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
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Symposium week with Pete Brokopp and Ben Stewart kicking off
the vision and future of Envision through the Christian and Missionary Alliance. |
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| First rainbow we've seen in El Salvador…look close |
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| Scorpion found in our house…God has a sense of humor :) |
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| Beautiful butterfly outside our front garden area. |
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| Raeleigh named her sea turtle "Charlie" |
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| Raeleigh wanting to save the millions of homeless puppies :) |
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| Our tortugas loving the rain on our patio |
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Fun surprises for the kids put into our left-behind suitcases
from friends back home that were able to be brought down |
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| A spanish/english Bible for Skyler's birthday |
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| Letters to open for every mood from a sweet friend back home! |
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| Connecting with our Salvadorian staff by hearing testimonies of God at work |
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| Skyler's 9th Grade Class |
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Skyler's first home volleyball game after making the team!
(Skyler is at the net in blue) |
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| Raeleigh's first basketball game! |
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| Recycled organizer made for school wide art project |
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| Skyler's recycled weaved basket |
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| The Three Amigos! |
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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! |
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