Have you ever been in an uncomfortable situation in your past that felt so far outside of your realm of comfort that you wanted to run to familiarity? This most definitely describes the second week for me in San Miguel. As I entered Spanish class for the first time in my life on Monday morning of week two, I realized that I was very much out of my element! As I talked with a couple students from the class, I discovered that the teacher would only be teaching in Spanish. I panicked. I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt so helpless in understanding someone and quite honestly, I wanted to escape. But, no matter how uncomfortable the time would be, I was soon reminded what I had prayed for in regards to this class. I wanted to be put in a situation that would get me connected with other Americans for the opportunity to build relationships with them. It’s English that I understand very well, and here I was surrounded by 4 other students that spoke my own language. I had also been praying that my heart would be teachable and humble in not only this class, but this entire time here in San Miguel. This has been an opportunity for the Lord to refine me in this area! Not only has the Lord been teaching me humility, but a characteristic he is faithfully refining in me is patience. THIS I am severely deficient in.
I have also been taught patience in not just my class but also in every single day as I realize that I cannot get around town nearly as quickly or conveniently on foot or by the bus or even taxi! I have been discovering that the things that seem so simple and make me very independent at home are a bigger deal here. Simple things like ordering food, asking for directions, asking questions, shopping, etc… I took the convenience of it for granted at home. I have had to ask for help here in those simple things. THAT is humbling for me.
Enough about this challenging stuff. The Lord has been so present in my heart- even throughout situations of discomfort! I have quite often been reminded by the Lord how my heart felt as I prepared to come here a few wks ago. I had reached a point that I described as “welcoming the uncomfortableness of change and difficult circumstances.” This meaning that throughout the past 21 years of my life the Lord has allowed situations that have not always been the most comfortable. During those times it was not always easy or clear as to WHY this was happening, but I had enough evidence that the Lord had been faithful in past circumstances, and I knew that He had used them for good in my life. The Lord, the exact definition of LOVE desires to bring good from the hurt in our lives. So, part of my excitement was to see how the Lord was going to “come through” in this period of my life!
As I’m typing this, I’m reminded about the story of Joseph and his response to his brothers at the end of Genesis. His brothers finally discover that the brother they were jealous of and sold many years before now had influence and power in Egypt; enough that they were fearful of being paid back for the wrong they did to him. However, Joseph’s comment to his brothers is what hit me: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” Satan can so badly wants to bring evil from difficult circumstances, but God sees clearly the big picture and wants to cause GOOD and GROWTH in our lives as a result.
For the past 3 weeks, Scott and I have visited Los Labradores to read to some of the residents once a week. The book we are currently reading is about a missionary, Bruce Olsen, who has spent his entire life reaching out to the Motilone Indian tribe from Colombia. He started this journey at the age of 19 years old because he felt the call of the Lord! I had read this book last year, but it has touched me in a much different way this time around. The tribe he had a heart for was an unreached tribe since anyone that had attempted to reach them had been killed. The very thing that has blessed me so much through this book is Bruce’s determination to follow the call of the Lord regardless of how uncomfortable the times were. After spending an entire year living with this tribe, he still understood very little of there language. At one point he mentioned that he was so bored with his days that he wished the days would only last 3 hrs and he could sleep the rest of the time. However, this was a man that was committed to the call that God had placed in his heart, to share Jesus Christ with this tribe. The Lord gave him the strength to accomplish this very thing over a course of many uncomfortably, challenging years! What I am getting at with this story is that fact that there is something about knowing that you are in the will of God that nothing can shake you from that place no matter how difficult it may seem; this brings contentment. I want to rest in contentment that comes from being in the presence of the Lord!
Very soon the entire team for this portion of the internship will be down here. This is exciting! Jamie, the intern with the organization FINO made it here over a week ago, and Adina will be here in about a week! I am excited to see what the Lord is going to do through these upcoming months! My continued prayer is that the Lord will reveal HIS vision for all of us, and that we will continue to present the Love of Jesus to the community of San Miguel.
Once again, I appreciate all of you and your commitment to pray for me VERY much! Thank you for your part in the work the Lord is doing!
Friday, September 24, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Well, I have been in San Miguel now for 7 days now, and quite honestly, it has seemed much longer than that. It has been a good week getting reacquainted with San Miguel (SMA), finding my way around and readjusting to the culture and language difference. With the change in surroundings and my sense of comfort being shaken a bit, I realize that more than ever the Lord is calling me to humble myself before Him, that I may be teachable and patient for His Vision for my time here. I have began to realize that my days as I have known them for the past few years have been a cluster of business filled with work and various other activities and forms of ministry, a schedule that seemed to work just fine, yet I left little room for the Lord to change the day’s plans if needed. This is a work the Lord has began in me awhile back and is most definitely continuing here in SMA. Although this week I have had more time on my hands than I usually have apart from vacations, my prayer is that He will direct each day I am here, that HIS vision for my life will be accomplished. That means, I give my expectations of what this time will look like over to the Lord for Him to take care of!
This first week I have been staying with Scott and Tammy Provins, whom I met for the first time the day I arrived in SMA. Scott is the pastor of ABC church. I plan to be with them a few more days and early next week move into the house that the rest of the interns will be staying at. I have appreciated all the tips and insight about SMA that Scott and Tammy have given to help me adjust here. Most of this week was spent doing various things around town with them and a few others.
On Thursday, Scott and I, along with a lady from the church named Connie visited several residents at an assisted living/nursing home called Los Labradores (Los Lab). Connie visits them once a week and reads to them. The residents there are so sweet, and visiting like this is such a great way to encourage these people! So, I hope to make a visit to Los Lab a part of my weekly schedule.
Along with adjusting to Mexico comes the realization of my lack of speaking and understanding Spanish. This became very apparent the first day spent in town. So, for two reasons I am planning on taking a Spanish class 4 days a week for an hour at a time for the next 3 moths. One obvious reason is so that I can get around a lot easier and communicate a lot better here; the second reason I pray is that through this class, it would be an avenue to start building relationships with other English speaking people! Monday is my first day of class, so we shall see how it goes!
There are a couple other opportunities for outreach that I am praying about. Above all, though, the Lord has begun to show me that my expectations for the time here may be different than His expectations, and I want so much to see this time here through His eyes! I know for certain that where the Lord leads a person, He also will bring clarity in His purpose for that time.
So, starting Monday there will be three of us staying at the house, with another on her way at the end of the month! Mark James is an intern with an organization called FINO as well as an elder with ABC church. Jamie is coming from Toronto and will also be an intern with FINO. Adina Feriante is the girl that will be arriving in a few weeks! I have thanked the Lord on many occasions already for the fact that a girl is on her way! Not only that, but Adina was here last year for a good part of a year serving with the church, so it will be great to have her back!
Thank you all for you support in prayer! I really don’t know the best way to tell you how much I have felt so encouraged and empowered by the Lord as a result of those prayers!
Some specific prayer requests in these next few wks would be:
1)A clearer view of the Lord’s vision for the church here and ways that we can be His hands and feet to the community of San Miguel
2)An understanding of opportunities for outreach
3)For my Spanish class: one, that I would really begin to learn Spanish and two, for the relationships with people in the class
4)For the intern house, that it would be a place that people feel welcome, a place that honors the Lord and obviously portrays His love!
This first week I have been staying with Scott and Tammy Provins, whom I met for the first time the day I arrived in SMA. Scott is the pastor of ABC church. I plan to be with them a few more days and early next week move into the house that the rest of the interns will be staying at. I have appreciated all the tips and insight about SMA that Scott and Tammy have given to help me adjust here. Most of this week was spent doing various things around town with them and a few others.
On Thursday, Scott and I, along with a lady from the church named Connie visited several residents at an assisted living/nursing home called Los Labradores (Los Lab). Connie visits them once a week and reads to them. The residents there are so sweet, and visiting like this is such a great way to encourage these people! So, I hope to make a visit to Los Lab a part of my weekly schedule.
Along with adjusting to Mexico comes the realization of my lack of speaking and understanding Spanish. This became very apparent the first day spent in town. So, for two reasons I am planning on taking a Spanish class 4 days a week for an hour at a time for the next 3 moths. One obvious reason is so that I can get around a lot easier and communicate a lot better here; the second reason I pray is that through this class, it would be an avenue to start building relationships with other English speaking people! Monday is my first day of class, so we shall see how it goes!
There are a couple other opportunities for outreach that I am praying about. Above all, though, the Lord has begun to show me that my expectations for the time here may be different than His expectations, and I want so much to see this time here through His eyes! I know for certain that where the Lord leads a person, He also will bring clarity in His purpose for that time.
So, starting Monday there will be three of us staying at the house, with another on her way at the end of the month! Mark James is an intern with an organization called FINO as well as an elder with ABC church. Jamie is coming from Toronto and will also be an intern with FINO. Adina Feriante is the girl that will be arriving in a few weeks! I have thanked the Lord on many occasions already for the fact that a girl is on her way! Not only that, but Adina was here last year for a good part of a year serving with the church, so it will be great to have her back!
Thank you all for you support in prayer! I really don’t know the best way to tell you how much I have felt so encouraged and empowered by the Lord as a result of those prayers!
Some specific prayer requests in these next few wks would be:
1)A clearer view of the Lord’s vision for the church here and ways that we can be His hands and feet to the community of San Miguel
2)An understanding of opportunities for outreach
3)For my Spanish class: one, that I would really begin to learn Spanish and two, for the relationships with people in the class
4)For the intern house, that it would be a place that people feel welcome, a place that honors the Lord and obviously portrays His love!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Today is the day… Mexico bound! Such a mixture of emotions accompanied this past week and most definitely today! An overlapping theme though is most definitely fear of the unknown. As I have been preparing to go, I have found myself gripping tighter to the familiarity of home and the people there that mean so much to me, yet God keeps calling me to let go of comfort in order to cling even tighter to Himself. So, with a heart filled with anticipation, I boarded the plane, trusting that where the Lord calls, He will equip! As I walked off the plane and that all too familiar fear hit, I was reminded of this truth in Romans 8:31, 37-39 which states,
“..If God is for us, who is against us? ... But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing , will be able to separate us from the love of God , which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
It is a reminder to me that I want the truth of God’s word to be hidden in my heart, as I chose not to live by my feelings and emotions but by what God says is true and right!
I have finally arrived at the place I am staying in San Miguel around 1:30am! I am exhausted and I am heading to get some much needed sleep!
“..If God is for us, who is against us? ... But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing , will be able to separate us from the love of God , which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
It is a reminder to me that I want the truth of God’s word to be hidden in my heart, as I chose not to live by my feelings and emotions but by what God says is true and right!
I have finally arrived at the place I am staying in San Miguel around 1:30am! I am exhausted and I am heading to get some much needed sleep!
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