Everybody has a role to play

Over the last couple of years, I have read many negative articles concerning short term missions. They see these short term trips as ways to satisfy egos and to Americanize the developing world. They have concluded that short term missions is just a continuation of American imperialism. People want to go, give kids candy and become buddies, while doing things and giving gifts to those poor people in.................. There can be an attitude of superiority if we are not careful. It can be easy to want to export our uniquely American way of life to those we see as less fortunate or less able.

I have been pondering how to address this things because there is an element of truth behind much of what they are saying. Often people have many wrong ideas as they begin short term missions. They believe that they are going to go to another country and change the lives of the people there in the course of their 10 day trip. This is poor thinking. It was my way of thinking at one time, until I was challenged by a wise pastor/missionary named Mark Simpson. He pointed out that they Bible calls us to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. We cannot do that in a matter of days. It takes a constant, sustained effort. Discipling people is time intensive and takes months or even years. This is the call for missions

Short term missions often has the feel of a kid seeing his dad at Christmas time. He has not seen him for many months but at Christmas he comes loaded with gifts. Mom and stepdad have been there providing clothing, shelter and everyday essentials but dad comes along and has a new iPhone 7 and a MacBook Pro that mom and stepdad cannot afford. The kids love him but do not see the sacrifices that their parents have been making for them everyday. They only look for the value of the gifts and not for true relationship with the giver. At the same time, the one giving mistakes expensive gifts for showing love.

In order to bear lasting fruit, short term missions need to be partnered with local ministries that will remain after they leave and that will work with the community to find the needed solutions for that particular community. They will not work independently of local community leaders but in partnership with them. At the same time they will be looking for ways to share the Gospel in the community and to make disciples. This work involves regular contact and not just a few days a year. Local Churches and ministries provide that long after you have returned home. Find a good partner ministry and begin to build a relationship.

The young widow preparing to receive her new house.

You may come to the conclusion of many others from reading the above that there is no need for you to go if you are not there to get to know the people in the community or to provide things to the people there. This would be the wrong conclusion. You are vital to successful ministry. Teams come and they bring energy and resources to the local ministries. You bring freshness and strength to people that are tired from many months or even years of sustained work. You bring a fresh set of eyes to the local workers who may be having a hard time seeing the progress that is happening. You bring resources and enthusiasm. It is because you came that they local ministry is able to continue fulfilling the call that God has given them. If you are not paired with a local ministry, I would like to encourage you as an individual or as a Church body to look for one to partner with. They need you and you need them.

The new home owner and her parents in front of the new house.

I would like to tell you about the last three weeks here and the way that our teams have helped, encouraged and strengthened us. First we had a team from Hinton, Alberta come. This was their fifth trip to us in the last 4 years. This time they only had 2 returning from previous years but their enthusiasm and the legacy that they have was evident on the other members of their team. All together there were just 5 of them but we set high goals because they have proven their desire to work and would want nothing less. On their first day, they went out to Zapote to build a house. The house was built for a 22 year old widow whose husband was killed because the family could not pay a $3,500 ransom when he was kidnapped a month ago. We had a goal of finishing in one day because we also had a lot of work to do in Membrillal. It was an incredibly hot day when we went out, well over 100 and we worked. They tore the house down and had the frame up for the new house by lunch time. By 3 p.m. we were beginning to clean up and go home. They house was complete and prayed over.

The next 4 days involved lots of difficult work. We formed the top of the columns and the top beam for the Church in Membrillal. Because of the gutter system and they roof design, it was a difficult job to form but we got it done over 2 days. On Thursday we mixed and poured it. It was difficult because we had to lift all of the concrete up to the people on scaffold that were pouring. The scaffold deck was 7' up in the air. The team never complained. They just kept working. On their last day they replaced all of the old netting around the soccer court with chain link. They had to tie the top off 14' up in the air. They not only  worked but they were joking around and having fun while doing it, Talk about bringing strength and freshness to tired local workers, they also bring us new joy every time they come.

Grading the ground so it will drain

Next we had a team from Georgia led by a pastor that has not come in 4 years. This was his first trip to us with the Church he is now serving. As a result, most of his 14 member team was new and had little idea what they were getting into. Most of them were still young also, high school and college age. We had planned for them to work a couple of days in Zapote at the school. There was an area of the playground that had drainage issues we needed to address by pouring concrete sloped to a drain and adding drainage beyond the property. This involved lots of digging, moving a rock that weighed 1500 lbs or so and then lots more digging. It was not as hot as with the previous team but the temp still hovered around 100 every day. Every time we dug it seemed like we found a new problem. What was to be a two day job turned into a 5 day job. I never heard one complaint about the long rides or the hot, dirty work. They just kept going. At he end of the week the drain pipes were all reworked. The ground was leveled and there was a new drainage system that separated rain run off from the sewer drains. 40 bags of concrete were poured on top of it all to finish the job.

The concrete and drainage are in.

These two teams not only accomplished a lot of work, they allowed those of us that hosted and worked with them a chance to get a fresh wind. We could see through their eyes and not just feel like this was just one more task in a long process. The job before us was important and we were able to focus on it. We gained a fresh enthusiasm for what we are doing at the moment.

Short term teams are vital to success. The attitude and the perspective of being there to serve the local ministry is vital. When you come to support the ongoing work and not to serve your own purposes, you help foster an environment of hope and success to those that you come to work with. Don't come for a short feel good trip but come to help change a community, a nation and to work with those committed to see that happen. You are vital. Because of your work, we have open doors to stay and continue working in our communities. Thank you.

One of the team members from our Georgia team being baptized last Sunday afternoon

Transformation

As many of you have probably figured out by now, I love Guatemala. When I am here, I miss my family and friends back home but I love this place. I am pretty sure that Heaven will be a lot like it without all of the noise, pollution and corruption. What I am saying it that the mountains and much of the Latin Culture draw me in. I know that God has created me for a place like this. There are some things that are challenging but they are nothing compared to the love of God has put in my heart for Guatemala.

We do many different things and I have written about all of them at one time or another, things like stove building, house construction, the Food Machine, outreach and evangelism events and I love them all. Of the things that we do though I love the schools and Church construction the most. While the other things all help individuals or families, these two things have the power to transform a community. As people begin to understand that God created them with a purpose and in His image, they no longer want to settle for just getting by. They want to do something with their lives that impacts the world. Educated people who know that they are created with purpose and in God's image can transform a country. That is the goal of the Churches and schools.

Right now, Guatemala is in a difficult time. Violence has seemed to be on the rise recently. There are bus driver shootings and other murders being reported in the paper almost every day. The government is also in a state of turmoil. The vice president was forced to resign a couple of weeks ago because she has been tied to a corruption and bribery scandal that was led by her personal secretary, who is still on the run. Many other people have also been  named in this scandal, the head of banking, the director of SAT (the national taxing body) The customs director and numerous other government officials. There have been protests every weekend for the last month in several locations calling for an outside investigation and the resignation of the president. To date he has denied any wrongdoing or knowledge of the involvement of several cabinet members.

The schools and Churches need to be at the forefront of change in this country. Pastor Merari and others have had a vision to see that happen and has been working, along with other pastors, Church staff, Kid's Alive International  and short term teams to see that happen.  Bringing the light of Jesus into the lives of kids and their families is the reason the schools exist. In Zapote, it is going very well. The school at Membrillal is not doing as well right now unfortunately. That is something I want to ask you all to be praying about.

Each year, the schools grow by adding one class. The kids that start will be able to continue in the school until 8th grade. Last year Membrillal had 1st through 4th grade. This year a 5th grade class was added. That added about 20 new students and a new teacher. There were some unsponsored students last year and now there are more because of the addition of an extra class. The sponsorship cover almost all of the expenses for a student if they are fully sponsored. Right now there are about 30 students that need sponsors. That is putting a serious financial strain on the operation of the school. We need to change this situation soon. It is critical for the school to be able to continue to enhance the lives of the students and to be an instrument of change in Guatemala.

I love these kids and the impact the the school is having on their lives and on their families. Next year we are suppose to add another class but that is going to take some people getting involved and sponsoring children. I am asking you to do three things.

1. Pray that God would bring in all of the needed funds. Ultimately it is His school and we are just stewards of His property and the children.
2. Pray about what, if anything, God would have you to do personally. Maybe He is calling you to make a one time gift or to sponsor a child. I do not know who gives and do not want you to feel pressure from me but I am asking you to ask God if you are called to help financially.
3. Share this blog post. If many people read and pray, God will move the hearts of the ones that He has called. Share it on facebook and email it to friends. Got the word out.

Thank you for being obedient, however God calls you to respond. You are all greatly appreciated.

This does not have anything to do with my own personal support, it is only for the schools at Membrillal. I want to thank you for those that have generously supported me while in my time here. You are a blessing and I am eternally grateful for your partnership in the work God has called me to.

If you want to support the school copy and past this link  http://www.hishandssupportministries.org/guatemala or you can click on His Hand above in the links tab and give through this organization. They are one of the two partner organizations that we are working with to find sponsorships for all of our children.

You can still support me by mailing checks to
Life Church, Morris
C/O Guatemala Missions
P.O. Box 679 
Morris, IL 60450 

Grumbling and Complaining

Last week was a busy week. We had a team come in on Friday, the 13th and start working the next morning on smoothing the roof of the Church building to make it more kid friendly since they are using the rooms and the open space more for Sunday School..We had to haul 35 . 100lb bags of cement along with countless buckets of sand and gravel to the third floor. The old surface had to be roughed up to accept new concrete and then we had to mix, carry and level all of that mix.

Throughout the following week, we worked on prepping for the foundation pour in Membrillal and building 2 stoves and a house in Zapote. The work is often tiring and tedious, whether you are digging and moving several dozen yards of dirt by hand or standing in one place all day tying re-bar for columns. I can say that in doing these things, the mind set on the flesh is death.

While I was working, I started noticing a pattern in my thought process. I always wanted to be doing what someone else was doing. If I was wheel-barreling, I wanted to shovel. If I was shoveling, I wanted to tie. If I was working on the house, I wanted to work on the stove. Contentment was never found when I focused on my work. The issue was, that I chose what I was doing. I would wait until all of the jobs were taken and look for what needed to be done so I willing chose to do what I was doing.

I started seeing how this plays out in all aspects of life. I frequently find myself comparing myself to others. What do they have that I do not? Why can they do something I cannot? Why did they get the job that I wanted? The devil brings these thoughts and jealousies in subtly. He does it in a way that we take ownership of them almost immediately and then dwell on them until they begin to consume us. Comparison is one  of the enemies worst schemes to destroy our lives.

As I recognized these thoughts, I started to see how to combat them. God is the one that has put me in this position. He has me there for a purpose. He is growing me into the person that I was created to be and I can praise Him for all of these things. He has not abandon me to be a manual laborer. He has made me a Kingdom builder. The work I do is all necessary for the building of His Kingdom in this place and it translates into a better inheritance for me as a joint heir with Jesus.

God does not need me, or any of us to accomplish His work on the earth. He could do the things that He has called us to more efficiently than we can do them. He brings us along like a Father bringing a child to work to learn the family business, assigning us tasks so that we can have the joy of accomplishment and a sense of belonging and ownership in what will be our inheritance. He gives us Kingdom building work because he knows it is important for us to learn that we have a place in His heart and in His creation. He calls us to do His work out of His overwhelming love for us. He does not need us to do it but we do need to do the work if we want to have assurance of our place in the kingdom of God.

If you get to feeling like me, remember that God is not using you because He needs you. he is giving you opportunities to grow as a son or daughter and learn to live in this community of family that is the Body of Christ. Stop comparing and complaining. Begin to praise God because he is making you into exactly what he has created  you to be.