Isaiah 58

Our Spearhead theme this summer is Restore based on Isaiah 58, specifically verse 12. In our leadership meetings we have been meditating and reflecting on the entire chapter. It is a powerful chapter and has some very instructive points for discipleship. I (Kevin) have some poems of mine that were either inspired by this chapter or fits with the theme.

Dumpster Diving

Forage through all that people discard
Pull out rancid and good fruits;
Separate them.
One in the compost heap to be redeemed
The other consume as a treasure for strength.
Pull out old, stained and dirty clothes
De-thread them if need be to make something
New; cut them as wash rags or patches for
Torn clothing; redeem your own wardrobe.
Assist the cowarding homeless woman,
Abused, stained and discarded by abusive men.
Help her to her feet. Separate the sins from the sinner
And love. Let Christ come to redeem her.
Feast and dine with the whore, bearing the redeemed
Fruits. Clothe her with the fine thread reused.
Reclaimed. Let God’s treasures mimic your own
And pull them from the refuse for redemption;
For life anew.

Kin

Do not hide from your own kin
Your own flesh and blood
Breathed into by the very Lord
That rose elephants form the dust
Planned the mechanics of the moon and sea
The creator of the waves
And beating hearts
Do not hide from your own kin

Sabbath

To be tender in rest
Is to be holy on the Lord’s day

Sabbath is not to not work
But to forget about your worries

Religious laws become the stumbling path
For those that count their Sabbath steps

Be devoid of selfish interest on this day
And be in tune with the father

The sun-down fast in not piety
But preparation for the Word of the Lord

Keep Holy the Sabbath by forgoing yourself
And see to it the Lord’s day is for
Righteousness

June

Well, the last month or so has been pretty much a whirlwind. June 4th the summer students arrived, and we spent three intensive days orienting them to the city and then sent them off to live with their Mexican families. Now that the summer students are here our roles have morphed a little. Monday through Thursday they have Spanish classes. As the Spanish assistant I help Nydia, my boss, organize everything with the teachers, tutor when necessary, and also help in the training of teachers for next summer. Once a week we have large group meetings, and each of us meets weekly with a smaller group of students as well. Kevin is working on a recruiting strategy for the Spearhead Summer program. Part of my role is also meeting with a small group of girls one-on-one, which is something that I have really enjoyed. Of the summer students almost all are girls, there is only one guy! Yesterday after Spanish classes we took everyone to the Basilica of Guadalupe. The goal was to engage in silent evangelism, (basically prayer), and learn a little more of the cultural make-up. It was a really good experience. You can be praying because now that everyone has been here for almost a month, some are definitely experiencing some culture shock, or culture crashes (as they would say in Spanish)! Pray that students would be able to see their purpose here this summer, even as they are struggling with the language and cultural changes. Please also be praying for us as we are deciding what comes next. At this point we are planning on leaving in August, but it is still a possibility that we would return to Mexico or another Latin American country as long-term missionaries. Right now we feel like there are several doors, but we are still considering which is the door God wants us to walk through. Please pray that we will feel guidance from him and a peace. On a positive note it is hard to for us to believe that we only have a little over a month left here in Mexico. We have enjoyed our year here so much, and it has been a really refining experience for us both personally and as a couple. We really love it here. One other piece of exciting news, well especially for us, is that we have internet in our house! Yippeee! :) It is a really nice blessing. Hopefully one result of this blessing will be more frequent blog posts, even though there is only a month left! Thanks so much for your thoughts prayers.

:) Leah