From Guatemala

I was touched by the following letter from a friend of ours who serves the Lord in Guatemala. I posted it, thinking my readers would enjoy it as well. (All 5 of you!)

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July 4, 2009

Dear Partner in Ministry,

The 4th of July usually is a “down day” for me as I miss enjoying with fellow Americans all the hoopla that accompanies this great day. However, this year we had 15 fellow American missionaries join us for a potluck around the grill. We decorated our porch with red, white and blue and shared with our colleagues our citizenship commonality. My brother Joe and I treasure this day. Presently, Joe is serving as one of the pastors of Mclean Bible Church, Vienna, VA at the Tysons Campus (www.mcleanbible.org/). In a letter to his staff he captured, in his singular way, one of the reasons why the Henriques brothers have a profound love and loyalty to the United States of America. I have enclosed his letter along with recent pictures of Joe and our father. Enjoy!

In His grip,

Bob

MRSaturday, July 04, 2009 9:21 AM

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Dear Tysons Staff,

I love the United States of America for many reasons. My 21 years as Chaplain in the United States Air Force/Air National Guard contributed to that love and loyalty. But for the most part, that love came from my father, an immigrant from Portugal. He came as a stowaway in the early 40’s, became a legalized citizen via seven years of duty in the Merchant Marines, and went on to be yet another example of an immigrant who came to the land of opportunity with nothing and turned into a model citizen of integrity and industry. My father, 92, and my mother, 83, now live with us.Recently, I gave my father a small American flag. He looked at it for a couple of minutes and then said with deep feeling, “There used to be a time when this flag wasn’t mine, but, now it is.” Dementia has slowed his thinking process, so, after pausing for a little while longer, he continued, “It may be a small flag, but, it is still beautiful.” He carried the flag in his front pocket for days after.I write these things to encourage all of us to love our country. Love should be the result of deep appreciation for its constitution rooted in biblical thought, for education available to all, freedom of thought, a democratic process, and opportunities for work, entrepreneurial or otherwise. We are citizens of heaven – the land that we love above all others – but, we are also citizens of earth, saints who are in Christ and also in America. Pray fervently for the Lord’s truths to permeate our culture and society. Pray earnestly for the hearts of the fathers to turn to their children, and, most importantly, that many will turn their hearts to the Lord.

Happy Fourth of July!

Joe

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I hope your INDEPENDENCE DAY was awesome!