From Sunrise to Sunset

"Wow, you can see so much from up here. It's amazing how we are such a small part of something so much bigger." -Jamie Sweatman

As I woke up on March 12 in the wonderful home of Will and Lori Beaty, I realized that the sun was rising. Through the curtains, I was able to watch as God brought another day upon me. But this day was not destined to be just like any other day. On this day, I was to be heading to Puerto Rico with 16 other people from Winthrop's BCM. Excitement consumed me and the two others that I was with as we approached BCM to head off. We took off and headed from Charlotte to Washington D.C. and then to San Juan, Puerto Rico. As we were in the air on the first flight, I overheard someone say "Wow, you can see so much from up here. It's amazing how we are such a small part of something so much bigger." The truth in that statement hit me like a Mack truck hitting a VW bug. Everyday, I wake up and wonder what am I gonna do today? Never what is someone else doing or what can I do for others. My own little world revolves solely around me and it's a huge reality check when I occasionally realize that my world is part of a bigger world that is 6 BILLION times its size.

As we boarded our second flight, I found my seat and casually started a conversation with the couple beside me. They were a 50-something husband and wife couple from New Brunswick, Canada, and they were headed to Puerto Rico to get on a cruise ship. After the conversation died down, I pulled out the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I read a few chapters and stopped in the middle of a chapter but at the end of a section in that chapter. I then looked out the window...Across the horizon, I was able to see a beautiful sunset. After staring mindlessly for a couple of seconds, I turned back to my book and the next section and continued reading. The next section began with the verse Malichi 1:11. This verse says, "From the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations." Ironic right? This is actually the first time I had ever heard this verse and this very same day I had seen the sun rise in the morning and just seconds before had seen the sun set..it then hit me why we were going to Puerto Rico. Yeh, we were gonna build a ramp for and elderly disabled lady, meet some new people, experience the culture, do yard work, and do it all while proclaiming the name of Jesus, but we were going to do so much more. We were going to make His name great in all the nations starting with the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. Throughout the summer, Winthrop BCM will be making His name great all over the world doing mission work. Some will be in New Orleans, California, Romania, Canada, Haiti, and even others in Australia and the Philippines. No matter where we are, we are going to make His name great. We must realize that we need to step beyond our own little worlds and into the face of the unknown. It is with great faith that we take such actions. But the faith comes from the assurance of our God that His name will  be made great.

In addition, we got to experience God's amazing creations.We saw mountains, beaches, and rain forests all on one small island. We serve such a great, creative, and compassionate God. Above it all, we were made in His image. While in Puerto Rico, we were able to worship the same God and creator as the locals. Despite our lack of Spanish and their lack of English, language did not seem to be much of a barrier. Many of us were brothers and sisters in Christ, therefore, language barriers were but such a small difference in comparison to our similarities and love for Christ.

It is an amazing experience to be a small part of His magnificent plan and to watch His kingdom unfold through our work and obedience. I could not have thought of a better way to spend my Spring Break than advancing His kingdom. I challenge you to make His name great wherever God may place you.