19 hours until take off from LA to Miami.. 3 hour lay-over while in Miami.. 2 hour flight to Santiago, Dominican Republic.. and finally a 40 mile bus ride into the town of Jarabacoa. Excitement and anticipation arise as our destination approaches. I have yet to pack, my Spanish is rough, and so much seems like it needs to be taken care of before we leave. It is only by the grace of God that I have an extreme since of calmness for all of the unknown. All I can think about is what God is going to do and the radical experiences we are going to have. Ecclesiastes 3 talks about a time to gather stones. The first thing that comes to mind, was when something really profound happened in the Old Testament, the Israelites memorialized events by gathering stones. They called them the “stones of remembrance”, a reminder of the greatness of an extraordinary event. The point of these stones was to commemorate what God has done- rescued them from impending destruction, mounting stupidity, wrong turns, and other general lapses in judgment. I assume this practice was necessary because they, like me, were quick to forget what was really important. In one mind blowing example, God altered the flow of the Jordan River so His people could cross safely. Joshua ordered twelve men to each gather one stone from the riverbed and place all of them together to serve as a sign, a memorial, that God had intervened yet again in their lives. These stones were reminders to wake up and see what is possible, to notice the miracles, to even participate in a miraculous event now and then – to stop worrying and making excuses and “should of” –ing and instead simply believing. Through this trip I hope we are more able to step out into the current and see what happens. That when we come back we can get our feet wet more often instead of paralytically wondering how cold the water might feel or how strong the current might be or even how on earth we are going to explain the miraculous occasions God allowed us to be apart of. I pray that as we find ourselves in the midst of the unknown in Jarabacoa and when we return home that we can gather stones and remember how God moved us, because I know that He will.
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