Lessons from the trip to Choloma

         Yesterday after meeting up with a native pastor and his wife in Choloma, Pastor Sam taught me a few more things about ministering and living in the Honduran culture. First of all, did you know you can learn a lot about a people by their driving? Well, I certainly am. Central is a selfish attitude. "I am the only person on the road" is the mentality. This means very little precaution for what your driving might mean for others on the road. And if I want to stop in the middle of the road and jump out to buy some fruit quickly, others just have to wait. Wow! And parking so close to another person so that they can't get out of the parking space they are in? (If you want to go to Latin America, be thankful for all those parallel parking lessons to get your license!)And driving on the sidewalk. Pastor Sam told me I'm not official until I've driven up on the sidewalk to get around other cars as the Hondurans do here.

        1 Chronicles 16:35-36 - For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised: He also is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the people are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

  But it was what he said about his talks with a Catholic lawyer that really got me thinking. They've been meeting, and he's been answering questions the man has. Well, he told me that one day, they met in the food court in the mall where the guy's office is, and the last half of the meal, the guy's phone was going off every two minutes and one time he even said he had to go work on something in the office quickly and was gone for 20 minutes. I voiced my thoughts aloud. "They just need to turn off the cell phones, right?" Mrs. Conover said no, and Pastor Sam explained. Here, being always "on call" means you are a good worker and dedicated to your job. And if you are available 24/7, you have the chance of making more money. To turn off one's cell phone would be unthinkable. Always on call for the world. Then he began commenting how money is the god here. Church and God are not the first priority; they are just something to be fit into the schedule around work. Work and money is the god, and education is a close second. Pastor Sam mentioned about how people bring homework to church and work on it during the service, or they even skip church because of homework. And when this happens, money or education has just become your/my idol. So the question is: in my life, in your life, does God have first place? Is God really God of my life? I read in my Bible 1 Chronicles 16:25-26 last night, and it was amazing how these verses (above)  fit so well with what I'd already been thinking on. The gods of this world are idols. Vain, useless. But the LORD. He is God, my Creator, and He deserves first place in my life. Actually He deserves more than that, but knowing we are but frail human beings, He only asks us to give our all, to give our best to Him. So, where is He in my life? In your life?