Sunday, August 27, 2006

Having lost a day in travel has caused us to have to revamp our schedule.  Jonathan told us at the beginning of the trip to be flexible and the team has really done a remarkable job with that.  Interestingly, the church we are staying at does not have Sunday morning worship and yet we could not do a clinic so it turned out to be a great time for the team to get caught up on some rest after the grueling travel.

We started the day together with devotions at the waterfront.  We gathered to pray and hear a word from Pastor Sammy.  Where we gathered we were surrounded by dozens of seals and several of the indigenous birds called a blue footed booby... not exactly what one might think of as a place to pray and worship together, and yet it somehow seemed quite appropriate.

Then it was back to the church for breakfast, free time and setup for the evening concert.  During free time, some chose to go snorkeling, some chose to rest, while others ventured around town to get the lay of the land and catch their breath. 

Like many places in South America, the Galapagos Islands are a dichotomy of natural beauty and impoverished inhabitation. 

The dwellings are very modest and often run down.  Goods and materials are brought to the island monthly by boat and are definitely less than abundant.   You can tell by looking at the homes that building materials are not readily available and costly.  Alcoholism, domestic abuse and child sexual abuse are serious problems here. 

There are 2 other churches here.  One is Catholic and one is a Jehovah's Witness church.  Unfortunately the Catholic Church in South America has allowed itself to become twisted into a blend of pagan idol worship and the remnants of the Catholic faith.  Voodoo, witchcraft and other pagan beliefs are also practiced widely across the island.  The church we are here supporting, Iglasia de Dios is the only real link to the living Christ available to these people.  Our goal here is to plant seeds and help start a fire that will eventually sweep the island, heal its ills, and claim it for Christ. 

As evening approached, we gathered in the sanctuary of the church to begin the concert.  Tabernacle kicked it off with 2 incredible instrumental pieces.  Pastor Adaberto opened with a brief message about marching into battle, and with a long blast of the shofar, the worship began.  A near capacity crowd clapped their hands and sang along as Tabernacle took us to an incredible place of worship.  The excitement was tremendous.  The music was powerful and served to soften the hearts and bring the room into the presence of God. Wow!

Interestingly, a drunk taxi driver crashed his truck into an old boat trailer parked across the street earlier in the afternoon.  No one was hurt and the police quickly carted the young man away.  Michael Mills used the seemingly random event as the cornerstone of his invitation, asking those in attendance if they had been on the street and killed when the taxi crashed would they be ready to meet Jesus. You could see on their faces the self examination.  Now remember, most of these folks were regular attendees of the church... even so, 25 came forward to dedicate their hearts to Christ!  Praise God!  Afterward, Pastor Mills asked everyone to bring someone who needed the Lord to the big worship festival in town... nearly everyone in the church raised their hand in confirmation that they would.  What an incredible evening with the Lord!

We were expecting to do 2 medical clinics during our stay here, but because of our delay we are unfortunately having to cut it to one.  We also like to have our last day be one of sight seeing as a nice gesture to those who sacrificed to come here.  But in order to really promote the clinic to get as many as possible there, we are switching the clinic and final worship festival in town to Tuesday and use Monday as a day to enjoy the area, swim with the fishes and go see the tortoises.  We have been blessed that we have been asked to be on the local radio station Monday morning, and an evening TV show to promote the big in-town event.   Once again, God has made a way and we will hopefully have a huge turnout for both the clinic and worship festival on Tuesday.  Pray it be so.