God is so good! We were able to connect by phone with Charlie on Saturday and he had another great week. This past week the theme at YWAM ¡HOLA! was identity. God worked it our perfectly that our Sunday sermon was also themed on identity based on 2 Corinthians 6:3-7:1 and I couldn't help but think about Charlie.
Charles Paul Brower, named in honor of two very special great-grandfathers. Vinnie and I always knew if we were blessed with a son, he would be named Charlie. In 5th grade his classmates called him "Chuck" and his YWAM classmates call him "Carlo". In addition to his name, his identity is one of curious nature lover (see photo below), endless question asker, ceaseless singer, friend, classmate, teammate, along with a host of other pieces. But most importantly is his identity as a new creation in Christ his savior. He is set apart and defined by Christ in him. What a blessing that YWAM spends a week learning and reminding their students what that means.
Charlie told us that he asked his leader about commitment to their identity when they return home? His leader encouraged him to be prepared to fight for his identity in Christ. The passage from 2 Corinthians reminds us that being set apart also comes with hardship. With praise, we have the model of Jesus to remind us that suffering is temporary.
Charlie has settled in nicely to the busy schedule. They continue to spend time in worship, in lecture, in reading the Bible, and evangelizing through their corner of Mexico City. The program is a great blend blend of times of stillness-knowing God, enthusiastic time - praising God, fun time - sharing God, and using all of this to push themselves to share God and the message of the gospel! Their spirits are full to overflowing and from that overflow their witness evidences their identity.
Many of you have asked for an update on Charlies classmate, Elizabeth. As you recall, Elizabeth is from Ukraine. After two long weeks she was able to connect with a cousin and heard that her parents are ok! They left their home to live in safety within the subway, but were able to return home (or close to it) for the time being. Her brother has been drafted and as you can imagine, this news, paired with ongoing uncertainty, bring her a lot of anxiety. But God is reminding her daily of his personal care for her. We were able to tell her (through Charlie via text) that her financial obligation for the outreach portion of her time with YWAM has been covered. Charlie said she fell on her knees praising God!!
Pastor Dave closed his message yesterday with these words from D. Bonhoeffer: Costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus, it comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. It is costly because it compels a man to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says: "My yoke is easy and my burden is light"
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