Week Recap 2 - Friday, March 21

 


And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing…Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

               ⁃             1 Corinthians 13:2, 4-7

 

Carter kicked off our week preaching a sermon on love. Throughout the week, I couldn’t help but notice how present the love described in this passage was in our day-to-day interactions. As you’ve read, the people of Cielo and Nazaret were the picture image of God’s love. They greeted us and welcomed us with open arms. Our translators were patient; the children were kind; the people of Cielo did not show envy or boastfulness.

 

The love between our group was another daily reminder of Carter’s sermon. We were not arrogant or rude to each other or the people we served; we did not insist on our own ways when working alongside each other; we did not become irritable or resentful; we rejoiced in success and not in wrongdoings.

 

My favorite example of this was our daily ‘brag-a-thon’. As it sounds, this was a time we would brag on someone else in the group. It was such a testament of how we showed God’s love each day. 

 

My favorite ‘brags’ from the week were:

               ◦           JC being the DJ and lifting our spirits when we were exhausted after a work day (DJ-C!)

               ◦           Campbell working tirelessly while laying block (as her partner that day, JC, had to abandon her for his DJ duties)

               ◦           Lacie accepting all of the birthday love on her 18th bday (and not stressing about the almond extract)! 

               ◦           Lillian catching 100+ buckets being hurled at her face to keep our bucket line moving (with bruises to prove it!)

               ◦           Jacob stepping up to lay brick (with no experience) and crushing it

               ◦           Owen rescuing me from a pile of children by sitting next to me and allowing them to climb all over him 

               ◦           Walker speaking in Spanish (successfully) to the children at the school in Nazaret

 

My prayer for our group coming home is that we continue to pour out this love into the John Knox congregation and the city of Greenville!

 

-Grace Rief

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