Ministry in a Box

Well lots has taken place in this past month…on a personal level we've celebrated James birthday, both girls birthdays, experienced our kids first sport games and grades in a school outside of home, suffered an eye injury, a bug bite reaction (we think) which resulted in 3 days of bed rest, tremors from an earthquake (experienced as I write this blog post), and hurricane-like winds for days now.

On a ministry level (a topic God is redefining for me…see below) we are in a time of exciting transition.  The Envision Wired site in El Salvador is a relatively newer ministry…one with growing opportunities and a God-sized vision to see the "broken" rescued and begin reaching other broken people for the sake of the Gospel.  It is so exciting to be a part of something bigger than yourselves knowing that only God in His power could accomplish it…only He can create beauty from ashes…only He can mend, heal and redeem broken lives…only He can breathe life and quench the thirst of our dry and weary souls.  When the battle is daily and the fight is often just to survive, how trivial everything else becomes (like traffic jams at noon…really?) and how humbling it is to know God has called us, at this time, in this place, to be His light in the darkness.  We are called to share the hope that lies within us and to love a world in need with the only life saver…the Gospel of Christ.  The harvest is plenty as the Bible tells us…doesn't take much to figure that out when we look around.  God is doing something here at Envision…preparing the way for its' future.  In a very short time, the staff has greatly expanded in size, many new partnerships for ministry are being made and more evaluated and even a possible church plant could be in our future.  God is on the move and at work putting the pieces together as he moves this ministry forward.

A Piece of My Heart

What is ministry?  This is something God has been redefining in my heart these past months.  God is teaching me more about how ministry happens in every day experiences (ex. the woman at the well with Jesus).  I find myself putting ministry in a box.  To put ministry in a box is to put God in a box.  Ministry by definition is the act of serving.  Do I think because I am not out feeding the homeless or helping the abandoned orphan, or even sharing the Gospel of Christ every day, that I am not doing ministry?  What about helping the neighbor or taking time for a conversation with a teacher or parent at school?  What about reaching out to a security guard or maintenance worker?  What opportunities do I miss to minister to people who are right in front of me when my ideal of ministry is faulty?  In this season of learning the language, my opportunities at times for ministry look different than I expect.  But doesn't that happen frequently…God's plan and purpose aren't always revealed right away and often times look different than we anticipate?  Do I think ministering to the needs of my husband and children are any less important?  Do I think of that as "ministry"?  Probably not like I should.  Why at times is it so much easier to love the stranger or serve the obvious one in need than it is to love and serve the people in your very own home?  Or the people in your very own family?  Or sometimes even the very people you are doing ministry with.  If my ministry in serving is limited to my expectations or ideals of what "ministry" looks like, then God's ability to serve through me is limited to my own abilities and limited thinking.  Now that is a scary thought :)

I have limited "ministry" to look a certain way and even to be for certain people at times.  When really at the core of it, ministry can be summed up in one word…LOVE!  How well we do ministry(serve) is how well we LOVE.  How do we love our family?  How do we love our neighbor?  How do we love our brothers and sisters in Christ?  How do we love the orphan?  How do we love the prisoner, the prostitute, the drug addict?  How do we love our enemies, or those who have wronged us?  The ability to do ministry is happening every day all around us…are we making the most of every opportunity?  I'm seeing that my ability to do ministry is limited to my own definition of ministry.  God's calling is for me to "love in the soil in which I must grow".  In other words, to love in the place I am with who God places in my path.

As a believer in Christ, I should love God and love others so much that it permeates all of my actions, thus forming my ministry.  A ministry does not need to be a program or a committee or an event.  My own ministry includes all of the things that I do out of love to further the kingdom of God.  Any such act of love is part of ministry.  The core of ministry is the heart of the ministers who are doing that ministry.  Ministry is what people who love the one true God do to express their love for Him and for His people, fulfilling the Great Commandment.

So in my place of waiting (last blog post)…I ask, What am I waiting for?  An expectation that I held onto in my mind on what ministry should look like everyday?  I know God's plans are much bigger than what I see, and no doubt there has been and will be more time to serve those here in El Salvador.  But God is teaching me in preparation for what's to come that to finish well tomorrow means to finish well today.  To do ministry well tomorrow is to do ministry well today.  To love those around me well tomorrow is to love those around me well today!  It is easy to get focused on the ministry of doing for others or anticipating what that should or will look like, that I can miss the daily opportunities God places before me for ministry.  I cannot handle or be faithful with much until I am faithful with little.  Otherwise, I miss the training in preparation for the race…and I want to run this race well!  Preparation precedes the blessing of the destination :)

Crazy how when God wants to deliver a message, he uses different means to convey it.  In this case, I cannot tell you the number of times or the number of ways, God has revealed the word LOVE to me recently.  Simple but yet so profound.  A reminder of His love for me and how he wants me to share that same life-giving love with others.  So in this place, at this time, I am learning to "love in the soil in which I much grow".

  

Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, 

and after that build you house.  Proverbs 24:27

My recent devotional read...A little is much when you lay it at the alter of obedience and the Holy Spirit's fire ignites it for God's glory.  I need to lay before the Lord my gifts, talents and faith and watch Him forge me into a faithful disciple of Jesus.  I must lay my plan before the almighty God and trust Him to lead me through a prayerful process of implementation and adjustment.  A little faith and obedience go a long way in God's game plan…may He take my little faith at times and multiply it for His glory!

What We've Been Up To:

• Makai shares Gospel bracelets (from DiscoveryLand) and Wordless book pamphlets on the playground with friends he met at the girls school.
• Latin America Symposium: hosted meeting with other international workers, Envision site leaders and C&MA national office staff.
• Working hard on learning the spanish language spending daily time either in tutoring, homework or creating fun activities with the kids to see who is learning more in their spanish class…parents or children :)
• Working on getting our resident VISA's which includes lots of documents and appointments (ex. quite the experience going to the local police station to have mug-like pictures and fingerprints taken).
• Visited and volunteered at a children's home called Love Link (Vinculo de Amor) whose ministry has been saving the lives of malnourished babies for more than 30 years!  Some connections have also been made with their prison ministry as well.
• 3 days of staff training on "Dealing with Addictions".
• Hosting send-offs for interns going back home and welcoming new short and long term interns, assisting in their training, development and discipling as they get plugged in.
• Continue taking baby steps towards a start up church by coordinating solid, biblical teaching, worship and children's ministry with a burden to reach the hundreds of deportees coming into this country weekly.
• Developing relationships at school with parents, teachers and coaches as well as the english speaking church we've been attending each Sunday.  God has been creating connections both in partnership for ministry as well as personally.

Prayer Requests

• Use every opportunity to love like Jesus and live out the gospel of Christ.
• Health and protection of our family both physically and spiritually.
• Pray for Makai and his fears of safety and security.
• Pray for Raeleigh to choose love even when her flesh resists, quick to forgive, solid/god-honoring friendships, physical health with the difficulties of being able to eat gluten free.
• Pray that Skyler would stand firm in her faith and not compromise who she is in Christ for the lies of the world, solid/god-honoring friendships, tutoring in math
• Pray for unity in our marriage as we must fight daily for and together in the battle that is not between flesh.
• Pray for the health of my family back home.
• Family would learn the spanish language quickly to be able to connect with the culture on a more personal level.
• Be content in this season of preparation as we learn the language, culture and ministry while trusting in God's greater plan and more perfect timing.
• Solid, faith building relationships both in ministry and at school.
• Pray the application process to receive our resident VISA goes smoothly.  We currently have temporary VISA's that expire in a few months.
• Raise $70,000 to pay off the current building bringing in sustainable income to support the ministry as a whole.
• Direction for a the specific land God wants to use of the future of Broken.
• Future partnerships that are in line with the Broken ministry vision.
• Well received response to newly developed coffee for Broken ministry through effective promotion and multiple US coffee distributors.
• Volunteers to come help with construction needs for the Envision Wired building this March.
• God would raise up young adults to consider a short-term Envision Wired internship for the summer and/or fall of 2014.

Love Beautifully for Him!  That is the only ministry that lasts for eternity!  

Thank you for supporting us and allowing us to share that love with the people of El Salvador!

The Schuenke Family 

Beautiful country with so much brokenness.

A poor urban area…with God's beauty surrounding them

Alone and hungry

Working with a partnership to reach out to the homeless in San Salvador

A new partnership called Vinculo de Amor (Love Link)
 serving malnourished babies for more than 30 years!

Looking at pictures of babies before and after they are nursed back to good health.

God making connections with an American football team here in San Salvador
 with many of its players being deportees…some of the very people we are trying to reach.

New packaged coffee now being sold here and in the states!

Symposium week with Pete Brokopp and Ben Stewart kicking off
the vision and future of Envision through the Christian and Missionary Alliance.

First rainbow we've seen in El Salvador…look close

Scorpion found in our house…God has a sense of humor :)

Beautiful butterfly outside our front garden area.

Raeleigh named her sea turtle "Charlie"

Raeleigh wanting to save the millions of homeless puppies :) 

Our tortugas loving the rain on our patio 

Fun surprises for the kids put into our left-behind suitcases
 from friends back home that were able to be brought down

A spanish/english Bible for Skyler's  birthday

Letters to open for every mood from a sweet friend back home!

Connecting with our Salvadorian staff by hearing testimonies of God at work

Skyler's 9th Grade Class

Skyler's first home volleyball game after making the team!
(Skyler is at the net in blue)

Raeleigh's first basketball game!

Recycled organizer made for school wide art project

Skyler's recycled weaved basket

The Three Amigos!

Celebrated Thanksgiving with longtime missionaries serving the Lord in
El Salvador for some 20-30 years!   What a blessing and honor to give thanks
for and with these heroes of the faith!

In the "Waiting Room"

We are in!!!  Yes we have officially moved and are now (as much as we are able to be) settled into our new home!  Although the wait was hard, we know and trust God that His timing is perfect!  Being in the "waiting room" is difficult, mostly because it is the place you are least in control.  It is a place I am most uncomfortable but a place I learn to depend upon the sufficiency of God's grace.  I am recognizing that the amount of time it takes me to trust God in the "waiting room" is an indicator of my growth in grace.  So anxious I can be for that "next step", it is easy to grow weary and lose heart.  But God reminds me of James 1:4 to "let patience have her perfect work".  Out of our four heart desires for a home, God met them all and more!  Not to mention, it was the only home our entire family loved!  It was definitely worth the wait!!!

We live in a gated community which means the only entrance is through a security station.  The location is slightly out of the center city and close to school and the Mullinax family (other missionaries from the states).  Our home has lots of natural light (instead of being so dark and dreary) which also helps with the electricity bill (extremely expensive).  Lastly, a small backyard and community area where the kids can be kids!  Some added perks are that most (not all) windows have screens (most homes have none) and hot water is available but not always working.  So grateful for God's provision for our family and the blessing this wait in the "waiting room" has brought to us!

A Piece of My Heart

God is teaching me through this circumstance that patience (long-suffering) is more than putting up with something I may not be able to change (waiting); it entails having a Christ-like submission, living out a peace and a joy that only comes through utter dependence on Christ while in the "waiting room".  Why?  Because God is more concerned about what I do in the "waiting room" (how I reflect him, the depths of my trust, the sufficiency of His grace...spending time seeking Him) than he is my comfort.  So patience can have her full effect or perfect result!  In this case, yes, we were blessed with the perfect place to call home, but more importantly, God was concerned about my heart attitude, my ability to seek and trust Him by faith in the "waiting room" so that my faith may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.  So many times I want patience, I want growth in Christ, but I am unwilling to endure the process of growing it.  I am unwilling to suffer for a season in order to be perfected in Christ.  If you are like me, I resist waiting.  I resist interferences and inconveniences.  I resist burdens, conflict, difficulties.  I resist anything that threatens my will.  But if I am going to allow patience to work, I must allow temptation.  I must allow God to work his will - even at the expense of my own.

Losing all is difficult (laying down your will).  But gaining Christ is greater.  I would rather lose everything and gain Christ than to keep all and lose him.  I would rather lose all and be made like him than keep all and remain who I am.

Let patience have her perfect work!

What We've Been Up To:

• participated last month in the "Call to Prayer" held by John Stumbo, President of the C&MA, where over 300 sites from around the world connected online live asking God to intercede for the nations.  It was a two-day prayer event filled with a powerful time of connecting with God.
• started our spanish tutoring with two different tutors, homework and practice
• getting settled into our new home and working on establishing a routine
• an EMI (Engineering Ministries International) group came down from the states and spent three days surveying the potential land site for the Broken Ministry.  By the end of the week, they produced a 4-phase plan including building plans!  It was so exciting to see what the team has been dreaming of concretely on paper!  The comprehensive evaluation of soil, water, and electricity results were challenging.  At present, they are commending to look at other options to see if another piece of land can be obtained with similar advantages but less challenges.  Also exploring a multi-campus approach by de-centralizing the various ministries.
• new coffee development and packaging for Broken Ministry fundraising, observed the process from the sidelines until taste testing coffee with different kinds of roasts as well as voting on different packaging options
• James has officially taken over the intern development/discipling position at Wired (Elijah, who originally holds that position has returned to the states with his wife for a 6 month fundraising/sharing the Broken Ministry vision with other churches)
• James and I have participated in coaching with the Envision Wired staff on a weekly basis
• Participating on a team to begin first steps in the possible development of a children's ministry.

Unique Experiences:

• had our first fumigation at the Envision site before we moved out.  We had to exit the building for one day due to the fumes.  This is to get rid of all the cockroaches and other creatures that make their way in and become very pesty :)
• sighting of two rats in the building until after the fumigation when a terrible stench in the shower area was noticed and after a few days, one of the furry creatures was laid to rest.
• two cats entered the site from the roof upstairs during the night...a cat fight was heard and in the morning a squirrels tail was found in the hallway.  The girls were the fortunate ones to find the surprise left behind.
• experienced our first earthquake shaking felt from a 6.0 earthquake in Guatemala.
• had our first Wisconsin visitor, Elmer Guevara, whose family we know from Appleton Alliance church.  He is from El Salvador and was traveling down to visit family and offered to bring one of our suitcases we had to leave behind.  Received some from surprises from friends back home! Thank you Elmer!  Spent time catching up, gave him a  tour of the site and introduced him to some of the staff.  What a blessing and comfort it was to see a familiar face in person from home!
• attended our first service from the Spanish Alliance church and reconnected with Pastor Carlos whom we met on our mission trip here last year.
• attended our first bridal shower and El Salvadorian Christian wedding
• James and Makai shared the Gospel with the worker next door to us who has just come back to El Salvador from the states...wife left him after getting involved in drugs.  Makai gave him a wordless book bracelet and they explained its meaning!  He wants to come to the church we go to on Sunday!
• was invited to an El Salvadorian soccer game where some of the team didn't show up and James was recruited as goalie (in jeans and dress shoes)!  Quite the cultural connection!
• James and Makai had their first experience going to the doctor in El Salvador.  Both suffered from bronchitis...respiratory diseases are common down here with lack of air quality and weather humidity and dampness.

Praise & Prayer:

• Praise for God's provision of our new home and getting settled in!
• Praise God for our faithful supporters who make all this possible!
• Pray for safety and security of our family, our home, the kids school and ministry site
• Protection from further illness (currently James is suffering from a parasite), good health and solid rest (lots of noises in the night)
• Balance in schedule and stewardship of our time when everything seems a priority
• Trust and acceptance of God's plan in and out of the "waiting room"
• Teachable hearts to embrace God's work in redefining church/ministry as we know it, not to miss ministry opportunities God places right before us (more on the next blog post)
• Pray for strength as we fight against oppression, a heaviness, battling spiritual warfare
• Pray Envision Wired and the Alliance Church in San Salvador would produce much fruit and reach many for the sake of the gospel of Christ
• Broken Ministry: clear direction/provision on the specific piece of land God has for the start of phase 1 of this ministry, successful fundraising efforts to be able to purchase the current building and begin taking in single mothers/children in need
• Pray for the leading of God's hand if and when a church plant is in our future              
• Pray James and I would learn to understand and speak the Spanish language quickly
• Pray our VISA process would go quickly and smoothly
• Praise/Pray for the relationships being built on staff and in school
• Pray for strong, godly friendships for the kids, a rock solid faith, the strength to endure when the battle gets tough
• Skyler struggling with math - pray for perseverance and that she receives the extra help she needs
• Pray for a unified spirit in our marriage, our family, in the ministry
• God would minister to our hearts individually as we each grieve our friends and family back home differently

Thank you again for walking this journey with us!  

Your prayers and support are invaluable!

The Schuenke Family

Some of the Envision Wired Clan!

Cockroach found after fumigation

Largest shoe ever made found at shoe store (compare adult shoe above it)

Best dishwasher around!

Outside the Alliance Church in El Salvador

Visit with Pastor Carlos at the Alliance Church

Wash all vegetables and fruits in clean water before consuming

Makai eating cookie dough

Envision staff gathered for "A Call to Prayer" weekend

Worshiping at "A Call to Prayer" with over 300 sites worldwide

Skyler playing basketball at school

Guess whose poor legs?  Beat up and eaten up!

A little boy waiting for the rain to stop so he can play

Crabs!

Raeleigh walking the rocks on the Pacific Ocean shoreline

Poor Neighborhood Community

Celebrating El Salvador's Independence Day, September 15th, at school

Skyler with Monica (Christian Friend) 

Some of the staff at Wired

Developing new improved coffee for Broken Ministry Campaign Fundraiser

500 lbs of newly developed coffee and packaging

A backyard neighborhood - a big brother stepping up

Our gated community

Inside our gated community (God sends his love (heart) in the clouds :)

Beautiful landscape nearby our home (volcano in the background)

Makai helping hold down the water jugs

Makai playing in our backyard!

Moth or Butterfly outside on our window?  It is bigger than my hand!

Wired Staff at one of the team members wedding

Our family with Hannah, an intern, at the wedding

A visual reminder of the Broken around us

Raeleigh's new pet Kevin now living in our back yard (plus another named Tedward)

Salamander found in our bedroom!!! 

Makai's first haircut in El Salvador with Roberto (before)

Most handsome! (after)