Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:58

This is the verse I used as part of a devotion I shared with the group while I was in Roatan and it held true all week. There are times when we are doing God's work but we don't see immediate results, which can be frustrating. As I was working on raising the kitchen structure, that had been settling lower and lower and being eaten by termites, I found myself asking "why?"  Why can't we get more done each day?  We were working hard (and sweating a lot) trying to improve Calvary SonRise Roatan, still at the end of the day, the project I was leading was not yielding the results I wanted as quickly as I wanted.

As I reflect back, sometimes we get so focused on the task at hand that we miss what God is doing around us. The results were right in front of me…

God placed many new people in my life. 

-I had the opportunity to work closely with 2 local men, Thomas and Juany

-I was there to hear Thomas share his testimony and I was able to witness to him

-I met new friends that traveled to be part of this mission trip and grew closer to others through the experiences we shared (and the ice cream we ate)

-I prayed with local people from a section of the island referred to as the Colonias, with help from Pastor Ivan interpreting and sharing their stories

We all labored doing the work God wanted us to do and it was not in vain.