[Thursday 6-9] Outside of Time
Destinations: 20 de Noviembre, Plan de Ayala
“Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep; O Lord, You preserve man and beast.” Psalm 36:5-6
Welcome to the best day in the jungle! After a quick breakfast of strong coffee, Fruitloops, and granola, we drove to a village called Plan de Ayala. Without knowing exactly what God had prepared for us here, we began going door to door telling people about the water filters. Filepe, one of the first people we spoke with, shared his testimony of God’s grace to spare his life and save his soul after a tragic accident which left him wheelchair bound. Later in the afternoon, we walked to the town square where we were literally mobbed by 200+ kids. Apparently they were on a lunch break and found the crazy Americans to be quite entertaining. We soon discovered that most of the children spoke their native language, Tojol-ab’al, and only some spoke Spanish. Filepe graciously agreed to roll his wheelchair down to the town square to translate for us.God worked in so many amazing ways today, as documented by the pictures, but I would like to highlight just one abstract lesson that I learned.
Time in Mexico is somewhat undefined and unbounded, especially in the jungle. For someone (like me) who plans every minute of every day, this was a complete shock to my existence. I was annoyed by the lack of time-structured events and honestly, I was a little confused how to deal with this way of life. As we canvassed for water filters, did a children’s program, and visited with families in the village, the Lord so sweetly showed me that He wanted me to experience Him “outside of time” as it were. I had to rely on God moment by moment, not only for strength, but also for direction. The unknown and the unexpected made it virtually impossible for me to just go through the motions of trusting God. I had to actually trust God.
As I was walking around town with the team installing water filters, I got see the most gorgeous view. Standing on that mountain admiring God’s handiwork filled me with awe of God’s vastness - unconstrained by time or space. It boggles my mind to think that this eternal God who created the universe with His Word knows and cares for me personally.“How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, and You give them to drink of the river of Your pleasures.” Psalm 36:7-8- Laura, for the team
Morning in 20 de Noviembre
Gabby, Seth, Katie, and Grace on a water filter team in Plan de Ayala
Need we say more? The kids here are precious! Shy at first, but they warm up quickly.
Typical village view
200+ kids assembled in the town square for a kids program... no advertising, just word of mouth!
Felipe did an amazing job of translating our Spanish story into Tojolabal for the kids. We were so grateful for his eagerness to jump in at the last minute.
Washing laundry in Plan de Ayala
Christopher taking a turn at drawing water from the well