Humility Comes Before Honor

Great throwback pic (2008) of kids from the Mactzul I Iglesia de Cristo

Our first day back to work was spent celebrating the 11th anniversary of the start of Sunday children's classes in the church at Mactzul I.  This is a congregation that consistently strives to provide spiritual and academic education for their kids and takes good advantage of the ABC sponsorship program. They invited us to worship with them and then treated us and the local school teachers to a delicious lunch.   
We ended up talking to one of the members who initiated the children's Sunday School classes and we asked him how he got started.  He surprised us in saying that he wouldn't have gotten started if he hadn't injured himself and suffered a herniated disc, forcing him to take time off of work. 
During that time off he began to ask God to heal him and use him in the church more and decided to start teaching Bible classes for the kids.  He said he felt inadequate with his 3rd grade education, but taught what he knew of the Bible, and now he can see the fruit of those classes in the kids' lives. He was thankful to God for giving him the opportunity to serve.
Many of these grown kids have decided to follow Christ and are active in church and have taken over the teaching of classes. He humbly added that the teachers now are so much better.
What struck us is his humble attitude toward God and his desire to serve God and the congregation despite his illness and his perceived ineptitudes.

One of the things that always endears us to the word of God is how many stories there are of the Lord choosing the underdog to do his work. Like Joseph in Egypt, Moses, Gabriel, King David and even Jesus. This world tries to tell us that success is based on who we know or wealth or titles or politics or popularity. But God shows us that real change and power come through humility before God and others and heart filled with the Spirit of God.

Happy New Year everyone and we hope God shows you great things that are happening in His kingdom!
1 Peter 5:5 All of you, clothe yourselves with humility, toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

Mostly Men's side (they made us sit here, haha!)

Mostly Women's side.

Lunch in the making.  Otoniel helping out in the kitchen--they put him on stirring duty later on.