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He Is Able

June 29th, 2011 No comments

Todopoderoso

Our God is able. ¡Él es todopoderoso … siempre! (He is all powerful/omnipotent … always!)

I was recently asked – what is God showing you, what is He speaking to your heart.  It’s amazing really; the longer we walk with Him the deeper and more profound the simple foundational truths we’ve walked in for 40 years become.  My response was (and is) to walk with Him one day at a time, which  sometimes turns into one hour at a time. It’s not that we ever forgot this truth, it’s that we have to be intentional so we can make sure we don’t get away from it.  And so, when life’s challenges seem especially hard or we feel overwhelmed, we remember:

Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matt 6: 33-34

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; Prov 3: 5

I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Phil 4:13 and

For it is written:    “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate. 1 Cor 1:19

And we remember that He is “todopoderoso” weaving a tapestry with our lives.  Corrie Ten Boom said it this way:

My life is but a weaving, between my God and me,
I do not choose the colors, He worketh steadily.
Oftimes He weaveth sorrow, and I in foolish pride,
forget He sees the upper, and I the underside.
Not till the loom is silent, and shuttles cease to fly,
will God unroll the canvas and explain the reason why.
As the threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned.

Hillsong just released a new song.  It’s simle lyrics about God being able express perfectly our reliance on Him, wherever He has us as He weaves His tapestry.  There’s a big full band version of it available, but we like this simple version.  Enjoy listening.  We’ve posted the lyrics afterwards.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGJ-2K1n5xw&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Hillsong – God is Able Lyrics

[Verse 1]
God is able
He will never fail
He is almighty God
Greater than all we seek
Greater than all we ask
He has done great things

[Chorus]
Lifted up
He defeated the grave
Raised to life
Our God is able
In His name
We overcome
For the Lord
Our God is able

[Verse 2]
God is with us
God is on our side
He will make a way
Far above all we know
Far above all we hope
He has done great things

[Chorus]
Lifted up
He defeated the grave
Raised to life
Our God is able
In His name
We overcome
For the Lord
Our God is able

[Bridge]
God is with us
He will go before
He will never leave us
He will never leave us
God is for us
He has open arms
He will never fail us
He will never fail us

[Chorus x2]
Lifted up
He defeated the grave
Raised to life
Our God is able
In His name
We overcome
For the Lord
Our God is able

For the Lord
Our God is able
For the Lord
Our God is able

Times of Refreshing

June 25th, 2011 No comments

God's beautiful creation

Scripture tells us:

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord (Acts 3:19).

God knows that His people often need those times of refreshing, and He faithfully calls us to Himself and bringsjust exactly what we need. We have recently realized how incredibly tired we have become every day, as we work hard at learning Spanish and doing it in a culture that is not our own, while living as guests in a bedroom.  After almost 38 years of marriage, it is hard to be in someone else’s home 24/7!

The first few weeks in another country are an adventure, kind of a short term mission trip.  But there’s no break.  We’re greatful for many new friendships that are formed and just as quickly saddened when our new friends move on to serve in other countries in their mission field. Months go by and our bedroom – our whole “home” world – feels really small. 2nd trimester classes are harder and so the stress level just increases a bit more. We have discovered restful and restorative sleep is difficult to come by for a number of reasons … not the least of which is that we dream about conjugating verbs! Financial pressures mount, which is just one more stress.  Add to this the fact that we miss our friends, family and church family …  at the same time, some of the excitement and adventure wears off, especially as weariness creeps in.  Yet we still sense that persistent and gentle prodding from God’s Spirit saying we’re doing just what He’s asking.

So we continue to ask God for clarity and most especially for specific direction for the steps immediately following school (there’s no end to oportunities, but we need to hear where and how God is asking us to join Him).  We ask for perseverance, and grace upon grace. We pray for so many missionaries at ILE (Instituto de Lengua Española) who are likewise under attack from every direction and just as worn out.  All of us frequently feel discouraged and overwhelmed, but we press on and our language skills grow every day.  We are amazed at how we all have similar struggles – no super heroes here – and YET we all keep putting one foot in front of the other with our eyes fixed on our Lord.

So – times of refreshing…  Last weekend we received 2 wonderful gifts – Manchester Vineyard blessed us with airfare to come home for a visit during trimester break in August (what perfect timing! and how much we need this!) and we had a long weekend at school (a break in studies and the ability to get away, rest and restore).  We went to Esterillos and just relaxed – in our rooms (privacy!), on our balcony soaking in the view and the breeze (God’s beautiful creation – OUT of the city), in our own living room (again – privacy!), swimming in the pool (with panoramic views of the Pacific), and taking careful swims in the Pacific (more like wading – that water was rough!).

We were sad to end our long weekend, but we returned refreshed, ready for our next push until August.  And we are blessed as we look forward to seeing our friends at Viña Anonos this weekend and joining God in what He’s doing there.  We also have the double privilege of going to Viña Del Este Noche de Reina Sunday evening and spending some wonderful time worshiping with their awesome youth worship team. We’ve posted a short video below, sharing a piece of our long weekend.

You gave abundant showers, O God; you refreshed your weary inheritance (Psalm 68:9)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRHQtQqmUnI [/youtube]

 

A Cord of Three Strands

June 12th, 2011 2 comments

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. (Ecc 4:12) We would love to have you partner with us in what God has called us to do!  God is the first strand – it all starts with Him.  When we said yes, we became the 2nd strand.  We invite you to join us and become that all important 3rd strand.  There are many ways to do that.  We certainly rely upon the prayers and encouragement of our friends and family.  We look forward to strengthening ties with the 2 upcoming mission teams from MVCC (Missio Dei Costa Rica Jovenes in August and an adult team in November to help repair roofs and minister to the community of Los Anonos).  But the bottom line is that we also need financial support.  This is certainly one of the more awkward things missionaries get to do … raise support!

The truth is, we are here in Costa Rica, because we believe that God has called us to be here.  This year, our emphasis continues to be on learning the language. We really don’t want to sound like, “Me Tarzan, you Jane!”  And we have a number of people who have chosen to support this effort already.  Nevertheless, we are paying for about 75% of what is needed from our limited retirement funds.  This means that in the beginning of 2012, we will be visiting churches and contacting individuals to raise support.  Without that, we will not be able to return to Costa Rica.  And while we admit there are times and even weeks when staying in NH is exactly what we feel like doing (Diana especially), we believe that God has called us to work here.  Using our retirement funds has been and continues to be a big risk, but then, RISK is what faith is all about.

We are encouraged by how many doors continue to open here to work for God’s Kingdom.  Carlos Chacon (Vineyard director for América Central) seems to have an endless supply of places he’d like us to work, we continue to work with the wonderful folks in Viña Anonos (where Manchester Vineyard is sending the  2 short term mission teams this year), and we know that DeLynn Hoover with VidaNet has a number of places he’d like us to plug in, when he returns to Costa Rica and we have completed language school. And so … we continue to study hard, so that we can be useful servants for His kingdom and we pray about the next leg of this Missio Dei Costa Rica Journey – Les and Di’s most excellent adventure!

We realize that language school is not glamorous.  In fact, it’s down right hard work in your late 50’s to leave all your friends, family and church family to embark on something so challenging.  4 hours of daily class coupled with numerous hours of study, followed by the need to converse in this new language every day continues to be a herculean effort on our part.  We know that we currently aren’t sending you pictures of destitute families and children struggling.  Instead you see us in classroom photos with smiling North Americans!  But please know, this is a necessary part of our journey.

So, in closing, we ask you to pray for us now and for the next leg of our journey.  We also, in all humility, ask you to pray about supporting us – not whether you can support us financially, but HOW you can support us financially.  Rest assured that no gift is too small.  Get creative – maybe your Connection Group / Small Group can join together to make a monthly commitment. Maybe  a Connection Group could give a car wash and send a one time gift. I’m sure there are lots of creative ways in a tough economy to join us.

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Romans 10: 14-15 TNIV

Please help SEND us.  And remember that we need to be equipped with the language Ticos speak … or we might sound like this! [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3p4UX47WfM[/youtube]

A Rose by Any Other Name …

June 6th, 2011 1 comment


A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet … or so Shakespeare has told us. Yet, there are many interesting nuances in the rich definitions of words. Spanish / español is a language of verbs, where English is centered on nouns + adjectives + and especially prepositional phrases.  As Christians, we want to use words wisely and well. Our heart is to be able to communicate God’s love.  Often, we hear the quote, “Preach the gospel always and when necessary use words.” This quote is often attributed to Francis of Assisi, but its origin is actually unknown.  Of course, James 2: 14-18 says,

“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if people claim to have faith but have no deeds? Can such faith save them?  Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.”

So often, God talks to us about what we say and how we say it. And yet, obviously, he is just as interested in what we do and how we live out our lives. Both are equally important.  Both go hand in hand. Words versus actions is not an either or choice.  They’re BOTH important and in many ways inseparable.  And so, here we are in our late 50’s learning another language, in order to to follow Him and live and share His words and His way of life.  It is for this reason that we have come to love a particular passage in the Spanish NVI Bible, which says in John 1: 1-2,

“En el principio ya existía el Verbo, y el Verbo estaba con Dios, y el Verbo era Dios. Él estaba con Dios en el principio.”

The Spanish text so beautifully illustrates God as an active living doing Word.  And all the verb tenses (existía, estaba, era, estaba) are a continuous ongoing past tense, once again showing that He Existed, He Was all the while showing that He Does Exist Today and He Is.

Words and verbs have become the focus of our lives, with the full hope and expectation that they will simply be one more tool to show the love of Christ and to speak His words.

All seriousness aside, we thought you migh enjoy having some fun looking at the following English/Spanish words!

Many Spanish words are the same or similar to English words.  It should be noted that some are only used in some Latin American countries (in our case Costa Rica). Some are pronounced the same, while others are pronounced very differently.  There are a whole host of other words that have the same root word as the English, but an entirely different meaning. Exercise extreme caution when thinking that words are the same just because they look or sound similar.  This can get you into a lot of trouble!  Following is just a tiny sampling.  There are actually hundreds of them!

Similar Words, Spelled the Same, Pronounced Slightly Differently

  • animal (pronounced ah – nee – mahl)
  • bus (pronounced boos)
  • chocolate (pronounced choe – coh – lah – tay)
  • color (pronounced co-lohr; but opposite English forms, if a letter ENDS in a consonant, you must add an ES for plural to form colores pronounced co-lohr-ace)
  • director (pronounced dee-rake-tohr)
  • doctor (NEVER pronounced like the English dahk – tohr; pronounced dohk-tohr – this is a dead give-away that you’re a Gringo!)
  • error (pronounced eh roll your r’s-ohr)
  • hospital (pronounced with a silent “h” ohs-pee-tal)

Then, there are words that vary from one latin american country to the next and in some cases (like in Costa Rica) sound completely like the English version.

Look Alike / Sound Alike

  • Windows (as in MS Windows) is pronounced, well …  like Windows.
  • In many neighboring countries, a computer mouse is what they call a mouse, so it’s a ráton. In Costa Rica, you guessed it, it’s a mouse!
  • In Spanish, there is no “sh” sound, but they spell shampoo the same and pronounce it champoo.

So please bear with us when we have an extended visit with friends and family in December and January. We’re likely to talk a finely tuned form of Spanglish!

Finally, there are what are known as False Friends. These innocent words look like they could be one thing, when they’re really another word entirely different! Or, in Spanish they’re way to close to another Spanish word you don’t want to use.

  • embarazada no, it’s not embarrassed, it’s pregnant
  • miedo (fear)- vs. mierda (sh*t)
  • do say tengo calor when you’re sweating and it’s hot out. never say estoy caliente (I’m hot – 3 guesses why?!)
  • compromiso means a promise, obligation, or commitment … not a compromise
  • decepción means disappointment, not deception
  • delito is not delightful, it means crime
  • en absoluto – does not mean absolutely it means not at all

And so, I encourage all of our friends to leave comments with words they know that fit any of he above categories.  But PLEASE, only real words and no cheating using Google Translate!.  Just leave it as a comment and let’s see what you can come up with to share in the fun!