when I most feel like a missionary

Francisco, Corban, and I all ready to hike and visit homes

 Corban hopped out of the car with a skip and a jump.  Always outgoing, he quickly introduced himself to the newly arrived mission team, "Hi!  I am Corban.  We are missionaries too!"

Missionary... a new word in my 4-year-old's vocabulary... a concept he is just beginning to understand. 

What does it mean to be a missionary family?  I am sure it can vary from family to family, but in our case often times the daily routine becomes so familiar that I no longer even feel like a missionary.  We try to maintain a healthy routine of nap times and early bed times.  Corban gets up and goes to school.  My husband works a secular job to pay our family expenses so he is gone Monday through Friday from early until late just like many husbands.  I work at the mission base office and in my home office just like a regular working mom.  It all seems so normal and so routine.  Mom, semi-housewife, swimming lessons, karate, all these things can seem so much more real and pressing even in the midst of the mission field.

BUT THERE ARE TIMES WHEN I KNOW I AM A MISSIONARY, WHEN I FEEL LIKE A REAL MISSIONARY AGAIN.  And this is when we host mission teams.  Hosting a mission team does something in me.  It makes me come alive again.  The adrenaline surge that comes with all the planning and then the actual hosting seems to awaken parts of me that fall into a gentle slumber at times.  IT IS WHEN I MOST FEEL LIKE A MISSIONARY.

These past 2 weeks have flown by in a blur.  In fact, the whole month has flown by.  Getting all the details nailed down for the two teams we hosted was its own whirlwind.  And now having the teams here is another.  How we have enjoyed greeting old friends and making new ones.  How we have enjoyed the fellowship and hard work together.   

The first team visited local homes to meet and pray for the families on a Sunday, so my husband was able to join us and help interpret.  

walking down the dirt road through the village

Mission team Dad and daughter inviting children to the camp

The family I translated for (sorry for the sideways pic, don't know how to fix this)

For quite a while now we have desired to hold some type of camp for the children and youth but lacked the resources to do it.  God gave us the desire of our heart by sending Camp Sonshine to hold a 3 day camp which changed these children, youth, and moms forever. 

craft time- super hero masks.  Jesus is our super hero!!!

the sports portion of the camp

amazing dramas and games to bring to life the point of the message

The next team has been amazing as well.  With generous hearts they packed 75 bags of food to give to local families and took the time to visit each home to pray for individual needs.  They are still here as I write this... doing puppet skits, dramas, and games all over San José Pinula, bringing a message of salvation and healing to the community.  God bless them for their tireless efforts.

weighing and measuring out portions of beans, rice, and oatmeal for the food bags

food bags complete!!!

After a long day of visiting homes and walking though miles of dirt and dust Corban lay in his bed, still contemplating the days accomplishments.  "Papi, we are missionaries in this house.  We pray for people.  We tell them about God." and as he drifted off to sleep he murmured, "and Cohen is the littlest missionary of all."

yes, we are a missionary family.  We do pray for people.  We do tell them about God's plan for them and introduce them to the power of Jesus.  Yes, we are missionaries, and this past month I think that concept has become even more clear to a preschooler just learning how to serve the Lord.

If you would like information on how to contact us or more about what we do you can see our website: www.crossculturejesus.org
We would love to hear from you, pray for you, and connect with you.

W-O-R-K

Once, a few years ago, my nephew casually commented that Aunt Sarah didn't have a job, she was just a missionary.  JUST A MISSONARY?  My nephew obviously never took Pastor Randy's ministry class where he went into great detail to explain that the word ministry is spelled W-O-R-K.  (Faith Landmarks Bible Institute, Richmond, VA)

So, like any good Aunt (or missionary defending her position), I pulled out a scrapbook of photos and began to walk through a typical week in the life of CrossCulture Jesus.

I showed pictures of a clothing give-away.  Then asked my nephew to think about how we got the clothes to begin with?  Who solicited business, churches, and friends?  Who wrote letters, made phone calls, and sent thank-you notes?  Who sorted the clothes by size for the 70 families we visit.  Then who walked miles and miles carrying bags and bags of clothes to visit each family, bless them and pray for them?  How long did he think maybe all of that took?

I showed pictures of our Bible Clubs.  My questions were about planning a class, writing the curriculum, practicing skits, making visuals, putting together to preliminaries for a craft, taking time to buy the materials needed, and then finally teaching the class itself.

Next were pictures of mission teams visiting.  Then food give-aways.  Pictures of preaching in churches.  We talked about the amount of time that goes into fund raising, writing newsletters, keeping supporters in the loop.

Me "endless energy" 4-year-old who is still skipping along after walking literally MILES to visit families

We talked about the mundane details of missionary life.  Not the glory of climbing volcanoes.  Not the adventure of riding horseback to remote villages.  Not the well-groomed image of a missionary on a podium in an American church talking about all the successes.  We talked about the nitty, gritty kind of work that gets our fingernails dirty.  We talked about how many families we visit and how many activities we plan before we see any real fruit.  We talked about real WORK.

After all, God called the base, mundane, foolish , weak things of this world to confound the wise and carry out His plans.  GOD CHOSE ME.  And He chose you.  I have noticed that He not only called the base, mundane, foolish and weak ones, but that also most of the work of the ministry is base and mundane.

Brothers, think of what you were when you were called.  Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were influential, not many were of noble birth.  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things... (1 Cor 1:26-28a)

So let me encourage you today.  As you do "normal" things that don't seem important to you, just remember we are in good company!  The disciples themselves spent most of their time doing "unimportant" things.  Walking for miles and miles between town and villages was far from glamorous.  Surely they stopped along the way to wash clothes and bathe in rivers and creeks.  Surely they stopped to build a fire and cook a meal.  Someone had to gather the wood.  Someone had to hunt the food or catch the fish.  Simple things.  Normal things.

When Jesus fed the crowds he asked the disciples to organize thousands into small groups.  Then to distribute the food.  Although this takes just a paragraph of our Bibles to tell, surely it took hours to play out in real life.  Real work.  Real ministry. 

So, when it is your turn to clean the church or take over the nursery, rejoice, for you are partaking of the base aspects of serving the Lord.  As you practice for hours for 30 minutes of worship on Sunday morning, be glad.  As you plan Sunday School classes, make phone calls to plan youth events, clean your house to host a Bible Study, as you cook a meal for a family, give a ride to a neighbor, or any other endless "chores" on our weekly lists of things to do- know that you too are participating in REAL MINISTRY.

The boys strapped in for an afternoon of running ministry errands.  we were armed with milk, water bottles, snacks and toys to face the hours of errands we had to get in before a mission team arrived.

My well-earned late lunch after a morning preparing for upcoming events: homemade Guacamole, beans, and rice

Farewell Alfonso

A much loved team member has moved on.

In the kitchen where he often astounded us with his culinary skills!

Alfonso Alvarado formed part of the outreach team from May of 2007 until Feb of 2013 when he accepted a position as director of the local Senior Citizens Center.

When I think back over all the years and all the changes that our small ministry has undergone since its beginning in 2007, Alfonso's memories are woven so intricately that I feel as though we will never fully say farewell.

As Alfonso sat in our den with a warm cup of coffee in his hands he began to share his heart.  Outside the uncharacteristic wind and rain slammed against the window panes.  The temperature that had dropped from 80 degrees to just 50 degrees overnight was only one reason he shivered.  The other was the news bomb that he was dropping on us: he had accepted a position in a government organization and would not be returning to work on Monday.

WOW.

When Alfonso came to us he was looking for a job- any job.  He decided to help us out for a while until something better came along.  But nothing ever did.  Finally he realized that God had a plan for Alfonso with us.  At least for a time this was Alfonso's calling.  Never having worked with children, never having worked in missions, he came on board.  Over the years his character was molded and formed from being intimidated by the mission work we do to being very adept.  Alfonso's enthusiasm for life, joy, and overcoming attitude have helped him to face challenges and be formed by them.  He grew from being a person who had a hard time being stable in any one place to a long term team member.  He grew from being someone who had started university 2 times and never finished to someone who on the third try, with our constant encouragement, is now on the way to graduating.  He went from being someone from the poor side of town with little or no exposure to the outside world to having international friends and planning visits for missionaries from all over.  It was a good thing.  It was a GOD thing.

teaching in a training meeting

My husband and I are so very proud of the person that Alfonso has become.  As he sat before us thanking us for the role was (through the ministry) played in helping him to become the man that God desires for him to become, we were humbled.  It is our heartfelt desire that all those who work with CrossCulture Jesus and Brazos Abiertos would one day leave better than when they came.  It is our desire that our small ministry be a time of testing, trying, and refining for all of us that are there.  To hear Alfonso recount his testimony we were stricken with the KNOWING that Alfonso, like many others, had gone through the refiner's fire and come out clean on the other side. 

Yes, it was a God thing for Alfonso to come to us. 

We are thankful to all the years of hard work, diligence, and giving 110%.  We are thankful that we can count Alfonso as a friend.  And we are thankful that the Lord is promoting him and rewarding him for so many years of faithful service and sacrifice.

We bless Alfonso in the name of Jesus and declare that all he puts his hand to will prosper!

Alfonso with team member Yoli and a visiting missionary

 

Embracing Restraints!

A happy Corban on his "big boy bike"

Just ahead my enthusiastic 4-year-old was gleefully riding his bicycle.  If riding is what you could call the way he wobbled and swiveled as he propelled himself along.  His voice carried on the breeze, inviting me to watch the new tricks he could do.  Although- he still confuses the Spanish word for trick and trap.  So, actually he was asking me to observe his new "traps".  I called ahead to correct his Spanish but he didn't hear.  He was too busy laughing, talking, and thoroughly enjoying himself.

In front of me my 12-month-old was struggling against the restraints of his stroller, fighting for his freedom.  He wanted to get down and run after his older brother.  But after seeing all of these amazing new feats being performed before my very eyes I was hesitant to let my toddler run willy nilly into the path of my daring pre-schooler.

I felt myself identifying with Cohen.  I, too, find myself wrestling with the confines in my life at times.  Too often I find myself dissatisfied with the place where the Lord has placed me- surely for my own good- and eager to run free into the many adventures I partook of as a young single missionary.  I sometimes feel too tied down as the mother of small children, no longer able to pack up and go or burn the midnight oil with mission teams.  It is tempting to wonder what I am missing.

As I watched my baby look longingly at his brother I knew that I have also been looking longingly at others, wishing I could run at their pace instead of my own.  I realized that surely I am in this place right now because it is the best place for me and my family.  Surely the Lord is teaching me enduring lessons about self-control, compassion, love, patience, understanding, and selfless giving.  Even in this place where it appears that I am held captive for a time the Lord is teaching me things of eternal value.

So today as I ask the Lord to help me find contentment in this place of learning and to be fruitful in this place where I am planted I find I am truly thankful for the "restraints" - especially the 2 I have just in front of me!

A God Connection

Pastors Cesar and Ana with team member Alfonso

The call came.  It was a call that every minister hopes to one day receive.  Pastors Cesar and Ana were calling to THANK us for all that we had sown into their church last year.  They were calling to tell us how much their lives and their church had been changed by the training classes we gave them in 2012.  They wanted to know if we would be willing to hold more training classes- FOR 6 AREA CHURCHES.  And they would host the classes. 
It is rare that pastors, teachers, missionaries, or ministers of any type receive such heartfelt gratitude.  It is an encouragement to hear that our labor is not in vain but rather is producing fruit and blessing many lives.  What could we say but YES!

So, last Saturday afternoon Alfonso, Yoli, and I packed up our supplies and props and headed to Pastor Cesar's church- Psalm 150.  There we assembled our teaching platform, arranged chairs, and awaited 28 representatives from area churches. 

Pastor Cesar's church is tucked away in a small alley on the fringes of San José Pinula.  The pastors are wholly committed to their congregation.  They have turned their garage and small garden into the church building, pouring their heart and personal though meager finances into this endeavor.  They have real hearts for the Kingdom and it was a true pleasure to work with them. 

After a warm welcome and brief instructions we began to teach on the God's view of children in the church, the purpose of a children's church, and the correct atmosphere including teacher's attitudes.  These are concepts that need to be changed in Latin America and in much of the world.  So often children are treated as a disturbance to the adult service.  But God doesn't see them that way.  Though children are small in stature, the Jesus in their hearts is not.  When God anoints children He doesn't anoint them with 25% of the Holy Ghost just because they have 25% of the maturity that we have.  NO!  Children may be limited in size and maturity, but they have no spiritual limits.  In fact, Jesus commanded us to come to Him like children--- He never commanded the children to become like adults.  How interesting. 

Besides laying a spiritual foundation for all that we do, we taught on practical aspects that these small churches with limited funds and exposure to the modern world have never considered.  We taught on using props, visuals, object lessons, dramas, music, games... and then things got interesting. 

To demonstrate how to make a children's church class interesting we used many of the techniques reserved for children's church right there in our training seminar.  The adults participated in games, in choreographies, and in answering questions.  We got their brain juices flowing by asking them to come up with ideas regarding specific Bible stories and then share their ideas with the class. 

Time flew by.  We barely noticed when 2 hours had come and gone and it was time for a coffee break.  We barely noticed when the last hour was dwindling down and the end of the program had arrived.  The teaching ended with a workshop on choreographies and their role in children's church.  Yoli taught on the Biblical aspect of dancing before the Lord and then led the class in 3 choreographed songs showing them how much children will enjoy worship if they are allowed to have fun with it. 

Yoli leading the class in a choreographed dance

the class learning from Yoli

The super busy hours passed by in the blink of an eye.  Our team was tired, but happy.  There is a certain satisfaction that comes from the tiredness you feel after a job well done.  All of the teacher's are anxious to return next Saturday for the conclusion of the training class.  We plan to give out diplomas to all those who participate in both Saturdays. 

As a ministry, we are extremely grateful for this opportunity to sow into the area churches.  We are thankful to the Lord for allowing us to meet with those on the front lines, those who are weekly molding and shaping young lives for the Kingdom.  We don't want it to end next Saturday.  Our desire is that this relationship will blossom and grow.  We hope to continue to support these churches and thereby see spiritual growth in the children and youth of San José pinula. 

We ended the session praying for all the participants then leading them all in intercession for the the children and youth in our community.  May God use us all to further His kingdom!

Participants very interested in the teaching and capturing every word. 

The Unlikely Plans of God

I look around me at the toys scattered across the den floor.  I hear the dinner bubbling away on the stove and feel Cohen's persistent tug on my leg.  He wants milk.  I see Corban's back-pack crumpled in the corner with homework peeking out of the top. 

I feel like such an unlikely person today.  It seems unlikely that God would have chosen ME to lead CCJ and set ME over the Brazos Abiertos outreach team.  It seems unlikely that God would have entrusted ME with a vision to reach the children of San José Pinula for Jesus.  It strikes me as odd that God would bring mission teams for Me to oversee.  It seems unlikely that Jesus would continue to drop new plans and stir up old ones in this heart of mine.  I feel so unlikely to be used of God today.

For all its unlikelihood, Brazos Abiertos is back in full swing.  We are visiting village families and making plans for the year's outreaches.  Our staff meetings and prayer sessions are full of excitement as we count down the weeks to our first two mission teams.  With such a full schedule and so few staff members it would seem unlikely that the Lord would add anything else to our week.  

Yet as unlikely as it seems, our staff feels a yearning and churning in our hearts for a new outreach.  An outreach that I feel must be near and dear to God's own heart for all of us to be united in such a way.  All four of us are in strong agreement to start a feeding program. 

One of our original purposes was to have a feeding program for children and although initial plans were made, nothing came of it.  The dream was put on the back burner, simmering away, growing more and more fragrant as the years went by.  Now that dream is bubbling over in our hearts.  It is time to pull it off the back burner and serve it up! 

A local church has eagerly agreed to let us use its facilities to reach a poverty stricken area of San José Pinula allowing us to reach out to new families with God's tangible love.  Along with a hot meal we will be sharing the gospel.  New converts will be welcomed into the church who will also provide us with volunteers to help prepare and serve the meals.   It is a good plan.  It is God's plan.

The tugging on my leg grows even more demanding.  It is time to tend to my family.  I chuckle to myself as this unlikely servant of God is reminded that God uses the foolish things to confound the wise.  The weak things to confound the strong.  God is an old pro at using the unlikely!

Please pray for us.  Should the Lord place this project on on your heart, you can support it with your finances- see www.crossculturejesus.org for details.

Back at the beginning

The day dawned dark and gloomy.  The fog clung to the ground like cobwebs to a forgotten corner, reluctant to loosen its hold.  It was not the makings of a great day.

I felt my courage weaken as I peered out my bedroom window at the soggy climate outside.  As I looked with my eyes I felt a voice inside gently remind me that we live by Faith and not by Sight.  So, in an act of faith I declared victory and blessing over the day.  It was a day that the Lord had made so I made a decision to rejoice and be glad in it. 

After all, this was no ordinary day.  This was the day Brazos Abiertos started back up again after a 5 week break.  This was the beginning of a new year full of new challenges, new victories, and new stories to tell.

After a semi-chaotic morning of getting Corban ready and off to school I looked around to make sure that all was packed into the back of my Equinox.  The Equinox was full of things friends had sent for the ministry- a ton of flannel for story boards, clothes, prizes, toys.  Also a few boxes of supplies I had purchased in anticipation of today.  My laptop was snuggled in tightly.  It seemed all was in order, so with a kiss and a wave to Cohen, off I went.

At the ministry base I was greeted warmly by both Alfonso and Yoli.  They were bright and eager to get started.

It was a usual first day back.  We caught up on each other's news.  We had a time of prayer and a meeting to tackle issues such as new outreaches, weekly schedule, teams and missionaries expected for the year.  As always, the Christmas break gave us all a much needed rest and we felt our creative juices flowing once again.  We have exciting new ideas for this year!  I can't wait to see how the Lord works it all out.

It was a usual first day back, but something in the atmosphere tells me that this will be no ordinary year.....