After breakfast we split into small groups and weaved our way through the local market. The central market is open three days a week and is the lifeblood of San Lucas Toliman. On market day the central streets are closed and hundreds (if not thousands) of vendors line up to sell everything a local resident may need. We saw sides of beefing hanging in the warm morning sun, roosters and rabbits. We encountered clothing vendors, fishmongers, spice carts, fruit stands, baskets filled with vegetables, bags of beans, brooms, and buckets. The walkways were filled with women dressed in traditional dresses with children strapped to their backs or walking swiftly behind them. Blind and crippled men and women held out hats and small buckets. And everyone was loading their bags with what they need for the next few days. We saw it all in the market. We smelled it all in the market. We opted not to taste any of it.
After the market we once again headed out to build houses. Today we served a family of four, the father of which is a day laborer making about twelve dollars a day when he can find work. We also built a home for a single mother of two who works seventy hours a week in a local “restaurant,” toting along her two young boys each day to work. The boys eagerly helped our team build them a home and the mother wept as she expressed her gratitude for our team's work. The third group built a Sunday school room for a rural church. The pastor took a day off from his many jobs that he works to support his ministry to build alongside the students. His prayer for our students was powerful even as our students prayed for him.
After a very late lunch it was back to the basketball courts for some intense but joyful games with the locals. The students on the sidelines quickly drew a crowd and in a flash the bracelet-making materials were out and the conversations began. Our students don’t all know Spanish, but they are pretty good at finding out names, ages, and if the person they are talking to has a dog. It is beautiful to watch them work hard to communicate and to connect. They are all in!
Tonight, as we gathered for porch time, we considered the excuses that Moses made when God asked him to join him in his mission (Exodus 3 and 4). God saw the suffering and oppression of his people and was ready to intercede. He was ready to rescue them. He asked Moses to help and yet Moses quickly considered all the reasons why he could not. Moses made excuses. Tonight we got honest and asked God to show us where we make excuses. To reveal to us the ways that we say “no” to Jesus as he invites (commands) us to join him in rescuing the world. I can't answer the question for you, but it is good to ask yourself, “What excuses am I making that prevent me from joining Jesus’ mission?” Today I marveled as our students leaned into what Jesus has called them to do. I hope we can all lean in with them and leave behind our excuses as we join Jesus on his mission.
