August / Agosto 2010
Volume 4, Issue 8
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download a pdf (printable) of this month´s newsletter
or to
make an online donation to partner with us in ministry
or to
download a copy of the first cycle of our English Outreach program
or to
make a donation to the English Institute or Children´s Library
download a pdf (printable) of this month´s newsletter
or to
make an online donation to partner with us in ministry
or to
download a copy of the first cycle of our English Outreach program
or to
make a donation to the English Institute or Children´s Library
More than conquerors?
A child from near San Martin de Pangoa
A group of us expats here in Peru (two from Georgia, two from Texas, two from Britain, and one from Hawaii) are studying the book More than Conquerors: A Call to Radical Discipleship by Simon Guillebaud. It is a good and a challenging study for all of us, because we all have been called to live a life dedicated to the cause and work of Christ. We picked up everything, and moved to Peru. For what? Are we living the life and the calling God has called us to live? Some of our friends and family consider what we are doing a type of radical (or dare I say, fanatical?) type of Christianity. We don´t want to be put on a pedestal as “the missionaries.” We just want to be faithful and true to what the good news we read in the Bible asks us to do. We want to be authentic in our faith. We want to be real in our calling. We don´t want to live for us. We want to life for Christ. But after being here for more than a year (and more than two years outside of the United States), we wonder, if we are doing enough.
Enough is probably the wrong word to be using here. I think what we really need to be thinking about is if we are doing the right things. A while ago, Audra and I read a book about church growth. In it, the author said that we need to be careful about watching for the waves. Some of waves are big and beautiful. Others are small and pitiful. The big waves—the pretty ones—are caused by God. the pitiful ones are the ones we try to stir up. We need to catch the waves of the Holy Spirit in our world and ride on those. We don´t want to try to create a wave to ride. What does that mean for us? It means that we need to see what God is doing here in our community and then do what we can to help out—to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ. We don´t want to try to do something that God isn´t yet ready to do or wants to do. We need to recognize that our ideas (no matter how good they are) aren´t necessarily God´s ideas. When we first got here, we tried to make some waves. Now we feel as though we are seeing the waves that God has for us to ride (teaching English in Christian love and building a children´s library, for example).
As we move forward, though, this study is challenging us to watch where Jesus is. Are we following Jesus? Or, are we asking Jesus to follow us? My personality likes to say, “Here´s a great idea that I feel God wants us to do. Let´s get ´er done…yesterday!” Audra is more along the lines of, “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, but let´s slow down and see if this is really what we are supposed to do…” I´m not saying one of us is trying to lead Jesus and the other is trying to follow Jesus. The truth is somewhere between the two. As much as there is to be done and as much as we see where we are headed, we really need to be sure to keep our eyes not on the project, but instead on Jesus himself. He needs to be so great a presence ahead of us that we cannot help but follow his lead.
I think we´re doing it, but please keep on praying for us. Help us to keep our eyes focused on the one who called us as we seek to do the work he has called us to do. To God be the glory. Amen.
Enough is probably the wrong word to be using here. I think what we really need to be thinking about is if we are doing the right things. A while ago, Audra and I read a book about church growth. In it, the author said that we need to be careful about watching for the waves. Some of waves are big and beautiful. Others are small and pitiful. The big waves—the pretty ones—are caused by God. the pitiful ones are the ones we try to stir up. We need to catch the waves of the Holy Spirit in our world and ride on those. We don´t want to try to create a wave to ride. What does that mean for us? It means that we need to see what God is doing here in our community and then do what we can to help out—to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ. We don´t want to try to do something that God isn´t yet ready to do or wants to do. We need to recognize that our ideas (no matter how good they are) aren´t necessarily God´s ideas. When we first got here, we tried to make some waves. Now we feel as though we are seeing the waves that God has for us to ride (teaching English in Christian love and building a children´s library, for example).
As we move forward, though, this study is challenging us to watch where Jesus is. Are we following Jesus? Or, are we asking Jesus to follow us? My personality likes to say, “Here´s a great idea that I feel God wants us to do. Let´s get ´er done…yesterday!” Audra is more along the lines of, “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, but let´s slow down and see if this is really what we are supposed to do…” I´m not saying one of us is trying to lead Jesus and the other is trying to follow Jesus. The truth is somewhere between the two. As much as there is to be done and as much as we see where we are headed, we really need to be sure to keep our eyes not on the project, but instead on Jesus himself. He needs to be so great a presence ahead of us that we cannot help but follow his lead.
I think we´re doing it, but please keep on praying for us. Help us to keep our eyes focused on the one who called us as we seek to do the work he has called us to do. To God be the glory. Amen.
Medical Campaign to San Martin de Pangoa
Some faces of Peru (photos by Aylis, age 14)
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