1. I was challenged by our team leader, Dave Killough, with the idea that if I am willing to invest the time and resources to travel to another country to share the gospel, I need to overcome whatever barriers are keeping me from doing the same with my neighbors and others around me here at home.
2. Meeting my fellow team members, and the Nicaraguan nationals - including the team translators/ interpreters and the patients who came to us who were believers - emphasized to me the family of God. I was reminded that these are my siblings - brothers and sisters in Jesus - and, as family members, we immediately have reason to be less guarded and more comfortable with each other as we meet and get acquainted. I commented to each of them that in our human families our siblings are usually not adopted, and we know them immediately and are (usually) comfortable with them. But God's family is "weird" this way; His family is built entirely by adoption (except, of course, Jesus), and most of the siblings do not and will not personally know each other in this life. However, those who do will see each other again and those who do not will finally meet in eternity (and unless God implants in all of us the knowledge of all of His children, it will take that long just to get to know each other).
2. Meeting my fellow team members, and the Nicaraguan nationals - including the team translators/ interpreters and the patients who came to us who were believers - emphasized to me the family of God. I was reminded that these are my siblings - brothers and sisters in Jesus - and, as family members, we immediately have reason to be less guarded and more comfortable with each other as we meet and get acquainted. I commented to each of them that in our human families our siblings are usually not adopted, and we know them immediately and are (usually) comfortable with them. But God's family is "weird" this way; His family is built entirely by adoption (except, of course, Jesus), and most of the siblings do not and will not personally know each other in this life. However, those who do will see each other again and those who do not will finally meet in eternity (and unless God implants in all of us the knowledge of all of His children, it will take that long just to get to know each other).