Day 35: Freedom

Monday means a lot of things, I guess. Today, Monday means a great day. 

We got up and to the CDI earlier than usual today. James was going to leave for the airport at 10:30 AM, and we wanted to squeeze a little more time and work out of him before he left. The Uber ride was pretty chill (which was somehow rare for this weekend). Upon arrival at the CDI, I immediately began listing out the things we were supposed to work on, and was gently reminded that we were supposed to worship and pray first. So, we did that. 

It's humbling that I still want to default to Doing over Being. If I ever get my legs or arms bitten off by a jaguar, I want to state here and now that it was my own fault for being so slow to learn to be still before the Lord. Not to worry, it's very unlikely we'll encounter any jaguars though. 

Getting to pray for our team and over the CDI was really, really powerful. I think for future trips, I'm going to recommend that at least one worship and prayer night happens in the CDI. Ooh, I wonder if we could get one on campus. There's a spiritual power there that should never be dismissed or underestimated (which I am very good at doing).

We then did some more work around the CDI and then sent James home. I have a hard time wrapping my head around how much encouragement, wisdom, equipping, and work James provided in two days. 

We got lunch as a team, got the CDI set up and ready, and then kids came. We played for a little bit, then I did the devotional. The point of the devotional today (and tomorrow) is respecting when it's difficult. I was so pleased by the response when I asked the kids, "Is respect a choice you make, or does someone have to earn it?" The kids went about half and half on the answer and gave some good reasons for both sides. Then, I asked Matthew and he said exactly what I was hoping: "Pues, ambos, yo creo." I love when these kids engage with the material. I'm excited and nervous for our Thursday lesson.

Matthew did the English lesson, reviewing all of the verbs and introducing "it." This also went really well, good engagement, even from Jeikol, though he spent the first several minutes of the lesson saying cuss words in English under his breath. 

After the CDI, Matthew longboarded, I mowed my head and went running. We went to get groceries for the next few days (stuff for the Bible study, stuff for H@ngout, etc.), I got to talk to Alexis for a couple of hours, which was lovely. Y'all, I'm so done with distance. I'm listening to songs like this right now. 

Today was Juneteenth! Also known as "America's Second Independence Day." It originated in Texas, but not for good reasons. It took more than two years for the emancipation of enslaved people to be enforced in Texas. Yikes. I've heard of the holiday all my life, but it became a national holiday in 2021. 

We've had some good conversations the last few days (and I hope for some more tomorrow and Wednesday with the college students) about freedom, slavery, race, and America. All of them have turned ultimately to the idea of freedom in Christ and what it means for us as people. We're made for freedom and given freedom by Christ's sacrifice. I've said a lot about myself that freedom and independence are two values that have been embedded in my foundations as long as I can remember. I tell people that some of that is from my family, but also a lot comes from growing up in America and especially Texas. But what painful irony that the state that prides itself on independence and freedom would be the last to allow people to have those things. 

Anyway, also ironic is how infrequently I walk in the freedom I have in Christ. I ought to read Galatians.

Well, it's late and tomorrow is Tuesday, which means... that's right, a long day. Pray for us!

PRAYERS PLEASE
-for our time with the kids and students tomorrow!

-for the Spirit to stir in people's hearts
-for the Wright State team that arrives from another part of CR tomorrow
-for our last 9 days to be done well
-for God's church to walk in the freedom he purchased for us

-for our nation and for our world to continue to grow and learn and heal

Hm... did I take any pictures today? Let's look. There's one of some graffiti and one of me. So...basically no. 

Here's a couple of pictures from the other weekend:

Some casually great roadside views

That's a BIG tree root