Resting & Reflecting

Bom Dia!

The team had a great last day of serving the Amazon villagers yesterday. They have been traveling all night and will travel all day today back to Manaus and should arrive late tonight.

Today will be spent resting and reflecting. They'll begin mentally preparing for their return home, a place so very different from what they've just experienced. Many different thoughts and emotions could surface; humility, confusion, compassion, rejuvenated spirit for the Lord, changed perspective...and much more

During my visits to the jungle, their life made me realize how the many choices here in the U.S. diminish the need for relationships. I began to think about the word “freedom”. We can pick and choose pretty much whatever we want in life. We work where we want, eat whatever we are craving, listen to our favorite music, buy from the closest grocery store, email or use cell phones to stay in touch with friends and family…and the choices go on and on. But, is life really better here because we have so much? Thinking about my grandparents life, I realized how far from relationships we have evolved. And yet, with all these choices, we still want more. We long for what we don’t have. We aren’t satisfied with what we’ve got. Content, few are.

So “who is better off?” A question Tim normally asks the team. A tough question but, in many ways, I think they are. They live life through relationships. Everyone looks out for & serves one another. They care deeply for their neighbor. They love each other unconditionally. House size, type of car, or salary doesn’t matter…it’s all about serving each other. Giving to one another. Thinking about others first. And they truly are happy people. Simple and content with the most gentle, humble spirits and with great faith in the Lord.

They truly depend on one another. True community. Living through relationships. Satisfaction & pleasure come from their relationship with the Lord. And always smiling. Content with life though, in our opinion, they have so little. But do they?

What a comforting yet humble reminder of God's provision for his children!

While the team has finished their time of service in the jungle, their mission continues as they head back to Dallas. Their mission field is all around them...at work, their neighborhood, at the gym, the cleaners, wherever they go.

Prayer for today:
- Safe travel today on the boat.

- To be still with the Lord. Reflect upon what He is teaching them from this experience.

- Rest & preparation for the long flights home.

- That the Lord would prepare them for, oftentimes, the 'culture shock' of returning home.

I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations;

I will sing of you among the peoples.
For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;

your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;

let your glory be over all the earth.

Psalm 57: 9-11

Thank you for your prayers!

Have a blessed day!

Kelli Coblentz