The more time I spend out of the country, I am further convinced I have much to learn of suffering. Our experience so far in Guatemala is quite a bit removed from our experiences in Haiti. In Haiti, the poverty and suffering are engulfing. I don't remember seeing an area of Haiti unaffected by disease and hunger. Currently, we are teaching in a private school (please don't imagine American private schools), and the kids who live at the home are very well cared for and know they are loved. So we have not yet had direct interaction with intense suffering in Guatemala. Nonetheless, the kids at the home have all been abused, neglected, abandoned, or, for some, a combination of the three. Many of the older kids here have years of memories of hunger, abuse, or homelessness. It is still pervasive here. My worry is this: I am quite ill-equipped to share the satisfying grace of Christ with a suffering world.
So much of the language in Scripture used to describe the work and person of Christ is rooted in suffering. Very literally, the crux of the Good News is suffering. You cannot remove suffering from the experience of Christianity. So how can I explain what it is like to hunger for righteousness if I've never hungered so badly for food that I've filled my stomach with mud? No, my young friend, you explain it to me. I want to know. Could I dare to discuss with my once unjustly captive friend, Jean-Claude, what it's like to be a slave to sin and to be set free to union with Christ? No, Jean-Claude, for many additional reasons, could you share it with me?
Let me borrow some solid exegesis from (big surprise) John Piper. In Colossians 1:24 Paul writes, "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of the body, that is, the church." What could possibly be lacking in Christ's afflictions? Certainly he isn't speaking of the atoning work of his suffering. That would be heresy and utterly incongruent with anything else Paul wrote. In Philippians 2:29-30, Paul is writing to the church about returning Epaphroditus to them: "So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me." What was lacking in their service to him? A person--the physical presentation of their service. What is lacking in Christ's afflictions? The physical presentation, here and now, of his suffering.
However, I am sad to think that much of my experience is representative of the American church. Shouldn't it be a suffering church that presents a suffering Savior to a suffering world? I am starting to see how the "Name it, Claim it", "Ask not, have not", and whatever other cleverly rhyming prosperity movement can catch on. When the church can't credibly say, "God is more satisfying than food, shelter, or health," to people that don't have them, I can see how the church would be tempted to say, "If you follow Christ, you can have what I have." The problem with that is the message is no longer, "Know Christ and be satisfied in Him," but, "Know Christ and be satisfied in what he gives you."
How can we possibly be effective? Yet another reason I savor the sovereignty of God in missions.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
THE RODENTS ARE COMING!!!!
We were told this would happen, but I wasn't prepared for how fast it would come! Fotunately, it hasn't hit us yet. The other two Americans (McKenzie and Jessica) have the privilege of dealing with it first. They live right below us and McKenzie has been hearing scratching in the ceiling for the past two nights. Tonight, as they were sitting down for dinner they noticed the rodents had left many presents for them all over their plates and many other things. They have put rat poisoning everywhere you can think of. So what was my reaction? I put EVERYTHING in the refridgerator! That's right, bread, pasta, rice, tortillas, peanut butter, sugar, popcorn, poptarts, and cookies. Our refrigerator is very tiny, so this was hard to do, but I refuse to deal with rodents.
Stayed tuned to see if we get hit!
Other wonderfiul things we have to look forward to:
swarms of flies, giant, hairy spiders, and swarms of beetles!
Stayed tuned to see if we get hit!
Other wonderfiul things we have to look forward to:
swarms of flies, giant, hairy spiders, and swarms of beetles!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
His Grace is Sufficient
"And I, when I came to you brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." 1 Corinthians 2:1-5.
I read this verse before we left for Guatemala and it became my prayer for our trip. It has definately become something I cling to everyday! Dave and I have both found the school day to be very frustrating with a language barrier. It is hard to teach when no one understands what you are saying. It is even more difficult to gain control of a classroom when no one understands you! It has to be Christ in us that people see because there is nothing we can say that these kids will understand apart from the power of God. Pray for us as we continue to teach the children in the school. Pray that we would have patience and rely on the power of God instead of our own strength.
After school is over we get to spend time with five specific kids who live in the children's home. Steven, Jefferson, Gerson, Carlos, and Marili. They are the sweetest and most loving kids. We enjoy every moment we get to spend with them. On a daily basis Jefferson asks me if we "are going to take care of him today." This is all they desire. They want to be taken care of and loved. From 3:00 to 5:30 we are there to help them do their chores, get baths, and love on them as a parent would. We read to them, play soccer, and simply laugh together. The boys are so funny. Dave says during shower time the boys will put their feet over the drain and let the shower fill up with a couple inches of water so they can play in it. Marili is the youngest girl in the home and is such a joy. She speaks little English and always has a smile on her face. She reminds me of my neice Madi when she laughs. We love each of these children so much. Dave feels as though he knew these kids before we even got here.
At 7:00, 5 nights a week, there is prayer time for anyone who wants to come. The children ususally come and sit in our laps which gives us the perfect oppotunity to pray for them individually. My prayer for them is that God's love would be enough. That they would fall passionately in love with Him and desire Him only. It is then that our cup overflows and we have all that we need.
We love you all and thank you for all of your prayers and support.
I read this verse before we left for Guatemala and it became my prayer for our trip. It has definately become something I cling to everyday! Dave and I have both found the school day to be very frustrating with a language barrier. It is hard to teach when no one understands what you are saying. It is even more difficult to gain control of a classroom when no one understands you! It has to be Christ in us that people see because there is nothing we can say that these kids will understand apart from the power of God. Pray for us as we continue to teach the children in the school. Pray that we would have patience and rely on the power of God instead of our own strength.
After school is over we get to spend time with five specific kids who live in the children's home. Steven, Jefferson, Gerson, Carlos, and Marili. They are the sweetest and most loving kids. We enjoy every moment we get to spend with them. On a daily basis Jefferson asks me if we "are going to take care of him today." This is all they desire. They want to be taken care of and loved. From 3:00 to 5:30 we are there to help them do their chores, get baths, and love on them as a parent would. We read to them, play soccer, and simply laugh together. The boys are so funny. Dave says during shower time the boys will put their feet over the drain and let the shower fill up with a couple inches of water so they can play in it. Marili is the youngest girl in the home and is such a joy. She speaks little English and always has a smile on her face. She reminds me of my neice Madi when she laughs. We love each of these children so much. Dave feels as though he knew these kids before we even got here.
At 7:00, 5 nights a week, there is prayer time for anyone who wants to come. The children ususally come and sit in our laps which gives us the perfect oppotunity to pray for them individually. My prayer for them is that God's love would be enough. That they would fall passionately in love with Him and desire Him only. It is then that our cup overflows and we have all that we need.
We love you all and thank you for all of your prayers and support.
Monday, February 9, 2009
We're Here!
It's been a long day, but we made it. It started dark, cold, and early when we left my parents' house at 3:30 a.m. As long as the day was, it was some of the easiest traveling I've ever experienced. The connection went very smoothly, and customs was a breeze. The only thing that was a little disconcerting was when we landed seeing old, broken-down hangars and rusted out planes that looked a little like something Baloo from TaleSpin might fly. But we saw the lone white guy waiting outside the airport, and, sure enough, it was Steve.
Driving through the country was interesting. We thought it looked a lot like what Haiti might look like had it not been so deforested. We arrived at La Senda, our new home, in the afternoon and were able to unpack, take a tour, and meet most of the kids. We found out they all speak English! Although that means we may not be as motivated to learn Spanish, it sure is nice to be able to communicate with them right away. They all make us smile, and the ones Steve wants us to pay special attention to are the ones I would have chosen myself. We can't wait to see what craziness comes next.
Driving through the country was interesting. We thought it looked a lot like what Haiti might look like had it not been so deforested. We arrived at La Senda, our new home, in the afternoon and were able to unpack, take a tour, and meet most of the kids. We found out they all speak English! Although that means we may not be as motivated to learn Spanish, it sure is nice to be able to communicate with them right away. They all make us smile, and the ones Steve wants us to pay special attention to are the ones I would have chosen myself. We can't wait to see what craziness comes next.
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