A week at the "Granja"

Last week Leila, my 6 years old daughter, had her first camping experience for a whole week away from home! If you are worrying about her being away at this age...then you are worrying about the wrong person...she had great fun (as expected)! In fact, the ones to be worried about their coping are Aline and Farida who was never in her life been separated that long from her twin sister! What made it worse was the fact that parents were not allowed to call and check on their kids, no contacts nor news except the website of the school on which the camp director would post everyday few words and may be a couple of photos to keep the parents updated!

You guessed it right, this website was our life for a week...checking it every few hours, opening it before stepping out of bed..and when some words or photos were posted, it just lifted up the whole mood...but NOTHING compares to the moment of the real encounter when Leila came back..The Running Hug, the warming tears, the long chats, and the smiling joy back again.

All this in incident reminds me of our personal encounter with God. A lot of times, we are content and satisfied living on the stories about God told to us through a multitude of media. In this era of communication, the Word reaches us all day, we watch sermons, we get verses, hymns, stories about Him. We attend services and meetings, but might not have the time to sit one to one..seeking this personal heart melting encounter.

This opened my eyes to a new part of the famous Samaritan woman encounter in John 4. I just got jealous seeing the way the Samaritans in her village did not feel content solely by the stories she told them about The Messiah..but decided to go and experience Him directly..to find a whole new living faith!

"Now numerous Samaritans from that town believed in and trusted in Him because of what the woman said when she declared and testified...So when the Samaritans arrived, they asked Him to remain with them, and He did stay there two days. Then many more believed in and adhered to and relied on Him because of His personal message [what He Himself said]. And they told the woman, Now we no longer believe (trust, have faith) just because of what you said; for we have heard Him ourselves [personally], and we know that He truly is the Savior of the world, the Christ. (John 4:39-42 AMP)

فآمَنَ بهِ مِنْ تِلكَ المدينةِ كثيرونَ مِنَ السّامِريّينَ بسَبَبِ كلامِ المَرأةِ الّتي كانتْ تشهَدُ أنَّهُ: «قالَ لي كُلَّ ما فعَلتُ». فلَمّا جاءَ إليهِ السّامِريّونَ سألوهُ أنْ يَمكُثَ عِندَهُمْ، فمَكَثَ هناكَ يومَينِ. فآمَنَ بهِ أكثَرُ جِدًّا بسَبَبِ كلامِهِ. وقالوا للمَرأةِ: «إنَّنا لَسنا بَعدُ بسَبَبِ كلامِكِ نؤمِنُ، لأنَّنا نَحنُ قد سمِعنا ونَعلَمُ أنَّ هذا هو بالحَقيقَةِ المَسيحُ مُخَلِّصُ العالَمِ». (يوحَنا 4:39-42 AVDDV)

Dear Father, i long for this encounter..that would take me to a whole new level of Knowing You..Experiencing Your Love. I don't want to get to only hear about you..but I want to know You directly as The Savior and Christ. Amen!

Be Hungry for more my friends!