El Viaje de la Facultad

This past Friday we loaded the buses and headed to Casitas, Veracruz for a weekend staff and family retreat. I was beyond excited about going to the beach, because I had missed the annual family vacation to Galveston this past summer. I was stoked when Dan told me that I was going with them and also very curious to see what it would be like to go on vacation with these great men and women of the faith. During the ride, most slept while I listened to a podcast of Dr. David Platt from the Brook Hills Church in Alabama (I definitely recommend listening to him if you are into podcasts). We arrived at our hotel which was right on beach and headed straight to the white sand. Man, I loved the beach… The water was so beautiful and blue… And I loved watching the waves… And I loved standing on the seashore, letting the water come up and cover my toes only to digress, as if the water had fingers that were teasing me to come in…. Dan made it clear that our agenda was in fact no agenda at all…. We were to relax and have fun and this we did with great joy…. We ate like kings and queens at each meal with a feast of Mexican finest cuisine including deserts with each meal… The food was utterly delicious, the fellowship couldn’t have been better, the sand was hot to the feet, the water was cool to the skin, the sun was beaming down making the ocean look like “a thousand diamonds strewn across a blue plain”*, the palm trees blew in the wind, and the continuous roar of the waves entranced one to a deep peaceful sleep. As I hope that you can conjure up from my imagery, the weekend was nothing less than wonderful and refreshing. The verse that Joaquin used in a devotional Saturday morning was the following found in Psalms 34:8, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.” And yes this past weekend we tasted, some reluctantly, the saline of the sea and although salty to the taste, it was good to the soul. And yes this past weekend, we saw the majesty of the Lord, as we arose, once again some reluctantly (due to the time), to see the incomparable beauty of a sunrise over a vast ocean with an endless horizon. Taste and see that the Lord is good today. You might not be surrounded by a breathtaking landscape but God is just as magnificent and His taste just as addictingly sweet as it was there as it is where you are. Enjoy God today.

News about the school: All the 1st, 2nd and 3rd year students are arriving today!!!!! Classes begin tomorrow! All the 4th year students will arrive Saturday to find out their placements for the year. We already have six new 1st year students. Please keep all of them in your prayers. Thank you. To God be the Glory.


* Incubus “Wish you were here”

Vale la Pena ... if you read any of my blogs, read this one

The Dash in the Middle

Her laughter broke the short-lived silence and peaked not only my own curiosity but also the curiosity of my other roommate Niche and I wondered how a little girl of Karen’s stature could produce such a hearty boisterous laugh. She definitely captured our attention and we waited with much anticipation for her to reveal the reason behind her sudden outburst... (background info: they had just seen pictures of my sorority house and of my trip to Europe and Cuba when she started chuckling uncontrollably)... She smiled, showing off two rows of sparkling straight white teeth, and then proceeded, verbalizing her hidden thoughts “Well, she said, I was just thinking… Brooke, you were just telling us all about your adventures. You have been all over the world and it’s funny because ahora tu estás aquí con nosotras en México durmiendo con las cucarachas”…. Are you ready for the translation, my sweet monolingual reader?? …. She said, “it’s funny because now you are here with us in Mexico, sleeping with the cockroaches.” At this, I’m sure we awoke Cordoba with the laugher that spilled out of our dormitory into the streets. Concerning the cucarachas, the past two nights we have slept with the lights on because of our fear of these little creatures… (and I must stop right here to tell you that I just had to kill one climbing up the wall next to my bed even as I am writing this… haha) … We laughed at the absurdity of me being here. I had been all over the world and I had just lived 2 years in a mansion by a lake (the Chi Omega house) and now I am sleeping in a dusty cockroach infested dorm room with no air conditioning. Why the heck would anyone in their right mind make the adjustment that I made? The memories are fresh on my mind of waking up to the smell of bacon and biscuits or returning from class to a squeaky clean room. Mrs. Dorothy, our cook, prepared our every meal including Louisiana’s classics and my favorites: jambalaya, gumbo, and red beans and rice while sweet Mrs. Tic from Vietnam vacuumed our rooms, took out the trash, and cleaned the bathrooms. Ok so back to the question, why the heck am I in Mexico? Was it hard to trade in the colossal Doric white-washed columns for bunk beds? Or Louisiana cuisine for empanadas and gorditas? Or the extravagant American lifestyle for a less extravagant missionary lifestyle? As they ask in Spanish, ¿Vale la pena? (Is it worth the price?) Believe me, sweet friend, I have answers to all these questions and now I hope to have your attention.

I think the best way to answer these questions would be to explain why the title of my blog is “The Dash in the Middle.” What in the world could I possibly be referring to? Any guesses? How I would love to engage in conversation with you and to hear your reactions and thoughts. I must confess I often wonder who you are, reading these words of mine. If you have a question about what I am about to say I would love to hear from you, one of my favorites things is to talk about faith. Ok let's begin- the dash in the middle refers to the little dash mark in between the year you are born and the year you die on your tombstone. Ah, you see it now? Yes, let’s talk about death for a minute in order to talk about true and satisfying life, the kind of life that vale la pena (it’s worth the price) of getting out of the bed in the morning. Do you know what I am talking about? Are you experiencing this kind of life? If you are not, let me let you in on a little secret, which in fact is no secret whatsoever for many and many years millions of people have wholeheartedly to the point of death accepted this secret (which once again is no secret)... Ok, here we go… if you have ever wondered why I am the way that I am …. This will explain it…

First of all…. Let me tell you that there is a God in this jacked up world and He knows your name. In fact, He loves you more than you know but there is something that separates you from Him, which is yourself…. You and I are imperfect human beings. Let’s just say that your mom didn’t have to teach you do something mischievous or bad when you were little. Am I right? We were born knowing how to get ourselves in trouble and desiring whatever this trouble promised. For example, although my mom told me no cookies before dinner, I put my hand in that jar, desiring the taste of those chunky chocolate chips more than wanting to obey her command. Or it took your dad saying “don’t touch the stove” to make you put your little grubby hand on that hot surface. You know what I am talking about. We were all born with this rebellious nature, it is our instinct because it was the path chosen for us by our forefathers, Adam and Eve but as some of you know the Bible doesn’t end with the story of them eating the forbidden fruit. Genesis is only the first book in the Bible. There are a lot more books but I will give you the spark notes for right now… So our nature = sin (any action that goes against God) and God is perfect without sin so therefore imagine a chasm separating you from God. Something had to be done because as I said, God loves you more than you could imagine so He provided a way for us to get to Him through sending His Son Jesus Christ to this earth to die on a cross and to conquer to death. This is the reason Jesus Christ came to the earth, He came to take on your punishment for sin thus offering you a second chance… and this second chance includes a real personal relationship and eternal life with God if you so choose. So what exactly am I trying to tell you in other words? …

This: The Creator of the Universe wants a relationship with you. You were created to know Him and be loved by Him. I can help you understand this way: We were created with a God-shaped hole in our heart and we live life trying to fill it with so many other things. For example, I have seen so many people try to fill it with religion, alcohol, sex, food, other’s approval, and many other things but all these things never completely satisfy but leave the person wanting/ needing more. Jesus will completely satisfy your God-given needs and cravings. He will give you purpose and a reason to get out of bed in the morning. This relationship with Christ, if you chose to accept Him, starts with you giving your life over to Him. Repent of your sins and acknowledge that you need a Savior and that you want this life that Jesus offers. Salvation is an internal transformation. It’s you giving up your life to follow Christ. So you might ask, Brooke, how do I do this... You must not just intellectually believe this but actually receive Christ by personal invitation. Receiving Christ involves you repenting of your sins and turning to God and trusting Christ to come into your life and forgive you of your sins.

Sweet friends, I made this decision… this decision to accept Christ into my life…. this decision to become a Christian… this decision to follow Jesus… this decision to give my life over to Him….. awhile back when I was preteen. I remember someone explaining these same truths to me and all of sudden my eyes were full of tears because I wanted to be reconciled with God, I wanted to taste His sweet forgiveness, and I wanted the life that He offers. I didn’t understand everything but I knew enough to make that decision, and I wholehearted prayed to God, giving Him the control of my life. And I am here to tell you that this is the most important and best decision you could ever make. It’s not about religion but about a true meaningful relationship with God and it starts with you giving Him your All because He gave His all for you. And I don’t want to fool you into thinking that your life will be a piece of cake once you become a Christian because it’s not BUT you have someone who will never leave your side and you don’t fear death because you will forevermore be in the presence of God. God has changed my life and He can do the same for you, in fact, He wants to do the same for you. Give Him your heart, because then it couldn’t be in safer hands.

Therefore; my life’s message and plea to you is the following:

The majority of us will have less than a hundred years of life on this earth. Make your short dash in the middle count. After you experience the forgiveness of Christ and begin to get to know Him, I think you would be more than willing to do anything for Him…. Sleeping with cockroaches in order to tell others of the way He has transformed your life becomes nothing… to tell others what I have told you: that there is real abundant life in Jesus Christ makes everything you go through….. completely… vale la pena ….

… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…. Romans 3:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8

Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. John 1:12-13

Spring Cleaning and Mexican BBQ

Everyone is doing well here at the Ghost Town. There still isn’t much to do with all the students and still some faculty on vacation. This past week, gracias a Dios, there were 2 events that interrupted by boredom here at the school. Dan decided to start spring cleaning early so Mary, Armando, Marcos, and I helped him clean out his office (Chuy came very conveniently at the end of the process hahaha… no she was busy making us some delicious food in the kitchen and plus she told me that the disarray of dusty books and other nostalgic things that covered the living room stressed her out tremendously to the point of scaring her). The amount of books and things that came out of his office was astonishing and the fact that almost every book was a gift given to him was also an impressive fact to swallow. My job was to dust the books which for me took longer than a normal person given my insatiable thirst for a good book. I carefully investigated each hardback that crossed my hands, putting some aside to feed my own appetite and making a mental list of others to come back for later. I came across some very interesting things including Dan’s dad’s diploma from LSU and as you can see in the above pictures, I found an old picture of our beloved Pastor Larry Williams when he was younger. In this picture, he is standing next to Dan’s dad. Also, you can see Marcos taking a siesta as we were busy cleaning away... definitely caught on camera… haha

The other pictures that you see are not a burial of someone but a barbeque… Mexican style. Debe’s family invited the whole MITC faculty and their families to come enjoy Puebla’s finest foods…. Barbacoa (lamb meat) and mole poblano… I had already had the blessing of enjoying these yummy foods on my visit to Debe’s house two weeks ago and more so I had the privilege of meeting and getting to know her family. At ten in the morning on Friday, all the professors and family members met in the breezeway to find out their riding arrangements. I rode in Dan’s suburban with hermana Chely, hermano Joaquin, hermano Juanito, his wife, and Marcos. The ride was so much fun with Joaquin’s endless stream of jokes, Marcos’ laughter, and Dan’s commentary. After a little more than two hours, we arrived at our destination, Rancho Chico, Puebla. As soon as I stepped out of that black SUV, I was greeted with a homecoming of an arrival including big smiles, hugs, and kisses on the check. Everyone laughed as they ran their fingers through the purple strands in my hair and we reminisced about that crazy night that Nanci, Milka, and I colored our hair for no other reason than being able to and crazy enough to do it. It was so good to see everyone again and to have my Cordoba family with me made it even better. I felt a sense of pride as I helped Debe show everyone around her house and town. When the tour was done, Dan gave a little devotion and then we headed to BBQ pit, which was no pit but actually huge mounds of dirt in the ground. I was completely clueless as to what we were doing until I asked someone why a couple guys started ferociously digging up the mounds and then it was explained to me that the borrego or the meat of the lamb was buried underneath these mounds of dirt. Layer by layer these guys uncovered our meal. It was so interesting to watch and you can see the process through the pictures and also see Marcos and his self-proclaimed expression “dame borrego (give me lamb)” on his face. Finally, they reached the lamb meat and hoisted it from the pit and thus started the feast. We also ate mole poblano which is the other food that is on my plate. I loved everything. The lamb meat was very tough but it was so good wrapped up in a homemade tortilla with some salt and salsa. And when I had finished stuffing my face, Danny, Debe’s brother, brought me another plate full of meat. I tried to decline but he wouldn’t hear it and Debe’s dad pitched in, telling me that I had to eat some more…. TO say I was stuffed, would be an understatement. I don’t think I have ever eaten so much in my life but at least I really liked what I was eating… we all left happy and a little bigger…. And that pretty much sums up this past week…. More to come later….

Stomachs of Fish and Woodcreek's Perseverance

The Word says, “The Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights” Jonah 1:17. This is a story that most of us are very familiar with for it seemed to be a favorite among the classic Vacation Bible School stories told over and over. Because of the repetition, familiarity, and unrealistic elements, to me, the story of Jonah became more like a fairy tale like Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty rather than something that actually happened. The act of Jonah living in the belly of a whale for three days seemed as unfeasible as a pumpkin turning into a carriage or Sleeping Beauty being awakened from the dead by a kiss but the difference is that the Bible is real with real people and real stories. Unquestionably, Jonah was swallowed by a big fish and after three days and three nights “the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” I feel that sometimes we as Christians become numb to stories that we have heard since childhood that we miss out on real life applications and also miss out on the depth of the beauty of God’s Word.

I talk about Jonah because throughout the week that the Woodcreek youth group was here, this Old Testament story was on my mind relating to the youngsters’ experience here in Mexico. Let me explain, before you think that I am about to coincide the experience of being in Mexico as to the experience of being in a stomach of a fish. Although some from the group might say it is a fair comparison after the hardship they faced. Something I have learned from the story of Jonah and my own life is that ….. God cares more about your character than your comfort ….. and this is something I think the high school students also learned during their time here... Not only did I look forward to Woodcreek coming because they were the first American team for the summer but also because of a friendship I made last summer with a member from their church, Ben. I had also heard much praise and admiration from the MITC students about their fearless student minister as well.

The eleventh and twelfth grade students unloaded the bus all in smiles but with faces of expectations and also of bewilderment at being in the very country of swine flu and ongoing deadly drug wars. It was later explained to me that for them to obtain their parents’ permission was an act of God alone so naturally there was much anticipation to see God work, and work He did… in His unique and infamous style … aka His mysterious ways... I knew it was going to be a good week; I was greeted immediately by Ben’s sister and their physical resemblance along with a graceful character was an unmistakable trademark. Undoubtedly, the first day turned out to be the only day to go smoothly. The string of unpleasant events started with a student missing a meal because she felt sick to her stomach but the fear started to unravel when she started vomiting and running fever. The group was scheduled to go to a village the next day but things seemed very unpredictable when the youth minister woke up with the same symptoms. After a time delay and some intense prayer, it was clear that God intended for the youth minister and the other physically sick teenager to stay behind. It was heartbreaking to watch the minister tearfully send his group off, entrusted to other 2 sponsors. I, of course, went with the group on their journey to the village, which was situated up in the mountains about 5 hours away from the compound. We took a bus the first 4 hours then we had to take trucks up the mountain because the road was too narrow for other vehicles. Once we reached the muddy village, two other people became very sick with the same symptoms of the others. It became evident at this point that this was a contagious bug that was being passed around the group. These two were immediately sent back to Cordoba as we began our work painting the Christian church. After we finished painting for the day, we held a VBS for the kids which was a challenge because a lot of the kids spoke an Indian dialect which was very different than Spanish. It was obvious from the arrival that the students were uncomfortable in the village due to the outhouses and abundant supply of mud but the breaking point came during the nighttime church service. As soon as the sponsor started his sermon, one of our boys started violently throwing up in front of everyone. Then a fierce thunderstorm came and we all retreated inside. The students were scared to death of the likelihood of being the next person infected with whatever this was going around. They wanted to go home so badly. Clearly, this starless night in a foreign country, far from the comforts and familiarity of home was very challenging and difficult. The next day our other translator started feeling bad as well; therefore, the sponsors made the hard but necessary decision to head back to Cordoba. I will never forget seeing one of the sponsors break down crying on the ride back, clearly pushed to the limit and heartbroken over what was happening with the kids.

Have you ever really sat down and thought what it was like for Jonah to be inside the belly of a fish for three days? Have you ever imagined what it smelt like? What kind of sounds he heard? What it felt like? Was he in complete darkness? ….. I think that if you ask Jonah about his experience he would tell you that God was more concerned about his character than his comfort in this instance. The students from Texas would all agree that this mission trip to Mexico was difficult and uncomfortable but without a doubt God worked through them and in them. Our Heavenly Father pushed them out of their comfort zone and worked on their character. He made them realize that this trip was never about them in the first place but all about Him. I thank God for letting me learn more about Himself by living life with this special group of kids this week; it was beautiful to watch Him break down their barriers and draw them closer to Himself through pain and fear. The last night we had a special dinner where we shared testimonies and I had the privilege of giving them some advice. These students had become very dear to my heart and I also felt a special connection because a lot of them will soon be going off to college and I had just finished my college career this past month. So I took this opportunity and shared with them that no matter what their friends, culture, or professors say, they know and have experienced the true meaning and secret of life this week- which is to know God and make Him known. And I told them that I wanted them to remember their week in Mexico when hard times come because hard times will inevitably come and I want them to cling to God as they have done this week. Because once again, the purpose of this life is to know God and make Him known and nothing else will truly satisfy. I really loved this group of students; God really blessed my life and taught me a lot through them.

In conclusion, unlike Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, Jonah is not a fictional character made up by human imagination. And although his story only takes up 2 pages of my 1,034 paged Bible, I think we can all learn from his life. I could seriously go on and on about lessons I have learned but that will have to be another day, another blog. I will end with the Bible verse that this youth group made their own during this problematic but beautifully bittersweet week of trials, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. Thank you for your beautiful smile although tears streamed down your face. Thank you for letting me join in on the fervent prayers as we pleaded for health and gave thanks for God’s unwavering faithfulness and love. God used you in so many ways here in Mexico and my prayer for you is that you will continue to mature in your faith. Que Dios les cuide y les guarde.

Ghost Town in August

So during the month of August MITC is a GHOST TOWN. Everyone including the staff leave for vacations. Right now, Dan, Chuy, and the boys are in the United States visiting family and friends, leaving me with no refuge to make a ham sandwich or eat cereal when the food isn’t very appetizing in the dining hall. Mateo and his family are also in the United States, this is very exciting because just 2 weeks ago he went to Puebla to see if he could get visas for his wife and 2 boys. As many know, this is a very difficult process but by the grace of God he was given all the visas without any problems.

News about Marcos and Margarita: Margarita gave birth to a beautiful baby boy last week. They are both doing great and Marcos could not be happier. In addition, yesterday was little Marcos’ first birthday so the few faculty members that are here threw a birthday party, it was a lot of fun. I will try to post some pictures as soon as I get some.

I am doing ok. I have been in a slump since I got back from Puebla. It’s just kind of lonely here without many people. There always has to be some students on campus during the year so right now there are 4 students from the first year…. Nietche, Keren, Rocky, and German…. We are bored but having fun, last night we watched the movie Twlight in Spanish…. And of course something like the following happened…….

Just like my friends in the States my Mexican friends love to eat popcorn while watching a movie. So naturally during the first half of the movie someone exclaimed, “Ah, we need popcorn” so we immediately paused the movie while someone ran to pop some popcorn. As many know, I LOVE popcorn and Lindsay Beggs can attest to this... I use to eat popcorn for breakfast in high school…. If that doesn’t convince you… then you can ask my cousin Megan about a saying that I have… which is…. “What else could you want in life if you have Jesus in your heart and popcorn in your hand” ….. Let’s just say I am a fan… So after 10 minutes someone came back with 2 bags full of those delicious palomitas (Spanish for popcorn). We turned out the lights and started the movie again.. It was really dark in the room which made for the perfect atmosphere…. During the cute scene of Bella and Edward flirting over the process of Anaphase, I naturally grabbed a handful of popcorn from the bag… some of the kernels that I grabbed were wet and this caused great joy because there are only a few things better than buttered down popcorn. Without hesitation and much anticipation, I loaded my mouth including those that were drenched with butter only to feel the sensation of a blazing fire which was followed with me choking and tears streaming down my face and then I said to myself like so many times before, “Only here in Mexico would they drench the popcorn in hot sauce…. Because here they put chili on everything….. ”

**** As you can see in the picture I am learning how to eat chili everyday with everything but I need to be in control of when and how much….. haha****

How the heck I ended up in Mexico....

*** I can see this sleeping volcano from where I am living.... it's beautiful ***

During my fourth year at my beloved LSU, I had to make a decision that would forever shape my future. The way I saw it was that I had four options. 1. Stay an extra year at LSU and attain a teaching certificate 2. Apply for an almost guaranteed internship as a teaching assistant in Spain 3. Join Campus Crusade for Christ staff or 4. Return to MITC in Mexico. Sweet Reader, I spent a lot of sleepless nights, tossing and turning, imagining what life what would be like concerning each different opportunity. I was so tormented over this decision that I skipped an LSU football game (I know, I can already feel your condemnation and disbelief, rest assured that I later confessed this sin) so yes I skipped the game to plead with God that He would use a burning owl in Chi Omega house to verbally tell me what to do or that He would put me to sleep and reveal to me through a dream which way to go. Of course I am just kidding and for those who don’t know owls are my sorority’s mascot so our house is loaded with all shapes and sizes. But anyway I did skip the game and I was the only breathing creature in the sorority house that night. I went into our chapter room and wrote out my options on slips of paper and then laid them all out in front of me.

Then came the self-evaluation
……. my thoughts…. Clearly, God has given me a heart for the lost and a love for foreign missions…… I am restless sitting in the nice comfy pews of my air-conditioned church….. I am an American, giving me ultimate access to almost any country…. I love Europe….. I long to see my friends at MITC…. I want what God wants…. OK self-evaluation complete… Now …. Ok, where do I see God working? Hands down, I see God working at MITC in Mexico and I see God working mightily in the Campus Crusade ministry as well…. And I see God using me here right now at LSU as well…. Ahhh…. What to do…….

At this point I was utterly stuck…. My tigers were playing a couple miles away and here I was completely stuck and frustrated with what to do with my life. And at this point I cried out to God for direction and in my surrender and brokenness, He lead me to my suppressed heart’s desire which was to return to my Mexico. So here I am….. I have been here a little over 2 and half months. My job here is the following: translate and help accommodate American teams that come down for mission trips, teach the faculty and students English, work with some teenagers at la Casa de Hogar (an orphanage), and I will also be taking some seminary classes with the students. You know one of my favorite quotes is the following: “The world has yet to see what God can do with and for and through and in a man who is fully consecrated to Him” Henry Varley. And you know I firmly believe this. Simply put, I want to be used by God. I want to grow closer to God. And this starts with surrender. I have surrendered my future to God and now He has me here in Mexico and with this Blog I want to share what God will do with and for and through and in me. Keep tuned…. It’s going to be an exhilarating ride full of good times, troubles, disappointments, laughter, growth, and grace. God is good. And no matter what people say there is no more statisfying place to be other than the will of God.

Experiencing the Love of Christ

Last night I felt the hand of God. You know, sweet reader, it has taken me my whole life to learn how to receive love. In my 22 years, I have always been so willing and eager to give love but I have always struggled to accept it from others. The fight has been a hard one because I feel like the following ridiculous thought “I help you, you don’t help me” has been programmed into my mind since my birth. This has caused much pain and loneliness over the years as I resisted opening up and letting others see my needs and hurts. Finally last year I realized that the root of this was my perception of my self-worth. I felt unworthy of love from others and I have been going through a process of healing by letting go of misconceptions of whom I am and letting God love me through others.

So this week has been a very demanding week because I have been waking up at 7:00 and going out to a different village each day with medical teams and then coming back around 8:00 or 9:00 in the night. Not to mention this past Sunday my legs were attacked by mosquitoes during an outside church service. Last night my physcial discomfort caused by my legs echoed the emotional pain I was feeling deep inside. Things weren’t going as planned and let’s just say that I was really experiencing the effects of the Fall of Man. My feet were never meant to be pierced by thorns. So after cleaning up from dinner and helping with some simple translations, I made my way upstairs to the dorm, defeated from the pressures of the day and from my aching itchy legs. To my left, I passed by my best friend Deborah (a third year student) who was studying on the couch outside our dorm. The life of the students at MITC is very demanding and especially with this week being the week of finals. Not only did Debe have the stress of major exams but she also had kitchen duty this particular week, meaning she had to wake up at 5:00 in the morning to help in the kitchen. I could tell by the look on her face that she was exhausted so I asked her how much she had left to study and she told me that she wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight. She had only answered 6 of 23 loaded theological questions. Before I left her side, she asked me how I was and her eyes left mine as she followed my fingers to my leg which was covered with bites. She then scolded me for not putting on repellent but told me that she was going to give me some medicine later. I so badly wanted to open up to her about my problems but knew that I couldn’t put anything else on her shoulders so I retreated to suffer in my bed alone.

Thirty minutes later and with dried tears I was on the verge of falling into a deep sleep when I felt the covers slip off my legs only to feel the sensation of oil being poured onto my sore and itchy legs. My initial reaction was to jerk up and as I started to lift myself up I felt a hand on my back pushing me back down and I heard Jesus whisper in my ear, "Let me love you, Brooke." Then for the next half hour, my friend, who was dead tired from being up since 5:00 and who had a final exam the next day, rubbed my aching calf muscles and put medicine on my bug bites. God sweetly ministered to my soul through her selfless act of unconditionally and tirelessly loving me. Simply put, I felt the hand of God. The truth is my feet were not meant to have thorns in them. Your feet were not meant to have thorns in them either. But the reality is that we have all sinned and have asked for this world. But there is sweet redemption in Christ Jesus. Have you tasted His sweet redemption? How have you experienced the hand of God today?

*reference to thorns: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10