Our Grads...Part 2

Well, we've just about made it through the first week without our students around.  In some ways it almost feels like a distant memory already but we definitely miss seeing them around, especially not knowing when or if we will see some of them again, this side of eternity!

That's especially the case with about half of them who came from different parts of Mexico and it may include a 14 hour bus ride to get to them (or 35 hours in the case of Sergio who came from the distant city of Puebla!)  I'd like to highlight the remaining "out of towners," those who came from the furthest, sharing a little about them and how I saw God at work in them over the past months.

Joel

I'll start with Joel.  He's got a neat testimony, having become a Christian early on in life but later on he got caught up in a lifestyle of drugs.  He came to the point, though, where he was tired of that lifestyle.  Hearing a message on the Prodigal Son, he identified himself with the son, recognizing the emptiness of his life and how it was only God who could truly fill him.  Deciding at that point to follow Him wholeheartedly, he's been passionately serving the Lord, with a particular desire to minister to those who are caught up in a lifestyle similar to what he had experienced.  If there's one word to describe him it would be evangelist!  He's a guy with no fear, without thinking twice, he would be out there sharing the Gospel with someone or preaching it on a street corner.

But perhaps what touched my heart the most in Joel was his tender heart towards the Lord.  We could see this grow throughout his time here in the hours spent in God's Word.  Joel was always passionate, often being the first one to speak up and pray in a group setting, and doing so passionately.  Two memories stick out and both came on the final day.  In the morning of the last day we went out into the desert, staff and students, and had a time of communion together, the final time we would do so as a group.  Towards the close of the time Joel lead us in a prayer, thanking Jesus for His broken body and shed blood.  It wasn't just the prayer he had but the tears and the passion which accompanied his prayer.  His love for the Lord and the intimacy of his relationship was so evident, and so neat to see.  The second memory was during the evening (I think I mentioned this in passing on the last post) towards the end of the graduation ceremony as the students were singing a song Heme Aquí, Here I Am, and Joel was one of those singing his heart out with tears rolling down his face.  You didn't have to spend a lot of time with him to see this passion and his love for the Lord flow out of him.

Luciana & Roberto

Luciana and Roberto

Their daughters Melody and Priscila

The oldest students this year, both around 27, the two couldn't have been more opposite in many ways.  Luciana is a very outgoing, vocal person, always ready to share what's on her heart and has a deep passion for the Lord.  Roberto on the other hand, especially in the beginning was quite quiet and reserved, especially when it came to matters of sharing what's on his heart and sharing about his faith, even in a group of believers.  He came being at a very base level in his Christian walk, having recently come to know the Lord.  Luciana had a huge heart for ministry and especially for children.  Roberto would help out where he could but didn't come with any particular passion to serve the Lord.

Like Joel, Luciana had a real sensitive heart towards the Lord and would quickly come to tears when sharing her burden for the lost and her desire to share the Lord with them.  I remember many times throughout the school term being struck by this burden which she had and couldn't help but see the Lord's heart through her, how He must be burdened and weep for those who don't know Him and don't want to have anything to do with them.  Leaving, she was very excited to be heading back with a newfound desire to share the Lord with those around her who didn't know Him.

Roberto really came out of his shell throughout the semester and there were two particular memories I have of him that really showed how far he came through the year.  One of them happened a couple of weeks ago when the students were out during Semana Santa, the Easter Holy Week where thousands of people come to San Carlos for what is pretty much a week long party.  The students when out handing tracts to people and the Gospel.  Luciana and Roberto headed out together and Luciana came back saddened in particular by one person who would not even take a tract, refusing to having anything to do with God.  Roberto on the other hand came back so pumped at going out and sharing the Gospel, something that he had been very afraid to do but with his confident wife at his side, was super excited at having taken a hold of the opportunity.  I think he had done something he had never had the courage to do before and it was exciting to get out there and just do it.

The other memory came on the final day, at the graduation ceremony.  Each of the students had to share a verse from about 40 passages they had memorized throughout the semester.  Roberto was terrified at the thought of it, as public speaking of any sort was not something he enjoyed in any form whatsoever.  He shared with us after the ceremony how just before he was to do it he was feeling weak and even a little sick in his stomach but he prayed to God, knowing that God would give him the strength to do it and sure enough he made it through!  Perhaps for some this may not be a big deal but for him it was a huge challenge overcome, relying on God's strength!

Well, this post is already getting long so I think I'll leave it at that and share about some more of the students in a later post.  It's a joy to look back and not just remember them but see how God in fact worked in their lives during our short but intense time with them.  We keep praying for them as they are settling back into their lives and invite you to do so as well whenever you think of them.  Check back for Part 3 soon!

Graduation 2013

The day after grad...  It brings back a lot of memories from the past, whether it's high school grad, graduation from Bible School, or just any such type of circumstances where you've grown used to being around certain people only to have them take off in many directions, wondering if and when you're going to see them again.

It's feeling a lot like that today, the day after our graduation ceremony for the 10 students that we've had the privilege of walking along side over the past 14 weeks.  Yesterday evening in front of about 75 friends of family members of the students, we celebrated what God has done in their lives during the time that we've been with them and said our tearful goodbyes.  It's always a mixture of feelings, relief in some sense that the marathon semester has come to an end, pride and joy in seeing how far the students have come along in this short time, but also a sense of sadness (and I know this reality will especially sink in next week as I head back to the now quiet and empty halls of the school) not knowing if I will see any of these students again, this side of eternity.  Fortunately five of the students live either right here in San Carlos or at least within a 45 minute drive.  But the other five come from further away, one from Nogales, three from the state of Sinaloa close to Mazatlan (about a 12 hour journey) and another from the city of Puebla, a 38 hour bus ride away.

CLASS AND STAFF OF 2013
Back L to R: Melina (assistant), Katie (office), Howard (director), Roberto, Joel, myself, Sergio, Manuel, Emanuel, Carlos
Front L to R: Yarely, Susan (kitchen), Luciana, Eric & Roxanna (main teachers), Areli, Esthefani

It's been a tremendous blessing for me to be apart of their lives, to see the passion for the Lord with which they are leaving the school and heading back into their homes as well as their places of ministry.  I've learned a lot and been challenged in my own walk with the Lord and what it truly means to serve Him with all of one's heart.  Yesterday evening during the grad ceremony, after we had handed them their certificates and prayed for them, the students sang a song together called Heme aquí, Here I Am, presenting themselves before the Lord, ready to serve, as Samuel did after hearing God's voice calling him.  To see them sing it with such passion, a number of them with tears flowing was very powerful.

As you think of it, pray for these students as they head back home into their places of ministry.  It's always hard to leave what is in many ways such a safe and closed environment and head back into the "real world" where there may not be the same support structure and where instead of being able to study the Word twelve hours a day, one has to resume with those normal day to day activities, whether it be work or just the routine of daily life.  But much more than being worried, I am excited to see how God will use them to transform the people around them in those daily routines to bring people to Himself.  Pray for them in that, that God would use them powerfully and that they would continue firmly planted in their relationship with the Lord, continuing to study the Word and grow in Him.

I'd like to over the course of this posting and the next couple of postings just give you a brief description of each of the students and how I saw God at work in them over the past couple of months.  For today I'll just start with one student, Sergio, the one who's come the farthest away and comes from a family of I believe it's 8 siblings.

Having traveled from the city of Puebla, about a 38 hour bus ride from here, he was not actually the first from his family to have gone through this program.  His brother had gone through it several years back.  He's a quiet guy who, as he shared with us the night before graduation, loves to listen and learn from people rather than speak.  He's one of those guys who is often the last to speak up and share what's on his heart, if he would speak up at all, but every time he would speak, he would have something very significant to say.  As quiet and contemplative as he may be, his desire is to ...well, I'll let him share it with you directly:

“Mi visión saliendo del CEC es predicar en las próximos pueblos, levantar nuevas iglesias y ir a misionar, trabajar con étnicas.” 

"My vision as I leave CEC es to preach in the surrounding villages, raise up new churches and to go and do missions, working with the ethnic people."

I've appreciated his quiet and deep devotion to the Lord, his sense of humor, and the humility in which he serves.  I know that God will use him mightily as he heads back to his home and helps his family in the ministry.  His family is very much involved in their church and he will be a valuable part of that ministry as he goes back and gets plugged in.

I'll leave it at that for now!  You can also pray for us as staff as we recoup and regroup, evaluate this past year and look forward to what we can do for next year.  God bless and thank you for your prayers!

10 days to go

Wow, April 1st...  How did that happen?? I imagine for many of you waiting for the release of winter, it couldn't come soon enough...eventually the cold and the snow HAVE to give way to spring time and warmer weather and perhaps most importantly, no snow! Here though, April brings with it the promise of HOT weather but more importantly our school's graduation! I think the last time I wrote we were in the midst of week five here at the seminary. Well, April 1st finds us on the first day of week 13, with only one more week to go! Where did the time go?

It's been a tremendous ride so far, with challenges and joys along the way. There's no chance of avoiding at times difficult circumstances and a healthy dose of growing pains when you put together ten students and a number of staff in a close, intense environment aimed at sharpening each other's walks with the Lord and spurring one another on. But the fruits of His work in our lives, as challenging as it can be at times is always whatever path He may take us on. I was reading this morning from James, chapter 1 verses 2 and 3 which talk about considering it pure joy whenever we face trials of many kinds, knowing that the testing of our faith develops perseverance and perseverance is indispensable in our journey towards spiritual maturity. "If only there could be another way," I hear my flesh groaning!

Nonetheless, looking back there has been significant growth in the lives of each one of the students who have been with us since the beginning of January and it is exciting to see. Of particular interest is one young couple, a pastor's daughter and her husband, Manuel and Areli (the pastor and his wife having gone through this program the year before).  They have grown in leaps and bounds during the past three months. They had been involved in ministry before coming here, working together with her parents in their church.  But as they have been challenged not only in their understanding of the Scriptures through a lot of intense studying but also having been encouraged to focus on their relationship with the Lord, they have found a new, deeper passion for serving the Lord. Manuel was so excited coming back from their weekly weekend ministry for how the Lord had worked through him as he had a chance to preach for the first time, filling in for his father in law who wasn't able to be there to preach.  He also shared their experience of a small discipleship group that he has been leading with his wife and how tearfully they had completed their last formal lesson together in a course that they had taken here in school and were guiding them through.

Another student, Emanuel, came back excited with the new opportunity to disciple his brother and sister in law whom had recently decided that they wanted to turn their life around and come back to Christ.  They went right to Emanuel and asked him to disciple them and share with them what he's been learning over the past while.  Obviously, they are seeing in him an example that they want to follow.

Last week during the craziness of Semana Santa, we had a tremendous opportunity for ministry, which for those who have never experienced Semana Santa here in San Carlos, is a week of partying and celebrating centered around the Holy Week leading up to Easter.  (Yeah, it is nothing short of ironic and deeply sad that many, many people take to the streets here in San Carlos in drunkenness and partying during the time when we celebrate and remember Christ's death and resurrection...)  The students were involved one afternoon with a ministry outreach project that was put on by the local English Church, handing out tracts and Bibles to many of the thousands and thousands of people walking the main street in San Carlos from Thursday to Saturday of last week.  Each evening was capped off with a Christian concert where the Gospel was clearly presented.

The students took to the streets during the afternoon to advertise for the concert and also armed with tracts, they walked up and down the streets handing them out and talking with those who wanted to know more.  In particular there was one couple who were deeply impacted by that experience, Roberto and Luciana.  These two couldn't be more opposite in many ways when it comes to their approach to evangelism.  Luciana is a bold, fearless witness and came back feeling so sad at some of the people with whom she had talked to, who had not even wanted to take the tracts that she had offered them.  She expressed such sadness as they wanted nothing to have to do with it, even though she encouraged them to take the tracts anyway for the moment when they needed them.  Roberto, on the other hand, is a pretty quiet and reserved kind of guy, especially when it comes to sharing what's on his heart or sharing about Christ.  But with the bold witness of his wife by his side, he came back pumped and excited for the freedom that he felt in being out there and sharing with many the Gospel.

I've had the opportunity to do some teaching in these last couple of weeks and I'm glad to say that I've got the first class under my belt!  Last week I had the opportunity to begin teaching an introduction to homiletics.  Not sure how I exactly got nominated for this role, seeing I'm far from an experienced preacher, never mind teacher, but if you've got extra prayer time open, by all means I'd appreciate it if you fire up a few prayers for me (and maybe more so for the students!)

That's all for now.  We'll be having our graduation next week Friday, April 12th, and just like that it's gonna be over for this school term.  God bless each one of you and thanks for your continued encouragement and support!  ¡Dios les bendiga!