la paz

I’d like to finish up this chapter of life with a hymn.  My church sang this soon before I left Puerto Rico, and it had new meaning for me.

Himno 123

Paz, paz, cuán dulce paz

En el seno de mi alma una dulce quietud

Se difunde inundando mi ser,

Una calma infinita que sólo podrán

Los amados de Dios comprender.

Coro:

¡Paz!, ¡paz!, ¡cuán dulce paz!

Es aquella que el Padre me da;

Yo le ruego que inunde por siempre mi ser,

En sus ondas de amor celestial.

Qué tesoro yo tengo en la paz que me dio,

Y en el fondo del alma ha de estar

Tan segura que nadie quitarla podrá

Mientras miro los años pasar.

Sin cesar yo medito en aquella ciudad

Do al Autor de la paz he de ver,

Y en que el himno más dulce que habré de cantar

De Su paz nada más ha de ser.

Alma triste que en rudo conflicto te ves,

Sola y débil tu senda al seguir,

Haz de Cristo tu amigo, pues fiel siempre es,

¡Y Su paz tú podrás recibir!

Here’s a rough translation:

Peace, peace, what sweet peace

In the depths of my soul a sweet stillness

Floods my being

An infinite calm that only

Those loved by God can understand

Chorus:

Peace, peace, what sweet peace!

Is that which my Father gives me;

And I plea that it floods my being forever

In the waves of heavenly love

What treasure I have in the peace that He gave me,

In the depths of my soul

So secure that no one can take it

While I watch the years pass.

Without ceasing I meditate on that city

The Author of Peace I have seen,

The sweetest hymn I shall have to sing

Of His peace nothing more has there been

Sad soul that in severe conflict you see,

Alone and weak your path to follow,

Make Christ your friend, since he is always faithful,

And His peace to you can receive!

I’ve had a bit of a bumpy transition so far, but I’m hoping it will smooth out soon.  Even though I still don’t have a job for September, I’m feeling God’s peace through it all.  I feel like God has been leaving me a breadcrumb trail of little encouraging moments and actions that are leading up to the big next thing. 

I’ll close with a prayer for all my faithful readers:

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.   

2 Thessalonians 3:16

Amen

mi querida iglesia

From the first day I set foot in the sanctuary of Iglesia Bautista Hermanos Unidos, I knew I loved it.  The congregation members are so welcoming and loving.  The pastor passionately teaches from the Bible—and the Bible alone.  The environment is warm and gracious (despite the frigid air conditioning!)  The people there have been a family to me in a place where I’ve had no real family.  So, I’ve known for a while that I was going to miss them all greatly. 

I made it a point, though, not to tell them that I was leaving until the last possible moment because I didn’t want anyone to make a big deal out of it.  I don’t like to be the center of attention.  (Can you sense the foreshadowing?)

And then today happened…

I showed up to church slightly nervous that deaf people would come and I would have to interpret the sermon (I usually just do the announcements, prayers, and songs and Betsy handles the preaching, but she’s away now).  In walked a deaf man, and I prayed for the gift of tongues (or in this case finger tongues!).  As I was interpreting the announcements, I started hearing myself being described by the pastor.  I figured this was when he was going to make me stand in front while he prayed for my safe trip and blessings in my future endeavors.  This is the standard procedure for anyone leaving (even for a week-long vacation).

I was slightly right, but I never expected what came next.  After the pastor said his few words, he pulled out a beautiful plaque of appreciation (I didn’t even think that I did enough to warrant appreciation—in fact, I always felt a little guilty that I didn’t serve enough in the church).  He read it to everyone, and we hugged.

Then he welcomed the kids from my Wednesday night sign-language class to the stage.  They read notes and poems they had written for me (I was pretty close to tears here…but I think I was still a bit too startled at this point and was trying to maintain composure while I interpreted it all into sign language.)

Then the pastor’s wife came on stage to pray for me, and all the kids laid their hands on me while she did so.  So now I was trying not to cry and interpreting with twelve hands on my arms and shoulders!

Then I was asked to stand at the front of the center aisle while everyone lined up to shake my hand and kiss me and tell me a few parting words.  I made it to somewhere around Nilsa and Rosa before I cried for real.  That was a great feat.  I don’t cry in public. 

But wait…there’s more!

As I sat down with teary eyes, the pastor announced that there was lunch and cake after the service for me!  And then I had to interpret the rest of the service.  That’s how I know God gave me the gift of finger tongues today!

Lunch was beautiful.  There were balloon sculptures (a MUST for all church luncheons) and pretty table cloths and lovely conversation (and of course arroz con habichuelas, jamón con piña, pollo, coditos, y pan).  There were gifts and pictures and cake, too.

My church is so sweet, and I am going to miss them terribly.  I look forward to visiting them in a while to see all that God is doing in and through them.

Por algunos miembros que leen este blog…Que Dios les bendiga.  Voy a extrañarles mucho, y ustedes estarán siempre en mi corazón.

concurso de talentos

To end our school year, we had a talent show.  The kids worked excitedly to prepare their performances, and on Wednesday, they got to show them off to their classmates, teachers, and families.  For those of you who were not able to be there (or who would like to see them again), I have compiled a summary of the morning.  Enjoy the show!

Lara Michele

Juan José

Gabriel

Saúl

Mizael

Kioneyshka

Larimar

Kristian

Kevin

Betsy