You Have Called Me Higher
It has been 7 months since we blogged. 7 months of work, teams, worship, prayer, working at living together as a “family,” changes, challenges, growing in a language and culture. And now we’ve passed our 1 year anniversary of living here. As a missionary, it can be hard to figure out just exactly what we should share. What will tell our story and what will reveal hearts and lives, without offending or hurting anyone. (Many in the community here understand enough English that they too read our posts and we want to honor their precious lives, not act as if this is some National Geographic special!)
Some days are just mundane, others are exciting, like seeing healing, watching young Christians grow in their faith, take on new responsibilities, and some days are just plain challenging in every way possible … and then we remember, “We’re not in Kansas anymore!” So, let me try to summarize and then cast a little bit of vision too, as there are some BIG changes coming our way in January 2014.
Viña Anonos Worship
For most of the first year here we have been inttegral parts of the worship team. But have recently been so blessed to have several Ticos join us in ministering in Los Anonos. This means we are not “on” every week.
In November 2012, we were part of a Viña Anonos mission trip to Tipitapa, Nicaragua.
Nicaragua 2012 Mission Trip
Nicaragua sheds new meaning on the term HOT. We did eye glass clinics seeing several hundred people in unbelievable heat and walked door-to-door in the community praying house to house. It was an area of grinding poverty. But what I will always remember more than the depression, the heat, the shacks with dirt floors, the children with lice, will be the love and openness with which we were received. David’s mother Jenny is a shining example of this. She has little but shares an incredibly big heart and everything she has!
January 2012 I began teaching a Ladies Bible study to the women in our group known as Las Gallinas (the chickens or hens).
Las Gallinas at Christmas
This was a new venture and I didn’t know how it would go. The women often do not have much education, one is illiterate and several read very poorly. This community is not like the US and expectations for these women and among these women is not to be great students of the Bible. Yet they have a hunger for Him and His promises. I hunted and hunted for an existing Bible study that would not be too hard, too long, and would be culturally relevant. In short, it doesn’t seem to exist. So I wrote one every week, printed out the verses which I passed out to those who could read and were also willing to read, and I taught. God was so faithful to me. After week 1 they asked if we could start having our meeting every week. Several women told me this was the highlight of their week. Truly I was blessed and encouraged at least as much as the women I was sharing with. But the goal is not to have this gringa doing the teaching. So after much searching and prayer, we’ve commenced the next stage in this journey. I’ve been working side by side with
July with sister Rocio
July Calderon, using 1 day of Jesus Calling (Jesús te llama) by Sarah Young, as the basis of 1 study per week. She is growing and changing and it is a delight to watch. Yesterday, Lindsay,
Lindsay sharing God’s love
our “intern” (turned ministry assistant) taught from the devotional incorporating her testimony and I translated. She did an awesome job and the women got to understand a whole lot more of who she is and more importantly who she is in God.
There’s even talk and prayer about starting another Ladies Bible Study, specifically aimed to help some women who are not part of this group.
In short, God is doing good things with the ladies and I’m stretched in every direction to be part of this.
Les teaching on a Sunday morning
Les took on the daunting task of leading a small group. Up until a few months ago, David was leading this group and we just supported what he was doing. However, he went to the states for several months and Les has made huge progress in his Spanish in order to teach from Passport. We are so thankful for the relationships he has given us with Jose, July, Pino and Seidy. He also taught a fun message on a Sunday, requiring Rodney to dress as a prophet and including the children as kings – we used our Christmas tablecloth for the kings’ robes – resourceful!
Recently, we attended the Costa Rica Vineyard and Friends Pastors’ Retreat. This was a special time that pushed our Spanish to the max! We were well received, developed a number of new relationships with other pastors that promise to be ongoing. Let’s just say that participating in “ice breakers” in Spanish requires the ability to think fast and laugh at yourself … A LOT!
Les has been invited to preach at a church in Playa Coco at the end of June at an English service and a Spanish service. And we will have the opportunity to share some worship music there as well. We are travelling to TX in mid-August, where I have been invited to be the keynote speaker at a Ladies Bi-lingual conference. So we are keeping very busy and cherish our down times. A few months ago, we incorporated a “date night” just for us, which has been wonderful. We get a lot more tired that we did when we were younger. The days when I have to translate, I’m exhausted – but so blessed to be able to do it!
As you can see, after many months of NOT blogging, this is waaaaaaay too long a post, but you’re almost done!
This week was the end of an era – we sent one of our interns, Shannon DeCourcey, home after her being here for a year.
2012-2013 New Family
She grew a lot this year and our family loved her much-ly. She served the community of Los Anonos and worked with Rodney and Cindy. In our house, she was Jessie Morgan’s roommate the whole year. They were and are polar opposites, but nevertheless, they forged a friendship and had 1 all important thing in common – their love for God and how that plays out, leaving everything to live here for a year. At the end of next month, Jessie too will return to the states. Each girl has impacted our hearts and this community. Each one found different niches where and how they could serve. Each one was challenged and pushed in many ways, not the least of which was Spanish. Together, they tirelessly served Rodney and Cindy in Harvest Hands, our household and the community. At the end of the year, Lindsay too plans on returning to the
The family that colors together …
states. She has been this household’s “big sister,” and an incredible blessing to us. We have all worked hard to serve together, love together, forgive one another, encourage one another and forge a family in another country, experiencing what only a full-time missionary can. We are so thankful or each of them! And of course Tito … who is still with us; one more son in our life and a special one at that. This has been a challenging year for him, but we have seen him make many changes, including heart attitude changes. He always lends a willing hand when there’s a project that needs doing and he is a hard worker. When he was unemployed for awhile, he stayed engaged with the family and helped out in every way he could.
January 2014 is the start of a Vineyard Bible School in our house, with the blessing and support of the National Vineyard Director. We will be looking to form an association as a separate entity. It’s a resident training program for young men, using a proven Bible Curriculum developed for Latin American pastoral training. It will include a lot of theology, community ministry in Los Anonos as well as other locations, short term mission trips, development of small groups and just plain old living together, rubbing elbows and as Proverbs 27: 17 says:
“As iron sharpens iron,so one person sharpens another.”
In short, character develpment will be key, with the goal of preparing church planters, pastors and servant-leaders.The school / program is called VAYA, which is the command form of Go!!! Our 2 core verses are:
Vivir Aprender Y Amar
“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Mark 16: 15
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” Isaiah 6: 8
VAYA is also an acronym for Vivir, Aprender y Amar (Live, Learn and Love). Our son Jon spent countless hours taking my prototype and creating a brochure for it, he designed the logo which we LOVE! and his wife Eri contributed untold hours editing my Spanish. We also owe a huge debt of thanks to a number of other people who lent their editing skills (Yeilin, Carlos Chacon, Habib Guzmán, Salomon Sequeira).
This is a jam-packed 9 month program, with many new and added expenses which we would ask you to be standing with us in prayer for. Here are a few of our prayer requests:
- 6 young men who will join us in January and have a heart for God and a willingness to “be sharpened”
- Finances – for the students, a 2nd vehicle to transport all of us for work & service projects, as well as mission trips
- Household items
- A cook
- A ministry assistant for us after Lindsay leaves
- Teachers to join us teaching the courses (we have some and all the materials and we also will be teaching)
- Pastors from the states and Costa Rica to teach the intensives, which will center around Vineyard’s 5 core values – and really, just core values to most churches!)
This is both a tremendously exciting next chapter in our lives and at times a frightening one. There are days I want nothing more than to go home – in fact, most nights when I’m tired, I feel that way! But then, we are reminded of what it says in Romans 9: 17:
“I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”
And then, we can’t be anything but humbled. There is a song that expresses this so well. It says:
You have called me higher, You have called me deeper and I’ll go where You lead me Lord … I will be Yours Lord, I will be Yours for all my life, so let Your mercy light the path before me.
Enjoy listening to and meditating on the words.[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twnAwiO1O9U[/youtube]