For the past two days, our mission team has been putting stucco onto cinderblock. The work involves mixing the stucco solution, painting the stucco on with a scraper, and then smoothing it out with a large sponge. Each of these steps of the process requires moving slowly and methodically when it’s very tempting to try to rush and power through.
Despacito
Mixing stucco, like following Christ, must be done "despacito" – slowly, with great care.
Our Mexican foreman saw me rushing with the mix so he said, “Despacito, pastor.” Despacito is a cool word. It means slow but it literally means to leave space in what you do. In other words, don’t try to cram in as much activity in every minute as you possibly can. Be okay with the fact that some things take time. Mixing stucco cannot happen fast. It simply won’t work, which is very frustrating for a gringo who lives in a world of instant gratification through mouse clicks. But that’s part of God’s lesson for this week.
It’s a word that we will be taking back to Tulane and Loyola with us: despacito. Slow down. Leave space for God.
Please make some space for God tonight and pray with us at 9 pm on Zoom. We didn’t have any non-students for our prayer last night so we’re hoping some of you will be willing to step out and try something new tonight. Download the Zoom app and join meeting # 407-502-3281.
Thanks for all your support and prayers. We couldn’t do it without you.
God bless,
Morgan
The Rev. Morgan Guyton, along with his wife the Rev. Cheryl Guyton, serves as co-director of the NOLA Wesley Foundation, a United Methodist campus ministry to Tulane and Loyola universities. This post is republished with permission from an email report on NOLA Wesley's mission to Mexico during Holy Week 2018.