by the melting of his will and desires into God's will and desires; by this means he gets contentment. This ... is a mystery to a carnal heart. It is not by having his own desires satisfied, but by melting his will and desires into God's will. So that, in one sense, he comes to have his desires satisfied though he does not obtain the thing that he desired before; still he comes to be satisfied with this, because he makes his will to be at one with God's will. This is a small degree higher than submitting to the will of God. You all say that you should submit to God's will; a Christian has got beyond this. He can make God's will and his own the same. it is said of believers that they are joined to the Lord, and are one spirit... A gracious heart must needs have satisfaction in this way, beacuse godliness teaches him this, to see that his good is more in God than it is in himself. The good of my life and comforts and my happiness and my glory and my riches are more in God than in myself.

Wow - what a beautiful thing. We, as humans, were made to serve a purpose, to bring glory to someone, to something. The unbeliever has not found this purpose - therefore he wanders aimlessly and has no peace. The person, however, whose hope is in the Lord, has purpose indeed, and the Holy Spirit inside him (or her!) will lead them to accomplish this. Once again - I'm just a broken instrument that God, in His great mercy, has chosen to use.

It's funny - you've got to be careful what you pray about - for what you ask in His name, He surely will answer. Our first camp was labeled Campo Viva, and, once again, pride took over. (When He said this was a fight, He wasn't kidding.) I'd worked at Campo Viva twice now - I was, indeed, a veteran, and I intended (although I never would have admitted it!) to display my talent and ease in this camp ministry as a whole. Once again, I lost the words - it seems that a divine sense of humor was playing a role in my life. Introductions - pleasantries - were a chore, and I found myself unable to understand even the simplest Spanish that I was presented with. As it grew dark, I returned to the van, inwardly kicking myself for passing up all Gospel opportunities, for making a fool of myself with the infamous tape player, and for my the worry and fear that seemed to plague me in that moment. I breathed a sigh of relief as the Jesus film began playing on the side of one of the barracks, and with an air of resignation I propped myself up against the vehicle for about an hour and a half.

At the point of the crucifixion the movie was paused and Pastor Alfonso came forward to share 'a few things about Jesus'. My eyes widened as dozens of campers came forward to repent of their sins. I wonder that I should be surprised - I guess I still haven't fully grasped the depths of God's ability to change lives yet. My own salvation continues to be a mystery - albeit a beautiful one. All those who had expressed interest received a Spanish Bible, and I watched as each one came eagerly forward to receive theirs. One man who had been close to me against the van for the duration of the film returned to the same place, with a new light in his eyes as he gazed at the brand new Bible he held in both hands. As he stood there gazing at it, one of his more skeptical fellow campers came from behind and snatched the Bible for a closer look. "What is this?" he asked the first man. "Is it worth anything?" After thoroughly looking it over, he carelessly threw it back at the new believer. The owner took it back carefully, his eyes still fixed on its cover. "And in here, here in this book," he said, "you will find the truth." This man, who had known the Lord scarcely five minutes, was already sharing with those around in him! When God works in a life, in a soul - it shows - and I prayed that I would never doubt His ability to do so again.

Finally, I got to see the body work as a whole. During one of the final days of the trip, we split up into teams and took off to share the Gospel in Diamante, the town we were staying in. As we went from house to house, we were surprised that no one at all seemed to be at home. Every house, every yard, was completely empty. Just as we were about to give up, we came upon Camilo. He was sitting alone, a solitary figure against the background of dust and sky, and immediately I remembered him. Six months ago we had visited Camilo and his wife, shared the Gospel, left a Bible, and had gone. A Mexican team member, Abram, went boldly forward to talk to the man, and I followed close behind.

An hour and a half later, I was thanking the Lord that only Camilo had been home that day. One man heard the Gospel - the full, complete, clear, beautiful Gospel. Abram fearlessly shared the Word with him, and I interjected whenever Abram was at a loss for words. Our two other team members, although they couldn't personally speak Spanish, prayed fervently for us as we shared with the man. Embedded in tradition, myths, and Catholicism, Camilo couldn't understand his need for a Savior - but he heard the full truth that day, and we left him sorrowful, and yet rejoicing in our own salvation, that our own eyes were opened to the mystery that is foolishness to those who cannot see.

God's glory was clearly manifest in Caborca. I thank the Lord that I was allowed to be a part of His work.

What a God we serve - great is His name!!!

"God created us to live with a single passion: to joyfully display his supreme excellence in all spheres of life. The wasted life is the life without this passion. God calls us to pray and think and dream and plan and work not to be made much of, but to make much of him in every part of our lives." ~ John Piper