Painting
We moved to Ecuador with my family when I was 19 years old. Even before getting a good hold on the language, I started working in church that we were a part of, and progressively got more involved in the different ministries there, including the Sunday school, the worship team, the youth, evangelism through drama and puppets, etc...
During the day, we did a bit of work around the house, learning the language, working on the property that my parents were given to take care of and use for their ministry, etc..
After I had a good hold on the language, I started working a day job as well, and worked at several over the following year and a half. The main one was painting with a couple of brothers from the church, where I worked for about a year and learned a lot about painting cement buildings, which is a lot different than what we do in the states!!
Anyone that has done this before knows how hard it is..you have to sand the cement, then prepare it, and than paint...it can be quite a laborious and tiring job!! I was glad when it was finally over! And yet at the same time, I am thankful for the experience that it gave me, and am finding that the experience learned there is actually a great tool in ministry now!
There have been several times recently that I have been able to bless different ministries with the experience gained while working on that job, in getting a budget ready, and/or in assisting in the actual painting project. We may not always appreciate or realize it, but God is always preparing us so as to be ready to serve him and help others in the future!!
These last weeks I have been able to help my parents ministry in this area. A group of three young guys came down from USA so as to assist him in his ministry there, and I have been helping with the logistics for the team, with painting the ministry building used for children ministry and for housing people that need housing, and also with the ministries there in the afternoon. It has been a great time of serving God and others!!
