First Baptist Church - Lubbock

"Though you may be painfully aware of your prior sins, though you may be painfully aware of the mistakes of your past, God is aware when you're cloaked with Christ that you are mantled, you are cloaked with the very Son of God who gave His life on Calvary."
-Dr. Jason Burden

Full sermon on YouTube:
https://vist.ly/5bcvi

Stories of God’s Goodness (part 3)
*A TESTIMONY BY PEYTON ROGERS (Student)*
God has moved in so many ways this week, but one of the most apparent to me is through the genuine love and joy the kids of these communities possess. Our version of “normal” doesn’t include kids you’ve never met running up to hug you on the street, but it is the only “normal” these kids have ever known. Despite the circumstances many of them are currently or have previously delt with, their souls are so full of joy and it is directly conveyed through the sincerity of their actions.
Today after we finished delivering food bags to different houses, we were sitting on the side of the street conversing with locals as we waited for the rest of our group to arrive. From down the street, a group of little girls joined those of us who were sitting along the side of the road. Their immediate reaction is to to give us the tightest hugs with the brightest smiles on their faces. As nervous as we are to be interacting with people with which we have such a drastic language barrier, these girls are nothing but happy to be talking to us in our (very) broken spanish. They know nothing of judgement and everything of love. As I got to speaking to the girls, I learned their names, ages, favorite colors, and asked them if they love Jesus. Getting to know the little girls and people in general that fill this community is one of the greatest blessings, and I have nothing but love in my heart for them.

*A TESTIMONY BY SARAH POE (Student)*
I have seen God move in so many more ways than I could ever imagine this week. Then seeing the joy that these families and children have in the community that we are blessed to be able to provide for is so inspiring, and being able to be a part of the conversations that are being shared is truly life changing. Sharing the love, peace, and joy that God has given us is just such a wonderful thing to experience in a different way, despite the language barrier the love that God has for all of his children is universal. I am so grateful to be able to be a part of God’s work being His hands and His feet.
Today my amazing team, Heather, Caleb, Marc, Corbin, Lexi and I delivered food bags to 5 families and installed one water filter. While we were making these home visits we were able to share the gospel with the family’s we met. The fourth house we visited there was a woman named Gabriela and she lived there with her caregiver Anna. Annas has two kids, Nancy and Dillan who are both five. Gabriela shared with us she was very sick with diabetes and how it affected her daily life. She shared how she was always in pain and feels as if her medication isn’t working. As she was talking she said in tears “ I don’t want to give up”. In that moment something in me shifted. A woman who had so many reasons to give up was holding onto so much hope. As I keep thinking about that moment I have the same feeling of hope and faith inside of me. She did know the Lord and said she prays all the time. We continued and read Matthew 9:18-26 as a reminder that something so simple as faith can heal you, and we prayed with her. We prayed over her, her body, and the people she lives with. Today has changed my heart and was a day I will remember the rest of my life.

*A TESTIMONY BY SEAN CLARK (Adult Leader)*
When it comes to God, expect the unexpected. He did it to me again. So many times I have approached something with my own visions, thoughts, desires, expectations, and I walk away grateful God had different plans.
I started the day with my team delivering food to families in need. When I say “in need”, this is a level of poverty I have never seen firsthand. Dirt floors, no running water, no electricity, barely any walls to make a room, much less a house. We spent some time talking with the people we were delivering food to. We asked about their lives, family, and any prayer requests we could pray for. With some, we also shared the gospel. But by the time we finished, I couldn’t help but shake this thought inside my head that was haunting me. I kept wondering if the people who we were talking to and observing us were truly seeing us wanting to help and share God’s love with them, or were they seeing a bunch of privileged Americans showing pity just to make us feel good about ourselves. I knew without a doubt my heart, as well as many on our trip, had the proper posture. But were the people seeing it flow from us?
I continued to wrestle with this thought throughout lunch and couldn’t shake it, no matter how much I pep-talked myself. Then it was time to go to VBS. We loaded the bus and made the short drive to our location. I was the first one off the bus, and the moment I exited, God intervened. A little boy named Emilio came running up to me with the biggest smile and his arms opened wide. I had no previous contact with this child, but he ran to me like my own children would after being gone for an extended period of time. He gave me the biggest hug, said some things to me in Spanish I didn’t understand, and then held his arms up wanting to be held. I picked him up and carried him around. At one point he wanted me to put him down, and when I did, he ran off and shortly returned. When he came back, he had what looked like a Hot Wheels toy car and was handing it to me. I took it from him, played with it for a second, and then tried giving it back. Emilio would not take it back. He kept pushing my hand away each time I tried. I put it in my pocket to give it back to him later. We were pretty much inseparable the rest of the day.

At one point, I asked an interpreter that was assisting us to teach me how to ask, “Is this a gift for me?” in Spanish. I memorized it and at the end of VBS for that day, I pulled the toy car out of my pocket, asked the question in my Texas-twang Spanish, and he responded, “Si!” with a big smile on his face. I thanked him and gave him a big hug before he left with his mother.
I was reminded of Jesus’ parable of the widow’s offering in Mark 12:41-44. When we showed up for VBS, we didn’t bring any gifts. But one of the first gestures shown to me was a gift from Emilio. I gave out of my abundance of time and money to come to Guatemala. Emilio gave me a gift out of his poverty. Sometimes it’s the simplest gestures and smallest of gifts that have the most impact. God showed me in that moment that when we allow Him to work in and through us, are intentional about serving Him and others, people will see our faith and know it’s real. This gift will be something I will cherish for the rest of my life.

𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗢𝗗'𝗦 𝗚𝗢𝗢𝗗𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦

Each day for the rest of our trip we will be sharing stories written by two members of our mission team. One student and one adult leader. Here are the first two in that series:

A Testimony from Britton Scheckel

One way we connected with the people in the village today was by painting the nails of the girls we met. As we talked with them and learned about their lives and personalities, I was reminded that God places the right people in our path to share His love to others in ways that may seem unconventional or unexpected.
As many of us quickly discovered, soccer (¡fútbol!) is incredibly popular in Guatemala. Throughout the day, many of us built connections with the locals through this loved sport while also improving our soccer skills. Sharing interests with people in other countries brought to mind how we have far more in common than we think, not just with sports but also the need for and experience of faithfulness of the Lord.

The more time we spend with the people of Los Pocitos, it becomes more evident how God’s love knows no bounds and neither should ours!

A Testimony from Michael Harlien

Our first day of staying close to our home for the week, Clubhouse Guatemala, was a day of different experiences. We started the day on a hike to the base of a volcano. We walked down tree lined roads on which we saw small glimpses of the volcano. As we got closer, the view opened up and showed a tall pointy peak with smoke sometimes visible. It was a majestic sight with a mix of colors, including green and black, and a field of volcanic rock that stretched as far as the eye could see. Our friend Stephanie shared how she studied volcanoes in college and this was the first time she was able to enjoy God’s beautiful creation. It was not hard to see God’s presence in this huge place that displayed His creativity, purpose, and awe. The time we spent at the volcano grew even more memorable as a fog slowly rolled in covering part of the scenery. Star Wars and Hobbit fans made references to scenes in movies that we could never imagine seeing ourselves in. It was something we will all remember because God created something special for us.

We returned to our camp prior to lunch and prepared ourselves for a church service to be held at 3pm. It was a different scene than the volcano. We gathered in a church unlike any we see in Lubbock. It is more like a pavilion than a church with walls that do not extend from floor to ceiling. We sat in plastic folding chairs, looking forward at a small table, two speakers, and a microphone. It was definitely different than the vast volcano where we spent our morning. Funny thing happened, God showed himself more magnificently in that small pavilion during the church service, than he did at the volcano. He used one young woman, with most likely zero musical training, and one 18 year old young man, filled with the Holy Spirit to paint a masterpiece. Forty people from FBC Youth and approximately ten people from the village attended. The young Pastor spoke in Spanish, of course, and it was clumsily translated for us by an interpreter. The lack of eloquence did not matter. The message was clear, we all must die to ourselves and take up the cross and follow Jesus. It did not look like the volcano, but God’s presence was felt. As far as the eye could see we saw the love of Jesus. And the passing motorcycles, trucks, and crowing rooster could not distract us from Him. It was something we will all remember because God created something special for us.