Tabasco - More than just hot sauce!

Tabasco - More than just hot sauce!

Yet again, we find ourselves on the road for a ridiculous amount of time as we navigate our way down the coast of Mexico. Thankfully, we also found ourselves swimming in the beautiful ocean water of Costa Esmeralda (Emerald Coast). If you check out the pictures, we actually learned that a coconut doubles as a football. You should try it some time!

When we arrived in Tabasco we were greeted by a pastor who was wishing that he was still asleep, but he somehow managed to maintain a smile as he was showing us where we were sleeping. After a good night´s rest, we headed over to the house where the girls were staying and stumbled upon more than breakfast - we ran smack-dab into the striving mentality! What was supposed to be a simple prayer for the beginning of the day turned into the most exhausting prayer time. One of the members of the team was sick and was still confronted for not standing and engaging in ¨warfare¨. It was possibly one of the most spiritually draining moments of the trip. After much discussion of what took place that morning we knew that the Lord was again wanting to minister His rest and love for the people of Tabasco. But, to keep things in the light, I was having a really hard time trying to figure out exactly how to convey this message to a congregational mindset who thought all worth and identity was found in what they could do for the Lord. Throughout the whole day several of the team members kept reminding me that the Lord was wanting to free these people from their striving, but I was continually confronted with the dilemma of my own heart - I was so turned off by what took place that morning, that if I was to speak on rest it would be out of spite and anger, not love.

I asked the Lord multiple times, ¨Lord, how do you want to do this?!?¨ No response. It wasn´t until our time of worship that it dawned on me - I´ve got to quit asking, and sit! So, we stopped playing and just sat in silence until the Lord spoke. It came in such simplicity and wisdom... ¨Tell them that I am so pleased with them; then they will listen to every word you say.¨ I laughed, out loud actually, and proceeded to tell them that the Lord was so pleased - and who would´ve thought, they all gave me their full attention afterwards.

The service was held outdoors and the speakers were blaring with the message of the love and rest of the Lord! We began to share that God wasn´t looking for workers, He was looking for lovers! God wants an army of Marys, not Marthas. God wants hearts, not hands! The people began to see and experience the love of God and ran to the platform in tears as they asked for God to show them His love. A cry of repentance was released and they began to fall out of agreement with the striving/slavery mentality and stepped into their new identity as sons and daughters! It was beautiful! People from all over the town began to flood the stage asking for prayer for this heart transplant!!

Needless to say, it was yet again, another powerful night in the Land of Lovers. The people here are so passionate about the Lord! It was amazing to see them released into the freedom of the love and grace of the Lord. Rise up Mexico! The Lord loves your hearts, not your hands!!!

22 comments (Add your own)

1. Allison Long wrote:
Wow. So awesome that God showed you all the way to speak to their hearts. That was my greatest frustration when living in Mexico...if you weren't doing/fasting/praying loudly/dancing you were not serving or worshiping God. I often experienced that same frustration and anger, and it was difficult to keep my attitude in check. I will be praying for God to really open those doors for you all to impart that freedom.

Sat, June 26, 2010 @ 3:42 PM

2. dfghdzr wrote:
OK I have to ask, is there a copy or a book with Mitchell's Eucharistic Prayer available soremhewe? : I had in mind Paschal’s line “le cœur a ses raisons, que la raison ne connaeet point,” rendered into elevated but contemporary English and directed at the Almighty…Elevated contemporary English. ICEL was on to something. Give it 500 years?BTW, the Canadian Bishops adopted the ICEL collects from 1998 for their Sunday Celebrations book — which they don’t subtitle in a deliberately lay-demeaning manner… British Anglicans bit for some of the collects, offertory and invitations to communion, penitential rites and one of the alternate eucharistic prayers (Nathan Mitchell’s prayer, which the CDWDS jettisoned before “Sacramentary” stage). And some American Episcopalians are considering the possibility of adopting the alternative Exsultet. ICEL 1998 lives… just elsewhere.

Sat, May 12, 2012 @ 7:25 PM

3. Cassy wrote:
, literally, "my and your sarcifice," which makes clear there is only one sarcifice. Our current translation is loose but theologically accurate: "our." ICEL had proposed, "this sarcifice, which is mine and yours," which is a mouthful but you see the theological issue they're being careful about.""My sarcifice and yours" isn't quite what the Latin says. I implies there could be TWO sarcifices, which the Latin carefully does not do.

Sat, May 12, 2012 @ 7:30 PM

4. Junior wrote:
I guess I can't understand how you could NOT be upset by being rererfed to as "men"? Since God is gender-neutral, why should not all the language be? Or do you really believe that God is male, too? I think God is beyond gender.

Sat, May 12, 2012 @ 7:47 PM

5. Rudy wrote:
Perhaps soon we might see headlines rndiaeg "Mass Appeal of the New Translation" replace all the "Mass Rebellion" and "Mass Confusion" stuff. Nice article!

Sat, May 12, 2012 @ 8:24 PM

6. Kurtkade wrote:
render to Caesar , I think He meant the civil atoutrihies. I think Jesus would be seeing this NEW mass translation as a stumbling block to the faithful in His kingdom because it was not divinely inspired. It was written to satisfy the desires of the Papal hierarchy. Nowhere has anyone shown that the translation was divinely inspired. In fact, if it was discerned as potentially a Divine inspiration, then they would be happy to share it with congregations and try it out before deciding it will be the LAW of the church that you WILL DO IT and you WILL LOVE IT. Anytime a church or political leader forces something at me, I rebel. If they offer it and ask for input I am right there with it. I have a good feeling that I do not stand alone in my objections.

Sat, May 12, 2012 @ 9:15 PM

7. Sanguan wrote:
I'm sympathetic to Jeffrey's poiitson. There is a liturgical wayof reading Scripture, similar to monastic lectio divina, which is not literal but richly allegorical and typological. The Fathers are full of this. If you want to cut out allegory and typology (which is found already in the NT's reading of the OT) and every misquoting of Scripture in the Fathers or in the liturgy, much of the Christian tradition goes down the tubes. Now I do affirm historical criticism, completely and totally. This complicates things and I don't have all the relationship worked out yet to my satisfaction. But when people charge that the Latin missal misquotes or misuses the Bible, a red flag goes up for me.awr

Sat, May 12, 2012 @ 9:25 PM

8. grkysmegtrj wrote:
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Sat, May 12, 2012 @ 9:44 PM

9. iruxppj wrote:
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Sat, May 12, 2012 @ 10:00 PM

10. Francisco wrote:
On an only semi-serious note:reading this reminds me a of forivate prayer of the Holden crowd that might just apply to the Missal roll-out. It comes from LBW vespers, possibly as a hold over from the predecessor books (don't have them at work to check);Lord God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. AmenPerils unknown, indeed!

Sat, May 12, 2012 @ 10:25 PM

11. Ketc wrote:
Simon the 19xx texts aren't an issue anymore they're done. Those of us who have been in favor of a new tiaaslntron that is accurate and beautiful have every right to say how disappointed we are that somebody or a group of people stepped in and messed up in lots of places as they turned 2008 into 2010. Overcome with paschal joy even the powers of heaven rejoice. Come on Simon you can't claim that's either accurate or beautiful and it's going to be used at every Mass every single day from Easter to Pentecost. And the point is it wasnt as if good and dedicated priests working on the project didn't point out to the higher ups where these mistakes were. They did. First they were ignored then they were fired. That your idea of how the holy Church should operate? And don't worry about being willing to give the new texts a try. You got no choice brother. Nobody does.

Sat, May 12, 2012 @ 10:34 PM

12. szywyiyi wrote:
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Sat, May 12, 2012 @ 10:50 PM

13. Matheus wrote:
Father God as I watched the news my heart broke for those cuahgt up in the earthquake. Lord I ask that you be the God of peace and strength to these people. Father I pray for the rescue teams, may they not falter or faint as they search for survivors. May they be successful Lord in their mission. Be with their families Lord as the emergency services work in dangerous buildings. Keep them safe Lord. Father, I bring the grieving to your throne of mercy. Comfort them Lord, carry them in the days and weeks ahead.For those who fear another quake, may they be stilled Lord. May your gospel of salvation and peace be heard. Amen.

Sat, May 12, 2012 @ 11:07 PM

14. uwtbxmq wrote:
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Sat, May 12, 2012 @ 11:12 PM

15. PeNdi wrote:
The prayer in quiteson is all ONE sentence. That's the first thing that needs to be understood to make sense of it. The sentence is composed of two independent clauses, which see below, stripped down to essentials: a) We pray mysteries may profit usFOR b) you teach us by themThe first independent clause has mysteries as the noun in a noun clause acting as the object. The second has mysteries as the antecedent of the pronoun them, in an adverbial phrase on teach, the predicate of that clause. Note that both instances are in the same sentence, they are both in independent clauses, and they are joined by for, acting as a coordinating conjunction. Stripped down, it makes perfect sense, if you read it.But there are also various other dependent phrases, acting as further modifiers, and that's what's confusing some people who aren't used to them.The phrase as we walk amid passing things is a subordinate adverbial phrase on the predicate learn. By them is a completely separate adverbial phrase, albeit modifying the same predicate in a parallel fashion, which people who understand how to diagram a sentence would grasp right away. They are separate parallel phrases modifying the same predicate, one specifying when and one specifying how. Don't confuse them!Look. You can't think what you can't hear. If people learn to hear a literate adult version of the language called English, they will come to understand a literate adult version of the language called English. Then, they might even start to slow down and think (!) about what they're saying. That could only be a good thing.Besides, if it takes a while to unpack it, it'll be a spiritual treasure to be mined for liturgical prayer. This is one of the traditional ways in which people have participated in the Mass for centuries. People will catch onto this again quickly with this new translation, and they will grow. Isn't that what you want?

Sun, May 13, 2012 @ 2:14 AM

16. smmwhljd wrote:
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Sun, May 13, 2012 @ 8:57 PM

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Sun, May 13, 2012 @ 9:20 PM

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Tue, May 15, 2012 @ 1:38 PM

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Tue, May 15, 2012 @ 1:45 PM

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