Becoming Family

So our Summer Project to Puerto Rico began simply enough. Our briefing was held at a hotel near LAX. That is where I met the folks who would be my teammates, nay my family, for these upcoming 5 weeks. To be fair I know a few of these people from UCSD already (including the Priolas who are our team leaders), but then there was the other half of the team who I had never even met. Already I am amazed that God could bring a group of people so diverse as all of us together. We come from different backgrounds, schools, majors, and even stages of life, but I realize there is power in that.

We did one eye opening exercise during briefing where we had to share our personal preferences and habits. There were differences on things like being introverted or extroverted, how late we stay up on a given evening, and even what type of sodas we prefer. But in reality this all seems so trivial if you look at the bigger picture.

The most important point is that all this pales in comparison to one unifying fact. Each and everyone of us proclaims Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives. It is by His death on the cross and by his grace that we are saved. That's why we all are heading to Puerto Rico. Because however different we are, each of us has a desire to share the Gospel. We know that just as Christ loves us and gave himself as a living sacrifice for us, He did it just as much for the people of Puerto Rico. They deserve to know His love and they need to hear this message.

Thus, despite all the diversity and unique individuals that make up our team, that is exactly the point. We are all on one team, we are all one body, and we are fast becoming family, here to do God's work for His kingdom. That is not to say that it will not be messy, or discouraging, or exhausting at times, but it is the life of the family of God. There is certainly some apprehension for what is to come, but above all there is excitement to see the body of Christ in action.  All the glory be His.

"Just as the body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body--whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many." ~ 1 Corinthians 12