God is in the Details

I awoke this morning with a start as I thought, “Oh, my! We leave for Ecuador in less than 2 weeks!” My long to-do list quickly unraveled in my mind. Then, as I read in my Bible this morning the directions God gave Moses and Aaron as they prepared for God’s Passover before their exodus from Egypt, I was comforted. The account reads,

“The animals you choose must be one year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the door-frames of the houses where they eat the lambs. That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. Do not eat the meat raw or cooked in water, but roast it over the fire - head, legs and inner parts. Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. This is how you are to eat: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. Eat in haste; it is the LORD’s Passover.” (Ex. 12:5-11; NLT)

I was struck by the amount of detail in God’s directions. And, Moses, Aaron, and the Israelites were charged with completing them in faith. No one had experienced the Passover, so no one could accurately predict what it would look and feel like. Boy, I can relate to this as the Service Learning Team prepares for our trip to Quito, Ecuador. No one the team has been to Ecuador and few have taught science lessons or led a vacation Bible school (VBS) in an international setting. Yet, we, like the Israelites, are completing many tasks in faith.  We are trusting that these preparatory tasks are exactly what God needs in order for us to testify to Him while we are building relationships with the administrators, teachers, and students in the Nuevos Amigos  school, Rey Sabio Salomon and children and youth group at the VBS. 

As we prepare, family members of the team can help us by praying over the detailed tasks we need to yet complete and for our flights (the flight itinerary is posted in this blog under “flight itinerary”).  Also, you can, along with the team, 1) thank God for the opportunity to write lesson plans and plan games and crafts that He will need us to implement in order to foster relationships; and 2) praise our Father in Heaven for being trustworthy and faithful, as He has already gone before us to Quito.

As we are now less than two weeks out from the trip, my excitement is increasing. I look forward to experiencing how God will bond our team and how individual hearts will grow more like Jesus.  

Gratefully HIS,

Dr. Sarah Hamsher