Oh the deep deep

Tonight as I sat down to write on here I was reminded by an old, old hymn that my youth pastor, Pastor Dave Maitland used to have us sing as a youth group. I remember the first time he ever made us sing this song, and we all groaned thinking that it was far too "old" and stuffy for us teenagers to appreciate or sing. But now, years later, I am so thankful for those nights of youth group of singing through some of those timely hymns. This one especially is comforting me tonight:

Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus,
Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean,
In its fullness over me;
Underneath me, all around me,
Is the current of Thy love;
Leading onward, leading homeward,
To my glorious rest above.

O the deep, deep love of Jesus,
Love of ev'ry love the best!
Tis an ocean vast of blessing,
Tis a haven sweet of rest.
O the deep, deep love of Jesus,
Tis a heav'n of heav'ns to me;
And it lifts me up to glory,
For it lifts me up to Thee.

That along with a verse we have been studying in our women's Bible study on the Character of God, from Romans 8:15-17 which speaks of the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within those of us who have accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior:

For you did not receive the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father!" The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together."

To me, these verses really came alive the last time I read them. I just realized anew, that the Holy Spirit which dwells within me is God himself, manifest within me-it is God's way of adopting me as his own child. It is because of the Holy Spirit that I can cry out "Father!" to God and he answers me as I am his child. Not only that, but I am just amazed at the part about how we are co-heirs with Christ himself! We share in the very same inheritance as God's only son, Jesus Christ! And it also puts suffering in a new light, as we think that to fully grasp and share in the glory that Christ had as he died on the cross (the ultimate suffering), we too must suffer. But is it not so much worth it if we are going to be inheriting the entire glory of the kingdom of God, as his own child? These verses have really impacted my way of seeing myself as a child of God. They have also helped me to feel completely secure in the care of my Heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit.


As for life here in Mexico, today was a fairly good day. I spent last night teaching English for my 3rd week now. I had 6 students at the 4pm class and 8 at the 6pm class. What a blessing....we are growing in number and attendence every week. My students are very enthusiastic and excited to learn as well! Please continue to keep this in your prayers.

Last night we had a little adventure as a massive wind/dust/rain storm blew up and knocked out the power towards the end of class. I ended up offering to give Beto Gomez, one of my students a ride home since he lives farther away and it was storming so bad. He is one of the sons of the Gomez family, who are my unofficial "family" here in Mexico. When not in ministry activities, I spend the majority of my time with this family as they are really great and have taken me in as their own daughter. By the time we got back to Coacalco where they live, it was almost 9 and they were just sitting down to a meal of tortillas, beans, chiles, refrescos, etc. Of course, I ended up staying and then when the clock hit 11 pm I realized I would just spend the night. The Gomez' have an ongoing joke with me because most of the times I visit them, it ends up being late and I end up just spending the night there. They say "why don't you just keep your clothes and everything here" or "you should have just lived with us!" It is really nice to have a "second home" with them and to have a real family here. They refer to me and introduce me to others as their daughter and it is just really comforting to have them in my life. So anyhow, I ended up spending all last night and most of the morning with them. I returned here to Cuautitlan Izcalli, where my home is (about 10 km or 30 min drive away) by midday. Tonight I got to do a little babysitting for a missionary couple from another mission. They have three kids, ages 6, 4, and 2. A handful but we had a lot of fun! I even survived changing a very stinky diaper. It was a relaxing change of pace to go and spend some time playing with kids.

Its getting late and I have English class tomorrow morning as well. Thanks for your prayers. God is always good, all the time!

Betania