We headed back to the church today to begin our work projects: kitchen remodeling, painting classrooms and the sanctuary, and installing a new roof at a parishioner's home a few blocks away.
We began the day with the Daily Office led by Mother Lourdes. For me, the psalm was especially powerful as we are surrounded by beautiful mountains on every side.
Psalm 95:1-7
"O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and the dry land, which his hands have formed.
O come, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand."
Each day, we have lunch at a parishioner's home. Delicious every time!
We ended the day with a devotional led by our team. Peyton and Nathan read scripture for us, Maria shared a powerful part of her faith story, and Gordon led us in song.
For me, the most memorable bible passage was Ephesians 2:19-22:
"You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."
Christina closed with a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer:
And just when I thought the day had come to a close ...
Mother Lourdes began to speak to the group -- our team of 26 plus about a dozen people from Cristo Liberador. She said sometimes God speaks to her and tells her she needs to pray for someone. Today, she said God was calling her to pray for me. She and I first met in 2014 and again in 2015. She said I have alway been filled with such light and joy but that now my light was dimmer and that I seemed sad. And she said she needed to pray for me. Here and now. She called me to the center of the group, and everyone gathered around and laid hands on me. She placed her hands on my head and prayed (in Spanish) for a long time. It was a profound experience for me -- and for my daughters and everyone else, if I had to guess. Lourdes had no way of knowing how much of a struggle the past four months have been for me and my family, and in a way, it didn't matter that I didn't understand what she was saying. I trust her intuition and her prophetic gift, and God understands her words. But later when our host Thomas told me what she said, I was blown away by the accuracy and power of her words and most especially by her love and care for me. I cherish her love and prayers as well as that of the family that immediately surrounded me. It was a powerful moment I will never forget.
No comments:
Post a Comment