We all love tacos, don't we? A crisp corn shell, with some ground beef, cheese, some vegetables like lettuce and tomato, and, if we're daring enough, we sprinkle on a little hot sauce. And oh the greasy goodness as it slimes it way through our taste buds!
But I don't know if I can ever go back to eating a normal, American taco. I just returned from a 5-day conference in Ensenada, Mexico, and after eating real, authentic Mexican tacos, I don't think I can stoop down to that level again. I don't know what your opinion is on the whole Mexican Immigration issue, but it's a shame that the legal and illegal immigrants who come to our country don't bring their tacos with them! I have eaten at more than a few Mexican restaurants in the US, run by Mexicans, and the tacos just aren't the same. Maybe it's a conspiracy by the Mexican government, in which they don't allow the real taco recipes to cross the border.
I even ate fish tacos and shrimp tacos! I admit, I was a little nervous at first, because the idea of fish and tacos didn't seem to mix, but they too were delicious.
I mentioned that I went to Mexico for a conference. Well, it wasn't a Taco Conference - I actually did something worthwhile. The purpose was for Mission Adventures, a short-term outreaches-for-youth-groups program we run. I spent my mornings, afternoons, and evenings in sessions that included everything from how to market this thing to youth workers, to praying for Mission Adventures to be started in Africa.
The main speaker for the event was Paul Hawkins, a man that has been with Youth With A Mission since the early seventies, a sort of "father" of our mission. I was very refreshed by his words, and by the words of many others that week. Here are a few of the things he said:
"God wants us to work under pressure, but not to be distorted by it."
"Grace is the divine ability to handle difficult circumstances."
"If you're stressed, you need to find out in which areas of you're life you're not appropriating God's graces."
I arrived at this conference dry and thirsty. My week in Mexico gave me a good, long drink of cold water, and now I'm ready, walking in step with the Father, to take on the challenges that lie ahead of me.
