serving missionaries (part 2)

Serving missionaries in a pastoral capacity has probably been one of the highlights of my life. So many times, and in so many ways I have been challenged to rise to the opportunity of serving and helping to lead a community so entrenched already in serving our Lord. I have been a witness to some truly wonderful and selfless acts, and have been here long enough to see some consistently positive character traits found in almost all missionaries. I would like to share them as well:

1. Missionaries have developed a hard-earned belief that God will provide. Most missionaries have had the opportunity to test their faith countless times in their journey. They often wonder...Can we live on what we have? Can we actually survive as a family? What happens when we run out of money? Will we help, or hurt our kids in this obedience? Generally speaking, any missionary can site 3 or 4 instances where they were able to accomplish something only because God showed up at the last moment...with a new tool, some medicine, a timely phone call or email from a friend, a new computer or a special monetary gift of support. After awhile these things become more of a way of living than a special surprising set of lucky coincidences.
2. Missionaries have a large worldview. It's not just that missionaries serve in a foreign country, but oftentimes serve alongside people of diverse backgrounds. Some people come out of a sense of social justice from places like Switzerland, Denmark or Canada. Some people come to serve and help provide opportunities in business, to teach good hygiene and health practices, to provide clean water, protect resources, to share better agricultural practices. Some people come to save souls. But it's almost impossible to not have your world enlarged when serving with and conversing with so many diverse individuals.
3. Missionaries are wonderfully adventurous and self-reliant. Missionaries are all people of the "Renaissance". Some people come and serve others without ever knowing the language. Hand gestures are enough. If they can't find it, they make it. If they can't make it, they will find a different way to do it. There are no Walmarts or Targets here... So, one has to figure it out. Some people live so far in the "bush" they make do without hot water and electricity, only eating what they can successfully grow or trade. And these are people with little kids and babies, not twenty-something hippie hikers. I think God has blessed these people with spirits of adventure. They are our modern day cowboys.
4. Missionaries are careful about money expenditures. This is not just unique to missionaries, but I think uniformly so. Almost all missionaries live fully off of the support of people who trust and love them, and are interested in God's Kingdom being advanced through them. They feel a high responsibility to the churches and individuals who sacrifice to send and support them. So, knowing that, they ask themselves...What is an okay use of money? Can we buy a Christmas gift for the kids? What kind of car should we purchase? What type of furniture is okay? Is it okay to rent a movie on iTunes, or is that frivolous? Who wants to support a missionary so they can eat? So, how can we get by without any unwise food expenditures? It is all God's money, and we will all be accountable for how we use His gifts. Personally, I have repented several times for not having a mindset like this when I lived in the States, but at least we do now. My wife says I'm a late bloomer.
5. Missionaries know that Satan exists. It's not only a cognitive boundary to cross when one serves in a third-world country. Many of the obstacles missionaries face are a direct consequence of Satan and his demons working in the lives of others. Corrupt politicians. Drug cartels. Silent abuse in homes. Witch doctors. Chicken guts and chanting old ladies. Severely oppressive dreams. Bombs calling in the gods. Unexplainable health issues. Irrational fears turned to reality. These are real forces working against missionaries. Satan wants us to leave. He doesn't want us to get along. He wants to hurt and break up our families. The forces of evil are real and tangible for all missionaries. Praise God for He that is in us, and that He is greater than anything else!
6. Missionaries are forced to deal with and die to self. And I don't mean to imply that missionaries are more spiritual or closer to God. What I am talking about are the real external situations that cause missionaries to look inward more deeply than they ever have before and deal with the places of the heart that we were able to so easily medicate elsewhere. When they get to this place of soul-searching, they ponder thoughts like...What does one do when there is no TV? Why am I so bored? Why do I care so much that I haven't been in a movie theater for over a year? Why do I feel unhappy that I have no place to go any evening? Why do I feel shut in and alone? Why am I longing for a nice restaurant with my favorite food? Why do these things bother me? Why am I so lonely without family? Friends? Isn't God enough? No one sees what I do everyday. No one is providing feedback to help me improve. Why do I feel like I need to be noticed and recognized? Why do we care that our kids are missing the holidays? Aren't these just silly man-made festivities? Why do I get so angry when I have to wait long in traffic, or drive 3 hours for groceries? Well, there are no easy answers to these questions, but everyone of them lead missionaries into a deeper place where hopefully God can deal with our own personal areas of brokenness and little addictions. All of us are dealing with ugly areas where Satan hadn't been exposed before, and now is all too apparent. The only hope for healing is found in Jesus Christ, at once for salvation... and in the Holy Spirit, who gently guides us as we process and grow in that Grace.

Many people have asked me what it has been like to pastor a community of missionaries. What are the challenges and blessings? Hopefully I have shed some light on this journey without disparaging missionaries, or those who are serving Christ in all they do, wherever they are, and have never considered themselves to be missionaries.
We are all in this together.

serving missionaries

It caught me by surprise. I knew that God was bringing our family here, in part, to minister to the missionary community here in Chichicastenango. I knew that my primary role would be to hold services every Sunday, preach, conduct Bible studies and lead prayer sessions for the missionaries who work and serve here full time. I just never fully comprehended what strange animals missionary's are, and how much joy I would receive from being called their "Pastor," which is what everyone calls me here.
I want to share in the next 2 blogs some of the joys and concerns of serving in a missionary community. I think that there are a few things that are only issues for us, in this place, in Guatemala...but I think those issues are minor.
I want to address the major ones, which seem to be common to all missionaries serving around the world. First, the concerns:

1. Missionaries seldom work together. You would think that there would not be duplication of ministries when the most important aspect is to serve the people who are indigenous to the culture. But it happens all the time. A missionary will often see something working that can become better, and instead influencing changes to the current ministry, will simply start his/her own ministry with those changes. Some of this I think comes from the innate independence in the missionary character. But I always thought it odd.
2. Missionaries seldom do life together. Again, you would think that with such a small community of "gringos," people would come together and share in each other's joys and concerns more. But it seldom happens. Missionaries will have moments in church or Bible study where there is true authentic sharing, but most of the time we continue to do life as we knew it in The States. We all purchase our own cars, own tools, own things, and we all have our own ways to gather resources. We have different mechanics, shop at different times and stores, and would rather walk through traffic down a dangerous and crowded "calle" to a local tienda, than to ask the person next door if they could spare some flour or sugar. This strikes me as odd as well.
3. Missionaries are lonely. I guess this goes with the first 2 really, and shouldn't come as a surprise. I was called to help in this area, and I think the role of our church here has made everyone's life a bit more bearable. But still, there are few English speakers in our midst. We all live in a different culture now than what we ever would consider comfortable. The food is different. No TV. Very little outward stimulation. Darkness starting at 6pm every night. Our closest friends and family live far away from here. And there is a deep and almost unfathomable amount of isolation that you can experience in the field. The questions always seem to arise among missionaries: "Am I making a difference?" 'Is this all worth the cost of the relationships I left back home?" "Does my home church even care about me?" "Who even notices what I do?" "Where is the recognition?"
4. Missionaries are protective of their resources. We struggle here with a mindset in the Mayan community called "Limited Goods." Missionaries deal with this mindset on a daily basis. It means simply, that there are only so many good things in life. So if someone has something good happen, then that goodness must be shared. We have had communities turn down old widows from receiving a home or care if the missionaries couldn't build homes for everyone else in the community as well. Ridiculous thinking really. And yet missionaries will have their friends, supporters and mission teams come into town and only show them what they personally do, as if there are no other missionaries in town. So, for example, if a doctor comes, many missionaries would rather find their own ideas of how to use that doctor rather than allow them to serve in a ministry here that has medical facilities and needs doctors. I think the worry here among missionaries is that maybe that supporter would start giving to a different mission organization, or missionary if they connected somewhere else. My question really, has always been to the missionaries here...are we really any different than the Mayans then? It seems like we believe in "Limited Goods" as well? And although it's understandable in human terms, it's sad all the same. And one side note on this: It can happen in churches as well. Some missionaries will get upset if other missionaries are highlighted in their home church. My wife and I have considered it a blessing to know that our church values missions at all, rather than getting caught up in which one becomes more important to a church body. God knows what we need. God knows what the others need. We are all on the same team.
5. Missionaries, at times, feel lost. I don't mean spiritually lost, but lost in a way that they no longer have a home. It sounds weird, but all of us have a little bit of that deer-in-the-headlights look to us. Why? Well, we have all given up the culture we knew....the language, stores, restaurants, movie theaters, holidays, roads, houses, etc....to live in a place that is so different from all those things. We have holidays here that do not coincide with anything we know. We have to struggle speaking in a different language. Our homes are different. The weather is different. Nothing looks or smells the same. It can be really disconcerting. We have left the place we know, and yet are unable to fully enter into the place where we are called to live.
   

Well, those are some of the hurdles for me as I continue to learn and grow into my role here as the Pastor to missionaries in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. Maybe you can pray for us and the missionaries here as we do our best to work through these issues in the Body? We miss our home, our church and family very much. But we feel blessed to have a ministry that keeps these dear servants in the field where they have been called to minister. In the next blog, I will share some of the special joys of serving the missionary community.

Today has been one of those days. I wish I could pack it up...head "home"...and raise the white flag in surrender. It's not that anything terrible has happened. It's just that I'm weary. Sure, my weariness is understandable considering that I have a 2-month old who is still waking up about every four hours. But sleep would cure that, and will, as our little one keeps growing.
No, the weariness I feel today goes deeper than that. It comes from being far away from family and friends. It's from not being able to call up Grandma and say, "You know what? Don and I would really love an evening out together. Do you think you could keep the kids overnight so we could enjoy a date AND get a good night of sleep?" It comes from not being able to seek out a girlfriend and ask her to go get coffee with me just so I could get out of the house and engage in real conversation. It comes from missing one of our favorite niece's 10th birthday. And it comes from having to think so much about every word I try to say in a language I still struggle with, in a place that still feels foreign, among people I still don't really know.

Yet in my weariness, God is clarifying something for me.

He is showing me again why we are here.
We are here because there are other missionaries here who feel just like me. They need someone to offer to watch their kids so that they can run errands, or rest, or enjoy an evening with their spouse. They need friends who seek out fellowship with them so they can be reminded that they are loved and valued. They need to be able to celebrate the holidays and traditions of our homeland while still being encouraged to embrace this other culture that we live in. They need people who care about them.

This is what God has laid on my heart:
That Don and I were brought here to be the hands and feet of Christ's love to the missionaries who have devoted themselves to serving Him in a land far away from their homes. We are to be the ones who notice the needs and help fill that void. We are the ones who can open our home in hospitality and friendship. We can pray, by name, for every missionary who may be struggling with homesickness, the financial burden of not having enough support, the tiredness of seeing so much need day after day after day among other concerns.
So, even though it hasn't been a "happy, happy, joy, joy" kind of day, I do feel a certain amount of peace and renewed focus. I know that God has us here for a reason. Some of that reason is to be a light to the Guatemalans who don't yet know Him...but a bigger part of that reason is to love the other missionaries He has called here...so that their lights can shine even brighter.

nehemiah sermons

I have been preaching out of the Book of Nehemiah for the last several weeks, and it has been encouraging to me as well as the missionary community. We have learned about passion for God's glory, leadership, planning and defense of a vision and mission, social and economic fairness, as well as the ways in which Satan tries to ensnare us and get us disconnected from our calling. And we have only covered the first 6 chapters!

Wow! What an amazing section of scripture. I have been exceptionally influenced by the 5th chapter. I just can't ignore or push aside these scriptures anymore when it speaks so thoroughly to our responsibility to those who are struggling.
I think many of us want our financial decisions to be separate from our relationship with God....but they just are not.

God's glory is wrapped up in how we use our money.

There are over 800 scriptures that reference finances in the Bible. Over 25% of Jesus' teachings was dedicated to money. He taught more about money than he did about the Kingdom of God.

And the deal in Nehemiah 5 was that there were some larger families who didn't have enough money to feed themselves. They had to mortgage their homes, lands, even daughters to pay for food. Interest rates were so high they couldn't get out from under their debt.
(And this is what the people of God were doing to the people of God!)
So, Nehemiah steps in and reminds the people that it wasn't right. It wasn't right that the rich were getting richer and the poor, poorer. It wasn't right that some Jewish leaders were eating leg of lamb with asparagus and lemon sauce while others were starving to death.

And Nehemiah's passion was greater than just for the people who were poor. In fact, Jesus said the poor will always be with us. No, Nehemiah's passion was for God's glory, because the world outside the walls were looking inside the walls, and saying, "they are no different from us. They just care about financial gain and bigger homes, and better gadgets just like we do. Their religion is no different from ours. We care about those things as well."

And so, Nehemiah convinced his people to stop and care better for one another because the world was watching. It did make a difference and God hated it. God cared about this.

So, they stopped. They returned all the money made on interest. They returned the deeds to houses they had acquired through deals. They gave back lands to poor people.

And this wasn't socialism or communism. This wasn't about everybody having the same amount.
This was about taking care of the poor, and not blaming the poor. This was about calling rich people to never make a dime off the backs of a poor person.

A good message for all of us.

And how can any of us read Leviticus 25:35-40 and not be affected deeply about how we should treat those who are below us on the economic scale?

I was reading the other day a study about how the very rich spend their money. Interesting.
Hannah Shaw Grove and Russ Alan Prince did a paper about people who were rich enough to own a private jet. (John Travolta has 5)
Anyway, this is what they discovered these people spend money on YEARLY...on average.

1. $30,000 a year on alcohol
2. $98,000 a year on experiential guided tours
3. $107,000 at spas
4. $117,000 on clothes
5. $147,000 on watches (I don't get it???)
6. $157,000 on resorts
7. $168,000 on chalet rentals
8. $226,000 on cars (remember...per year)
9. $248,000 on jewelry
10. $404,000 on yachts
11. $542,00 on home improvements
12. $1.75 million a year on art

I know this is going to sound really snide and ugly.....

But I wonder if any of these people have ever seen a little baby die because of lack of food? A little boy with crooked and bloody feet because of not having shoes? A young father reeking of feces and alcohol because there is no work and there's nothing else to do with his time, and living has become hopeless?

We, the church should demand more of ourselves. The world is watching. The world has heard us defend these actions way too many times because of our political slant or on the grounds of stimulation of the economy.

And this isn't about Us vs. Them. Whoever We think They are.
This is about all of us looking at our financial decisions and asking the simple question: Is this what God would do with this money? Because it is His money to begin with. Isn't it?

And I want you to know that as we talked about this as a missionary community, we were (and are) asking the same questions of ourselves. Many, if not most of the people who give to us have very little in terms of worldly value. I'm not sure how some people continue to support us, and with such sacrifice.
And God is glorified. We are thankful. And we just happen to be your hands and feet here in Guatemala. We are here because of you getting this.

But we need to be consistent with this message in the workplace and among our friends. We need to stop being Republicans and Democrats and start being God's people, taking care of the people who are truly without...because the world is watching.

And so is our God.

doing our best

Royal Academy is not a school that would ever be noticeable to the outside world. We’re located on the premises of Hotel Casa del Rey, nestled on a hillside in Chichicastenango, Guatemala. The classrooms are tucked away in a partially abandoned building that once was meant to be a conference center for the hotel. We only have two teachers and seven students…total. There are no buses, no libraries, no interscholastic sports, no lunches in cafeteria. Siblings of different grade levels are being taught in the same classroom by the same teacher at the same time.

Sounds a little bit like a one-room schoolhouse, doesn’t it? And that is kind of what it’s like. Except that while we lack many resources, we are trying to give our students an experience that matches the standards and opportunities of what their peers are receiving in the United States.

Here’s what we do to make that happen. We choose curriculum that is challenging, intriguing, and relevant. We cross-check to ensure that the curriculum aligns with the standards in the US and then supplement our materials when we notice gaps. We ask students to be active learners by improving our teaching methods to require more of their participation. We use the small class size to our benefit by giving the students as much individual attention as possible and by allowing them to move at the pace that is best for them. We search for resources online, ask for donations from others and make creative modifications to what we already have. We encourage our students not to settle for anything less than their very best, to be honoring to God in their effort, and to use their advantages to help others.

A good lesson for all of us, don’t you think?

And here’s the thing. While we do what we can with what we have to give our students the best possible educational experience, there’s still so much more that we could use.

More that we need.

We desperately need an elementary teacher for our youngest students for next year. We have a high school student who would greatly benefit from the expertise of a math and/or science teacher. We could use new or usable computers to keep our students up on technology. We would love new and gently-used books to build up a library. We would even benefit from new teacher’s materials that allow our educators to keep up-to-date on the latest research and information about effective teaching practices.

So, while we are striving to give the students our best, maybe you could pray about whether God is asking you to take part in any of the educational efforts of our missionary kids’ school?

And although we live 7,000 feet above elevation, overlooking an economically insignificant village and people, living unnoticed by the world...the contributions you make will be noticed…by our teachers, by our students, and by our Lord.