Thursday, March 19

After four days of mission trip activities, how do the students feel about the work that has been done? How do we view our work done in the Lord's name and on his behalf, whether we are out knocking on doors, cleaning the church, or washing the supper dishes? Our devotion this morning reminded us that any work done in faith is a "fragrant offering" to the Lord (Philippians 4:18). This time of the year, the San Diego air is filled with fragrant smells of blooming flowers and fruit trees. If we do that work and imagine it in any way can earn God's favor or make us more righteous, that work is like the dirty, matted sock that Caleb found at the overlook yesterday (Isaiah 64:6). We are mindful that any work that we do in Jesus' name is one that God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). And he is the one who equips us with all we need to do what pleases him (Hebrews 13:21). And for all our failures and shortcomings of this past week while standing on doorsteps in El Cajon, Spring Valley and Lakeside, CA, we know that the righteousness of Jesus is credited to our account, and a fragrant offering was received by our God in the name of Jesus.
Where does one begin to count the blessings of a trip like this? All the blessings flow from a good and gracious God. He is the one who caused nine St. Croix students to decide to spend their spring break on this mission trip. He has been leading the congregation here, Shepherd of the Hills, in their effort to launch a daughter congregation, The Way. God's love moved six families to open their homes to us. We look forward to hearing how the Lord will continue to bless this family of believers in their outreach effort.
Tonight we gathered with our host families at the church and spent an hour recalling the challenges, frustrations, rewards and joys of our canvassing. To a person, we believe the Lord has used this experience to further shape and mold us.
Today we began our day at the San Diego Zoo.

We tried not to look like tourists...with mixed results.

Some enjoyed the ride on the skytram.

Others, namely Linsey and me, not so much. We don't do the heights thing very well, but both of us made it without incident.

The flamingos decided to dress in the same colors as Sophia and me.

After another remarkable meal at Jim and Robin Clement's home (we have far exceeded our quota of desserts--today was chocolate peanut butter pie!) we headed to Horton Plaza, a mall in downtown San Diego. Some wanted to walk around and see places.  Nate, Clayton, and Zach thought they were cool enough to spend time in Hot Topic. I didn't think so. Caleb found his way into a game of chess.

The match lasted a good half hour, but alas, Caleb was a few pawns, a rook and a queen shy of closing the deal.
This group started out the week acquainted, but not necessarily close.

By the end of the week, they are P A L S

As I close out the week of blogging, I have one task remaining. The Three Amigos. Clayton, we have learned, is a budding philosopher. This guy is hatching theories. Ask him about his Squirrel Theory. The young man is testing his theory, in his basement, with a control group of squirrels apparently. An ancillary theory is in the early stage of development. It involves McRib sandwiches at McDonalds. We found out Nate can be quite taken by doorbells, even those with a No Solicitor note with specific reference to those associated with religious groups. He keeps us on our toes because we can't always tell when he is serious or when he is joking. Zach is a good story teller. We especially enjoyed the story about Nate and the doorbell.
Our flights are leaving early in the morning, so we are staying at the church tonight so host families don't have to drive them across the city at 4 in the morning. Most are committed to making it an all-nighter. Four hours remain and all are still going strong.
One of my favorite moments of the week was at the close of Wednesday evening's Lenten service. One of the host parents, Randy Baker, invited the congregation and us to join in singing "Till We Meet" while he played along with the organ on his french horn. He reminded us that while members of Shepherd of the Hills and students and chaperones from St. Croix may or may not see each other again on this side of heaven, by God's grace we will see each other in heaven.