I apologize for the lack of blog posts here lately. In the jungle, I did not have as much access to the internet as I had hoped. I will begin posting pics and videos regularly over this next week.

Here is our mission team from this year’s trip. It was such a good trip. Life-changing as most mission trips are.

NEXT SUNDAY NIGHT AT 6PM WE WILL HAVE OUR POST TRIP REPORT AT CHURCH.

Everyone is invited. We will show pictures and videos, while all 9 of us share our experiences.

Ecuador gets its name from being located on the Equator. So one of the many wonderful tourist attractions in Ecuador is “La Mitad del Mundo.” This means “the Middle of the World.” Here is a picture of our team standing directly on the Equator of the world. One foot in the Northern Hemisphere and one foot in the Southern Hemisphere. It really is such a cool place to visit.

The main purpose of our trip was to go and work at a Youth Camp. This was a Youth Camp (just like youth camp in the US) for Ecuadorian teenagers. We served at the camp in any way possible. The name of the camp is UNPES. In this picture you can see the name painted on the dormitory building. It means UNPES Baptist Bible Camp.

The whole trip was such a blessing. Stay tuned for more updates.

We made it! The nine of us are here safely in Quito, Ecuador.

Our Howard Johnson hotel is so nice. I am going to bed now at 830, I am so tired.

I have already eaten my favorite ice cream Coco! I also already had me a humita. And I already had some ceviche with shrimp. Delicious!

Tomorrow will be a day of touring and getting acquainted with the culture. Then we will head to the jungle on Saturday. Everyone is doing well. We are all happy.

PLEASE PRAY FOR US! I will attempt to give updates each day.

In Psalm 86, David makes two statements back-to-back that are hard at first to understand together.

Here are verses 1 & 2 of Psalm 86:

“Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you– you are my God.”

You see what David says? In verse 1, he says he is “poor and needy.” And then in verse 2, he says “I am godly.” How can you be both? Aren’t they the opposite?

No. Not the opposite. Not at all.

This is so important to understanding true life in Christ. True religion is not at all what you are doing for God, but moreover what God is doing through you!

This is exactly what Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 15:10. (“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”)

But back to David now in Psalm 86. What then is he saying? David is aware of his sins, his wrong-doings, his shortcomings, and his struggles. He knows that he is not God, and therefore he needs God. So he prays to God “answer me, for I am poor and needy.” But then He knows that God is his God and that God is his Shepherd and that God is his maker and that God is his salvation. He knows that He is one of the people of God. He knows God’s covenant to his forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So he knows that He is godly…. not because of his own life and works, but because of God’s graciousness toward him (see vv. 3, 5, 8, 11, 13, 15, 16).

So according to David’s own life, he is poor and needy. But according to God’s love and mercy toward him, his relationship with God, and his salvation in God, he is godly.

Its beautiful! Its Gospel Truth. Because of me, I am poor and needy. But Because of God, I am godly. Only by grace can this be true.

It reminds me of the first Beatitude in Matthew 5:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Are you blessed (content and happy)?

In Luke 6, Jesus gives 4 types of people who are blessed:

1. the poor (v.20)
2. the hungry (v.21)
3. those who weep (v.21)
4. those who are hated, excluded, reviled, and spurned

What in the world is he talking about? Is Jesus crazy?

John MacArthur says “everything he taught was so utterly opposite from everything they thought.” And Matthew Henry says “It is so far from depriving you of your happiness that it will greatly add to it.”

What Jesus is teaching is that ‘a state of happiness’ can only come from God.
Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Generally speaking, when one has wealth, a full belly, laughter, and everyone likes them then that one is unlikely to be aware of their need for God. So the one who is poor and hungry and weeping and at odds with people turns to God out of their great need and trusts in Christ the Lord.

When you read this teaching from Jesus, you are left thinking… if those are the people who are blessed, no wonder people aren’t happy.

Trust in the Lord and be happy, blessed and content! Be able to say “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

We need more people sharing this message. Talk like you mean it… or believe it.