“To wake up and realize the condition and needs around the world”

“To wake up and realize the condition and needs around the world” 

            Spoken by Victoria, one of the SI missionary’s who’s been here over 10 years. What do you first think when you wake up? Is it your own needs? Or what does the day have for you? This question Victoria shared with us, came out of her testimony. One of the devotionals that stuck out to me this week was Matthew 5:8 “God blesses those whose hearts are pure, For they will see God”. I can’t help but think of Victoria when I read this verse. Her passion has touched my heart, her hearts is contagious, and only because it is aligned with Jesus’ heart. Is your heart pure? Are you seeking a pure heart? I have been humbled countless times by the devotionals here. But this one hit me hard. There is a lot of self-reflection here in this program. I am learning more than I am serving. How do you live when you are alone or when you are in secret? Does your front stage life match your backstage life? God is not interested in the public version of you, but the person you are becoming in secret. How you live is consistent with what you profess- also know as integrity or authenticity. A friend of mine shared some words that his mom would say to him “son, you have to be honest with God” he went further into explaining that you have to violently rip your heart out to God. Be brutally honest with Him so that no sin is not exposed. How can you purify your heart if you are not real with God? God is honest not fake, a very real God.

              Those are just a few thoughts for you😊 I have been blessed to be serving on the Trade School team here at SI (students international). I have two great leaders, Samuel and Russell. They are a joy to work with. Samuel is a local who knows quite a bit of English, so it has been easy to communicate with him. He is a great man that has given a lot of his time serving. He is what I like to call a “Spiritual weapon”. He serves at his church and plays the drums during worship and on the weekends he and his wife have a little ministry where they minister to little kids that can sometimes go from 30 to 70 kids at one time. It’s encouraging to see someone serving not only at work but at their home too. Their home is where they have their get togethers. Russell is from the States and has been serving at SI for a couple of years now. He has been a blessing when it comes to translating words that Samuel doesn’t know. I am very grateful because I am terrible at Spanish but slowly learning. Russell has a heart for the people here and it’s evident. He and his wife also is expecting a baby, please pray for him! God is using these two very much here. We have been working\building a lot! We are in the process of making a reclining bed, and a roof over an outdoor sink, we’ve made little Guatemala country key chains and spatulas to sell at the SI store to help raise funds for the Trade site, we’ve sanded down chairs and repainted them, we’ve hung up fans in the Special Education site (it gets hot in there haha), we’ve hung up this beautifully made sign for the Physical therapy site. The Trade site has a hand in a little bit of everything in the SI mission field.

               Our service is very helpful, but the main focus here in these two weeks is relationships. I’ve never learned more about relationships than here. I have also learned to eat slower when at the table, haha but seriously. People enjoy each other’s company and spend a long time talking when eating with each other. I’m told breaks are usually an hour and a half, which is not existent in the states. They encourage rest! It has been hard with the language barrier, but actions speak louder than words. I’ve learned that you can say a lot just by the expression on your face when you walk into a room. Or when you are sitting in front of people. A lot of what we do here is spend time with people. Simply sitting in the presence of people, sometimes that is all that is needed, letting someone know that you are there for them. You will be surprised as to what that can do, I’m sure some of you know. I’m reminded of Mary and Martha, how Martha was busy washing dishes but Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus. I personally have been caught up in busyness in my life, and it hasn’t been until now where I see the culture in Guatemala is to prioritize spending time with people. A lot of the time we stop what we are doing and enjoy one’s company. I can’t help but bring this into a spiritual aspect of how often we are too busy doing work that we completely forget that Jesus is in the other room waiting for some company, not that he needs it but he does want it. Woah did you hear that Jesus wants your company, the all-powerful God wants your company, wow!

               Here is something else I’ve noticed. There are a bunch of beautiful dogs here in Magdalena. A lot on the streets and in homes. But I can’t help notice there are some dogs that are malnourished and with scars, rummaging around in the trash for food, eating an empty chip bag, I mean it’s pretty sad but real. Mark 7:24-30 “the Gentiles women’s faith” her famous line that got her son healed from a demon “Yes Lord but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs” Here she is calling herself a dog in front of countless people and in front of the king of kings, what humility! Wow I mean can we publicly call ourselves dogs in front of everyone at church and mean it?! How humble are you before God? Being meek does not mean one is a coward or spineless. Neither does it mean indecisiveness or lacking confidence. Meekness is not weakness, but rather harnessed and self-controlled strength!

 My next question to you is are you willing to serve? And when you are done serving are you willing to serve again when you don’t see the fruit of your service. I won’t lie it’s hard to see the fruit here at least in the Trade site, I’ll be real and say it! But! I know the Lord is at work, and especially here at SI. I will leave you with this, Luke 17:7-10 “In this way, you also, when you do all the things which are commanded of you, say, we are unworthy slaves: we have done only that which we have ought to have done.” I can’t help but selfishly think how God will bless me for the work I’m doing here. But Praise the Lord for this reality check, nothing I do matters and nothing I do here is because of me, it is the Holy Spirit clearly working through the lives of the Lifters and the SI staff.  Now this morning I get to proudly boast in Christ by singing these words “so, here I am to worship, here I am to bow down, here I am to say that you’re my God. And you’re altogether lovely altogether worthy, altogether wonderful to me, And I’ll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross.” Would you humble yourself before the Lord today? I am praying for you. Praise the Lord!

         Please pray for the hearts of us LIFTers, that God may continue to do a work in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Please pray for the staff here and their families, they truly are amazing and humble. Please pray for God's ministry here, God is working in Magdalena, Guatemala. Your prayers ARE NOT IN VAIN! THANK YOU!

God be with you! Maranatha!

-Matthew Pepe