Tapioca Express

For our regular gathering this week, we've abandoned the comfort of our home and chosen to meet outside a Tapioca Express in a strip mall. The weather was too warm, the chairs hard, the mosquitoes hungry, and the cigarette smokes triggering my allergy. And Jeff, in his usual calm voice, said "this is exactly why we meet here today."

I have to admit I was a bit annoyed when the fly on my arm chose not to leave even after I threatened it with my finger. Yet when I looked around the table, I was overtaken by a sense of closeness to my fellow brothers and sisters. Yes there might be bugs, restless nights, illnesses, and other unforeseen issues on the trip, but I trust God will show Himself mightily with the encouragement and support of our fellow teammates.

During the meeting, we reflected on the notion of humility and of being learners of our new friends and of each other. We were also reminded that it was more important to be relational than to focus on tasks and efficiency (echoing Pastor Dave's sermon on Easter!) We ended the night with some awesome prayers. When we started praying, the world became still around us. We each took a long time praying for a teammate. It was such a precious moment. :)

Thank you for reading thus far. There are many praises shared in the group such as travel safety and good rests. We can feel the power of your prayers! Please continue to lift us up. One prayer request that was echoed this week was time management. Please pray that we'll focus on the essentials (being relational) and prioritize well (vs. non-essentials.) Please also lift up some health issues that some of the team members and families are experiencing. Thank you for your faithfulness. He is good, all the time!

Let's end with this quote that Jeff shared with us: "Attitudes are contagious, is yours worth catching?"