Brick, Braun, and Blessings

Hello friends on the intarwebs! Thanks for checking out this blog.

This last week has been a mixture of sentimentality, spirituality, and sweat.

Recap: Saturday we went to Stirling and saw the historic throne of Scotland and the multi-storied, spiral staircased Wallace Monument. Sunday, I went to two church services and met Stuart Weir and his wife Esther. Mosaic church was a meal and talking about the intersection of film and spirituality. Their focus is to reach modern people through the media that they connect with. Next we went to Re:Hope. I was slightly judgemental at first, then the truthful message about unity in Ephesians 4 completely blew my initial thoughts away. I loved hearing about the pastor's faithful and inspiring journey of starting a church in Glasgow.

This week we started working at Glasgow's Child and Family Center doing manual labor. It was a nice change of pace and fond memories flooded my mind of working in Brazil three years ago. Yesterday we had a strenuous day of digging through six unexpected layers of brick under a layer of concrete and rubber in order to dig a trench for a sewage pipe. Little did we know that directly under our noses was a pipe that was covered for over 20 years that was nowhere to be found in the buildings original plans. This pipe was exactly the pipe that we were trying to build already laid in the ground. The chances that the solution we were working so hard to accomplish ourselves was already accomplished in the exact spot that we needed. The work was done for us. It seems too good to be true, but amazingly it is. I can only accept this as a gift from God. Although we spent most of the day digging five feet deep of brick and clay, without first finding what was below the earth, we would never have known about the blessing. Jerred saw how this relates to the Christian experience. We prepare for the worst, bleed and sweat digging in one place when the answer is just under our nose. God's blessing and wisdom is right there waiting for us though we strenuously search in the wrong place. When we find it, it is exciting and makes so much sense but we never would have found it without the hard work.

This is a gift because our time can be used for more things and the CEO of the Glasgow City Mission gets to spend time with his family this weekend. Our team can focus on the things that we need to before leaving.The most powerful person at the mission is covered in mud, sweating in the rain with us, a perfect example of the first being last. Robert, who singlehandedly makes up the maintenence department at the mission, was directing us as well. He has an amazing story of how he came to Christ, overcame an earthly life, redeemed his status as a father, and came to work at the Mission. He is a joy to work with and keeps us laughing.

Its funny how in the last week before we leave I finally feel more confident and comfortable with Glasgow as a city, the mission and its staff, volunteers, and clients. I feel ten times more effective than when I started. I found people to invest in and feel the Spirit leading me to pray for specific people. Leaving reminds me that all good things must come to an end, it's dangerous to become comfortable, and it's time to apply what we have learned at home in Denver.

Thanks for reading about how God has been blessing us even in our last days in Scotland! I'll leave you with this verse from Deuteronomy 6: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on yhour children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."

We are praying for rain and safety for families in Colorado!

In Christ,

Ethan Sares