Today we moved to El Banano which is a community within a banana grove. The church and school were both much smaller than the previous location. Parts of the clinic had to double up: eyeglasses & dental, pharmacy & hospitality packs and hearing was on the bus. You would think the congestion would have made things chaotic, but no...smoothest day yet. We had an awesome day in children's ministry with 185 children. I switched the type of bracelet that I put on them today to one that had to be tied around their wrists. When I first started tying them, I caught myself thinking 'this is going to take a while'.
Then I noticed as I held a child's hand to put the bracelet on, he was looking up at me with expectant eyes. As I looked in his eyes and held his hand, I said a silent prayer that God would bless that child's life. What a blessing! That was my resolve for the rest of the day: as I tied bracelets on, I prayed for each and every child.
We had 50 people saved in church services today. After we had finished church, we went over to the clinics. As I sat on the wall visiting with some kids, I asked about the ringing of the bell for those that were saved. We usually ring the bell after each service for the number of salvations so the other team members would know. They had done it for the first service, but not the rest of the day. Since I asked about it, they brought the bell to me to ring. I have to admit, I was a little embarrassed to do this because all eyes were on me as I rang the bell 41 more times. While I was ringing it though, it occurred to me the impact of each ring of that bell .... someone going to spend eternity in Heaven! That was overwhelming. It was an honor to recognize those people and their decisions.
So what I've learned today, is to stop and listen to what God is revealing to me in each situation. Above is just a couple of blessings I would've missed if I hadn't taken time to listen. I wonder how many times I miss such simple things when I grumble, complain or just don't really want to do something?
It was just another truly awesome day...and the weather is great. Not too cold, not too hot....perfect!
