The Geography of Grace

A year ago, Rocky and I had the privilege of attending the Intermissions Conference in Panajachel, Guatemala.  One of the seminars we attended was entitled “Geography of Grace.”  The presenter, Joel Van Dyke, shared with us his experiences of ministering among the least, the last and the lost.  His work in Guatemala City is among the urban poor, but much of what he shared rang true in our hearts for the people God has allowed us to share life with. 
 
 When the seminar was over, we bought his book, Geography of Grace:  Doing Theology From Below.  As soon as we returned to Chisec, Rocky began reading.  For whatever reason, I didn’t read it at that time, but a couple of days ago I noticed it on the shelf and picked it up, and I am so glad I did.  As I’ve read, I’ve been moved to tears over and over again. 
  
Living and working among the poor and oppressed is a challenge.  Every day we are faced with dichotomies that are difficult to process.  In the midst of the poverty we experience hospitality unlike anything we’ve ever known.  In the midst of difficulties we see the people rise up and continue with a smile on their face.  Groups often comment of the people here, “they have so little, yet they are so happy.  How can that be?”    
     
As I picked up the book and began to read, the Lord, once again, began to show me His heart for the least, the last and the lost. 
    
“Gospel hope dares to cut through the fog and call things what they are.  It dares to suggest that within both beauty and affliction there is the real presence of a loving God.”  When I visit homes where I cannot imagine living, where the family survives on nothing more than tortillas and the bananas that grow beside their little shack, I am overwhelmed by the affliction.  I see their torn clothes, lack of shoes, dirt floor, malnourished bodies, but there is more.  I am called to see not just with my physical eyes but also to see in the spiritual realm.  And when I look up – there is so much more to see and experience.    God is there, and there is hope right there in the middle of that grinding poverty.   There is love, fellowship, communion, gratitude, and beauty. 

     Infant mortality rates are pretty high in the outlying communities and it is not uncommon to be called to pray in a home where a baby has died.  So often I don’t know what to say or do in situations like this.  It is so profoundly sad and to make it worse, often completely preventable.  How can I be “the hands and feet of Christ” to a woman who just lost her precious little baby?  

“If God responds with the sacrament of silence in the presence of  his Son’s agony, perhaps there is wisdom in doing the same when confronted with the reality of another’s pain – to hold and be held by the pain of another long enough to be transformed by it.” 

I can hold her and weep with her, love her and share in her loss and allow the experience to change me.  And maybe, just maybe, if Jesus was here in her village that is what He would do.      

“When all hope is lost, the crushed want to know that God is with them…as One who suffers with them.  This is what the Gospel dares to suggest…The promise of the Gospel is that God does not stand behind the world in some remote or veiled way.  We don’t have to look past this world and her afflictions to find hope.  We do not have to convert the world before we console it.  God is here now, active and present – or as Paul says with breathtaking freedom, Christ is all and in all. (Col.3:11)”

I used to think ministry was doing the important stuff – preaching, evangelism, outreach, etc.   And it is true; these things form a part of ministry.  I am learning, however, that ministry is also in the little events of everyday life.  In living and working among the people, sharing in their pain and in their celebration.

Water…living water. 

In John 4, Jesus talks to a Samaritan woman about water.  He offers her living water;  a spring of water welling up to eternal life!  Today we celebrated the official opening of the water project in Sepalau, and Pastor Rogelio preached from the above passage. 

As Rogelio and Manny made the invitation to come forward and receive this living water, people came and lives were added to the Kingdom.  Praise the Lord! 

This has been a huge project and has spanned the better part of a year.   So many hands helped to make this a reality for Sepalau, but it started with a desire to bless a community in the name of our Heavenly Father. 

Two teams were instrumental in the process – Trenton, Ohio and Boise, Idaho – as well as EMI (Engineering Ministries International) and Mission2Guatemala (Manny and Rocky).  Also the majority of the men in the community contributed their labour – hundreds of hours – to make this a reality for their community. 

The taps are now opened in Sepalau and the women no longer have to make the 1.2km hike to the lagoon and back multiple times a day…they can access water from any one of the 16 water stations in Sepalau.  Amazing! 

The dream, although, is not only for physical water, which we now have, but for springs of living water welling up to eternal life.  The church is alive and well in Sepalau, but there are still many who have not left behind their Mayan spiritualism and do not know our Lord and Saviour and His Grace!  And so, the work continues.  Our prayer is that every time a tap is opened and water flows in Sepalau, people will remember that the Lord provided this water and has an even greater gift for these precious people! 

Living water…may we be filled to overflowing with a spring of living water and offer those around us a drink that will truly satisfy. 

A Visit from CTEN

This week our CTEN pastoral care couple, Stephen and Tammie Burger, from Kerrville, Texas, and the Director’s for CTEN Canada, Trevor and Jana Eby, from Gibsons, British Columbia, visited us at the mission site.  They arrived on Tuesday and just left this morning.  CTEN (Commission to Every Nation) is our sending agency.  It was such a blessing to spend some time with these two couples, sharing with them a little window into our lives here. 

We vistited a couple of homes where we are helping children attend school and we toured the Christian school.  We also visited Presbeteriana Bethania, the site of the first project we worked on with Mission2Guatemala, and saw the water turned on in Sepalau! 

Not only did they get the opportunity to see some of the work we are doing, they also got to experience some of the challenges we face.   Wednesday, the roads were blocked again.  This time is was a demonstration to protest the price of electricity.  We were stuck waiting twice on our way out to Presbeteriana. 

Today, they are off to see the Suttons and Wilsons in Jalapa and we know they will be a blessing there as well.  Thanks, CTEN!

Our last team for 2013!

We just said goodbye to our last team of 2013!  It has been an amazing year. This group was from Grand Rapids, Michigan and although their time with us was short - only a week - they accomplished a great deal.  
We invited the Nazarene Mission pastors to come for a rich, 2 day seminar on how to share the Gospel in love.  These pastors are the ones who are working in the remotest areas with the least amount of assistance from the main church.  In fact, they are not considered organized churches, but rather missions.  The first day Pastor Joe asked the to share how they came to know the Lord and when/how they received their calling to plant a church.  I listened and was so honoured to hear their humble stories.  One man shared how God "opened his eyes" and he was able to read.  What a miracle!  On the second day, they brought their wives along and the ladies on the team ministered to the women.  I know the team came to bless these pastors and their wives, and they did!   But, I also know that the team was enriched by the time spent together with these beautiful Guatemalan men and women of God. 

 The group also did 2 days of children's ministry. The message of the Gospel was so clear, not only in what was said, but also in what was done.  Sometimes in our "north american" mindset, we forget that we are to love in action and in deed.  It isn't enough to just say you care, you have to show it in what you do.  so, they sang, played, did crafts and gave away clothing, shoes, tooth brushes, tooth paste and soap.  All very practical and much needed items for these people. 

Tomorrow, we will receive Stephen and Tammie Burger, our pastoral care couple from Commission To Every Nation, and Trevor and Jana Eby, the head of CTEN Canada.  We are so excited to share with them what the Lord is doing here.  Then on Friday, 2 couples from the US and an EMI (Engineering Ministries International) representative will arrive to celebrate the grand opening of the water project in Sepalau. As I am typing, Rocky is in Sepalau installing the submersible pump so that all will be ready for Saturday's celebration!