Some Reflections on Ministry

Mostly this blog is about news updates from our family, however while reading this morning, I thought I'd put some of my reflections of my scripture reading here regarding ministry.

One the one hand Jesus tells his disciples to go out and those who do not welcome them in, dust their feet off and leave.  I read about this the other day.  Then, however we have the parable of the fig tree, where the owner seeks fruit from a specific tree that has not given any for 3 years.  He asks the gardner if he should cut it down so as to better occupy the land with a fruit-producing tree.  The gardner suggests waiting one more year and putting more effort into this specific tree.

There is ground to be sown in ministry, sometimes it is difficult and dusty ground.  There are times where ministry will not be received, and Jesus tells us it is ok to look onward and dust off our feet.  This is a tough concept in ministry, because it seems like one is giving up on a person or location.  In a similar situation Jesus lets the rich young ruler walk away.  There are always people to visit and places to plant.

I read today, however, this parable about the unfruitful fig tree.  It seems very clearly that it discusses how in ministry, one might look at fruitlessness and instead of walking away try to pour into it a little more.  And if it doesn't grow fruit, then I guess it is acceptable at the time to cut your losses.

Working with people, as ministry is a relational vocation, emotions cloud the clarity of these scriptures.  In fact, the scriptures cloud their own clarity in a seeming contradiction.  This is where wisdom must be exercised in ministry.  Knowing when to dig in deeper, water, nourish and spend the extra effort, and when to brush the dust off your feet or let somebody walk away.

Feliz Dia de Independencia! Happy Independence Day!

We made it!

It’s just after nine in the morning and music fills our house. It’s coming from the street where they are setting up the weekly tiangui (an outdoor market -- similar to a farmer’s market, but much more extensive). Fortunately the music is a calm ballad, I am sure that by mid-day it will be something much more lively and celebratory as tonight all of Mexico is preparing to celebrate their independence with the “grito.” Besides shopping for our fruits and vegetables today, we hope to find something festive for Eliana to wear. Four years ago Kevin and I were in Mexico for the first time together. We celebrated by going to a party held by one of our Mexican family’s churches, then we went to one of the city’s main squares to join the ENORMOUS outdoor party and chant the grito of “Viva Mexico!” and “Viva los heroes!” (along with several others). This year we plan to join our family for a celebration at a church around 7, but then we’ll probably call it an evening after that. 

Tomorrow will be our one week anniversary in Mexico. God’s hand has definitely been guiding us, (and at times carrying us!) through this whole process. When we arrived at the airport in San Jose on Thursday morning (amazingly fitting all of our luggage 13 suitcases, 6 carry ons, stroller and carseat into two station wagons), two airport workers instantly appeared to help when they realized the extent of our luggage. Below is a photo of Eliana climbing on top of our mountain of luggage that pretty much took up 3/4 of my mother-in-law's front room!

 Our flight left at 7:20 am, so we had to be at the airport around 5. When I pulled Eliana out of bed at 4:30 I expected some crabbiness, but instead she sweetly laid her head on my shoulder and said "Hi mommy! I want to go to Meximo." I had put together a little back pack full of surprises for Eliana to open on the plane, and when she saw it she instantly loved  her "pack-pack." Here she is at the airport terminal showing it off. In the second photo she is eating grapes (if you wonder what the weird green thing in her mouth is!).

When we arrived in Mexico we were prepared to have to open up every suitcase because we knew we were bringing more than you are allowed on a tourist visa. We planned to declare the items that were over and above the ones allowed and expected to pay duties on them. After we had gathered all of our luggage (four carts full plus) we wheeled ourselves (with some help from some friendly people) to the "declare" line. The woman at the front asked us if we were moving to Mexico and we explained we were here to get our FM3 residence visa. She then asked us if all of our things were for personal use. When we explained that they were, she directed us to run our suitcases through the x-ray machine and push the button that would flash red if we needed to be inspected and green if we could pass through. That alone was a miracle, perhaps there was a chance we wouldn't have to have every bag opened! After all of our stuff passed through the x-ray machine, we pressed the button and it was green! We were amazed and beyond thankful for the way God answered our prayers. I honestly didn't expect anything so easy. So thank you all who joined us in praying for our journey through customs! At the end of the day all we had to pay for was our extra baggage, which also ended up being a lower amount than expected. WOW!


We are now staying in the home of a Free Methodist missionary couple we knew from our time in Mexico before. We are thankful for a roomy, comfortable place to stay and a car to borrow. Our time has mostly been made up of looking for a place to live. We have found one that we really like, and the landlady is a believer. We are hoping that this one will work out, it was actually the first place we looked explored. We will meet her on the 20th in person (she lives in another state) and hopefully be able to confirm the house as ours. Please join us in praying that if this is the place God wants us that everything will fall into place.


Thanks again for joining us on this journey through your prayers, encouragement, friendship, and support. Many blessings from our family to yours.

New Directions

First and foremost I want to thank everyone for lifting us up in prayer regarding our visa appointment. In just the right timing our paperwork came through and it seemed as if everything was on track and our appointment was fine. However, God has thrown us a curve ball in regards to our plans for Spain, one that we were surprised, and are excited that it has come our way. If you are interested below I have posted our most recent newsletter that explains it all.

One thing I know, following Jesus is never boring! About four weeks ago everything seemed to be in line for us to deploy to Spain this fall. Our long-awaited letter of invitation from Spain was in place, and we were ready to apply for our visas. However, when Kevin traveled to Miami for work mid-June, God threw us a curve ball in the form of an invitation from LAM president, Steve Johnson. Kevin’s work the last few months has been to assist in a program called Work Design. As the mission is taking stock of its components, Spearhead began to rise to the top as one of the most important assets that it has to offer. Steve began to feel that in order to strengthen the Spearhead program, and eventually replicate it, it would be best for it to go through the Work Design process. In its most basic form Work Design will help to refine the Spearhead program and implement a five year plan, as well as identify and address current issues in Latin American missions in order to better train future missionaries. So, because Kevin has experience with facilitating the Work Design process, as well as strong ties to the Spearhead program in Mexico, it was felt he would be the best person for the job. 

When Steve invited Kevin to head up this initiative we were both surprised by the timing of it, after all we have been dreaming of, praying for, and preparing ourselves for Spain. But as we prayed and considered all that God has been teaching us in the past few years, about contentment, change, living in the moment and trust, we felt more and more that perhaps this was the step that He was nudging us toward.  

So…in early September we will be heading to Mexico! Once we made the decision, God has continued to fill our hearts with peace and excitement for this new adventure ahead. It is unexpected, to be sure, but before we even leave for the field we are learning that the only thing that doesn’t change is the One we follow, and it is to his voice we always want to be attune. 

So that's the scoop! We are excited to continue on this journey and see what God has in store for us. As of now, our assignment to Mexico should last 2-3 years. When the Work Design process is completed we are still hoping to move to Spain to implement the Spearhead program in a new locale.

How Thin Can God Stretch Us?

The title of this blog is not so encouraging.  Let me first say that until an hour ago, things were progressing towards Spain fairly nicely.  Still some support to ardently work towards, and some documents seem to be trickling in at the 11th hour, but I must admit I was thinking to myself, "Finally!  We're so close."  Yet sometimes so close can not be close enough.

This entire missions process has been two steps forward and one step back.  It is incredible.  We went to make our consular appointments today to find out that the first available ones are not until July!  Some of the statute of limitation on our documents end in late June!  So here's where we need some prayers for God to move or great favor.  Please be praying for:

A.  God to open up some appointments during mid-June.  We'll be checking every day multiple times a day for an answer on this.
B.  That if an appointment does not open up that somebody at the S.F. consulate would find favor and take pity on us and put our documents through anyways.

On a happy, but maybe "not-quite-good-enough" note, our first available appointment had been in late July.  Then there was an opening in early July.  Still not good enough for what we need, but somebody canceled and that opened up some opportunities for us, which we promptly snagged.

Please be joining us in prayer as we could use it.

Hot & Dry, Hot & Humid

This week God has answered a financial prayer for us, covering our present needs before moving to Spain.  We've committed ourselves since coming back from Mexico to getting to Spain as quickly as possible.  This has meant passing up some pretty amazing opportunities, opportunities that would have severely tardied our departure for Spain.  Our organization has generously thrown work my (Kevin) way in the areas of networking and recruitment, which has helped to sustain us.  Now they've come up with a pre-field offer that is even more generous.

We were asked to move to Miami until we move to Spain.  There I would be asked to help coordinate the restructure of recruitment and mobilization and help to put things in place for a new team to carry LAM forward on that front.  It is something I've been passionate about and spoken into (often without solicitation) for the last 3 years.  I feel very honored to have been asked.  But Miami was just not going to be feasible.

Like I mentioned above, we've passed on attempting some amazing career opportunities because we know that God has called us to the field.  Being in Miami would not be so bad, but our support-base and contacts are on the West Coast.  We still have support work to do.  It is not all just document procurement for us these days.  With the dollar to euro ratio slipping into a wider chasm in value, the support-raising is all the more important.

Thankfully, while our family cannot move to Miami, our president asked me to come up with a counter proposal, which he has accepted.  This proposal will allow me to work from home for more than half of the month.  It will also require me to travel to Miami each month for a week to 10 days.  That is a lot, and our family will miss each other greatly, but we know that God has indeed been answering our prayers (and my frustrations).

Chico is over 100 degrees in the summer, sometimes reaching 110 or higher.  But it is dry.  Miami is "cooler" in general - about 95 degrees or so, but with a humidity that is what I would call unGodly making it feel like 110 degrees or more.  It is going to be a hot summer (it is pretty hot, though dry, in Spain as well).  What is warming of the soul is to see how God provides.

The Advance Dance - It is a 3-Step

We've been learning the Advance Dance in this process for missions.  It is a three-step dance.

First you go forward two steps, and lift your hands in joy.

Then you take a step backwards and fall down to your knees.

And the music stops for a moment.

Then it begins again and you begin two steps forward, one step back.


Our letter from the Spanish gov't came!!!!  We are very excited that our inviting organization was granted permission to invite us.  The government completed the letter and we have that piece in hand.  (2 steps forward)

But...

The name did not match the passport.  (1 step back)  So we have to resend it.

The music stopped, we sent in the corrections, and the record starts to play again.

On the support note, we can continuously praise God.  Little by little we're gaining on our support goal.  We only have about 16% left!  The support dance = step, step, little step, little step, step, step, big step...pause.  This dance has been a long, but quite rewarding process for us.

Thanks for watching us dance and for encouraging us when the music is playing and especially when the music seems to have quieted.