The Next Chapter

When Alfonso left us, for a while it seemed as though he had left a hole that would be impossible to fill.  I have learned that each person is unique with their own gifts, callings, talents and strengths.  I have seen how each team member brings something new and special to our team- a something we wondered how we ever did without before!  Alfonso's something special had been with us so long that we couldn't even remember "before" and certainly couldn't imagine an "after".

However, he has been gone a month and a half now and in that time we have seen God do a work in each of us and in our team as a whole.

First, Yolanda, Chrissy, and I were forced to take on responsibilities that we had not had to worry with in the past.  Adding these challenges to our to-do list helped us to stretch, grow, and do things we didn't know we could do.  This was good.

Next, the Lord brought to our team a super young lady named Kimberly.  Kimberly has gifts and talents all her own.  Right now she is in the process of merging her talents with ours and we are seeing great things happen because of it.  This is good.

The most intriguing aspect of Kimberly's story is this...

When Alfonso came to us he was only a shadow of the person he grew to be.  Francisco and I feel as though the Lord has called and equipped us to train up others.  We saw this explicitly in Alfonso's life.  He was hesitant to step out of his comfort zone and take on responsibilities.  He had a volatile temper.  He was a bit of a class clown, not taking life or work very seriously.  But God had called him to more.  Under our tutelage (not that we take the credit for the work that God did) Alfonso grew to be an amazing leader who made solid decisions.  So much so that he is now in a position of much responsibility.

Wow.  We sowed and sowed into Alfonso's life.... and now someone else was reaping the benefit.  But so be it.  That is the way it is in the Kingdom of God.  We knew that Alfonso's season with us had its purpose and this new season had a purpose as well.

So, when Kimberly came along I thought how appropriate.  Kimberly and I have a history.  I began sowing into Kimberly's life when she was just 11 years old.  She is a former student of mine from a program in La Limonada, a marginal area of Guatemala City.  For 4.5 years I sowed into Kimberly's life daily, forming character, helping her and others to be the best they could be and all that God called them to be.  Now, 12 years later, she is married, has a baby girl and has almost finished college.  Often times we never see the results of what we have invested in others but this time I am privileged to be able to.

It is like a circle.  And I am glad to be a part of both the sending and receiving, the sowing and the reaping.  

So, we welcome Kimberly to our team.  We welcome her talents, her gifts, her callings and her something special.  We welcome this new chapter in Brazos Abiertos.

Brazos Abiertos Outreach Team from left to right: Kimberly, Chrissy, Yolanda, Sarah

When Worlds Collide

I sat gripping the warm coffee mug firmly in my hands as if it were a lifeline in a desperate attempt to clear my foggy brain.  The morning was not yet awake, nor anyone in my house, and this time of day when I usually relish my time alone with the Lord was more of a torture this morning as I willed my exhausted body and mind into action.

I was nearly through with a two weeks of back to back visiting mission teams.  If you have read my earlier blogs you will know that I love mission teams.  I am in my element during both the planning and execution of such a visit.  Yet even my favorite part of ministry is, at times, at odds with my "other world".

Since my eyes were too blurry to read my Bible I began to think back over the struggles, trials, and victories of the past days.  I chuckled as I remembered the night that I got to bed late finishing up spread sheets and budgets for the next team only to awaken once to comfort a teething toddler, then later to rush in a pick-up a pre-schooler from the floor where he had fallen out of bed, and then been up for the day when the toddler woke up up again at 5am to start his day.  Regardless of the lack of sleep I had a full day of ministry to fulfill.  I recalled  how many times during the past week and a half I had been gone all day and returned in the late evening with two tired boys and dinner still to cook.  I shook my head in dismay as I remembered the times I was tempted to pour bowls of cereal for supper!  But my husband who also worked hard all day wouldn't have appreciated that very much.

...and the afternoon when I was told the presence of God was strong and the children were deeply moved and ministered too- but I missed it because we had cupcakes to prepare for a school party and homework to do. 

...Night after night of waking up with Cohen whose molars were bothering him followed by day after day of trying to accomplish more than humanly possible.  Dragging the children to banking errands, ministry sites, and other related places and still hoping they would have super human strength and not be tired and cranky by the end of the day.  Daily going over the pre-school calendar to keep up with projects and special events, and still forgetting some of them anyway! 

It had been 10 days of holding down 2 full-time jobs... and not always successfully!  It had been 10 days of joys, disappointments, struggles, victories, trials, tests of patience, and faith in God.  It had been a time to see the best of me and the worst of me.  A time for my strengths to shine and sometimes for my weaknesses to be embarrassingly exposed.  It had been 10 days when I wondered why my family still needed so much of me when I obviously had my hands full with other things...and at the same time wondered why ministry was so demanding when my family obviously still needed to eat, sleep, and do well at school/work.

...and I still had a few more days to go!

So, in those last few minutes before my little crew began to stir I sat aside my coffee cup which had now grown lukewarm and I  began to pray.  I prayed for renewed strength, patience, understanding with my kids (we were all worn to a frazzle), and good attitudes all around!  As the early light of the sun began to peek through the clouds I remembered that His mercy is new every morning!  His mercy for my life was new at that very moment.  I began my day rejoicing in God's abundant mercy poured out to me and reveled in His grace for my life.  Because even though there are times when my 2 worlds collide and I feel weak and unable to meet the challenge I know that His grace is sufficient for me.  He has called me at this time to this place to fulfill this purpose, and God himself is preparing me to meet that challenge.

I am sure many of you reading this can relate.  Not only missionaries face this struggle.  Many mothers feel torn between the many roles they play and the needs that pull on their time and energy.  May we all pray for one another and encourage each other in the Lord.  His grace is sufficient.  He is the source of all that we need.  When we feel the situation is too great for us, let us remember that it is not too great for Him.

Worlds Apart

brotherly fun, playing with water

As I sat in the shade and watched the tops of the tall pines sway and dance in the breeze I felt contentment wash over me like a warm bath.  My two boys were utterly enjoying the park that afternoon.  I sighed as work and ministry felt worlds apart, the chaos left behind for this moment in time as I immersed myself totally in motherhood.

boys and dirt

Some of my favorite moments of the day are spent with my little ones.  I relish lunchtime chats with my four-year-old.  His perspective on life is so fresh and new.  He finds joy in small things.  As he talks about his morning and laughs at silly jokes I find myself so thankful that my schedule allows me to spend lunch nearly every day with my little guy.  Watching my toddler discover something new, something I often take for granted (like belly buttons!) is fascinating.  It is easy to get lost in this world and totally forget that the other exists.

Yet as I sit here at my desk this morning I see beside me a spiral block of notes with a list a mile long of things I need to accomplish (preferably today).  Calling an interpreter to set up dates for a mission team, calling the bus driver, update the website (oh, well, I haven't gotten to that for 3 years, I am sure it can wait), update spreadsheets for the book keeper, fill out a 10 page form that the U.S. government wants for CCJ, file receipts for the accountant here in Guatemala, write thank-you notes, nail down details of mother's day event, make bank deposits, add names to the mailing list, a dozen more phone calls, and the list goes on and on....

Sitting here in the middle of a stack of paperwork it is oh, so easy to forget that my little bubble of motherhood exists!   I can feel the adrenaline begin to surge again.  My missionary side begins to yawn and stretch, waking up and taking over.  I remember something I saw in my Bible reading and I want to jot it down to share at a team meeting.  I begin to think about churches I will visit and what I will share on our next trip to the States.  It is all so exciting.  I love the ministry.  I love missions.  I love helping others, sharing the gospel, planting seeds of hope and eternity.

My two worlds, my two realities... at times they coexist in harmony and at times they seem at war with each other... tune in again to see what happens when two worlds collide!

a whole different world

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!