Prepare my eyes to see suffering

Day 24

Prepare my eyes to see the hurting.

No matter where I have gone in the world there are people suffering, hurting, in need.

Desperate, struggling for the most basic of needs- shelter, water, food, clothing and medicine. While others are hurting because they have been shunned by society simply because of their skin color or class system or gender.

Some are hurting because they've made choices in their life and the consequences of those choices have become too much to bear. Nevertheless, all of these people are seen by God, loved by God and cherished by God.

He has a plan and a purpose for them, so please God prepare my eyes to see the hurting. Not just so that I may see them, but that I might act on God's behalf.

Last year we took a team from our church to Colombia you can read more about that here.

 One girl stole my heart. As we were walking up the side of a hill   that was not paved, My eyes took in the completely dusty, dirty  trash littered area. It was pretty desolate and bleak .We saw many types of people; young and old, male and female, healthy and sick. They were all hurting one way or another. Each of them had a story and as we looked at them there was a common thread- pain, hurt, and need.

Just as I was at my breaking point because my heart was so full of emotion for these children of God who were in desperate need of love. God gave me a gift.

A girl that I had worked with just the day before came running out to greet me from her very modest home. We had a connection from the day prior as I had the privilege of loving her in Jesus name by washing her hands and feet, washing her hair and combing out the nits. We connected in the power of Jesus love, it bound us together.She came to greet me and shower me with a hug and a gift. I was so humbled because her eyes saw me as someone in need.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

Who needs to be seen by you today? How can you reach out in Jesus name to them?

Prayer
Oh Jesus the one who sees us and our need, you beckon us to come to yourself when we are tired and hungry and needing rest. Give us eyes to see those who need that as well. Give us words of comfort to share with them. Guide us in our decision to love them and touch them in your name. We ask that you would remove any scales from our eyes that we might see them clearly

Dec 13 Alpha and Omega

"Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god" Isaiah 44:6

And he who sat upon the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Revelation 22:13
Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet, and omega is the last letter of the alphabet. God is "the beginning and the end." Everything in-between is subject to Him!

I take great comfort in knowing that Jesus goes before us. He has been with the Father since the beginning and will be forevermore. 

For you shall not go out in haste,

and you shall not go in flight,

for the Lord will go before you,

and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. Isaiah 52:12

Jesus leads us into every situation, going before us to make firm ground, smooth out the wrinkles, making a way. He creates peace where there has been conflict. Ask Him to go before you and He will! 

He also is your rear guard, He brings resolution where there has been confusion, He protects us and brings closure. Ask Him to be your rear guard!

Colombia Bound!!

Today I leave with a group to travel to Colombia.  Please join us in prayer for the trip. You can follow our experiences here. 

Not Abandoned

Isn't this little guy the cutest thing?  His name is Juanito and we met him in Colombia. He eagerly greeted us and then accompanied us through the village of La Playita. Most of the homes in the village are simple, made with cement blocks and are able to withstand the cyclic flooding, if they can quickly move their belongings to a higher place. Juanito's home was of the poorest that we had seen, made of wood scraps, tin roof and a dirt floor. His mother Jennifer, standing in the doorway welcomed us in to meet her baby. Inside were two rooms separated by a sheet and a lone plastic chair. My heart was heavy when we entered, yet I knew that we had gifts to share with her and her family.

We had heard about Juanito's story from the Pastors. Martha and Jose spoke with his mother and encouraged her to allow Juanito to attend their school. She openly shared that she did not want him  and was not concerned about his schooling. After convincing her, Juanito began school. On his first day of school, they realized that this child had more hurdles than most students. He was lacking in the following skills;

A recognizable language

Hygiene

Wearing clothing

Where to go the bathroom

Social skills 

Day after day, the teachers at the school bathed, clothed and patiently taught him. The child that stood in front of us seemed so different from the child we had heard about. I was saddened to hear that a child could so easily be discarded, left to care for himself, abandoned to the streets. My sadness turned to anger when I first met this beautiful, cheerful child of God. How could a mother cast aside her child?, I contemplated as we rode through La Playita.

Now as we stood face to face with his mother and looked into his bright eyes, it was difficult to reconcile all of the emotions.

 All I wanted to do was pick him up and tell him that he was not forgotten, not abandoned, and that there was a love that would never leave him! 

Then Jennifer and her new baby caught my eye and I was reminded that we were there on a mission of love, of hope and to bring the good news to everyone. Gently I embraced her and prayed that God would fill her with His hope, His joy and His provision, that she would come to understand fully God's promise to be with us.

Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. Hebrews 13:5

Pray for Juanito, his mother Jennifer and her baby that they would all come to a loving relationship with Jesus! Pray also for the ministry of Martha and Jose at the Rose of Sharon school in Colombia. 

Teaching in Colombia

The plan was to provide professional development of teaching strategies and English instruction to a group of teachers for 3 days. The team was prepared, eager and ready to go. What we learned about ourselves and others was the true gift of this journey. 

Day 1
Our time together began with the basics;
the alphabet
vowel sounds
colors
songs
etc. 

On the wall was a list of strategies that we added to as they were introduced. Many countries use a lecture format during class instruction, we wanted to acquaint them with some SIOP strategies to help students retain information!

We were pleasantly surprised at how "into it" the 20 plus teachers were. 


While teaching there were many times that I wondered if they thought that we were just plain crazy!


Day 2

All of the teachers came back! After a review the focus was on body parts, vowel sounds, family words, sequencing and sorting. Today was a little different than the first day, about 1/2 hour into the instruction the heavens opened, and the rain fell and fell and fell! The electricity went out, did I mention the hot temperature in Colombia and the humidity? The students scrambled to open windows and as they did the water began to pour into the building, onto the floor and quickly flowing towards all of our supplies, that were so nicely laid out! Now our team was scrambling! Someone turned to me and asked if we should cancel the day and send everyone home. "No way"! 


The class simply took a break and moved outside under the covered patio. One of our team members brought a set of Bal-a-Vis-X balls with her. Everyone had a great time using these balls.  I am not sure which was cooler, the rhythmic sound of the balls or the amazing rain storm splashing all around us! 

After the rain finished we returned to the inside instruction and continued to teach without electricity. Praise God that there was a breeze! Our last strategy of the day was rotating centers. The groups of students rotated through four centers learning and practicing English.


 Loved this day! I kept thinking that the people of Barranquilla must live with this torrential rain system all of the time. Recently I saw this video of what happens here, terrifying and eye opening.


Day 3, 
On this day the students came to us. The Lord had provided a comfortable, beautiful home for us to stay in.  The teachers would come for instruction and then stay for lunch. Many arrived a half an hour early! This was to be our final day of teaching with them and we wanted it to be spectacular! 
The focus today was on the use of pronouns, this, that, these and those, foods, Rosetta Stone and conversational practice. 


The students were excited to use the words that they had learned and often called one of the team over to help with pronunciations. It felt good to see the planning and prayer fulfilling the purposes that we had hoped for!

As our time was winding down, My husband, the team leader approached me and asked if we wanted to teach a 4th day. Originally this was what I wanted to do. Now in the moment, I was stressed out thinking about all of the logistics.  I know that I gave him the "What?" freak out stare! The team quickly agreed and we planned on regrouping and preparing that evening. Immediately, my mind went into planning and controlling mode. Within 10 minutes everything changed. Instead of tomorrow, we were asked to teach the 4th session right after lunch! 

Gulp, breathe, don't freak out, I told myself

This required a few moments with the team. As I broke the news to them, they were amazing. Let's do it! they all rallied together.  This would require the good old teacher stretch and pull it out method that all teachers understand! So much for planning time! Within 3 minutes we had the whole session planned out! Praise God!


 In that moment, my daughter also a teacher turned to me, looked me straight in the eyes and admonished me, "You're not going to like this, but remember how you wanted to teach 4 sessions and you were not happy that we only had 3? Well Maybe God is saying, Here is your 4th session. It's on my terms not yours." She was so right!  As usual God was teaching me to let Him be in control.


Teaching session 4
After a fabulous lunch of chicken, coconut rice and vegetables we returned to the classroom. I was excited to see how God was going to pull us through this time together!


So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10


Who knew that playing memory would be so much fun? Our culminating activity was conversational centers. Using, scrabble, comprehension  questions, fluency practice, sentence construction and answering questions to solidify the English language acquisition.  Session 4 was by far the best one! The students were so enthusiastic. As a teacher it is extremely rewarding to teach those who desire to learn. 


During our session reflection, our team was showered with compliments, hugs of appreciation and hearts that had become knit together. We are already planning a return trip. 





 

Colombia

Barranquilla, Colombia
Similar, yet different than the Colombia I envisioned. Perhaps I have seen one too many movies with drug Lords, ancient air strips, gun fights and tropical locations. Barranquilla was filled with colorful buildings reminiscent of it's Spanish roots. There is a definite class system here. Classes are separated by occupation, life-style, income, family background, education, and power. Here it is referred to at your stratus, increasing in your status from 1-5. This level effects employment, education, and relationships.

Our team had several goals on this trip; Instructing teachers, visiting homes and building relationships.  All of these goals were with the purpose of sharing the gospel with those we met. I am grateful that the gospel is for every stratus. 

Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Colossians 3:11

Colombia Mission Trip

You are invited to join us on a missions journey, June 23-30, 2012. Our team will be working alongside of I.N. Network at the La Rosa de Saron (the Rose of Sharon) school in Barranquilla, Colombia.

Approximately 450 local students attend this school. They receive an excellent education with medical attention, nutritious meals, footwear and clothing. 

Many students live in modest homes with dirt floors, no electricity or water. In their community the unemployment looms around 80% with the majority of homes being maintained by single mothers. This is who we will be sharing with, loving on and being Christ to! We are so excited to see what God does in, through and in spite of us!

A daily update and Prayer guide can be found at Corinth Missions. 
We are counting on your prayers throughout this trip, so please pray us up! :)