Another Song

While I was in Guatemala, I wrote this song. I was sitting down and thought that it would be pretty cool if I wrote a song while there. I wrote this song based on the theme that we had been going on for the whole year. It’s entitled Jesus, You Are Greater. It became one of my favorite songs that I’ve written. Again, it’s just the words, but I hope all you readers will enjoy it.

Jesus, You are Greater

Verse 1:

Firstborn over all creation, You are the Creator

You are all-powerful, reigning in heaven above

Chorus:

Giving up all your riches, You came to save

Giving up all your rights, You came to give

Humbling yourself, You took my sins upon your shoulders

 Verse 2:

Firstborn over all creation, You are my Maker

You are Almighty, reigning in heaven above

Bridge:

In the midst of my failures

In the midst of my problems

In the midst of all my fears

I’ll look to You

I’ll look to You

In the midst of my failures

In the midst of my problems

In the midst of all my fears

I’ll remember you

I’ll remember you

(‘Cause) Jesus You are greater

Jesus You are greater

End:

Jesus, You are greater

Jesus You are greater

 

#JesusIsGreater

End of a Trip and Epilogue

Mar. 29.2013

10:25 am

I can’t believe that I am right now on the plane heading home. Just wow!! The days have gone by so fast. I honestly can say that I have been blessed by God. I came to bless others but the Guatemalans have blessed us. Their friendship, godliness, and love have touched me. God is good!…Well, we’ll reach Dallas soon. Hope everything goes well.

Again, customs, customs. Again, everything went smoothly and God helped me. Time for some final fun on the return trip…

6:00 pm

Whew! On the way home, customs went by pretty easily. Next, Martijn, Amelia, Rebekah, and I went to T.G.I.F.’s for lunch, trying out the Jack Daniels Burger that Jorge [one of the Guatemalans] recommended. Then I tried what Mike [my small group leader] suggested [once to us]: asking the waiter for a prayer request. Turns out, the waiter’s co-worker’s sister died on the morning. So I prayed for that.

It was just as if lightning struck me when I thought of it. I am pretty sure that that was God kinda reminding me to do it. The waiter was a really nice guy and we had a good lunch. One of the best burgers ever!

Then we hopped on their train system that spanned the entire airport. Halfway, another train broke down, causing all the other trains to stop as well. So, yeah, pretty much stuck on the trains for about half-an-hour, I would say.

…on the plane home now. Parted with Dave. I hope that I will see him again one day.

He was a great and funny guy and I’m glad I got to know him. He got sick at the end of the mission trip but he did his best to be involved until he couldn’t.

11:30 pm

Back home!! Wow it has been a blast. Time to adjust! God has been awesome, the trip was schmiff. Just wow.

#JesusIsGreater

Till now, as I’m typing out this post, I still can’t really believe that I actually went on this mission trip and returned with some much blessings.

Well, this ends my story of the mission trip. But in another sense, the mission trip never really ends….

#JesusIsGreater

Day Nine: Walking the Volcano

Obviously, I’m still alive…:P

Behold! Volcano!

Mar.28.2013

1:00 p.m.

Last day is slowly ticking away. Came back [from] hiking the Pacaya volcano. It was such a blast! The climb was good and the view was fantastic!  It was pretty windy up there and even with a jacket on, it was cold. Obviously after waking and leaving at five, we were generally tired. Ah well, sleep on the plane tomorrow! The afternoon is rather peaceful and [we are] starting to make cards for every one of the CH people. I did Milton, the bus driver.

It was a good hike and, like I said, a good view. It erupted not too long ago and caused the mudslides that displaced many people. It was pretty barren and rocky at the top. It was also a good fellowship time with CH people.

After the volcano, we ate out for lunch. Me, Sarah, Amelia, and Rebekah went for pizza. Good pizza!!

So yeah back at the compound, we were basically just relaxing and making our cards. The biggest problem we faced was the lack of glue of some sort. So, individually we had to come up with creative ideas to stick things down. Most of us used some Canada stickers in some way.

Crayons!

Night

Had authentic Guatemalan food for dinner. Chicken, corn, salsa, and tortilla chips. Ice cream for dessert! That makes 5 or 6 ice creams in 10 days!!! After was saying goodbyes and taking pictures. Well, off to bed!

Authentic Guatemalan food cooked by our wonderful Guatemalan hosts!

I think that saying goodbye was really hard for us as a group. We worked beside them throughout it all. They had blessed us and helped us. We snapped pictures with each other and said goodbye to our hosts.

God, You have blessed me so much on this trip and now this is the last day….But He has not stop blessing me, nor do I think that He will stop.

#JesusIsGreater

2 Corinthians 5:14-15

2 Corinthians 5:14-15–Christ died for us. His love compels us to live for Him and not for ourselves. Because He did it, we should live for Him.

Who do you live for? Are we living our lives for Him? We live in a society today that is focused on self and me, me, me, me, me. But perhaps maybe I refer one of my friend’s post.

Honestly, I will think that I struggle much in this area. I focus on myself and do things to please myself. But really, it is Him that I should live for because He die for me.

We didn’t deserve, but He came to serve.

#JesusIsGreater

Day Eight: Monte de Salvacion

Mar.27.2013

10:25 p.m.

Phew! Up-and-down day. Was great though. With bad traffic, we rushed through lunch after continuing work on the compound. Even with rushing, we were still late for VBS. Managed to teach English and got some crafts done. Then we went off for our house visits before having dinner and going back to the church for the service.

So yeah, rush here, rush there. But that was pretty normal-ish by then. We visited some families who were affected by the mudslide and gave them some gifts to bless them. I just thought that it was pretty cool to see how they continued to trust God in the midst of everything.

Service went pretty well…

Okay, obviously, I don’t journal too much. But it was a great time. (Monte the Salvacion is the church name by the way). Definitely a new experience. One of the thing that I noticed was how there was no projector or screen. Everyone knew the words to the songs that the pastor played. One cool part was that we, the youth worship team, consisting of Josie, Martijn, Sarah, and myself,  and the group as a whole had a chance to lead worship for a little bit. We did Our God, My Redeemer Lives, and Happy Day with a Spanish chorus. It was just a pleasure and honor to have the Guatemalans allow strangers to be part of the service. Phil preached a little sermon about how Jesus is greater.

God, thank you so much for what you showed me thus far in the trip!!

One day to go!

#JesusIsGreater

1 John 2:15-17

1 John 2:15-17–Don’t love the world. Instead seek godly things. The worldly things pass away, but the one who does the will of God lives forever. Obeying God results in eternal life.

Just like Jesus said, “Don’t store up things on earth, where moths and rust eat them.” Seek godly things! Jesus is greater than all earthly things!

#JesusIsGreater

Day Seven: Antigua

Mar.26.2013

6:45 p.m.

Did some work in the compound today. Plastered the ceiling of one roof while another team started work on a chicken coop.

To find the cracks in the ceiling in dim lighting is not very easy….

Went to Antigua next. Was a BLAST of shopping.

Ugh…maybe I shouldn’t have used the word “shopping.” Anyways, Antigua is a market in Guatemala and is a tourist highlight. We basically barter your way through the stalls. Bought myself a machete. Heh heh. Some of us were better barterers and I myself think that I should have went for lower prices. As usual, I bought myself ice cream. It was a really cool experience if just to barter. My immigrant buddy Martijn jokingly tried to trade a loaf of banana bread for a machete all the time insisting that it was a good deal!

Ah, the things God was showing me. The experiences and fun stuff….it would be the second last day of our stay here. Time flew.

#JesusIsGreater

James 1:26-27, 1 John 3:10, 16-17

James 1:26-27 — Reminds me of verses in [other parts of] James where he talks about taming the tongue. Religion is also doing and helping. It is not just talk.

1 John 3:10, 16-17 — The one who does no do what is right or love his brother is not a child of God. Love is key. Jesus laid down His life for us, we should also lay down our lives for our brothers. Reminds me of two things: No greater love than this, that he lays down his life for his [friends]. And Jesus’ command to love (John 15:17).

 

I think that it is so important to remember that Jesus didn’t suggest that we love each other. He commanded us to love each other. He commanded. We have to obey.

Day Six: Black Sands

Mar.25.2013

9:45 p.m.

What a day!! We went to the beach. Only the surprise was it was at a water park which also had…water slides. It was a great time riding the huge waves!! I had two ice creams! Whee!! I’m pretty sun-burnt. ow.

This whole mission trip, I guess, can be described as a surprise. First, it was a surprise that it was pushed up to March. Then there were many unexpected things we had to flow with as we ran the VBS and worked. And then there’s the beach. I have not seen black sands before in my life. Over here the beaches are filled with volcanic sand….As a result, they melted our feet off. 😛 You would have to wear flip-flops or run for life across the hot sands. For the first time, I thoroughly enjoyed the sea. Normally, I rather disliked the sea (partially because I’m not a good swimmer) and was rather nervous about going in it. But casting every fear and doubt aside, I jumped in, got used to the water (which was a little cold), and then constantly got wiped out by the waves. Being small, I very easily could be washed back to the beach. But it was one of the greatest fun on the trip. Then there was the water park. Four big slides. Fun! After playing in the sea for quite some time, we showered off and headed for the pools. There was a wave pool in the park which we all agreed was nothing compared to what was out there. Why do I mention two ice creams? Because I normally don’t eat so much. The only problem with it was that it was so hot that it was hard trying to eat it slowly.

Finally we had some lunch and took a break. Reapplying sunscreen (or so I thought) we hopped back into the waves. I will never know for sure, but I think that I must have missed my shoulders. When we were done and back home, my shoulders were just burning. Many others were pretty burnt as well. So yeah, I had problems sleeping that night.

It was a good day and a good time to recover a little more and relax.

#JesusIsGreater

Colossians 3:12-17, 23-24

Colossians 3:12-17, 23-24 — We should live holy lives in compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. We should forgive others. Then we should also do things as if we were doing it for Christ. Everything! No exceptions, no excuses. Everything we do should be as for Christ.

I think that if we honestly think about this, we will say that we all struggle one way or another in this. But then I’m reminded that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. In essence, I can’t live for Christ by my own strength. I need Him.

On this mission trip, we were reminded to strive to do our tasks for Christ, whether it was building the house, painting the church, or even doing the dishes! Do it for Christ.

#JesusIsGreater