MAZ '15 Post 2 - Leaders Players and Snakes

Morning of Day 1, MAZ '15:

Kim and Jakob Riffing

I get a sense of personal fulfillment when a young adult returns to Mission Arizona as a leader; I have to hope that personal fulfillment is permitted while in service to the King. Seeing them transform from a twelve year old student finding their way from one place to another on the reservation and figuring out just how much work they can do and that they really can pray aloud in a group into an adult leader is a very special thing to be a part of. It confirms to me that their lives were touched as students and that God’s Spirit has driven them to be a part of yet another group of student’s lives as they in turn experience the short-term mission life.

Their commitment to serve children, and so to serve Christ, tells me that they are on a right path. There is no denying that they also like to have fun while on the trip and that it’s not some unbearable yoke of drudgery to them. Leading, service, and joy walked hand-in-hand with them throughout the week.

This year we had three such servants including one of our new Youth Directors, Kim Cox. Looking back on the week, she did an excellent job of being out front and leading. She handled a bunch of adult old-timers very well and our adult team worked nicely together. Kim’s heart for the mission trip, for the kids, and for worship blended for a great overall experience.

Hofmann Estate

Jakob and Brian, college students and cousins, were a big presence during the week. Jakob’s guitar playing with Kim was a treat. Brian’s approach to a tricky problem of installing modern waterless urinals in an aging cinder-block restroom was invaluable. I especially liked watching the family interaction in and around Hoffman Estate with Jakob’s dad, Paul, and his sister, Mackenzie.

Afternoon from Day 1:

          I was the first on the scene to find a rattlesnake for the first time in my twenty-plus years of going to the Gila Indian Community; others have found the few rattlers before I was called to the scene, if at all. Paul is our lead snake handler and re-locater; he reported that the one I found came equipped with seven rattles; I estimated that it measured four feet or so in length – a sizeable old veteran.

          Somehow being first on the scene gave me more of a pause for concern. I don’t know why I was moved to peek behind the old 4X8 foot plywood sign leaning against the tool shed; perhaps it was only to have the snake quietly removed from the camp. In any case, I am grateful that the snake is now doing its job far away from the church campus and wasn’t found in a circumstance that was a danger to anyone and that it was the only snake reported for the week.

          I was reminded of the first rattler that I had seen during a MAZ experience. It was dead and its head was in a shovel having already met its demise at the hands of marauding teenaged boys on the hunt for just such a prize. My ensuing response seems to have made its way into the lore of old MAZ trips.

          All of this followed the quietest night with a score of teenagers that I can recall under the arbor. What a wonderful place!

In His Grip,

jerry