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Transfigured? Matthew 17:1-9 Years ago I was part of a mission team, and we were sent to a mountain village in Guatemala where we worked on a small church. At the end of one of the work days, we attended worship in the little building, and we sat toward the back of the small sanctuary. Directly in front of me sat a woman holding her 2-year old. When that little girl peeked over her mother’s shoulders and saw me, she did what many people do – she started to cry, uncontrollably. The mother tried to calm her down, but that took a while. Fortunately, worship in Guatemala also takes a long time (no concerns about the 60-minute time limit for God!). Anyway, over the course of the service the little girl and I made eye contact, winked, waved, and by the end of the 2+ hours she allowed me to barely touch her hand. Success! I had a new little friend, named Isabella. The next day, her 12-year old brother Gaspar brought her to our worksite, and then Isabella was not afraid, did not cry, and even allowed me to hold her on my lap!  The following evening, Gaspar came to our place of lodging and asked to speak with Pedro the Gringo. Through our team translator he made known that he had something for me, from his family, and he held out this handmade wall hanging, with beautiful Guatemalan designs and typical bright colors. It was made by his mother, and my assumption was that Gaspar was asking me to purchase it, for in fact the family was quite poor. No, no, Gaspar wanted no money – this was a gift, you see, for the kindness that I had shown to Isabella. Well, I just stood there, totally dumbfounded, totally speechless (hard to imagine, I know). A gift such as this, for me? What had I done, other than to simply fuss over and touch that beautiful little girl Isabella? Well, then something really strange happened. As I looked at Gaspar through the tears rolling down my speechless cheeks, I noticed that Gaspar had changed. It appeared to me that his face had become all shiny – you know, somewhat like the sun – and that the worn clothes he was wearing were spotlessly clean, and almost dazzling. It was like – I don’t really know how to put this into words, for I just don’t have the words – it was like he was ‘transfigured’, somehow. Do you know what I mean? It was like I was seeing Jesus, maybe? Perhaps not literally, but figuratively? Is that even possible? I don’t know, I just don’t really know for sure. However, I most assuredly remember that moment. It was dazzling, I’ll tell you. It was a God moment. I think God was pleased.  - Pastor Piet - February 3, 2008