In May, I was honored to be invited back to Puebla, Mexico and our friends at Fuente Para El Mundo, Pastor Phil and Judy Jaquith. They were doing a series on worship and asked me to take one Sunday on the Heartbeat of the Worshiper and give a seminar for all the worship leaders and worship teams in the area churches.
We had a wonderful time together on Saturday as I worked with the worship leaders on the flow of worship. Pastor Eric Jaquith was my main translator as we worshiped and learned together. In the afternoon, as I was starting to teach and exhort the worship teams – specifically the singers – a rainstorm arose suddenly and loudly. The rain was so loud in the sanctuary it practically drowned my voice out. I was talking about the importance of singing and the song in worship. Instead of fighting the din of rain, I invited everyone to join in the song with the rain! I compared it to the ‘great cloud of witnesses’. We started to sing ‘Grace like rain’ or ‘La gracia como la lluvia’. This started a series of new songs and instrumental songs for about 1/2 hour as God ministered His grace to everyone there. He even confirmed His word with a few loud thunderclaps! It was pretty powerful. Afterward, as the rain subsided, we worked intently on flowing together with instruments, voices, songs, presence, etc. The day ended with a spirited dance by most of the youth there. Fun and exhilarating time!
Sunday I got to speak at all three different campuses that make up Fuente Para El Mundo. Each campus had great worship, dancing and a packed sanctuary. I even got to play their new cello they got for their church. They have really made each campus uniquely beautiful, warm and friendly. The rich atmosphere of faith, grace and love is obvious everywhere you go. I shared on The Heartbeat of the Worshiper, citing Abraham, Job and David as the ultimate worshipers, who worshiped God under duress. Each one was honored in their humility, brokeness and obedience before God, as they bowed the knee in the hardest of circumstances. Abraham (the father of our faith), Job (all was restored and more), David (Jesus would be called the Son of David); they all worshiped God at the point that most of us would have given up or grown bitter. As I shared this at each campus, the response to the hope in Jesus Christ was wonderful. He truly is the God of restoration, of hope, of revelation, of freedom. Many were freed to worship Him this day.
I even got to enjoy some good mariachi music Sunday afternoon. God bless all our friends in Puebla. Hope to see you all again real soon.
Blessings to all – Tim and Maryl Smith, your worship missionaries