CONNECT WITH MY HEART
(see below for details on what we've been up to and lots of pictures)
How can you explain the days that go by so fast yet the pace of life here be so slow. Doesn't make sense I know but it is the life we now live and are adjusting to. Is it the pace or the mere fact that a normal daily task can take that much longer to complete due to the lack of resources or conveniences we are used to? I did not realize how much I valued a sense of accomplishment until feeling exhausted at the end of the day, as if I had just run a marathon, but never reached the finish line. It is funny how restless I become when my agenda and God's do not match up. My flesh wants to fight against that but the Spirit of God in me reminds me that my value isn't measured by my accomplishments but by the abundance of God's grace I enjoy every day....who I am because of who He is! God gave me this verse recently:
Jeremiah 2:13 "For my people have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and dug their own cisterns. Broken cisterns that cannot hold water."
How many times I fill my own cistern with my ideas, my agenda, my to-do list, my plans. I can fill it so full my cistern cracks...then leaks leaving me thirsty. Accomplishments in and of themselves are not bad things until they become about me, my ego, and my performance. If I really take a minute to think about it, I like getting tangible rewards sometimes more than I care about spending time with God. I like the sense of accomplishment especially work done for the Lord. I can justify it's righteousness because of who the work is for. The end result...dry and thirsty!
How ridiculous for me to try and fill my broken cistern and then scrape out the little bit of stagnant water in the bottom, when right beside me is a continuous stream of living water. Oh my wandering heart, relying on my own efforts to satisfy the longings of my soul and the urgent need of water...trying to control what I am not in control of. Any attempt to fill a need, even the need for accomplishment, is like trying to fill broken cisterns. It produces nothing of real value but an emptiness because of my unwillingness to turn to the true God who could give me real life which is everlasting and fulfilling...the need to trust God alone to satisfy my thirst. Not my accomplishments, not checking off a to-do list and not meeting my plan of expectations. We are all thirsty. I believe there are thirsts and longings in our lives that are placed there by God. I am realizing that God has a way for these longings to be met in me. I must not forsake the "Spring of Living Water" for my broken cistern. My needs are real, but I must satisfy those needs according to God's way rather than my way. What feels out of control the Lord uses to bring His child (me) under His control. And He continues to teach me how to live in the grace filled moments that surround me every day.
Who am I without accomplishment? I can feel like a failure. I am focusing on things that are seen instead of what is unseen. I want to value my accomplishments or lack of them and be able to hold on to the loosely just as Paul writes in Philippians 3:7-9:
The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I'm tearing up and throwing out with the trash - along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn't want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ - God's righteousness (The Message)
Whether I am able to accomplish or unable I need not be thirsty. My fulfillment can only be found in Christ alone! Even if the finish line never seems to come for this day (things to accomplish)...the "Spring of Living Water" never runs dry and will refresh my soul giving me the ability to endure the race.
Drinking from His cup today!
CONNECT WITH US
Thank you for all your prayers over these past weeks. We know God hears them and is answering them in the way and timing that is best. We are still waiting on the house. We have a premature offer in and are waiting for the owners to find a new home so we can proceed with finalizing the offer. We truly believe this is the right house for our family and that God is asking us to wait and trust in His timing. Please continue to pray for patience as we wait expectantly to take the next step in the process.
In the meantime, we have been getting the girls ready for school by meeting the Principal and staff, attending a parent/school staff orientation, getting fitted and buying school uniforms, purchasing books and needed supplies, labeling everything including covering all books, attending the student orientation to meet their teachers and visit their classrooms. Thank you for praying for them as they started their first day of school this past Monday. Their first day went great! We have seen God's presence go with us and before us as we step out in new territory. Praise God...Raeleigh's teacher is a born again believer!!! We had a great visit with her and found out she even attends the church we have been visiting these past few weeks and learned last Sunday she is very good friends with the youth leader there. Another major answer to prayer is the connection Skyler made with a girl in her class. Her name is Monica who previously resided in Guatemala and attended the mission school there. She too is a believer!!! She loves music and worship like Skyler and also wants to one day be a missionary! Only God could orchestrate a divine appointment like that. An appointment when you know God ordained that moment in time for her to see His hand at work in her life. Thank you God for knowing their needs and providing for them in ways I never could. All part of letting go and surrendering to God's good and perfect will. I am not saying it still isn't hard for me...it carries with it many tears...it is another area of such uncertainty with a response that only demands complete trust and surrender. What I do know is that God has called me to lay them at His feet and allow Him to carry out HIS plan in shaping the future he is calling them to... We covet your prayers for them as we continue to seek God's provision and protection for them each day.
We are also thanking God for the connections we are making here with staff as well as in the community. We are meeting other missionaries and learning more about their ministries and the culture in which they live. We have made some connections at the Union church including meeting the worship director then the youth leader and finding out more about the youth group that meets every Friday night. No doubt God is leading the way in the direction we are to follow. Please pray for good solid Biblical training, a connection to the ministry as well as new friends.
This past weekend, we were able to take a break for some family time. The Mullinax family invited us to a water park that is next to the Pacific Ocean for an afternoon. What a great time of rest and rejuvenation for us all! James and I also celebrated our "16th" wedding anniversary and were able to grab a little time away for a nice dinner. You should have seen us ordering our meals :) We better get going on that spanish tutoring :)
James and Makai had a few stomach issues this past week. Praise God they seemed to have healed quickly. Makai has had a lot of mosquito bites and Raeleigh injured her knee (minor). Please pray for our health and protection especially with the many things that can cause illness and infection.
This week James and I began our orientation and training at the Envision Wired site. We are getting in depth knowledge on the mission and vision here as well as the God-sized vision for the ministry Broken. We are learning the in's and outs of the different aspects to ministry and received an introduction to our language learning and culture training ahead. Please pray that with everything before us, God would grant us the ability to retain the needed information and learn the language quickly so we are able to make connections with the culture and its people.
To know God means to give ourselves daily to Him. Above all else, we want His name to be glorified here in this place!
Together we can Be The Change!
The Schuenke Family
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| Crazy spider as big as the spread of an adult hand |
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| Spider eating a butterfly |
