Welcome 2018

Somewhere in the middle of 2017 I felt like I "ran out of words" and decided to stop blogging.  Now that 2018 is here, I think it may be time to return to the blog. I want to try to make it less about what we are doing in the ministry and more of what we are becoming in the ministry.  I don't know what it's going to look like or how long this phase will last, but I hope I enjoy the process.

The last three months of 2017 were especially difficult, with a variety of trials/ challenges/frustrating events and more.  I've not made it a habit to share the hard things, but I'm thinking that perhaps my failure to acknowledge that things do not always go perfectly, might be unwise.  I've never wanted to look like I'm complaining or dwell on negative things, but hardships/trails are one of God's most powerful teaching tools.    

The difficult season started with a series of problems with things, i.e. broken refrigerator, broken truck, flat tire, broken van window and more.  It's so easy to complain and feel "put upon" when things happen, especially when this type of problem comes with a price tag. We tried to keep a positive attitude, knowing that "things" can be replaced, however, in the middle of those issues, we came a series of family health problems:

• My niece, LIz, fully rejected her transplanted kidney and went back on dialysis. She had complications and ended up in the hospital for a week in October.  
• My brother, Ron, had a mild heart attack while working out of town
• Stephen's mom had several falls and her overall health continued to decline

Things have stabilized for my niece, although she will need surgery in January to repair a problem with her diaphragm.  Praise the Lord, my brother has very little, if any, damage to his heart and did not need any stints or by-pass.

Stephen's mom went to the hospital earlier in December and after a three-day stay was moved to a skilled nursing facility.  Her 30-day stay ends on January 5 and his dad is planning to take her home, against the advice of her doctors and the counsel of her children.  Our New Year's Eve party was a family conference call (3 brothers together, 2 other siblings on the phone) to determine what course of action needs to be taken in the situation.  At the end of the evening, we decided not to fight them, but rather allow them to return home and provide support through in-home care--at least in the short-term.

There are no easy answers as we move through this phase of life.  Thankfully, my dad, who celebrated his 92 birthday in October, is still in good health and is able to live alone. He is beginning to consider a move to a maintenance-free apartment, so we may be handing a move for him in the near future.

Although we have more than 12 mission trips per year, they are not equally spaced out through the year.  In fact, there are months when there are no scheduled mission trips, for example mid-January through February, April and September. During 2018, we've decided, as the schedule allows, to spend more time in the states to be of help to our parents and support our siblings.   

We are flying to Bogota, Colombia on Friday for the first campaign of 2018, but will be returning to Kansas City instead of El Salvador.  Our plan is to return to San Salvador on March 1 when the 2018 campaign season really gets going--three campaigns in a row during the month.

We know that God has a plan and that he is always faithful, but we covet your prayers for Stephen's parents and siblings as we all navigate this difficult time. In addition, please pray for us as we balance family and ministry--it's hard to be away from our regular ministry obligations with Vida Nueva.

 

Sunday in St. Louis

We had the great privilege to share our El Salvador ministry with First Baptist Ferguson (a St. Louis suburb) on Sunday.  All of the adult Sunday School classes met together and we talked about Vida Nueva, Good News in Action, Metro America 0-20 and invited all of them to come on a mission trip.  It was fun telling them about the work and encouraging them to step out and trust God in a new way during 2016.

During our time in the service, Stephen sang "Poderoso" in Spanish, we both briefly shared with them and then we showed the "Call to Prayer" video.  

After a fantastic lunch at a local restaurant, we watched a little football at the hotel.  Then, returned to church to meet with persons who wanted to hear more about the mission trip to Guatemala in August.  At 7:00 p.m. we went to Parker Road Baptist Church and caught up with a small group after the service.  Members of this church have come to El Salvador for trips, but haven't been down in many years.  We're hoping that they will join with the Ferguson group and come in August.

We finished the evening off with Mexican food (awesome chips, salsa and white cheese dip) and great fellowship.  

It was such a blessing to get to know the people of the church and we're looking forward to serving with them in August.

Day of Friendship and Love

For some reason February 14 is not called Valentine's Day here. So, instead, we celebrated "Day of Friendship and Love" three different ways over two days. 

FIRST CELEBRATION:  On Saturday morning the 14th we had a potluck breakfast with our discipleship group.  Not wanting to miss the opportunity to share "gringo" food, I signed up to bring biscuits and gravy.  This became a possibility when I saw that SuperSelectos, my grocery store, began carrying various kinds of Johnsonville sausages, including traditional breakfast links.  Of course, the down side of biscuits and gravy is that there are no canned biscuits here--they have to be made from scratch.  So bright and early Saturday morning I was making a triple batch of my mom's biscuits and a huge pot of gravy.  It's hard to believe that not everyone at the breakfast wanted to try them!  Ryan, Keeley, Stephen and I managed to eat our fair share.  Several weeks ago Stephen and I ate breakfast at State's Diner and I posted a picture on Facebook with the caption, "best biscuits and gravy in El Salvador."  However, after Saturday, the four of us decided to amend that statement to "second best."

The company and the rest of the food was also great, as we hadn't had the whole IDEM group together since November.  

SECOND CELEBRATION:   After being up early to cook, we decided to go out for dinner.  We really didn't know what to expect in terms of whether the restaurants would be busy, but decided to risk it.  We walked to our favorite Chinese place which is called 168, and found it less than busy.  The food is always good and, in fact, when we were in Kansas City over the holidays we thought our former favorite Chinese place was just okay.  Guess we've come to appreciate the restaurant here.  It was a great night to walk, and we're loving the fact that we're in a safe neighborhood and the 4-5 block walk is something we can even do after dark, as long as it's not too late.

THIRD CELEBRATION:  Sunday afternoon I was privileged to share with the single mom's ministry at our church.  This month's theme was "friendship" so we learned what some famous people had to say about friendship, including Helen Keller who said:

and Charles Dickens who said:

and, of course, we passed out Hershey's kisses after reading this quote.  Got to keep your audience involved!

However, we spent most of our time talking about what the Bible has to say about friends and friendship. Not surprisingly, it's quite a lot, including telling us about the friendships between Job and his friends, David and Jonathan and Paul and Barnabus, to name a few.  It was so much fun to share with them and Ena did a great job translating for me!   

Pink Sunglasses and Blue Hearing Aids

On Saturday and Sunday afternoon we joined about 40 other couples from all four of the Vida Nueva sites at the "Love and Respect" mini-conference.  Sandy and Lori Shook, the conference leaders, came all the way from Bell Shoals Baptist Church, in Florida, to share with us. 

David translated as Sandy and Lori presented

 One the church's 2014 goals is to begin a ministry to strengthen couples/marriages.  So, this conference was the first step.  Sandy and Lori presented the material they use in the classes they give at their church, but, in addition, they taught the group "how to present" the material to others.  The goal is that many of the 40+ couples who attended will form the base of the new ministry and that there will be Love and Respect classes/small groups formed in all of four of our sites.

Sandy and Lori are gifted teachers; they are transparent about their relationship (both the highs and lows) and their love for each other is obvious.  We laughed along with them as they explained that women see through "pink" sunglasses and hear with "pink" hearing aids, while men see through "blue" sunglasses and hear with "blue" hearing aids.  No wonder that, from time to time, it can be difficult for couples to communicate clearly.  They encouraged us to follow God's marriage plan: Husbands love your wives as Christ loves the church; wives see to it that you respect your husbands!

The materials they covered came from Dr. Emerson Eggerich's book, "Love and Respect" and Gary Chapman's book, "The Five Love Languages."  Each couple had the opportunity to take the love language quiz.  Now each husband and each wife is aware of the love language of his/her spouse.  This knowledge can be a very powerful tool in strengthening a couple's relationship.

The conference finished with a dinner on Sunday evening.  Wives were served by their husbands!  

 One of the 40+ happy couples!

Group photo on the stage at the Lourdes church

Husbands in the food line while wives wait at the table.

Hilo, Aguja y Biblia (HAB) Women's Event

The last three days the Hilo, Aguja y Biblia ministry at Vida Nueva hosted a workshop and Bible study for a group of women who are being counseled by an organization that works with victims of abuse. The 3-hour session included teaching them how to make a quilt block, snack time and Bible study.  

On Tuesday we taught them how to make a traditional nine-patch quilt block.  Our ministry group had already cut the fabric so all the women had to do was assemble and sew.  Since some of them had never used a sewing machine, there were plenty of us to help.

After snack time, Dr. Colato lead a study from Luke 8:41-56, which explains the healing of the women who touched the hem of Jesus' garment.

On Wednesday, they learned how to make a friendship star block.  This block was a bit more difficult so not everyone was able to finish it.

Everyone enjoyed a snack after we finished our sewing for the day. 

 Isabel taught them the story of Mary and Martha from Luke 10:38-42. and how Jesus commended Mary for choosing the "one necessary thing."

The last day, they sewed their two blocks together and then combined the batting and the backing to make their small quilt.  Some of them decided to use it for a table centerpiece while others decided they would add stuffing to make a small pillow. 

Bible study followed snack time.  Maria Elena shared the story of the Samaritan women found in John 4:4-26.  She was able to share the good news of how they can drink living water to quench their spiritual thirst.  

Twelve women attended our sessions and all were excited to have a completed project at the end of the three days.  We encouraged each of them to visit our church and become a part of the quilting ministry.  

I'm so proud of the each of the women from Hilo, Aguja y Biblia who worked to make this event a success.  They are truly women of God who take His command to "serve" others very seriously.  It's a blessing to work with them.

Sunday at ALBC

We spent Sunday morning worshiping at Abundant Life Baptist Church, our home church and sending church.  We were able to share our ministry with a 930 am adult Bible study group.  It's always great to be at "home" and catch up with friends.

Night Under the Stars

Saturday night's event was wonderful in every way.  The tables looked awesome with their centerpieces that spelled LOVE.  Menus, name tags attached to felt hearts and boxes filled with candy were at each place setting.  The view was also amazing.

There were 26 couples at the dinner sitting at 8 different tables.  More than 50% of the couples had never been to the church, but, instead were invited to attend by a couple from the church.  The food was delicious (as you can see from the pictures.)  Stephen played the piano for over an hour while we visited at the tables and had dinner.  He had time to eat when Pastor Nelson shared a brief message about the type of love that it takes to have a successful marriage and finished by sharing the gospel.  The evening ended with some friendly games at the table and then competition between the tables.  All of the couples were invited to the upcoming couples retreat.  The good news is that one of the couple was at church Sunday morning and both made professions of faith.