In one of my favorite books, called: Ragamuffin Gospel, by Brennan Manning, you can find the words written as it follows:
"To be alive is to be broken; to be broken is to stand in need of grace. It is only through grace that any of us could dare to hope that we could become more like Christ"
"Who shall separate you from the love of Christ? What are you afraid of? Are you afraid that your weakness could separate you from the love of Christ? It can't...Nothing can ever separate you from the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord...the love of Jesus Christ that is stronger than death endures forever."
I have decided to come back to update my blog. It is inexplicable...yeah, honestly, I might have completely forgotten I had a blog.
I will write again...
A good friend of mine was at a point in his life...low point...in need of an embrace. He went to the mall, bought some food, ate by himself, and began reading his Bible. While reading, a dad came with his daughter and sat on the table aside of his. The little girl had some special mental...she was just a special girl, who thought differently, at a slower pace than the "usual". My friend, he smiled at the girl and tried to say something to entertain her. She kept looking at him without ceasing for a moment. This constant staring made my friend very uncomfortable, up to the point that he thought about leaving or changing tables. He thought that it would be rude to do such thing though, so he decided to stay. After a couple of minutes of having been reading his Bible...the little girl caught my friend's attention once again. She smiled to him and immediately pointed to her sock. The word LOVE was written in her sock. My friend got reminded of the power of his Lord. The word LOVE written on the sock of this very special girl was the instrument of God to embrace my friend's whole being. God's love IS... my friend's testimony encourages me...
...my friend waited in the Lord, he wanted to find his strength and take heart in God's promises, he waited in the LORD!A mirror in life, one that reflects hope, is God's love for each of his children.
What does it mean to wait?
What is the expectancy within me when I wake up?
What do I want to see?
Lately, the only peace that fills me entirely comes from the assurance of the LIFE and LOVE I possess, of the precious grace given to me in Jesus. He becomes the joy of my soul each time I truly rest and rely in his care. I am sure the embrace from him is...in times of brokenness or joy...I believe, I trust it is real.
God has been involving me in the area of business, more and more each day. In my young years (10-17) the Lord taught me the importance of loving the needy, the homeless, and the outcast. Some images of things that I saw while serving, praying, or sharing God with people who live under this conditions, will never leave me. How could I forget seeing a kid (7 years old) going to bed at the corner of a street, under a thunderstorm, with his body shaking from the coldness of night. How could I forget a 14 year old boy dying on both the arms of my friend and I, because of the high consumption of drugs...drugs used to satisfy and calm the pain of his hunger. How could I forget a little girl telling me that her dad abused her, and that she would rather stay on the streets than going back home? home? Home is not home for her. How could I forget two teenagers fighting in front of me for some cents? That night a friend of mine got punched in the face as we together tried to separate them. How could I forget finally getting an alcohol (100% alcohol) bottle out of a kid's hands, with the purpose of hiding it forever from him...later on the same kid coming to me, pleading and begging me to give it back to him...knowing deep inside myself that he would use it to get high with the purpose of hiding his pain.
Two dear friends of mine and I have been thinking about starting our own business in Guatemala. We would get a franchise and make it grow in Guatemala, hopefully expanding it to El Salvador and/or Mexico. All the doubts and important questions are currently being addressed. I have some coming meetings with the executive staff of the company. We need for GOD to fully provide for the investment, working capital, equipment, product, employee's salary, etc.
The desire of my heart of jumping into this business is to bring his name into the lives of many of these people mentioned above, starting with our own workers and staff. I want to use a great % of the profit to help the last, the least, and the lost...not by giving them money, but by starting or funding a place where they can go and find God's Word, a bed, food, education, and job opportunities. My ardent desire is to help people from my own country and poor/devastated countries in Africa (Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda).
The beginning of this business, if it kicks off soon, will become one of the biggest projects I have carried out in my life. Certainly, having been working at Antigua Door Company http://www.antiguadoors.com has increased my knowledge and skills in the business field tremendously. I feel more confident now about managing and marketing my own business. I await with great joy the unfolding of this big plans and dreams. I await it in prayer and trust in my Lord.
...Yeah, I think I will write again...maybe even post some pictures of forthcoming trips and adventures.
