nitty gritty

I was telling my friend Big Jim, that it is more work to leave work than it is to stay and work at work… wow how very cryptic.  I digress… My  BFF Butch Loveall asked me last nigh if my mind was already in Guatemala.  ”No, not yet.”  I replied. I told him I was too excited about getting to baptize Trevor Hole just a few minutes from then… FFWD —-> 8:15PM on Thursday March 11, 2010; Trevor Hole surrendered his life to Jesus Christ.  I believe that the Lord is gonna use him to change lives!  I can’t think of a better way to finalize all of the “work” I was getting to do to prepare to got to Guatemala City with my other BFF William Lewis Poe (just 1 day after his 47th birthday)!

This is Lew’s first time out of the country (unless you count his college Spring Break trip to Mexico, but He barely remembers it so we don’t count it.  So we sit in the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport waiting for our flight to board, and I am reminded of something Gil Contreras told me 15+ years ago.  It was about 2AM and I was sipping coffee with Gil in his kitchen just outside of Mexico City.  Gil was telling me a story about a friend of his who had been killed because of his faith in Jesus.  With tears in his 70 year old eyes, Gil looked up from his steamy cup, and asked me, “Why are you here?”  After a stumbling and confused answer, Gil said, “You are here because you belong to The King! If the King of Kings has called you be a Missionary (or in your case a Student Minister) why would stoop so low as to be a prince or a President or even a King?”  I sat with much feeling and thought.  AS I was about to stumble on my feeble thoughts, Gil stopped me and said, “No Brother, you would never stoop so low as to be anything else than a Prince in the King’s service!”

So as we travel and sit in Dallas for 5 hours, we dream of what is to come.  Embracing old friends (for me) and new friends (for Lew), eating, laughing, washing feet, crying and who knows what else.  We will live like Princes in the court of the King!

PS - Please pray for our team: 1st timers - Lew Poe, Erin Bruton & Russ (can’t remember his last name) sorry Russ… Devin Chance, Jan Cortez, Charlotte Dunaway, the unstoppable Lorin Wiese and me.  Check back in each day for a new story.  See ya tomorrow from Guatemala City & Antigua!