Cuauhtemoc--A Needed Getaway

Hello faithful readers! Last weekend, I had the astounding opportunity to go experience another part of Mexico, about 4 hours north of Parral. Cuauhtemoc is a sweet little town, right in the middle of a big Mennonite community. Yes, I said Mennonite. There are actually several thousand German Mennonites that live in Mexico, and are well-known for their agriculture genius and very orderly, prosperous farms that stretch for acres across the northern Mexican desert. The Mennonites in Cuauhtemoc are particularly famous for their delicious manzanas (apples): we passed tons of apple orchards as we drove along the highway. The crazy thing is that these Mennonite communities still speak German and maintain a lot of their customs, but they've acclimated quite well to their surrounding culture.

Cesar (the Director of my school), knows a Mennonite lady named Lena who directs a school in Cuauhtemoc. So, he invited David, Kristen, another teacher from the school named Claudia, and myself to go with him to visit her and enjoy the beauty of the area. Lena took us out in the boonies to a national park that is full of really beautiful hills and super-cool rock formations. And, boys being boys, David and I had a REALLY good time climbing, jumping, running, leaping, and pretending to chase orcs and/or be Spiderman jumping from building to building (that is, boulder to boulder).

As you can see in the first of the pictures above, we took a picture with some Mennonite friends of Lena's that joined us at the top of a big mountain (well, it was more like a big hill, but we'll call it a mountain). That was an incredible time. It was definitely the first time I'd ever been a part of a social event where three languages were being spoken. We sang "How Great Thou Art" at the top of that mountain in three languages, simulanteously (English, Spanish, and German). Uh, yeah...pretty darn sweet.

Along with soaking up the beautiful vistas, jumping around rocks with David, and enjoying the trilingual company, God graciously dealt with me in those mountains. I was tired and feeling at the end of myself when I left on that trip. I felt condemned, sinful, dirty, and unable to do anything right, because much of what happened the previous week revealed my utter sinfulness in the face of a righteous God. Selfish motivations, not having eyes to see grace when it's all around me, and being apathetic towards the needs of others--all these things are evidences of my utter incapacity to be good, to be right. As I sat in those high places, looking out at the great azure above and the rolling, stretching desert brown before, I confessed my failure to their Creator and mine. I confessed how I had trampled his glory, ignored his grace, took his forgiveness for granted, and worshipped anything and everything except He who is alone worthy of adoration. And what an answer I received! It wasn't some divine, booming voice, but the subtle whispering of assured forgiveness because of the crucified Beloved.

Brothers and sisters, find yourselves in the perfect righteousness of the person of Jesus Christ today! What a life-altering gift we have received in Him! Let us commend ourselves in our weakness and brokenness, and be found completely clothed in his person, in fellowship with the Father Himself.