Missions and Missionaries

 

 

Something that's been weighing heavily on my heart lately is all of the posts floating around the Internet lately slamming missions, missionaries and short term mission trips. There have been blog posts written, books written, as well as articles and editorials. I will admit, some of these writings have had some valid points and some have brought up some areas of concern that I believe are wise to examine. But at the same time I think we have to be very careful to not let a few peoples thoughts or opinions influence us more than the word of God does. 

While I am sure there quite possibly are those out there who go on mission trips for the wrong reason, and while I am sure there could be a few missionaries out there who sit around and do nothing - I am even more sure that the Lord realized we humans wouldn't get it right every time. And yet, He still commanded us to go and make disciples in all nations. And not only does he command us to go-these are among the last recorded words of Jesus.

 

My biggest concern with slamming mission trips and missionaries in general is that many people will read these articles and then simply use it as an excuse to do nothing- which is exactly what Satan wants.

 

We have all heard it before "Don't give money to the homeless guy on the side of the road because he will use it on alcohol. " And you know what- He just might.

 

 But what if, just what if, He really was in need and you turned your back on Jesus in disguise?

 

 And, what if we stand before God one day guilty of clinging to safe and clinging to the almighty dollar-over clinging to the word of God?

 

 Because you see, God doesn't hold YOU accountable for what the homeless guy chooses to do with the help you gave him, just as he doesn't hold YOU accountable for the missionary that doesn't save the world. But, He does hold you accountable for your response to His commands.

Being on the mission field first hand, one thing I can tell you is that I know a lot of missionaries who do work long hours in often times dangerous situations. Missionaries who have hearts of gold and who serve the Lord with everything they have. Missionaries who give and give and give and expect nothing in return.

 

Furthermore, I have served along side many short term mission teams who labor from sun up to sun down. They sacrifice and fund raise to come and serve. They open doors of opportunity and get things done in a weeks time that would have taken a single missionary months to do by themselves. They bring their gifts and talents and use them freely. They choose to come and love on people who can give nothing in return- while investing in the lives of the people in the time they are given. They show them the love of Christ first hand by showing them that someone cares. These teams choose to spent money working to improve someone else's quality of life instead of choosing to spend money on a luxurious vacation. They dig ditches and get dirty. They get blisters, sunburns and backaches and smile all the way through it out of their love for the Lord.

 

I have heard people ask "couldn't the money they spent going been better used by just sending a check instead?" The problem with this is- I think we often miss the point and limit God when we do. God doesn't need our money. God is about relationship and He is about our hearts. My life was changed on a short term mission trip. Maybe the first trip I went on was a little more about me than it should have been... but God knows what we need even before we do. He is so much bigger than we give him credit for. Through that trip if even one person felt the love of God through me and knew that they mattered through a single smile, a pair of shoes or a hug- then it wasn't a waste. My eyes were opened in ways that wouldn't have happened otherwise.  Through that growth, we went on to adopt more children and eventually go onto the field full time.

 

Because of that, today God used us by connecting us with another awesome missionary coupled with the combined efforts of a short term mission team. Through this- a family experienced the love of God when their precious daughter received her new wheelchair. (And what you couldn't know just by looking at this picture is that the guy in the green shirt grew up in an orphanage himself. How cool is our God?)

I wish you could have heard her belly laugh, seen her joy first hand, and experienced JESUS the way we did.

I wish you could have been there to see people from different backgrounds and cultures come together....

because I know without a doubt those little faces watching- saw HIM.

And the mother who has been carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders in trying to care for a daughter with special needs had tears streaming down her face- not only because someone cared about her precious daughter for the first time-but because she realized that HER life was VALUABLE to HIM.

 And when we bowed our heads and praised His work- HE WAS GLORIFIED.

In a small dirty village full of garbage and poverty- Jesus was at work.

Maybe we didn't solve the worlds problems- and maybe we weren't meant to. But we did show one beautiful little girl who has spent her entire life in a tiny tin home with dirt floors and little else that SHE IS WORTH more than she will ever know to the King of Kings.

So much so that He was willing to die-

for her-

 regardless of the imperfect missionary who came to let her know.

And I know if you had seen what I saw today-

if you had been there,

you would understand just why God is all about missions.

Because even if I am only able to bring ONE person to Christ as a missionary, I know, without a doubt, that the Lord was gloried when that one lost sheep was found.

Because the best part is...God can use that one person to influence another and another and another... and the ripple effect continues on...

Missions is the heart of God.

 It is His plan.

And regardless of what opinions man has- regardless of how we mess things up and get it wrong-

 

 He is on His thrown.

 

I don't claim to have all the answers and maybe I am not supposed to. Who would want to serve a God who is only as smart as I am anyway? Maybe God just wants to know if out of our love for Him we are willing-

 

 TO MAKE HIM KNOWN.

Long overdue...

For those of you who wondered- yes we are still alive. :)

I knew it had been awhile since I updated... I just didn't realize it had been 2 whole months. Kind of embarssing. :(  I apologize- this post is long overdue.

The days here in Guatemala seem to go faster than any time in my life. Raising a large family, starting a ministry, hosting teams and homeschooling doesn't leave much time for anything else. It's not that I don't have things to share- it's that I can't seem to find the time to share as I drop into bed each night completely exhausted. It's a good kind of exhausted though I promise. :)

So today I am going to do my best to play catch up.

A lot of construction is happening at Village of Hope and we are so grateful! The first homes are going up and soon (please Lord) the children will start to arrive. We ae so, SO THANKFUL for all of you who have contributed to the work the Lord has done. Giving a child a place to belong and a family to call their own is priceless.

We have a play area started and we are ready to go!

We've had lots and lots of awesome teams coming to serve along side of us here at Village of Hope lately-  and more headed this way this summer! What a blessing it has been- we couldn't do it without their help!

We've built some amazing relationships in the community and been blessed by the outreach we have done.

Feet washing, shoes sizing and distribution for those little feet that have gone uncared for too long...

Food delivery...

feeding them physically as well as spiritually

 

And sharing the gospel every chance we get.

 

 

 

On the home front...

 

Our oldest son Travis was recentally hired on as a police officer in Seattle. We are so proud of him. I wish I had a picture to share. :( Not seeing him for many months has been hard but we know he is doing what God had planned for him all along. He started the academy next week and then gets married on September 1st. We are blessed beyond words to welcome his amazing fiance Martina into our family.

 

Our second oldest son Keegan finishes his Sophomore year at Olivet Nazarine University and gets to come serve with us for the entire summer! God is so good and we could not be more excited.

 

Homeschool is going strong. The kids love the Abeka Academy. :)

 

Our sweet Carson turns 6 years old... where has the time gone? He is such an amazing kid and such a HUGE, HUGE blessing in our lives.

 

Our family is so grateful for your love and support. Thank you for joining us on this journey!!!   

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Just askin'

For a while now I have met with the Lord every morning and begged Him for an awesome, original, out of this world fund raiser idea for Village of Hope.

 And every morning for a while now- I got nothing.

Silence.

 As I stared at the numbers- as I faced the needs- I tried my hardest to remain peaceful.

Over and over people would say to me “He’s got this." And while in my heart I knew that was true…

at the same time the faces of Yessica...

Rosa...

Brenda...

Sandri...

and the Subuyac family...

would come to mind.

And my heart would hurt…

because I couldn’t imagine facing life, day after day, in their shoes.

To me,

eating dirt to fill your belly,
 
having preventable polio,

going blind because you don’t have the medication to control your diabetes,

and having your 3 year old son fall into a pot of scalding water and not being able to afford the required surgery is just not okay.

Starting a new ministry is anything but easy. I was warned it would be hard… but I also know that Jesus doesn’t normally call us to the easy. And so in faith we face each day. We face every need and we trust that He will supply.

 And then this morning, as I once again begged the Lord for that amazing, original, super successful fund raiser idea- I sensed him saying ‘just ask’.

Just ask my people.

And so...we've got no tshirts to sell this time and nothing to give away. We have no answers, and no ideas.

But we have hope.

As a new ministry we have many needs- everything from brooms and dish towels to thousands of dollars’worth of wheelchair accessibility and safety railings. We need an automobile to take the orphans to church. We need furniture, and appliances and day to day costs. Village of Hope is built of concrete block and tin roof. Just plain and simple. We are surviving on as little as we can- being as frugal as we can- giving hope to as many as we can.

But we need help- because God never intended for us to do this on our own.

YOU (yes you) are his plan.

So I am just asking.

Asking you to give.

Asking you to pray.

Asking you to advocate.

Asking you to step out of your boat and do something big for the kingdom of God.  

Maybe you can give up ordering out pizza once a month? Maybe you can skip your family vacation this spring break? Maybe He's asking you to trust in Him more than your savings account? Maybe He's asking you to approach your small group, your Sunday school class, your pastor?

Just asking….

"You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it." Matthew 21:22

To give please go HERE. (please indicate for Village of Hope).

 

In her eyes...

She's 17 just like my Addisyn.

Her smile lights up the world.

 Only for Yessica, her life will never be what it could have been... because a preventable disease robbed it from her.

Yessica has polio. She's had it since she was just 2 months old.

She smiles and she understand what is going on around her.

She responds with her eyes and she responds with her smile... only she cannot communicate any other way.

She is resigned to a wheelchair.

As we rubbed her cheek and swiped the fly away from her eyes she radiated joy.

She is the oldest of 6 children. Her father farms for a living and works long hours-  her mother and siblings do the best they can to take care of her needs but the cost of her diapers is hard on them.

As we prayed with this family and began to build a relationship, I couldn't help but to thank the Lord for the privilege of this new friendship. Her strength, her beauty and her courage blew me away.

 Some people are mesmerized with those who have wealth, power and fame- yet there, they will never find what I found today in the eyes of my new friend... Him.

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
 "The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.' Matthew 25:37-40

If you'd like to help people like Yessica you can support Village of Hope go here. **Please indicate for Village of Hope- Guatemala

Right where you are...

I have to be honestly with you all, there are some days here where we feel completely overwhelmed.

Days where we question if we are making a difference.

 Days where the needs before us seem so unreachable.

 Days where, I am physically and emotionally drained.

 Days where I question if God chose the wrong family.

We have so much to learn, so much growing to do and yet, we are here- here we are.

As I look at the funds we still have to raise, as I look at the needs we have to meet- many times, I just feel like crawling into a ball and weeping.

 And then... we come across these families- and God seems to put everything into perspective in a single minute.

 Yesterday some of us headed out to visit a new family we have just found out about. This family has 6 children- and the mother is blind.

They live on someone elses property and the father walks miles to work every day because he cannot afford a bus. He spends close to 18 hours away from home on an average day. I have been told his feet are so swollen he can no longer wear shoes. His job is to carry supplies from bus to bus- his pay is 25Q a day. (which equals between $3-$3.50 dollars a day.) They live on the side of the mountain in conditions my mind cannot even begin to understand.

Their youngest child is 8 years and cannot walk. She has never been to the doctor so they are not sure why. She speaks and smiles- she is beyond precious. Most of her day is spent sitting in the corner, on a mattress in the dark.

  As we talked with her mother we began to understand their needs and once again felt completely broken. One thing that stood out to me was the absorption well on their property... 40 feet deep.

As a mom, all I could think of was how scary that would be to have my children living there by this... Let alone to be blind... and the fear of falling in. This mother has no choice but to be lead around the property by her teenage daughter.

As we looked around their home in hopes of finding a way we could make it more safe and healthy, I once again felt overwhelmed...

 

bathroom...

 

 

kitchen...

 

 

part of their home without shelter...

 

 

 

As I began to pray, began to try to wrap my head around this... again a feeling over overwhelmness came over me.

 

Where do you begin?

 

They are here all day, unprotected. A mother who is blind. A child who cannot walk. A father who is working as hard as he can and in doing so must be gone all day long. The children are not in school- they must help out to survive.

 

 I beg God for an answer.

 

And then I heard it...

 

I heard the quiet sounds of giggling coming from inside the home. I slowly walk around the corner and at that moment my heart stopped.

 

In front of me I saw what I think the Lord wanted me to understand all along.

 

Our daughter Mya, who was adopted at age 4 from Guatemala, sat in front of me on the mattress with her new friend.  While I had become overwhelmed- she had simply done what she could at the moment- crawled down on the floor and became a friend.

 

I watched in awe as these girls giggled and played hand games.

 

 I watched in awe as they smiled and whispered secrets.

 

 

 

I watched in awe as these two little girls 'got it' before I ever did.

 

Lord I thank you for who you are and for the ways you work. I thank you for the way you meet us right where we are. I praise you Jesus for your unconditional love and acceptance no matter if we deserve it or not. I thank you God for this opportunity to minister to those you care about deeply. I thank you God for my husband and my children who too said yes. I thank you God for our partners, for Christi and Dan who serve here with us. I thank you God for Lifesong For Orphans and for Project Hopeful who always, ALWAYS put YOU first. I thank you Lord for sending us.