I recently learned an important lesson of thankfulness from my 9th grade son, Joel 600 miles from home.  It was during his spring break that we decided to serve God in Mexicali, Mexico.  Over the 10 days of spring break, we saw people who lived in “homes” made out of trash bags, tarps, milk crates, pallets and anything else the residents could find for shelter.  Our mission was to build 14 homes for families and do vacation Bible schools for children.   

During our time there, we slept in tents with no running water.  At night the cold weather made it hard to sleep for more than a couple hours at a time.  There were no showers for 10 days.  I don’t know if the feeling of being sticky and sweaty was worse than the smell of others who were shower deprived.   

I was on the kitchen crew feeding 786 people for 3 meals each day.   So, I would rise at 3:30 am to prepare breakfast for the starving builders and those ministering to the area children.  After breakfast, we would clean up and begin preparing lunch and after lunch clean up, we would begin preparing dinner to eventually meet my sleeping bag at 9:30pm.  

However, on our third day in Mexicali, something changed.  That day, I spoke to my wife who told me that Joel’s basketball team had just won their basketball tournament.  I knew he would be eager to hear the good news, so after dinner that evening, I ran over to him and shared the good news.  He responded, “Dad, you should have seen the kids’ faces when we put up the walls of their new house.  They were running around their new home, saying words I couldn’t understand, but they were sure excited!”  I said, “But, Joel, your team won the championship by 3 points in the last minute of the game. Aren’t you excited?”  He responded, “After the mother saw what we did for her and how excited her kids were, she put her hands in the air and danced in a circle saying, ‘This is my house from heaven!’   And dad, that house was only a little bigger than my bedroom!”  

That made me stop to think.  Maybe I needed an attitude adjustment and a new focus. Instead of missing my physical comforts I needed to focus on those our team was serving.  Maybe I needed to be more grateful.  They had far less than me, but were thankful.  I would soon be leaving, but those in Mexicali would still live there without the comforts I had grown accustomed to.  Then I thought about what Joel was learning and how he was impacted.  I try to teach him to be thankful and that there are more important things than basketball, but God through this trip taught him this lesson.  

I encourage you to join your church’s missions trip this year.  I don’t know what God will teach you, but it will be exactly what you will need.  You will see God work in ways you never anticipated and you’ll realize that serving God is life’s greatest adventure.  

If your church isn’t doing a missions trip this year GHC will be leading one, serving a church who needs help in an evangelism effort to repair its physical plant.  We will provide more information in the weeks to come, but if you are interested in using your trade skills or helping skills contact me at 916-789-2518 or bennett5000@aol.com