Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with your God.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
End of an Era
We wrapped up this first school year with a day of graduation and rememberance as we shared some of our favorite memories through out the year and the trip. We poked at our quirky/weirdness, wreckless driving, strange sayings, embarrassing moments and also how God revealed himself to us. I was so blessed to hear the students look back and see how God changed their heart or opened their eyes to things we've missed. A couple things the students have learned was that you never graduate from being a servant, Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. They also caught a glimpse of God's heart for the nations and that's something that they will take with them.
Somewhere inbetween Iquitos and Nato, we were all on a bus heading to the river and I looked over at my students and palm trees were flying by their heads and straw huts were set in the background and they were reading their devotions and Bibles and God just whispered to me, "Look how far we've come." And it had nothing to do with our location, and everything to do with how much we've grown since the begininng of the school year. I was so blessed to be a part of their life in a small way and experiencing their changes. Thank you for supporting us and being a part of God moving, I know these students are world-changers!
I didn't quite finish the last part of the trip to Peru, but I'll just list some of my favorite parts of the trip:
*In the city, the children kiss you on the cheek and say ciao when it's time to leave
*Seeing people come to know Jesus as their Savior
*Playing volleyball and soccer with the kids
*Vacation Bible School with the kids
*The kids
*Chasing the kids on the flooded sidewalks as they yell "haylo!"
*Taking baths in the Amazon
*Walking out of the church, knee deep in water and looking up at the stars and upside down Big Dipper with the students
*Worshiping in Spanish and English with a bunch of teenagers from Iquitos
*Meeting all the crazy YWAM'ers on the base
*The kids
*Seeing God restore a village and a Pastor
*Being a part of a baptism in the Amazon River and baby dedication
*Dancing with the kids
*Going bathroom on the boat, while it was moving (see picture below)
*Getting out of my bed to drive 15 minutes by myself to find carlos and give him a Bible and tell him that God loves him
*Trying to talk in spanish and use gestures to ask questions to puzzled spanish speakers
*Learning to live dead
*The kids
*Talking about our strengths from our own tents at night as a group
*Nightly church services
*Finding a dead alligator on our boat as a gift from the community.
*Knowing that God has confirmed that long term missions is something He has for me
*Realizing that my passions are kids, sports and God and that I can combine all 3 of those on the mission field and feel refreshed and alive!
*Our wonderful translator and guides who led us and cooked delicious meals for us as we traveled up and down the Amazon!
*Eating alligator, fish eyes and worms
*Trying to mime to one of the men in the village that we want to fish and then when we finally are out on the river, we realize we forgot our poles!
*The kids
Even though you weren't there, please know that the people that were touched during our time there was because of you. Thank you for your prayers, your financial support, and your encouragement.
Please continue to pray for us as Agora recruits for Fall semester and for our summer trip back to Peru in July.
For more pictures, go to:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.700160650818.2104235.53701690&type=3
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."- Ephesians 4:1-2
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
people or demons?
We left the first village, slightly excited to rest on the boat ride and get away from the mosquitos and chiggers, however, the boat ride was only 15 minutes so there was no rest for us! As soon as we landed we started to plot our night service.
When we got to this village, we were told that no one except the pastor and his family would go to church. Apparently, there has been a lot of spiritual warfare and many bad things have happened to the pastor and his family. The most recent was the passing of his daughter shortly after giving birth to her 6th kid. When we asked one of the people in the village how many people attend their church, they responded with "people or demons?" We knew we were in for a much more difficult time.
We prayed a lot and slept very little in this village. Every day we had VBS and games with the kids. 2 o'clock bathing times with the village. Lots of funny moments as we tried to balance on logs so to not fall completely in the river but it didn't work. The water was refreshing but we never seemed to feel or smell clean!
The kids were attentive to our Bible stories and programs. Church services at night were interesting. Many kids came in but few adults. In fact, the adults would stand outside the church and watch our dramas, listen to us share testimonies and preach, but not come in. Even the nights we showed a movie (The Passion of the Christ)! We continued to pray and intercede on behalf of the village whenever we weren't in front of the church.
One of the last days we were there, the pastor and the mayor met with Randy and other men in the village. They had time of prayer and discussion and finally a break through happened between the pastor and the mayor where they confessed to each other for not respecting each other and holding up their end of responsibility. That night, the mayor rededicated his life to Christ.
We were able to fit many people in the village with eye glasses which were donated. The village seemed to come alive as we went door to door asking the women if they needed help and just serving them. We talked to them in spanglish, washed dishes with them, hung up their laundry and showed God's love.
Our sleeping arrangements were pretty rough, we slept in an open hut which allowed for dogs and cats to roam around our tents all night. We woke up with fresh bites (over 200 bites per person, no lie!) and constantly scratching, it was incredibly hot to play futbol with long pants and high socks on. Going to the bathroom was a chore and an experience every time, but through it all, I know that I can get through anything with God. In fact, coming away from that last intense village, I realized that in this next season, I will be happy anywhere there are children (besides the US). All I have to do now is let God guide me and be obedient :) Life is good with God!
I hope you all are doing well and staying refreshed in God's goodness and faithfulness! More VBS and church renovations in the city this week and back to the river next week!
Do not grow weary in doing good, for in due season, you will reap the harves- Galatians 6:9
When we got to this village, we were told that no one except the pastor and his family would go to church. Apparently, there has been a lot of spiritual warfare and many bad things have happened to the pastor and his family. The most recent was the passing of his daughter shortly after giving birth to her 6th kid. When we asked one of the people in the village how many people attend their church, they responded with "people or demons?" We knew we were in for a much more difficult time.
We prayed a lot and slept very little in this village. Every day we had VBS and games with the kids. 2 o'clock bathing times with the village. Lots of funny moments as we tried to balance on logs so to not fall completely in the river but it didn't work. The water was refreshing but we never seemed to feel or smell clean!
The kids were attentive to our Bible stories and programs. Church services at night were interesting. Many kids came in but few adults. In fact, the adults would stand outside the church and watch our dramas, listen to us share testimonies and preach, but not come in. Even the nights we showed a movie (The Passion of the Christ)! We continued to pray and intercede on behalf of the village whenever we weren't in front of the church.
One of the last days we were there, the pastor and the mayor met with Randy and other men in the village. They had time of prayer and discussion and finally a break through happened between the pastor and the mayor where they confessed to each other for not respecting each other and holding up their end of responsibility. That night, the mayor rededicated his life to Christ.
We were able to fit many people in the village with eye glasses which were donated. The village seemed to come alive as we went door to door asking the women if they needed help and just serving them. We talked to them in spanglish, washed dishes with them, hung up their laundry and showed God's love.
Our sleeping arrangements were pretty rough, we slept in an open hut which allowed for dogs and cats to roam around our tents all night. We woke up with fresh bites (over 200 bites per person, no lie!) and constantly scratching, it was incredibly hot to play futbol with long pants and high socks on. Going to the bathroom was a chore and an experience every time, but through it all, I know that I can get through anything with God. In fact, coming away from that last intense village, I realized that in this next season, I will be happy anywhere there are children (besides the US). All I have to do now is let God guide me and be obedient :) Life is good with God!
I hope you all are doing well and staying refreshed in God's goodness and faithfulness! More VBS and church renovations in the city this week and back to the river next week!
Do not grow weary in doing good, for in due season, you will reap the harves- Galatians 6:9
In the jungle the mighty jungle...
The trip on the river was incredibly rough but even more so, rewarding! The 5 hour boat ride, feeling fresh and loving the scenery, playing cards and laying in hammocks was a dream! Our spirits were high because we had no clue what to expect but we were just excited to be on the river going to villages.
The first village we went to was called Santa Isabel. The village was flooded and we found ourselves carrying all our bags wearing boots because the water was up to our calves. We arrived at sunset which meant we had to move fast because the mosquito’s would start to swarm. We quickly sent up the tents in the church we stayed at, ate dinner and went to bed. In the morning we met with the Pastor and discussed how our week would shape up, what activities we would do and what he thought needed to be done or what the village needed to be challenged on. Each morning we met at the boat at 7 a.m., then went right into VBS back at the church.
The children were sweet and playful. They loved our felt boards, even though we thought they would think they were outdated! We sang silly songs with them in Spanish, did a craft that had to do with our lesson and then played games with them in the soccer fields. When we were done, we normally would play volleyball or futbol until lunch.
The afternoon usually brought more play time, personal devotion time, or bath time. At night, we would have a church service where we performed our dramas, shared testimonies, worshipped and preached. The people were friendly and receptive. By the end of our time there, 3 people were baptized, 12 kids and a couple adults accepted Jesus, 11 kids were dedicated to God, the church was dedicated, 30 pairs of eye glasses were given out.
A few highlights were chasing the kids through the murky water. We first went out there to bathe (in the river, where they poop, pee, bathe, drink, use the water to cook with, find crocs and poisonous snakes, etc). but it soon turned into a game of tag with the kids yelling “hello” with sweet little accents and then jumping into the deeper portion of the river. What other choice did I have then to throw off my boots and join them?! No choice :)
The people at this village were incredibly receptive and warm. It was a great way to start our trip on the river off!
***all of a sudden I can't load pictures anymore so more of those to come later. Here's my facebook link again to see more!
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.700160650818.2104235.53701690&type=1&l=0e07ef6114
love you!!
The first village we went to was called Santa Isabel. The village was flooded and we found ourselves carrying all our bags wearing boots because the water was up to our calves. We arrived at sunset which meant we had to move fast because the mosquito’s would start to swarm. We quickly sent up the tents in the church we stayed at, ate dinner and went to bed. In the morning we met with the Pastor and discussed how our week would shape up, what activities we would do and what he thought needed to be done or what the village needed to be challenged on. Each morning we met at the boat at 7 a.m., then went right into VBS back at the church.
The children were sweet and playful. They loved our felt boards, even though we thought they would think they were outdated! We sang silly songs with them in Spanish, did a craft that had to do with our lesson and then played games with them in the soccer fields. When we were done, we normally would play volleyball or futbol until lunch.
The afternoon usually brought more play time, personal devotion time, or bath time. At night, we would have a church service where we performed our dramas, shared testimonies, worshipped and preached. The people were friendly and receptive. By the end of our time there, 3 people were baptized, 12 kids and a couple adults accepted Jesus, 11 kids were dedicated to God, the church was dedicated, 30 pairs of eye glasses were given out.
A few highlights were chasing the kids through the murky water. We first went out there to bathe (in the river, where they poop, pee, bathe, drink, use the water to cook with, find crocs and poisonous snakes, etc). but it soon turned into a game of tag with the kids yelling “hello” with sweet little accents and then jumping into the deeper portion of the river. What other choice did I have then to throw off my boots and join them?! No choice :)
The people at this village were incredibly receptive and warm. It was a great way to start our trip on the river off!
***all of a sudden I can't load pictures anymore so more of those to come later. Here's my facebook link again to see more!
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.700160650818.2104235.53701690&type=1&l=0e07ef6114
love you!!
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Peru!!!
We have finally made it to Iquitos! It feels like the whole school year we've been looking forward to this trip and it's hard to believe that it's happening!
The first day we were here, we did a couple children's ministries through out the day. We've now settled into a routine of morning devo's, afternoon prayer walks, skit practices, spanish class, and then various outreaches. We've tried to end each night with soccer games (mostly us ladies watching and screaming oleee ole oleeee! as the guys play).
We've been able to play with the kids and also share our testimonies and do some of the skits we've prepared.
Iquitos is beautiful and so are the people. They also drive crazy aka like me!
We are taking this first week here to bond with the YWAM students. They are also teaching us Espanol and drama's for when we go on the river.Ole! YWAM and Agora joined together Friday night for a social night- Here we are playing a game called Chubby Bunny, i.e. put as many marshmallows in your mouth as possible and the person with the most wins (me) :)
Our days are full but we are looking to things settling down this week. We leave tomorrow for 8 days on the Amazon. We will be teaching VBS and also sharing our testimonies and possibly preaching in the village!
God is working on our hearts and opening our eyes to a lot of different things. He has also placed a lot of confirmation that long term missions is definitely His will for my life :)
Please pray for our safety and health as we go to the river. Most importantly, pray that the people we visit will be open and respond to the message of God's love for them and that they come to understand how valuable they are to Him!
Thanks for your prayers. We will write you when we get back. Here are 2 links to more of the pictures we've taken so far: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.700160650818.2104235.53701690&type=1#!/media/set/?set=a.325496387508059.73461.137580899632943&type=3
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.700160650818.2104235.53701690&type=1&l=0e07ef6114
lots and lots of love!
The first day we were here, we did a couple children's ministries through out the day. We've now settled into a routine of morning devo's, afternoon prayer walks, skit practices, spanish class, and then various outreaches. We've tried to end each night with soccer games (mostly us ladies watching and screaming oleee ole oleeee! as the guys play).
We've been able to play with the kids and also share our testimonies and do some of the skits we've prepared.
Iquitos is beautiful and so are the people. They also drive crazy aka like me!
We are taking this first week here to bond with the YWAM students. They are also teaching us Espanol and drama's for when we go on the river.Ole! YWAM and Agora joined together Friday night for a social night- Here we are playing a game called Chubby Bunny, i.e. put as many marshmallows in your mouth as possible and the person with the most wins (me) :)
Our days are full but we are looking to things settling down this week. We leave tomorrow for 8 days on the Amazon. We will be teaching VBS and also sharing our testimonies and possibly preaching in the village!
God is working on our hearts and opening our eyes to a lot of different things. He has also placed a lot of confirmation that long term missions is definitely His will for my life :)
Please pray for our safety and health as we go to the river. Most importantly, pray that the people we visit will be open and respond to the message of God's love for them and that they come to understand how valuable they are to Him!
Thanks for your prayers. We will write you when we get back. Here are 2 links to more of the pictures we've taken so far: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.700160650818.2104235.53701690&type=1#!/media/set/?set=a.325496387508059.73461.137580899632943&type=3
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.700160650818.2104235.53701690&type=1&l=0e07ef6114
lots and lots of love!
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
What winter?
Seven weeks never flew by so fast! My family and I had great holidays, complete with lots of kids running around, polkas, games, downtown tree lighting tradition, and many more memories!
Over break, my sister and I went to Indianapolis to attend a Chi Alpha conference. Chi Alpha are Christian organizations on a public college campus. We were overwhelmingly blessed and encouraged to see so many young people pursuing God. We left refreshed and confident knowing that God is speaking and this generation is listening!
Eiffel Tower ginger bread creation!
School started back up with a vengeance... we have 12 books to read this semester! We are hoping that the more we read now, the less we'll have to read and carry these books around in Peru.
The classes we are taking this semester are Comparitive Religions, Worldviews, Principles of Leadership, Foundations to Biblical Preaching and Travel Seminar. These classes are all very challenging and eye opening to us, but the one that has struck me the most would have to be Worldviews. Our professor is probing us with questions, forcing us to state what we believe, why we believe it, when did we come to believe it, who has shaped our worldview, is it a biblical worldview? In our Comparitive Religions class, we visited a mosque and we hope to take another field trip before the semester is through!
As we prepare to preach for the first time tomorrow, we are reminded that, "God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" - 2 Timothy 1:7
We are still doing renovations at Blessed Sacrament, we can't wait to see the final outcome and hopefully live there before we go to Peru!
Thank you so much for your prayers and support! The students continue to grow and be stretched and we look forward to much more of it in the next couple of months. So far we know that we'll just be taking a backpack to Peru, everything we need for 5 weeks will have to fit in there! We will also be going to the jungle for 10 days. Sometimes I sit back in awe of God and His mercies. So blessed to be serving the one, true God!
I hope your holidays were great and this year has started off with you focused on God's will for your life!
The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all- Psalm 145:8-9
Over break, my sister and I went to Indianapolis to attend a Chi Alpha conference. Chi Alpha are Christian organizations on a public college campus. We were overwhelmingly blessed and encouraged to see so many young people pursuing God. We left refreshed and confident knowing that God is speaking and this generation is listening!
The classes we are taking this semester are Comparitive Religions, Worldviews, Principles of Leadership, Foundations to Biblical Preaching and Travel Seminar. These classes are all very challenging and eye opening to us, but the one that has struck me the most would have to be Worldviews. Our professor is probing us with questions, forcing us to state what we believe, why we believe it, when did we come to believe it, who has shaped our worldview, is it a biblical worldview? In our Comparitive Religions class, we visited a mosque and we hope to take another field trip before the semester is through!
As we prepare to preach for the first time tomorrow, we are reminded that, "God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" - 2 Timothy 1:7
Thank you so much for your prayers and support! The students continue to grow and be stretched and we look forward to much more of it in the next couple of months. So far we know that we'll just be taking a backpack to Peru, everything we need for 5 weeks will have to fit in there! We will also be going to the jungle for 10 days. Sometimes I sit back in awe of God and His mercies. So blessed to be serving the one, true God!
I hope your holidays were great and this year has started off with you focused on God's will for your life!
The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all- Psalm 145:8-9
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Wrap Up!
This semester has flown by! We are almost done with our 2nd session of classes. We've finished Hermeneutics and City in Context and are now taking Fine Arts and Modern Missions. Because of our Fine Arts Class, we've been able to weave in a couple great field trips to the Art Museum and we also saw a production of The Wizard of Oz at The Playhouse Square. We were even able to go back stage and talk to a few stage directors and see how things operate.
Here are the ladies outside the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Getting ready to watch the Wizard of Oz. It was an amazing show, ridiculously well done!
Hodge Podge food truck came to North Olmsted's clinic and former Cavs player Zdrunas Ilgauskas came out and bought the first 300 lunches!
The students are growing so much! I'm so happy to hear them request that we fast as a group, describe how God is changing the dreams they had for themselves, and serving others when no one is looking. I'm so proud to see the them allowing themselves to be stretched and used by God.
Because of our schedule, I have picked up this little nasty habit called coffee :( My pops is so proud, he took this picture on a father/daughter's date night last week:
Last night was the first time we went to other youth groups to share about Agora. It was part of our recruiting process, but also a chance for the students to talk about what God has been doing in their life and connect with others. We went to my old church, NewSong, and it was great to be reunited with the youth group I helped out at for a while. God is doing amazing things in our youth across the nations. I'm so excited to see His plans come true for all of them.
With everything we've been learning, the thought most on our hearts is that it is God's desire for all people to be saved-- 1 Timothy 2:4. There's a lot of work to do but He is faithful in equipping His saints to do it!
Thank you for your continued support, prayers and love! I'm looking forward to our winter break so I will have time to see more of you!
The students are growing so much! I'm so happy to hear them request that we fast as a group, describe how God is changing the dreams they had for themselves, and serving others when no one is looking. I'm so proud to see the them allowing themselves to be stretched and used by God.
Because of our schedule, I have picked up this little nasty habit called coffee :( My pops is so proud, he took this picture on a father/daughter's date night last week:
Last night was the first time we went to other youth groups to share about Agora. It was part of our recruiting process, but also a chance for the students to talk about what God has been doing in their life and connect with others. We went to my old church, NewSong, and it was great to be reunited with the youth group I helped out at for a while. God is doing amazing things in our youth across the nations. I'm so excited to see His plans come true for all of them.
With everything we've been learning, the thought most on our hearts is that it is God's desire for all people to be saved-- 1 Timothy 2:4. There's a lot of work to do but He is faithful in equipping His saints to do it!
Thank you for your continued support, prayers and love! I'm looking forward to our winter break so I will have time to see more of you!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Pain is Gain
Have you ever prayed for a quality, prayed real boldly for it too... but then hope that you didn't have to go through the work for it?? i.e. "Lord, give me patience." Yet under your breath you pray, "Just don't make it hurt, don't let this lesson be a painful one." About 4 weeks ago I prayed for humility, and it the back of my head I hoped it wouldn't hurt. Silly me. As a leader, it's scary to ask for humility, there's a chance that you'll get humbled and look and feel like a fool (like I did this week) to those you are trying to mentor. Be that as it may, I'd hate to lose out on this refining process because of my pride. Much like the Lord promised to refine and purify the Levites, so I must go through the same process. I'll take it Lord.
We are still so busy, so I thought I'd catch you up with our activities, not all of them are work :) We find time to play a little!
Here we are on one of our field trips to downtown for our City in Context class. We have also taken a tour via Lolly the Trolley, done a prayer walk on West 25th and visited the West Side Market.
Some play time at the Indians game to see Thome get entered into the hall of fame and fireworks. We were blessed to have some family and friends in town as well!
Here's our classroom. Right now we have about 13 students and interns taking classes with us.
We have started a partnership with Scranton Road church. Here we are helping them at a health fair- we made over 500 sandwiches for this event and face painted. Through out the course of the semester we will be there weekly, helping them with their after school program. Truly an amazing church with amazing people making a great impact on Cleveland.
Twice a week we go to a school in Cleveland who, for most students, speak another language besides English, so we are mostly helping them to read. It's an incredibly eye-opening experience as we learn about these students and their history.
Here we are helping with the renovations at a church property that has been closed and will now be reopened to house believers in the area with the hope of reaching Cleveland for Christ. We could possibly be living here next semester as well!
The Agora Group has been quick to teach us that a lot of time in ministry, schedules change and we need to be flexible. We have learned to be great time managers, taking advantage of every free moment we get- whether that be to study, write, nap, exercise, eat, play, etc.
Also, with each outreach we are a part of, we want to make it a point to stretch ourselves and share our faith with those around us. We like to hang somewhere between Matthew 25 (meeting physical needs) and Matthew 28 (The Great Commission/meeting spiritual needs and evangelizing).
Lord give us the strength and wisdom to live out our day for you, make our hearts as one who wants to be refined by the fire.
"But who can endure the day of His coming? Who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver."
- Malachi 3:2-3
We are still so busy, so I thought I'd catch you up with our activities, not all of them are work :) We find time to play a little!
Here we are on one of our field trips to downtown for our City in Context class. We have also taken a tour via Lolly the Trolley, done a prayer walk on West 25th and visited the West Side Market.
Some play time at the Indians game to see Thome get entered into the hall of fame and fireworks. We were blessed to have some family and friends in town as well!
Here's our classroom. Right now we have about 13 students and interns taking classes with us.
We have started a partnership with Scranton Road church. Here we are helping them at a health fair- we made over 500 sandwiches for this event and face painted. Through out the course of the semester we will be there weekly, helping them with their after school program. Truly an amazing church with amazing people making a great impact on Cleveland.
Twice a week we go to a school in Cleveland who, for most students, speak another language besides English, so we are mostly helping them to read. It's an incredibly eye-opening experience as we learn about these students and their history.
Here we are helping with the renovations at a church property that has been closed and will now be reopened to house believers in the area with the hope of reaching Cleveland for Christ. We could possibly be living here next semester as well!
The Agora Group has been quick to teach us that a lot of time in ministry, schedules change and we need to be flexible. We have learned to be great time managers, taking advantage of every free moment we get- whether that be to study, write, nap, exercise, eat, play, etc.
Also, with each outreach we are a part of, we want to make it a point to stretch ourselves and share our faith with those around us. We like to hang somewhere between Matthew 25 (meeting physical needs) and Matthew 28 (The Great Commission/meeting spiritual needs and evangelizing).
Lord give us the strength and wisdom to live out our day for you, make our hearts as one who wants to be refined by the fire.
"But who can endure the day of His coming? Who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver."
- Malachi 3:2-3
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