The morning service at Rancho was, of course, all in sign, and Janet didn’t translate what Lucas Nash was saying, which was good for purposes of keeping me on my toes but bad for trying to take notes at the same time. I had to guess at a lot of it. Thankfully since it was for the kids it was simple, with white board illustrations.
After the service was done, Janet and Howard drove me into town to Juanita’s church for their service. I was bracing myself for a huge crowd of people rapidly speaking Spanish with whom I would have to converse, but when I got there the service was already going. Juanita and her husband and daughter were in the back row, and she motioned for me to come sit down.
The service lasted about an hour and 45 minutes. I comprehended pretty well for the first 30 minutes or so while the pastor shared the first time and the worship band got up and led songs, but after that my brain did turn to oatmeal, like I thought it might. I tried to stay focused and attach meaning to the strings of words I was hearing, but basically all I got out of the main sermon was that it was about Noah building the ark. It was super hot today too, and of course the service was between the 11 and 1 o’clock hours, so even though the room was big and it wasn’t full, it was just so warm that I had trouble staying awake! The things that were cool about the service, though, was that they were really pentecostal in how they prayed, and they all went up to pray for the pastor after the worship service, and everyone was praying aloud and crying and praising, which was cool to experience because it was different. I also loved seeing how passionate Juanita was in saying hello to other people and singing during worship. All ages were represented in the room, from little toddlers to elderly couples, and it was amazing to see them all singing and clapping to the music (not at all caring whether they were on key or on beat). I thought about how Christians all over the world today were meeting to honor God, and how even though our world is crazy, God’s people are still meeting everywhere—in the United States, in Mexico, in Rwanda, in Germany, in Iraq, in India, in China—on this first day of the week.
After the service ended, I got to meet Juanita’s husband and her daughter, Griselda, who is pregnant and is going to have a baby shower next week. Juanita gave invitations to all the staff girls at the Ranch. I can’t wait to go! Griselda was really sweet. I liked her. Juanita and her family were nice enough to take me to the supermarket and then back to RSM . . . I had planned to walk to the store for a couple of groceries and then have Janet pick me up at 1:45, but it was only 1:00 and Juanita’s family had to go to the store too. So I rode there with them, then they took me by their house so I could see what it looked like (it’s a nice little house with a big sign that says “Jesús es mi pastor” in the front), and then they took me down the road to the Ranch just in time for lunch! It was perfect.
I’m currently wearing some lovely and fashionable knee-length black shorts I borrowed from the distribution center. Janet noticed I was wearing my old Junior Lifeguard trunk shorts, which go to about mid-thigh but are technically against Ranch dress code. She said to just find some other shorts in the distribution center. I figured Trish lives her life in basketball shorts, and certainly nobody is going to say anything about an outfit being too casual around here, especially not on a hot day. So I went with the black exercise shorts I found. They did the trick and they have pockets, so I’m fine with them. One more way for me and Trish to be alike! We have so many things in common that it’s weird.
Worked on some job-application stuff this afternoon. I wanted to take a walk today, but it was just too hot. Helped Johnny and Amber serve dinner, and then it was time for staff church service. Steve Sundin, who has been on the RSM board for a long time, was here today and I got to meet him. He brought his friend Mike, a former missionary, and the two of them led our service tonight. We did it in the Brown Room, because it has a projector screen and Mike had a PowerPoint presentation to show. Sheri and Mike (a different Mike), who live in Ensenada and who are being “parents” for Miriam now that she isn’t at RSM anymore, came too. They had to pick up Miriam after her weekend visit, so they came for the service.
Our first activity was really fun—Steve had brought wrapped gifts for everybody on staff, and each gift contained that person’s name. We all chose a gift to open, and once somebody opened it and knew who the gift was for, he or she was supposed to say something encouraging or positive about that person and then give that person their gift. So for example, Luke opened a pair of kids’ books: A Bargain for Frances and Best Friends for Frances. Obviously that gift was for Frances, so he had to say something he appreciated about her and then give her the books. It was a really fun exercise! I was so happy because I opened Janet’s gift, and Janet has been my biggest and most constant source of support since I got here—I feel like I’m always bugging her with questions, but she always makes time for me—so I was excited to get to tell her that.
After our encouragement game, we all migrated in front of the projector screen so Mike could do his presentation. It was called “God’s Global Agenda” and it was about how, despite all the growing chaos in the world, the gospel is still going out full steam and the growth rate of the church, on a global scale, is the highest in history since the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost in the book of Acts! The majority of Christians, by the numbers, is no longer found in Western nations, but in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Mike traveled around for years doing international trips to support and teach newly established churches in other countries, so a lot of his presentation was pictures and videos of different churches that have been established in places like India, where there are still plenty of unreached people groups. It was amazing stuff. We can get so bogged down thinking about the problems going on in America or Europe or the Middle East right now, but if we shift our focus to what God is doing, we see a pattern of growth and a huge movement of the Holy Spirit worldwide!
Josefina had brought quite the dessert spread—sugar cookies and some kind of layered oatmeal and coconut deliciousness with jelly in the middle—and while we nibbled, I had a great talk with Steve and Trish. I asked Steve about Navigators, because both he and Mike used to be in it, and we talked about Billy Graham, the Jesus Movement, and some other stuff. It was a great night.
Before Mike and Sheri left with Miriam, I got to talk to her for a couple minutes (as best I could with my lame attempts at sign). I told her I was so happy that I got to see her—it was totally a God thing that we ended up both being here the same weekend! She said the same. I’m really happy to be having some interactions with the kids and the deaf visitors at last. I was never able to do that before, because I was never here long enough at a time to pick up enough signs for a conversation. But now, I’ve actually conversed with Pastor Carlos, Miriam, Jesús Martin, Gladis, Diana, and a few of the other kids. Granted, I only understand about one-fourth of what they’re telling me, but it’s more than I was ever able to do before!
Must get myself to bed now Tomorrow is a school day, which means I’m meeting Juanita in the kitchen at 6:30 am . . . ugh. Good thing the mornings here are so beautiful and the kitchen is only a 1-minute walk from the staff house, or I’d have a lot more trouble getting up day after day!
Oh, and here’s another staff person for you to meet . . .
RSM Staff Profile
Name: Kayla
Hails from: Sumner, WA
Role: Dorm mom
Has been here for: 1.5 years
Favorite thing about serving here: Her dorm girls (forming relationships, mentoring, hanging out, and having fun with them on a constant basis)
Fun fact: Her brother used to serve here—he was a dorm dad with Mark about 6 or 7 years back!
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