Happy Birthday Mayra

Today Mayra has her 30-something…birthday! There are some surprises in the works, but I won’t write about them just in case she reads my blog today. I thank God for her! It was neat to see the appreciatation of many people yesterday towards her. We had a cake and party last night at her parents’ house; slippers, sunglasses and earrings among her gifts. The picture below is Mayra in Toledo, Spain, in March.

Crystal Langer arrived today, to spend the next several months here, taking advantage of her time here while she waits for her residency visa for Spain. Great to have her back! She will be teaching English M-F and helping out with the youth group, among other things.

Bob and Sharla Buhler and their kids visited us at church yesterday, and Bob preached on the church being the hope of the world. Good time, good sermon. Once again we crammed upwards of 60 people in a very small space…along with drums, guitars, keyboard, etc…

Quote of the Day:
“I take great comfort in the possibility that Jesus would like me were we to meet face-to-face. To be sure, there were people Jesus did not take a liking to, but those people were arrogant, questioned His identity as God, and boosted their egos and senses of power by burdening people with excess religious baggage. But for most people, especially people in the margins, there was in Christ a great deal of empathy. He seemed to want people to be together, to live together and love one another and link arms. In John 17:21-23, Christ prays that those of us who hear His gospel through the work of the disciples would be one, just as He and the Father are One. And when asked what is the greatest commandment, Jesus replies that it is to love the Father, a relational exploit, and He adds, as if to emphasize, to love as well our neighbors (see Matt. 22:36-39). Christ is saying that the two most important commandments of God are to have within us a relational commitment to God and to other people.” Donald Miller