Working for the Lord

"23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." - Colossians 3:23-24

Day 4: Sickness strikes

Dear Family and Friends,

Greetings to you in the name of the LORD Jesus Christ! I hope and pray that you are all well. We are so thankful for your prayers and support for this trip, and I know that God is at work in large and small ways alike. 

Anyone who has traveled into a foreign country can tell you that sickness is to be expected. While it is expected, it is still not easy. Our morning began with the sad news that our teammate Justin Lind had a rough night. He was in gastrointestinal distress, to say the least. Our risk became more realized when Rob Audia (the school's sports media manager) was also not feeling very well. Despite the setbacks, we still set out to work on a building project at one of the houses we visited yesterday. 

We arrived at Pan de Vida, and met Christian. He is an ex-kickboxer who found the LORD (or should I say, the LORD found him) three years ago. Since then, he has been a faithful volunteer at Pan de Vida. He is also the project manager for the hit squad (what they call the construction projects), and was our commander for the project today. Before leaving the base-of-op, Alec Gehman also felt ill and he wisely decided to remain back at the Alliance Academy. A couple other guys also weren't feeling a 100%, so our team morale was probably at a low-point for the week so far. 

The work commenced with a gusto though! Christian took most of the guys to the back of the building to begin digging and hauling dirt away from the site of a future retaining wall. Because of my injured wrist and my uncommon skill with painting (questionable), I was chosen to paint the steel beams on the underside of the interior roof. When our team sets out to accomplish something, we accomplish it. Despite that we were missing our two best Spanish speakers (Rob and Mrs. Dreves who had elected to stay back at the Alliance Academy to tend to our wounded), Justin and Alec, we still ferociously attacked the project and got it to within manageable reach of completion for tomorrow.

The team outside got to enjoy some great camaraderie as they sweated together. In addition to the digging, they also worked on figuring out who Coach Dreves' 20-questions celebrity was (it was Tom Hanks!). It was fun to hear them shouting "sackos" when the chain needed to move dirt. I loved hearing them outside because I know this is a foundation for an incredible team culture down the road. In as much as I know that we are there to serve the Ecuadorians, I also desire to see Christ work in our culture and in our own individual lives. Days like today really helped me see that in a new and real way. I was blessed to work inside, getting to chat (if you can call my broken Spanish "chatting") with the family and get some amazing one-on-one time with the guys who came in to help me. Below is a video of our bucket chain in full swing. 

After the project finished, we packed back up and went to our field to train. When we stopped at the Alliance Academy, we found that Justin and Alec had both turned a corner, but now Mrs. Dreves wasn't feeling well. We had a very light training session, partly to accommodate to some sore muscles and partly because we have a busy week coming up. After showering, we made our way to the local Supermercado for some local Ecuadorian snacks. It also served as a chance to pick up tons of disinfectant and paper towels to clean the entire academy. We have begun to quarantine the people who are sick, and a quiet night followed by a solid night's rest certainly won't go amiss. The supermarket was a fun time to see their culture, such as mayonnaise coming in bags. Nate Curry was particularly excited by the well-priced gummies. 

The day is near spent, and I am fearful for my own health at this point. Please continue to pray for the wellness of our team. The team's morale is certainly pretty low at this point, haha. In reflecting on the day, one thing that stuck out to me was something that Coach had shared earlier in the week in his Bible study on "randomness." 

Everything happens for a reason. Justin, Alec, Rob, Mrs. Dreves, and everyone else got sick for a reason. In our minds (especially in Justin and co.'s), it may seem like a waste that we came all the way down here in order to help these people, but got sick instead. I found myself wishing that I was outside working with the other guys today. We are facing a season without an assistant coach. Some guys are fighting injuries. Yet, all of these things are ordained by God and foreknown (Psalm 139:16). In addition, they are promised in Romans 8 that they work out for our good. We can't see God's big tapestry, we are just the individual threads in it. The back of a tapestry may be pretty ugly to see, but golly, the front sure is breathtaking. 

Lord, thanks for letting us be a part of your tapestry. 

#31 on the field, #31 in your hearts,

In Him,

Blake Baer