8 de Noviembre (May I be covered in the dust of His sandals)

Thursdays this month are going to be quite interesting, it seems! We started our day with school which went as expected. When class was over, my friend, Eva, introduced Elizabeth and me to some people that she had met. They wanted to practice their English with her, but she figured since she’s not a native speaker and we are, that we might be better suited for the job. The students were very nice, and we learned that one of them used to attend our meetings but can’t anymore because he lives too far away. Another is a guy from Israel who lived for 7 years in “Jersey” and now lives in Peru. I don’t really know what he’s doing here, but hopefully we’ll find out. So, next week we’re supposed to meet up with Joana and her two friends to practice English.

After that, we went home and prepared for conversation club. It was so nice today because we had several new students that we’d never seen before! One girl that came is a babysitter for a British family, so that was kind of interesting. Conversation was great and we’re hoping to see those new faces next week!

Later, after we ate dinner at “Kentucky” or KFC as we know it in America, we came home for Nooma Night. I really enjoyed tonight’s video which was called “Dust.” We focused on the story in the Bible where Jesus and Peter walk on water. Rob Bell offered an interesting perspective of this event. Of course we know that Jesus was walking on water and Peter began to imitate this. Peter stepped out of the boat that he was in and began walking on water towards his teacher, Jesus. After taking a few steps, Peter began to sink, and Jesus questioned why Peter had so little faith. Rob Bell pointed out that he had always read the story to mean that Jesus was questioning why Peter had so little faith in Him, Jesus. But, after taking another look at it, he came to the conclusion that Peter was actually doubting himself, doubting that he was worthy to act in the same manner of his rabbi, his teacher, Jesus. The point is, God called each of us as believers to imitate Him, to follow Him, to be His disciples. God had enough confidence in us to give us the great task of telling the world about Him and His great love. If God has enough confidence in us, why is it that we have such a tendency to doubt? Why do I doubt God when He says that I should do things for Him, that I should go here or there? Why do I doubt that I am worthy to do what He has called me to do? The quest of becoming more like Christ is not one that ends in perfection. No one should be so misled by thinking that the goal they are striving for is to become Christ. The goal of our lives is to become more LIKE Christ so that when others look at us, they will be captivated by the love of God that is shown through us. Wow. That’s something that I never really thought about before. Confidence. We should have it, not in our own abilities, but in Christ’s ability to work through us and in His purpose for us. I know that I am so afraid to fail in life and so afraid that things aren’t going to turn out as I’d hoped they would, that I have a tendency to take the easy road. I’m guessing that I’m not alone in this as demonstrated by Peter and his doubt. Sometimes it seems so much easier to stay in that boat, but we can’t. It’s all about taking the next step. We don’t have to necessarily see the whole picture as long as our focus remains on Jesus. Even with the wind and storm all around, just like Peter, I need to simply take that step out of the boat, eyes focused on my Lord, my teacher and . . . walk. Just walk.

Katrina

When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."

"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."

"Come," he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”