Mexico {Week 1: Thursday}

Thursday...we spent the morning sharing testimonies. It was a blessing to hear how God had worked in everybody's lives throughout the week. We shared for over two hours (and used a fair share of tissues... ;) ) 

T-shirt signings...a long and storied Normandale tradition. 

Ari...I'm so glad it worked out for you to come down again (and that we got to break out our glasses again) :)

After testimonies and brunch, we take some time to pass out tracts in El Paso. We take Spanish and English John/Romans and try to pass out as many as we can in about 2 1/2 hours. 

Aaaand...after all the fun we had with them last year, we couldn't resist buying the knock-off Ray-Bans that are in about every little store in El Paso...

After passing out tracts, the whole group heads over to the El Paso Saddle Blanket. The Mexican market in Juarez closed a few years ago, so this is where BPS now takes people to pick up souvenirs. 

It's a huge shop, with some fun things to try on...

Kenn Winn (the future director of BPS) and his son Seth. It was a pleasure getting to know Kenn, his wife Joy, and their children while I was down there. 

There's also some really comfy furniture to sack out on. :)

Teva-Toes. :D

 When we got in the bus after taking our glasses picture, Hector showed us his pair. Wow! Of course we had to get one with him in it too!

Our group! SO awesome to work with such a great group the first week!

After dinner Thursday night, Kenn gave a message (more on that a little later), and then the group has a couple hours of free time. For this group, that meant some more Polish Ping-Pong!

 We found a bunch of these pink hats in one of the store rooms. Not sure why they were there or how long they've been there...

 ...but of course, it called for another group photo. :D

No idea why we're holding up our pinkies...

These "littler" guys were such troopers the entire week!

More BPS store room special!

Now, as I promised earlier, more on Kenn's message. It really was a encouraging talk based on 1 Samuel 17 that was about "What to Do After the Victory".  All of us were still on flying high after the great week we had just experienced...but what happens when we go home and get back into the routine of "normal" life? Kenn talked about what David did after he killed Goliath. David didn't just sit back and celebrate the huge victory he just experienced; no, he realized that the whole Philistine army was still around him and rallied the Israelites to go pursue and defeat them. So...here are my notes on what to do after the victory:

1. Stay active in the fight

The spiritual war we are in doesn't end until we take our last breath. We won a battle in Juarez, but there's still a war going on. There is no time for a victory dance. When the victory dance starts, we lose sight of the battle that is before us. We will have all of eternity to celebrate the victory...why don't we fight the war while we can?

2. Stay right in the fight

Behave yourself wisely. After we get back from Juarez, people will watch us closely to see if what we say we learned about God matches up with how we act. 

3. Stay humble in the fight

"We" did not do anything this week...God did it all. We simply allowed Him to use us. Satan can whoop all of us combined, but He can't touch God. After David defeated Goliath, he went back to tending sheep. Take the lessons learned in Juarez and use them where God has called you right now!