The Family of God

One of the blessings of this weekend in Brenham has been, beyond good times with my family, experiencing good times with two churches, two tribes in the family of God. One of these sweet groups of people is the Brenham Church of Christ-one of our sponsoring congregations. Steph and I both have good ties with this church: me having grown up there with parents that still work and lead this body as well as Steph's parents having blessed the church with 6 years of dedicated service. I am so thankful to be "yoked" (if you'll allow me an anitiquated yet Bibilical word) with these sweet people. They are simply so supportive and genuinely interested in what we know the Lord's calling on our lives to be.

The other group is the Iglesia Bautista Fuente de Vida, a bilingual body of faith that welcomed me among them tonight. Minus the details, I met these wonderful people through my mom who teaches the pastor's children in her band. These Christ-followers have been praying for us since my mom shared with them our story. They've been praying diligently for me (as our family's leader), for Sofia's recovery after heart surgery, for our upcoming work in Peru and simply for God's work in our lives. Undoubtedly, after getting to share with them our news of a coming child, they will be praying for his as well as Stephanie's health during the coming months. What an amazing group of brothers and sisters! I really enjoyed being with them tonight and am hopeful that the Lord will nurture our relationship over the years to come. In my mind's eye, I already see them rolling up their sleeves with us and the serving the people of Peru.

And what an amazing time for these visits. I've been struck lately by the vastness of the Lord's kingdom. It seems to have emerged various times in my study of scripture and, of course, I've been working through my thoughts of why there exist so many tribes of God-fearing people in a "kingdom" bent on unity. But that's a topic for another day. Right now, I just want to share my thankfulness for spending time with some wonderful people that remind me why I'm doing what I'm doing, why the Lord and Peru's got a hold of my heart.

A recommendation if I may. If you're ever in Brenham on a Sunday make sure you look these folks up. You'll be glad you did.