January 8, 2017 - It feels Normal
I turned to Becky and asked her what she was feeling. Her response was what I have been trying to say but didn’t have the words to express. Simply put, she said, “This feels normal.”
I’m glad to share a memory of my first visits to church in Bolivia, last July. Like Becky said, it feels normal.
Saturday evening and Sunday morning, on my first weekend back in Bolivia, I went to church. One of my former students, Debbie, is married to a Bolivian who is pastor of Iglesia Berea. Debbie was valedictorian the last year I taught in Bolivia. She went to college only to return to marry her high school sweetheart. They now have three children, the oldest is in college, the middle will graduate this school year, and the youngest is a high school sophomore. Debbie works in the Christian Learning Center where I will be working this year. You know you are old when you work with former students.
They invited me to come on Saturday night because Debbie’s sister, Becky, who I also taught, and her husband and daughter were visiting from Kentucky. Pastor Percy, Debbie’s husband, always starts service early. I was there early and had time to visit. Another friend/former student who is Bolivian came by to see Becky, since they were classmates. It was a nice time of renewing acquaintances.
When I went upstairs to attend the already started youth group, there were maybe 75 in the middle of a game. I’m not sure what the rules were, but they were running across the auditorium and put their noses in a chair that had flour in it. When they had floured their noses, they ran and tagged another who repeated it.
Then everybody sat down and a song played as
a woman and some kids acted out a scene.
I wasn’t quite sure what was happening but later deduced it was a story
about a girl who left home, but was restored to her family. Likewise, we as Christians might leave the
arms of God, but when we return, He accepts us with open arms.
Then they started clearing out all the chairs, so I thought it was over. Ha-ha – It was not over! All the men and teenaged boys came to the front and the girls stayed at the back. I’m still not sure of that setup. By that time about 150 young people were there and a few older people. Two young men, who I later learned were named Gustavo and Noel, led the worship service. The best way to describe them is full of energy; two energizer bunnies. They led one of the most active worship services I have ever seen. It was at least, a 45-minute worship service. Nobody left, but people kept coming in. These kids were singing, dancing, jumping, and smiling. Like it says in Psalm 30:11, “You have turned my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness.” These young people were not in mourning, but rejoicing in a life set free as believers in Christ.
Becky was standing near me during the
worship. I asked her what she was
feeling. Her response is what I have
been trying to say but didn’t have the words to express what I wanted to
say. Simply put, she said, “This feels
normal.”
About 35 years ago, I went on my first mission outreach to Mexico City with the Godwins to a barrio called Ciudad Azteca. My first day there I thought I had made a mistake because it was so different. By my last day there, I knew I was supposed to be a missionary in Latin America, and that’s what I did for most of the 80s. Then I came home and nothing ever felt just right. For the last three years, I knew I wanted to return to Latin America and for the last year, Bolivia in particular. I never knew how to tell why I had to do this. So here is my answer. It feels normal. The things I am hearing, feeling, seeing, smelling, and tasting seem normal to me. It feels like home. I don’t love my home in Texas any less, but this feels like my real home.
So let me tell you what I learned about this
youth group. Several years ago, the
group was rather small, maybe 25 or 30 on a good youth night. Someone in the group asked, “How can we get our
group to grow. There are so many lost
around us.” As a group, they committed
to praying and fasting for God’s guidance each Thursday. And bam, a few months later the group started
growing. It has grown so much that they
had to split into four groups. Each
group meets at other times during the week, but all meet together on Saturdays
for about two hours. The groups take
turns overseeing the weekly teaching.
I’ve taken a picture of all the different meetings this church has
during the week. They have the understanding
that the more they meet and keep each other following Jesus, they will grow
stronger as a family of believers. And
this is the church I will be attending this year!
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