Saturday, July 24, 2010

Day 6 - From the Mountains!

Hello,
Whoa, its chilly up here! Well, up here in the attic of the Finch's house! They are the missionaries we are staying with, in a tribe of Tarahumara Indians. Anyway, let me start at the beginning.

We left early this morning at 7:00am for Kaborachi. After a bit of a drive and a couple of pit stops, we turned onto a dirt road. It had begun to rain just a couple of minutes earlier, and it was getting worse. Finally we arrived at the missionaries house and introduced ourselves. When the rain began to let up, we went out to look at where we would be working. It is a church that needs a lot of work done on it. We each got jobs and set out to work. Some of the guys began shoveling trenches while the girls and Kelso sanded drywall. Caleb and I began working on a pile of stones that needed to be moved to another location. Later the rest of the guys helped us move the last of the pile. Then we set to work at digging another trench around the house. This was a more challenging task since we had roots to chop, and pipes to avoid. And yes, I did hit another pipe much to my dismay. I ended up having to dig around the pipe so we could get it fixed. Unfortunately we could not stop the water so, Monte saved the day with some sort of all purpose tape. Of course this whole time I was feeling terrible about hitting the pipe I didn't even know about. Thankfully Tony, the missionary we were working for, told us he was planning to put a connection to another pipe there anyway! Talk about a good mistake! : ) Lets hope it works out.

After supper we hung out around the house making sure we were as quiet as possible. Maybe I should explain, we needed to be quiet because the Tarahumara Indians are shy and don't make much noise. So we needed to do the same. We had our team meeting at the end of the day, this time we didn't discuss our devotion. Josh asked us for any good news we have seen in the past week. Then he opened up the Bible to Eph 2:11-22, and explained to us that when we go to church tomorrow we will see other Christians who may not speak our language, but we have the same Lord. And, that Jesus Christ has brought the Jews and the Gentiles together to serve one God and we worship the same God! I thought that was amazing!

I personally have been learning a lot on this trip. Especially about being loving in whatever I do. Whether it be when I'm working, or when I'm playing with kids. I'm nothing without love. Because all the work I do means nothing if it isn't an expression and outflow of my love for God and those around me. I am learning to put my heart, mind, body and soul into whatever I do. To set aside my pride and allow Gods love to make a difference in everything I do.

Prayer Requests:
Pray for Monte, he has a skin rash that is really bothering him and keeping him from good sleep.

Pray for the team to stay focused on God and love each other.
Pray for the team to stay healthy and strong for the work.

Pray for the team to get over tiredness, culture shock, and missing home so that we can enjoy what God has for us here.

-Zach Rigel

















7 comments:

Mrs said...

So glad you were able to post, Zach! Thank you for sharing what God is teaching you about works with love. It's something I definitely needed to hear.

LOVE the mountains!

Matthew Icardi said...

Good stuff Zach! Thanks for the low down. Really glad to hear all that God is doing in your life!

Nick Parry! said...

That's awesome, Zach! I'm super excited about this whole opportunity and everything you are able to do. Might I say, this was an encouraging blog.

Unknown said...

Wow, what a cool opportunity! Thanks for a glimpses into the team's activities and into your walk with Jesus.
Don't worry about the pipe! Sounds like something I'd do! :)

Anonymous said...

Wonderful post, Zach! I could read all day :) Thanks for letting us know how everything is going. About the pipe, don't sweat it. Everything happens for a reason. :)
It is so refreshing to see what beautiful things are happening in the heart of you and all of the rest of the team. I love you al so very much!
Can't wait to hear all about it in person!
Love,
Mama Yates

P.s. pray things are going well in the mountains!

Tali Rose said...

It is so amazing to get a glimpse of how God works so differently (but always so strongly!) on each different trip. May he bless all that you are doing in the mountains, and give you opportunities to bridge the culture gap and really serve the Tarahumaras!

DaDaHaZaReJe said...

Hi Zachary. It was great to hear from you! I am so encouraged by how God is molding your heart. He is a wonderful potter! Keep working hard and keep taking care of Mom. I do wish I was with you.

And by the way...the pipe incident...you get that from me. :)

Dad