Day 3 (on Day 4)

Greetings everyone...

I'm sorry I didn't get to post yesterday, but it was a VERY busy day.

After a quick trip through the Sparks Colonia, Brandie and I began our day with a worship service at the new church building in Fort Hancock. It was their first assembly at the site, and it was a great time! I stood at the back of the unfinished sanctuary and marveled at the work of God in that place. "Gringos" like me, worshipping side by side with the local Hispanics... I smiled and thought to myself, "it smells like heaven in here."

Pastor Ramiro preached about becoming a hero in God's eyes. He told us that we were all heroes, because of our faith in Christ. He looked his congregation in the eyes and reminded them that they thought he was crazy when he told them that they would build a church on that lot. I laughed as he told them, "well, I guess we're all crazy now!"

After the service, everyone stayed around the church building for a while and wrote blessings, prayers, and scripture on the unfinished walls. One particular blessing for me was to watch Dorothy go from door to door in the building, and write Scripture over the top of the doorposts of each door. The symbolism was striking. As Moses sprinkled the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of the Hebrews' homes, the angel of death passed over the land, and God's children were not harmed. My prayer is that the blessings and Scripture written on those doorposts will serve as a shield to Pastor Ramiro and his congregation.

We returned to the hotel, and completed some paperwork, then had a meeting with one of the groups leading Vacation Bible School. The meeting concluded at about 10:30. Brandie and I watched a movie, went to bed, and slept well... :)

Thank you all for continuing to pray for us and the mission. I will post tonight about today's events, including the Vacation Bible School and shoe distribution we conducted this morning... An incredible blessing that I can't wait to share with you about.

Grace and Peace,
Ken Noles