Covid, Classes, and Cambios (Changes)

 Every year brings with it something new, something unexpected.  After ten years here at CEC, that has been the one constant!  As a scheduler, it can be frustrating - but I suppose something needs to keep me up at 3am from time to time!  In reality, though, as the years have progressed, expecting the unexpected takes the edge off.  More than anything else, though, knowing that God works out His plan even when they aren't according to our plans brings ultimate rest.

While this year's plans have already been derailed, we are still encouraged with this coming school season.  Perhaps I need to explain a little...  Yesterday was supposed to be our first day of classes, but as you can probably already guess, our plans have changed.  A week ago several of us staff members tested positive with Covid - nothing serious, mind you, just the typical strain that seems to be making its round now more as a bad cold.  As it turned out, several of the other staff members have also developed symptoms and so we decided it would be best to hold off on week before we bring our students on site to begin another school year.  Fortunately all were able to readjust their arrivals to accommodate this change.  In reality, this has given us all a chance to breath a little deeper, catch our breath and be ready, Lord willing, for CEC's 2022 class.

We have eight students lined up, with another one or two possibilities.  We are excited as well about a number of students wanting to return for our second year.  While last week served as a had a chance to catch my breath being confined to my house, I had some opportunity to prep some of my classes, going over past material and re-envision how to stimulate the students in growth.  The first weeks I'll have the chance of working through Spiritual Disciplines with them - pray with me as we explore these themes together in way that, I hope, encourages them in their own relationships with God and with each other.

Fortunately I am doing much better - a few of our staff are still battling some cold-like symptoms.  Please pray for us as a staff that we will be healthy and ready to go by this weekend.  In one sense, it is a blessing to have this behind us before school begins.  Please continue to pray for our students - already having been in contact with them we can see their desire to learn, hearing some of how God has already been at work in their lives to this point.  This year already feels like we will need an extra spirit of flexibility - not always the easiest thing for a scheduler - but I know it will be a good year.  Thanks for your continued prayers!  ¡Dios les bendiga!

¡Feliz Navidad y Año Nuevo!

Between posadas (Mexican Christmas parties...), services, homework, planning & preparation, the time has flown by and we're almost into the New Year - it's hard to believe!  Three weeks and counting (down) until our first day of classes for CEC 2022 begins (my fingers accidentally typed "2021....").  I owe you all a bit of an update as it has been a while since the last one.  I was hoping to be able to do this in person (for those of you in Manitoba) but it didn't work out - in hindsight, it would have been difficult even if I had been able to get out there.

Last time I had written, we were anticipating a reduced session of Consiervos, the missionary training course that was to take place during November.  Unfortunately, for various circumstances we weren't able to move forward with it this year, but in its place we were able to spend a couple of weeks together with some of the leadership spending extended time in prayer, planning, and refining the program's vision for the future.  Our hopes and prayers is that it will be able to run this coming year in May, following CEC's training program.

This, however, has allowed me to focus on my online studies through Briercrest.  I was able to take in three courses this past year and just finished up a final paper on Romans 12:1-2 on the importance of the mind in the process of transformation.  If I could boil it down to one sentence it would be the following: Knowing who God is, and who we are in Christ is the key to living in a new way.  While we often focus on what we should do, we forget that the power of living in a new way comes from what God has done and continues to do in us.  Having grown up in a Christian setting, these are things I know - sometimes the challenge is to deeply rest in and live out of these truths, these "new realities" for us as believers.

With only 19 days to go till classes start we are confirming students, putting the final touches on the teaching schedule, and looking forward to another season of CEC.  Thankfully, the atmosphere in Mexico, while taking precautions, still allows for flexibility to continue with another session of classes - we are very grateful that classes have not been interrupted since they were first cancelled in 2019.  We have four applications in, another several on the way, and others who will likely wait until the last minute (keeping us on our toes in anticipation!).  I met with a pastor a couple of weeks ago who had heard about CEC from one of our alumni from last year.  He was someone who "found" himself pastoring; by "found" himself, I mean that he responded to God's call on his life beginning a small church plant.  Not having had any training, he heard about CEC and came to see what it was all about.  As he talked about what he was looking for, biblical training, tools for ministry, growth in his relationship with God, it was as though he was already describing the program.  He left excited to come, whether this year or the next.  As it turns out, he will likely be sending one of the leaders of his church with the hopes that he will be able to come the following year.

We are also looking forward to offering the 2nd year program, with a strong interest on the part of a number of our past students.  In all honesty, as I'm putting together our schedule, I'm already feeling the weight of it, not just the extra organization that it will entail, but also in light of how we are missing two staff members from last year, both Jose Luis (who passed away last March) and his wife Chayo (who has decided not to return on as staff).  They have been an integral part of the CEC leadership, not only as teachers but as mentors, coworkers - as members of the CEC family for a number of years now.  The one thing I'm realizing, though, as every year has demonstrated, change is the only constant!  It's not a matter of if there will be big changes, it's just a matter of what they will look like.  And usually they are of a kind and magnitude never expected.  It seems that change is the norm!  (By the way, I don't like change!).  Yet, every year, whatever the unforeseen circumstances have been, they have worked out for good and helped us to remember to place our confidence always in God.

Thanks, again, for your continued prayers and support.  As another year approaches it is easy to get overwhelmed by all that still needs to happen, how many students there will be, etc., etc.  But at the same time the excitement to experience another season together with a new family of CEC students, watching them grow while also being challenged in the process, (etc., etc.!) is always worth it.  I wish I could have seen many of you in person this year, but I look forward, Lord willing, to the opportunity to do so in the coming year.  God bless each one of you this Christmas and New Years seasons!  ¡Dios les bendiga!

Perspectives

"This look different from up here!"  No one really has the opportunity to say that where I'm from, in southern Manitoba, unless you drive up what we call "The Pembina Hills" not too far from where I grew up.  It is really the only place where you get a vantage point to see how flat the land really is!  I think that is a large reason why I enjoy hiking the hills that surround San Carlos, especially the iconic Tetakawi peaks (I know many of you have climbed it as well!)  At a 1000 foot vertical hike, it really does bring perspective.  The odd thing about how God works, though, is that perspective perhaps comes more from the low points or challenges rather than (or maybe in addition to) the high points.  I think this year has been one of those perspective-shaping years - or maybe we are still grappling to find perspective with everything that is going on.

A view of San Carlos with Tetakawi in the background

Among the perspective-shaping events that we as a staff and I personally have experienced was the passing of one of our dearly loved co-workers, José Luis.  A couple of weeks ago a dearly loved friend also passed away, someone whom I had the chance to work with regularly in the worship team here at San Carlos Community Church.  About a month ago a young man who was battling cancer, someone well known here in the Christian community, also passed away.  Maybe there are few perspective-changers like death itself.  It was actually two weeks ago when I had the opportunity to preach about our citizenship in Heaven - it just "happened" to be the morning when we got news that my fellow worship-leader, friend and sister-in-Christ, Becki, had passed away early that very morning.  The message that God had already placed on my heart months ago was perfectly suited for the occasion, seeing how Christ's death and resurrection was a shocking and unforeseen upending of reality.  Actually it wasn't reality that changed so much as it challenged people to see things as they really were.  Even the disciples didn't see it coming, really - it was hard for people, at first, to grasp the significance of what God truly accomplished on the cross.  What it meant, though, was that our true identity was shown not to be defined by anything found solely in "this world."  Rather than "accepting yourself" or "embracing your dreams" we are invited to and encouraged to embrace Christ, really knowing Him - then one begins to understand that our citizenship is in Heaven, and that Heaven, more than a place to go to one day will be an all-out reunion with Him.  Having this perspective will change the way that I live here, not as a citizen but as a foreigner who is passing through. It is things like death (or pandemics, restrictions, or really anything that shakes me out of my comfort-zone) that help me grasp a little bit deeper my true identity in Christ and my real home in Heaven.  (If you want to hear both this message and the one following it, you can do so here: Living as Citizens of Heaven Part 1 and Living as Citizens of Heaven Part 2.)

While the pandemic continues to disrupt regular activities, we continue to look forward, Lord willing, to another season of CEC this coming January.  Normally we would be travelling extensively, both recruiting and connecting with students, but that has, for obvious reasons, been put on hold for another year.  Several activities that would take place in fall (a conference, a missions module with Millar College of the Bible, Consiervos missions training program) have had to be cancelled or reduced in time (Consiervos will be running for about a month instead of two).  This has enabled me, this year, to have some time to do a lot of reading as well as studying in addition to other, regular activities.  I am enrolled for a third seminary course this year through Briercrest (one of the few "blessings" of covid - all of the classes are now being offered online!) on the book of Romans.

As for many of us, it has been a different kind of year, but one that has brought its own kind of blessings.  It has been a year of learning, but not only "theological concepts" (though many of the classes I have taken have helped shape and reinforce both the classes I teach and the overall shape of CEC's program); it has been a year of deeper learning.  Different circumstances have shown me, or maybe better said, have brought to the surface where some of my deeper allegiances have been...and sadly to say, they have not been entirely in God Himself.  For me it has been the difference between wanting what God has for me (or wanting Him to give me something), to just wanting Him...it can be a subtle but significant difference that makes all the difference!  I wish I could say that I've figured it out (not even Paul could say that!  See Phil 3:12), but I think I'm slowly getting my bearings as I learn to more deeply value Him and my relationship with Him more than anything else.

Thanks for bearing with me on this reflective rant!  (Congrats to those who have made it this far!)  In the midst of all of this, we continue to march onward, looking forward to the coming year.  Three months out, I have been working together with the team on planning out the classes and arranging teachers.  We are also starting a more dedicated campaign (FB, word-of-mouth, etc.) to recruit students for this coming year.  Thankfully, we are largely in "green" in Mexico (though even in "red" we continue to live life fairly normally with restrictions) and we foresee no major obstacles for running CEC this coming year.

Please pray for:

    * Students for both first and second year

    * Continued unity for us as a staff as we navigate making plans

    * Please continue to pray for our students who are on the field living out what they learned and experienced here at CEC.

Thanks for your continued support and prayers!  ¡Dios les bendiga!