We have now lived here in La Mision for a month and these are the dreams that we are excited about.
First, we met with the principal of the high school and he gave the girls soccer team to Erin to run. We are praying if that is something she is supposed to do. I am able to help with the guys football team (american). We have practice tonight. So I will get to check that out.
We gave music lessons at the orphanage last week and we are going to do that again today. (Erin gave piano lessons to a girl named Veva....and I gave guitar lessons to Lupito-or Jose Manuel, and two junior high girls, Maritsa and Flor)
We have a vision to start an internet cafe here at the church. We have found the perfect space for it and would love to get some coffee brewing and espresso and some computers. Then the community could come to the church and use the computers and train them how to do stuff.
I (chad) have a vision to roast our own coffee. But we will see what God wants to do. We will need help accomplishing this stuff of course.
We are also getting excited about being a part of the church. We have been invited over for lunch after church next week to someone's house and slowly getting to know more and more people. I love to play in the band and am starting to get to sing more. As I say, no hablo espanol, pero yo canto espanol. (I don't speak Spanish, but I sing Spanish).
Also, I am becoming more Mexican. I was late for practice on Sunday morning, and I eat hot chili peppers. I don't think I am going to get a moustache, but we will see.
Let us know what excites you about this!!!!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Moldable
That is my word for tomorrow night's sermon. I (Chad) have been asked to preach. During my reading of the Bible today, I stumbled upon the verse in Jeremiah where God tells Israel that He is able to take the jar of clay, if it isn't quite right, mash it down and start again.
We are not finished.
We are not perfect. (even the Lionel Richie head from the music video Hello is not perfect, while very close)
We are all candidates for the remold.
I don't like being remolded. It is a process of tearing "my" "world" apart and reconfiguring it to the heart of my Creator. We are in that process right now. We decided to follow our perceived call to leave our lives in Seattle and to move across a border to see the world in a different way.
Do you know what I have found?
I didn't have everything figured out.
Mexico isn't what I thought it was.
I wasn't who I thought I was.
God is bigger than what I thought He was.
And in the midst of everything else that is going on, I stumble upon a verse written thousands of years ago which perfectly describe how God wants us to be able to be molded over and over again.
Not just once. Not just being "born again." (John 3-which is totally important-and also found in my reading today) Being born again and again into the life of Christ who is constantly inviting us to follow Him in complete obedience.
Be moldable.
Don't pretend that you are done and that the kiln has perfected who you are. Smash that idea and look how God can re-FORM you into more of what He made you to be.
We are not finished.
We are not perfect. (even the Lionel Richie head from the music video Hello is not perfect, while very close)
We are all candidates for the remold.
I don't like being remolded. It is a process of tearing "my" "world" apart and reconfiguring it to the heart of my Creator. We are in that process right now. We decided to follow our perceived call to leave our lives in Seattle and to move across a border to see the world in a different way.
Do you know what I have found?
I didn't have everything figured out.
Mexico isn't what I thought it was.
I wasn't who I thought I was.
God is bigger than what I thought He was.
And in the midst of everything else that is going on, I stumble upon a verse written thousands of years ago which perfectly describe how God wants us to be able to be molded over and over again.
Not just once. Not just being "born again." (John 3-which is totally important-and also found in my reading today) Being born again and again into the life of Christ who is constantly inviting us to follow Him in complete obedience.
Be moldable.
Don't pretend that you are done and that the kiln has perfected who you are. Smash that idea and look how God can re-FORM you into more of what He made you to be.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Four weeks!
Greetings from Mexico. We have now been here for four weeks. We have been flooded with lots of rain. And with the rain, we don't have water. I know that doesn't make sense, but when there are large amounts of rain here, the plumbling shuts down. So we shower when we can and go without for a day or two sometimes.
The nights continue to be cold, especially with the rain. But we are able to sleep just fine, we just dress a little warmer on the cold nights. Sweats, a sweatshirt with a hood, and socks.
It is starting to feel more like home here. This past week I really noticed a difference with people here. They are starting to realize that we are here for a while and not just down here for a vacation. Lots of people do that, but not a lot of people stay.
There are a group of Americans here, and we have been invited into their group. They get together every Wednesday night and it has turned out to be a wonderful blessing of community for Erin and myself.
The group meets at the home of DJ and Lynette, who run the orphanage. They have a few people there that work with them who come to the meetings. Heidi and Daniel also come, and they run a daycare service for the community. They currently have 32 kids who parents drop off so that they can work and are not forced to put them in the orphanage (which happens frequently down here) or the kids are just left at home. This happened to Daniel as a child. His parents just had to let him and his brothers go to the orphanage.
Brendan and Sarah come to the meetings as well. Sarah is trained as a Physicians Assistant in the states. She opens the medical clinic on Wednesdays for people to come to the church to get free medical help. The people here only usually have to pay $5 for a trip to the doctor, and have to wait in line for 4 or 5 hours to get this help. They quite frequently see people who literally can't afford the $5 for the visit. They have also noticed the many people here who have diabetes and aren't treated for it. The clinic therefore is literally saving lives.
Jack and Samantha also attend the meetings. Jack started a website for Christian advice called http://www.gracethrufaith.com/. They bring a couple of theological questions that they have been asked during the week so that we can react and discuss with each other what we feel.
It has been such a blessing to have people who are here to love the community of La Mision and have a passion to serve Christ, already before us, who have taken us in and encouraged us. We feel truly blessed by this. We also have been able to run our ideas by them and to hear their insights on matters of the community. DJ said that it is hard to tell where one ministry begins and the other one ends, because of the team mentality of the missionaries. That is what I prayed for and what I wanted to encounter as a missionary. We went to La Mision "on our own" as in not with an organization, and here we find ourselves networked with an amazing group of people. God is good.
Erin and I are beginning to solidify our work down here. We have lots of ideas and visions and much work to do. We continue to pray and search for where God wants us. We actually have a meeting today with the principal of Sofy's high school. We had inquired about their need for help with coaching and the principal was so excited that he wanted to meet with us the very next day. So pray for our meeting tonight at 6pm.
The nights continue to be cold, especially with the rain. But we are able to sleep just fine, we just dress a little warmer on the cold nights. Sweats, a sweatshirt with a hood, and socks.
It is starting to feel more like home here. This past week I really noticed a difference with people here. They are starting to realize that we are here for a while and not just down here for a vacation. Lots of people do that, but not a lot of people stay.
There are a group of Americans here, and we have been invited into their group. They get together every Wednesday night and it has turned out to be a wonderful blessing of community for Erin and myself.
The group meets at the home of DJ and Lynette, who run the orphanage. They have a few people there that work with them who come to the meetings. Heidi and Daniel also come, and they run a daycare service for the community. They currently have 32 kids who parents drop off so that they can work and are not forced to put them in the orphanage (which happens frequently down here) or the kids are just left at home. This happened to Daniel as a child. His parents just had to let him and his brothers go to the orphanage.
Brendan and Sarah come to the meetings as well. Sarah is trained as a Physicians Assistant in the states. She opens the medical clinic on Wednesdays for people to come to the church to get free medical help. The people here only usually have to pay $5 for a trip to the doctor, and have to wait in line for 4 or 5 hours to get this help. They quite frequently see people who literally can't afford the $5 for the visit. They have also noticed the many people here who have diabetes and aren't treated for it. The clinic therefore is literally saving lives.
Jack and Samantha also attend the meetings. Jack started a website for Christian advice called http://www.gracethrufaith.com/. They bring a couple of theological questions that they have been asked during the week so that we can react and discuss with each other what we feel.
It has been such a blessing to have people who are here to love the community of La Mision and have a passion to serve Christ, already before us, who have taken us in and encouraged us. We feel truly blessed by this. We also have been able to run our ideas by them and to hear their insights on matters of the community. DJ said that it is hard to tell where one ministry begins and the other one ends, because of the team mentality of the missionaries. That is what I prayed for and what I wanted to encounter as a missionary. We went to La Mision "on our own" as in not with an organization, and here we find ourselves networked with an amazing group of people. God is good.
Erin and I are beginning to solidify our work down here. We have lots of ideas and visions and much work to do. We continue to pray and search for where God wants us. We actually have a meeting today with the principal of Sofy's high school. We had inquired about their need for help with coaching and the principal was so excited that he wanted to meet with us the very next day. So pray for our meeting tonight at 6pm.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Rough Week
Erin and I have been here three weeks and the newness is starting to wear off. We are so glad to be here and feel very confirmed that this is where God wants us to be....but we were met with a harsh reality this week.
Ministry takes time.
All of the plans and dreams and work will not be answered with immediate results.
That is hard to take.
We were hoping that we would already be fluent in Spanish, started some life-changing ministry, built a factory or two to change the economy down here, and transform all of the lives of the people in this town.
Ok, so not really. But in some ways, our hearts desired this.
We don't want to be patient. We want to gain trust just because we are here. We want everyone to run to us and be healed because we gave up life as we knew it.
Even though I know the answer to this, that life takes patience, and ministry and growth happen over a long, invisible-to-the-naked-eye kind of way...it still is hard to go through it.
We feel very blessed and are grateful for what we do have. That has not been taken away from us. But we are slowly trying to change to the idea that we live here, that we need to be fed here, and that life is here.
So here is where we are....and here is where we will be.
Pray for us. Pray for our hearts to continue to be encouraged and for our hearts to have the peace that transcends all understanding....
Ministry takes time.
All of the plans and dreams and work will not be answered with immediate results.
That is hard to take.
We were hoping that we would already be fluent in Spanish, started some life-changing ministry, built a factory or two to change the economy down here, and transform all of the lives of the people in this town.
Ok, so not really. But in some ways, our hearts desired this.
We don't want to be patient. We want to gain trust just because we are here. We want everyone to run to us and be healed because we gave up life as we knew it.
Even though I know the answer to this, that life takes patience, and ministry and growth happen over a long, invisible-to-the-naked-eye kind of way...it still is hard to go through it.
We feel very blessed and are grateful for what we do have. That has not been taken away from us. But we are slowly trying to change to the idea that we live here, that we need to be fed here, and that life is here.
So here is where we are....and here is where we will be.
Pray for us. Pray for our hearts to continue to be encouraged and for our hearts to have the peace that transcends all understanding....
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