An Easter Reflection

First of all, I hope you have all had a wonderful Easter season, and that every year you celebrate it, the significance of Christ's death and resurrection are becoming something more and more real for you!  We spend a lot of time (and rightfully so!) looking back on the personal cost to Jesus, all the He had to go through up to and on the cross.  It's so good to reflect on the path of the One who has gone before us leading up to the cross, and realizing that our path, as His disciples, leads to the same place - a death to our selves.  But the great news on the third day points to a wonderful, glorious future for us!  And we can have this confident hope overflowing within us as Paul writes in Romans 15:13:

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him.  Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Looking back on this past semester, I've got to wonder where the time has gone!  We are on the final countdown, with 3 days left to go!  Friday holds the final graduation ceremony and we are expecting about 100 guests celebrating what God has done in the lives of the 9 students.  Last weekend we had the opportunity to go out altogether to serve in two different communities, one community a small agricultural village down some paved roads in very bad condition, which happened to be the home of one of our students, and then to a small remote fishing village, the home of another one of our students.  The students have been preparing elements for children's and youth ministries including testimonies, dramas, puppets, etc. which they had the chance to present in both of those communities.  It really was a pleasure to watch them and to see them being stretched and used, perhaps in ways that were outside of the comfort zones.  All students, even a couple of the pastors in the 50's and 60's were involved even with the puppets, (definitely a stretch for some of them!) and were willing to serve in whatever capacity, whatever the opportunity that arose.

Our students and staff

Looking back on my own experiences this semester, I'm very thankful for the things God has been doing in my own life.  It has been a very different year for me personally than the previous year.  God had other things in store for me, that I wasn't necessarily aware of (or ready for!)  Perhaps a second kick at the can allowed for more confidence, a greater level of comfort with my fellow staff, and more opportunity to get involved.  Those opportunities came largely in being more involved in the classes of the students.  I had the opportunity to teach a class called Music Ministry, focussing on what it means to worship and how to effectively lead others (well, that was the intention anyways!)  I have done some teaching and preaching in the past, though my experience was quite limited!  And though I have done it in Spanish before, this took on a whole new level, having to teach some each week.  Those first classes, my heart was pounding pretty much since the night before each class right through till the end of the class!  The preparation was always rewarding but the actual teaching still always felt like an uphill battle.  By the end of this semester, I can say that I actually got to the point of looking forward to the next class, (a miracle in and of itself!)  I thank God for these opportunities to step out of the boat, onto a windblown lake, and seeing Him proving Himself faithful as He never left my side.  I trust and pray that the students learned (even half) as much as I have.  I also had the opportunity to take in a couple of other courses taught by some other teachers which I may have the opportunity to teach in the year(s) to come.

One other quick update on the Arizpe front, Benny is doing very well with the church.  He keeps telling me of new people going to the services, some who have returned after not having gone for some time and others who have never gone to church.  That is exciting to hear!  He has a third person in the rehab center which is also great.  There is an opportunity for those who want to be involved.  At the end of this month (April 30) is Dia del Niño, Children's Day, which is a pretty big day in Mexico.  Many churches use this day to have activities aimed towards the children.  Often this involves carnival type activities, parties, and giving out little gifts (like stuffed animals, small toys, etc.)  Benny has asked for help to get some small gifts for 30 children, the amount of children he is expecting that day.  If any of you would want to be involved, let me know!

There are of course many ways you can keep us in your prayers including:

* Of course, Benny's ministry, the rehab center and the congregation he is working with
* Our final week - for the students as they start thinking about transitioning back to their homes and ministries
* Us as staff - wisdom, discernment, love, courage, all the things we need to be vessels of Christ for these students

Thank you for your faithful prayers!  God bless you for them!

Let it rain...

Every time I look at the calendar, I can't believe how quickly this year is going by! We are well over halfway into our semester, with six weeks remaining. A new week starts and before we know it, they students are out the door for their weekend ministry assignments once again! Yesterday evening (Thursday), as we often do, we spent some time sharing communion together. Earlier the students had spent a number of hours in the desert, something that takes place once every couple of weeks or so, where they take nothing more than their Bible and maybe a notebook with them and spend some one on one time with the Lord. During our evening service a couple of the students shared about their desert experience and how they heard from the Lord. One student in particular shared how he came back full of joy and refreshed, having been very much encouraged by his time with the Lord. Though they were out there for several hours, he shared with joy written all over his face how the time just flew by and before he knew it it was time to come back. He also shared how he was just pleading with the Lord to give him the ability and words to preach His Word, especially in the church. Alfredo (the student) comes from a difficult past of drugs, etc. but the Lord powerfully rescued him from that, and now Alfredo is an evangelist at heart. He has no fear in going up to anyone and sharing the Gospel with them. He will tell you himself that he's probably struggled more than many of the others in some classes, catching on to everything, but far more importantly is seeing his heart fully engaged and being touched by the Lord.

On another front, exciting things are happening in Arizpe with Benny. He came out to visit us last week with a heavy heart. Although things were going well with the rehab center and with the small church congregation that he's been overseeing, there has been some opposition from a couple of people, one from a person who had been involved with the church in the past. Basically it came down to rumours and attacks towards the church and towards Benny. Though in spite of all of this, the congregation itself has rallied around Benny and even affirmed him as their pastor.

Benny shared how one day, during his daily morning devotion over the loudspeaker, he felt that he should pray with the people and ask for God to send rain. So he told them that the following day they would pray for God to send rain, this being the dry season and the farmers in need of some moisture.  The next day came and he encouraged the people to have faith in God and ask Him to send rain. During the day as he talked with people, they would ask him, "Do you think it's going to rain?" And he would encourage them to have faith in God and ask Him. As the afternoon wore on he continued to encourage the people and inside he was pleading with God to send some rain! Sure enough as the afternoon wore along, some clouds started to from.  At around 4:00 a few drops start to fall. By 5:00, a good steady rain is falling and it didn't stop until 5:00 the next morning. One could just see the excitement in Benny's eyes as he shared this story - and it was nothing to do with him but everything to do with God and His Goodness coming through, showing everything who He is.

We are very encouraged to see how God is at work among the people in Arizpe and using Benny. Keep praying for the ministry there. There are two people in the rehab center at this point, and they are both doing well. Pray for the church that it would grow in passion and numbers, that more people would come to know Christ through their witness.

Pray also for us at the school. Our desire is always to see this heart transformation in the lives of the students, above all else. One of the teachers shared last night during the time of communion how easy it is for one to leave something like Bible school as a "Pharisee", having an intellectual knowledge of many things but what we really want are true disciples, who leave with a more intimate relationship with the Lord. God bless!

A church service in the rehab center gym.

The church holding a public service in the community soccer court.

One of the young men currently in the rehab center.

Transformation, Inauguration

Four weeks in, eleven to go.

How did that happen?  The first days seem to move rather slowly as we go through orientation, getting to know people, etc.  The first day or so everyone is still rather reserved, even quiet but it doesn't take long for the ice to break and before you know it, almost a month has gone by and days start to rush by!

Back (L to R): *Guillermo, Gerry, Jesus, *Jorge, Alex, Arturo, *Ryan, Alfredo, *Howard, Joel, Juan, *Eric
Front (L to R): Jessica, *Angelica, *Susan, *Katie, Rosy, Noemi, *Roxana (*staff)

It has truly been a great first month of classes in so many ways, getting to know the different students, walking alongside them in their studies and seeing how they are responding to the Spirit's work in their lives.  What a privilege for them to spend 12 hours a day deep in God's Word and see the Spirit use it to make some deep profound changes in their lives.  One of the focusses in the beginning part of each school term is to spend significant time studying Spiritual Disciplines, and not just studying them but incorporating them into their lives.  Prayer, Meditation on Scripture, Solitude, Confession, Simplicity, Fasting, and the list goes on, tools that we have as Christians to grow in our relationship with the Lord.  Ephesians 4:13 is the goal (and also happens to be the theme verse for the school):

...until we all reach unity; in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God; and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."

Spanish uses two different words for the word "knowledge", the word saber when it talks about knowing something as in intellectual knowledge, and the word conocer when it talks about knowing someone, a personal connection.  The word used in this passage of course is conocer implying not a meer intellectual knowing but a personal meeting and getting to know "the Son of God".  What a difference this approach makes, not just attaining a bunch of facts but getting to know a Person!  And when that happens, one cannot helped but be changed!  It's this change that we are looking for, not just in the lives of the students but we want to see in our own lives as well!

I've had the opportunity of sitting in on some of the classes (including Spiritual Disciplines) and also had the opportunity to teach a couple of the last classes.  I've also started teaching a class on MMusic inistry.  It's been exciting (and a little intimidating!) preparing for these classes, especially since they are being taught in Spanish (yes, the Spanish part of my brain is having to grow daily!)  It's always exciting to open up God's Word and see what it has to say to us.  Please pray for me as I continue with the Music Ministry classes as you think about it!  Pray that above all it would be the Spirit speaking and not myself!

Rehab Center Inauguration

This past Friday (a week ago) Howard and myself had the privilege of heading up to Arizpe and celebrate with Benny and the church there the official opening of the Rehab Center! He already had one young man who came from Guaymas and had spent two weeks there. During the service he actually got a call from an acquaintance in Hermosillo who knew of another candidate. He has several other people in mind from his home city of Hermosillo who are candidates. One of the obstacles that often exist is the entrance cost. Though it is not much (basically something to help cover the cost of food during their stay), for some it is too much. Typically friends and family will help cover this cost for a loved one but sometimes this is not possible, or they can only pay a portion. Benny's desire is to not turn anyone away, especially if the issue in coming is only the inability to cover this cost and so we are looking for ways (and trusting that God will provide!) so that no one would be turned away from getting the help they need to overcome their addictions! Since the weekend, Benny has received another individual, a 15 year old young man. We are excited to see the ministry in action and the Church rally around Benny, excited about the ministry!

Please pray for them as they minister to these people, and that God would bring those who need help to their doorstep! I have mentioned many times to Benny of how there are many people in many parts of the world praying for him and this ministry and you can't tell how much this encourages him! Thanks for your many prayers and we will look forward to sharing with you how God works through them to transform the lives of those who go there. Thanks for all your prayers for us as a staff and ministry! It is encouraging to know that there are people all over the world praying for us. God bless!