Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Hey all...
Just to echo what Kristen said: we had such an amazing time in Bolivia ministering (and being ministered to), and we really do need to thank all of you. Thank you for your support; through finances, thoughts and prayers, and even through the encouraging words you have left here on the blog.
Please continue to pray for the country of Bolivia, and keep in mind the ministries which we were a part of for the last month in Bolivia.
Be blessed blog readers... until next time, this is Phil Hamilton signing out.
Ciao!
- Felipe
Please continue to pray for the country of Bolivia, and keep in mind the ministries which we were a part of for the last month in Bolivia.
Be blessed blog readers... until next time, this is Phil Hamilton signing out.
Ciao!
- Felipe
Friday, June 1, 2007
Home Again
Well all our dear family, friends, supporters, and random people who like to check out our swanky blog :)
We are home. Safe and sound.
To update you from the last point, our last days in Bolivia were incredible. Sunday we were at Calama for church first where we lead the worship, then went to the church of the school we'd been working at. The Janks had us over for the evening for a time to talk about our trip and say bye. They had five men come and play some amazing Bolivian folk music and got to hear about their ministry. It was an amazing evening of fellowship and sharing.
We were at the school Monday and Tuesday morning. Monday afternoon we finally finished painting the lounge at the Seminary and it acutally looks so good!!! Tuesday afternoon we went back to the market and spent the night packing everything.
So sad to say good bye! We had a precious gift of a bunch of the students from the school who came to say bye to us at the airport, as well as our three friends Saul, Paula, and Jackie from the seminary. There were smiles and tears and lots of hugs all around! We left around noonish and 40 minutes later we were in Santa Cruz where we had to kill a bunch of hours. A man from the Baptist church there picked us up and gave us a tour of Santa Cruz and took us to the zoo where we saw all manner of super cool animals and birds and stuff....and i may or may not have gotten bird terd down my back....giggle...he took us back to the airport and our flight to Miami was from about 11-6ish....another layover...and we pulled into Toronto around 2ish. So it was long....nice to be back on solid ground that's for sure!
I know for myself I'm still processing everything and it's so hard to pinpoint the best parts and figure out everything learned, but the one thing that I've shared is that as Christians called to minister to those around us, it is something we can do no matter where we are. The only difference is location. But no matter where you are or what you're doing, you can spend time FOR God till you're blue in the face, but unless you spend time WITH God you are not getting anywhere.
It was an absolutely amazing trip. Incredibleto see so much and experience so much. Thank you all so much for all your prayers and support. It meant so much to us all knowing you were there with us in spirit and that your prayers were being lifted up around us.
Love you all.
May God bless you and keep you all.
Kristen
We are home. Safe and sound.
To update you from the last point, our last days in Bolivia were incredible. Sunday we were at Calama for church first where we lead the worship, then went to the church of the school we'd been working at. The Janks had us over for the evening for a time to talk about our trip and say bye. They had five men come and play some amazing Bolivian folk music and got to hear about their ministry. It was an amazing evening of fellowship and sharing.
We were at the school Monday and Tuesday morning. Monday afternoon we finally finished painting the lounge at the Seminary and it acutally looks so good!!! Tuesday afternoon we went back to the market and spent the night packing everything.
So sad to say good bye! We had a precious gift of a bunch of the students from the school who came to say bye to us at the airport, as well as our three friends Saul, Paula, and Jackie from the seminary. There were smiles and tears and lots of hugs all around! We left around noonish and 40 minutes later we were in Santa Cruz where we had to kill a bunch of hours. A man from the Baptist church there picked us up and gave us a tour of Santa Cruz and took us to the zoo where we saw all manner of super cool animals and birds and stuff....and i may or may not have gotten bird terd down my back....giggle...he took us back to the airport and our flight to Miami was from about 11-6ish....another layover...and we pulled into Toronto around 2ish. So it was long....nice to be back on solid ground that's for sure!
I know for myself I'm still processing everything and it's so hard to pinpoint the best parts and figure out everything learned, but the one thing that I've shared is that as Christians called to minister to those around us, it is something we can do no matter where we are. The only difference is location. But no matter where you are or what you're doing, you can spend time FOR God till you're blue in the face, but unless you spend time WITH God you are not getting anywhere.
It was an absolutely amazing trip. Incredibleto see so much and experience so much. Thank you all so much for all your prayers and support. It meant so much to us all knowing you were there with us in spirit and that your prayers were being lifted up around us.
Love you all.
May God bless you and keep you all.
Kristen
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Happy Bolivian Mother´s Day Mommies!!!
Yup. This weekend is Mother´s Day here in Bolivia and it´s almost as big as Christmas! lol...we´ve now been to ... uh...at least three Mother´s day celebrations which are the coolest! HAPPY MOTHER´S DAY MOMMY BOVEN, WILSON, HAMILTON, HUTT and PHILIP :)
So sorry about not updating this for the past week! Man..time gets away before you know it. Our week was pretty packed between going to school every morning; monday and tuesday afternoon we spent at La Casa De Amistad (a school for kids who´s parents are in jail...one of the most heartbreaking things i´ve ever had to do was walk tiny kids back to jail after school was done to go back to their mom or dad for the night....); monday evening we played horrible volleyball with the church league; tuesday evening we had a surprise good bye party for Ivan who left for Canada; wednesday we were at school in the morning, painted at the seminary, and went to the Mother´s Day service at the church; thursday we were at school for the morning, painting at the seminary at night; friday at school we spent the morning gettting ready for the Mother´s Day celebration at night, left to go painting at the seminary, and then back to the school for the celebration. It was so wonderful to see the kids we´ve been working with in a different light and meet their parents and stuff...
and today we took some time this morning to practice worship for tomorrow (we are leading it for the english service in the morning) and then went to Jireh for their Mother´s day celebration and then to babywashing in the center square, and tonight to the church for a youth meeting.
So yeah...that´s pretty much it in a nutshell...our last three days are pretty full, and just so you know, we are actually leaving cochabamba earlier wednesday to make sure we get our connecting flight to Miami. So we´re leaving around noonish and will have to spend the day in the Santa Cruz airport waiting for our overnight flight.
Oh yeah...and one more thing. we are now sleeping in a hostel across the road. The place we´ve been (the Baptist Center) had been rented out before we got switched to coming here, so we had to move. It´s all good!! and we have seperate rooms..none of this all one room stuff...no worries :)
Love you all dearly! Have a wonderful day tomorrow!
Love from your buddies over here :)
So sorry about not updating this for the past week! Man..time gets away before you know it. Our week was pretty packed between going to school every morning; monday and tuesday afternoon we spent at La Casa De Amistad (a school for kids who´s parents are in jail...one of the most heartbreaking things i´ve ever had to do was walk tiny kids back to jail after school was done to go back to their mom or dad for the night....); monday evening we played horrible volleyball with the church league; tuesday evening we had a surprise good bye party for Ivan who left for Canada; wednesday we were at school in the morning, painted at the seminary, and went to the Mother´s Day service at the church; thursday we were at school for the morning, painting at the seminary at night; friday at school we spent the morning gettting ready for the Mother´s Day celebration at night, left to go painting at the seminary, and then back to the school for the celebration. It was so wonderful to see the kids we´ve been working with in a different light and meet their parents and stuff...
and today we took some time this morning to practice worship for tomorrow (we are leading it for the english service in the morning) and then went to Jireh for their Mother´s day celebration and then to babywashing in the center square, and tonight to the church for a youth meeting.
So yeah...that´s pretty much it in a nutshell...our last three days are pretty full, and just so you know, we are actually leaving cochabamba earlier wednesday to make sure we get our connecting flight to Miami. So we´re leaving around noonish and will have to spend the day in the Santa Cruz airport waiting for our overnight flight.
Oh yeah...and one more thing. we are now sleeping in a hostel across the road. The place we´ve been (the Baptist Center) had been rented out before we got switched to coming here, so we had to move. It´s all good!! and we have seperate rooms..none of this all one room stuff...no worries :)
Love you all dearly! Have a wonderful day tomorrow!
Love from your buddies over here :)
Saturday, May 19, 2007
¡ TITICACA !
Hola everyone,
The reason for our lack of updates for the last few days is due to the fact that we have been in La Paz since Thursday morning. We left early Thursday morning for the highest capital city in the world (La Paz), and the highest salt-water lake in the world (lake Titicaca).
The drive to La Paz was scary, to say the least, we needed to climb to 11000 ft. above sea level up mountains on roads with hairpin turns, broken gaurdrails and memorial crosses everywhere. I was, as always, the most calm and collected member of the group during this terrifying time (by that I mean, I may or may not have passed out a few times... haha). As you can all tell, we did live to tell about it (barely, haha). Dispite the fear which gripped me for the majority of the ride, the view was breathtaking... and after 8 hours of travel we made it to La Paz.
While in La Paz we had the opportunity to visit the local market where we saw the locals and experienced more of the sad truth that Bolivia is the poorest country in South America. We also saw many shops which sold Incan idols, good luck charms, spiritual remedies and dead animals to sacrifice to the earth. We also saw lake Titicaca, where the Bolivians don´t swim (because the lake is sacred), and we got to see some reed boats and the people who live on the lake making boats and goods to sell. The encouraging thing about the natives at lake Titicaca was that the majority of them were evangelical Christians. The influence of the Baptist church in the Titicaca farming areas was huge and we saw several churches in Titicaca.
We are now back in Cochabamba after another long day of travelling and we are preparing for another night of baby washing in the city square followed by young-adults Bible study and fellowship this evening... Anyways, Ivan is here to pick us up, so we are off for now.
Ciao,
- Felipè
The reason for our lack of updates for the last few days is due to the fact that we have been in La Paz since Thursday morning. We left early Thursday morning for the highest capital city in the world (La Paz), and the highest salt-water lake in the world (lake Titicaca).
The drive to La Paz was scary, to say the least, we needed to climb to 11000 ft. above sea level up mountains on roads with hairpin turns, broken gaurdrails and memorial crosses everywhere. I was, as always, the most calm and collected member of the group during this terrifying time (by that I mean, I may or may not have passed out a few times... haha). As you can all tell, we did live to tell about it (barely, haha). Dispite the fear which gripped me for the majority of the ride, the view was breathtaking... and after 8 hours of travel we made it to La Paz.
While in La Paz we had the opportunity to visit the local market where we saw the locals and experienced more of the sad truth that Bolivia is the poorest country in South America. We also saw many shops which sold Incan idols, good luck charms, spiritual remedies and dead animals to sacrifice to the earth. We also saw lake Titicaca, where the Bolivians don´t swim (because the lake is sacred), and we got to see some reed boats and the people who live on the lake making boats and goods to sell. The encouraging thing about the natives at lake Titicaca was that the majority of them were evangelical Christians. The influence of the Baptist church in the Titicaca farming areas was huge and we saw several churches in Titicaca.
We are now back in Cochabamba after another long day of travelling and we are preparing for another night of baby washing in the city square followed by young-adults Bible study and fellowship this evening... Anyways, Ivan is here to pick us up, so we are off for now.
Ciao,
- Felipè
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Hola
...and that´s the beginning of my limited Espaniol. lol. This is Kristen coming to you...finally again to update you all on how we´ve been doing. There´s just so much, but I´ll try to fill you in as best I can.
We are all healthy! Praise the Lord for that! There is nothing worse than puking, pooing and sleeping all day to make for a long one...but as of right now we feel right back to normal. We are heading to La Paz tomorrow which is a few thousand feet higher than we are now, so we are praying that we won´t get altitude sickness in the next few days.
We´ve been at the Baptist school every morning helping with classes any way we can. Ryan´s in love with the kindergarten kids, Phil´s an awesome English teacher, and the rest of us go where we´re needed....or pulled and prodded to go by the children:) We spent yesterday afternoon painting the principal´s office which was an absolute blast! and very encouraging for the principal to have an office that´s now been painted within the last 50 years...
The afternoons are filled however and wherever we can find a place to work. We´ve been to Jire a couple times and just hung out with the kids. It´s a ministry that gives shoeshiner kids and kids that spend more time working than doing school a place to go after school and get help with homework. There are ESL classes at the church Ivan goes to that we sat in and helped one night. The guys went and sang at the six hour praise night that night I was in bed sleeping my grossness away. Saturday we got to go wash babies in the center park. SO cool!!! This missionary couple comes every saturday and sets up a tent with five or so little plastic tubs in it to wash kids in. All the mothers line up with the kids outside and one my one they are taken inside the tent, washed and given new clean clothes and then get milk and bread. It was one of the most incredible things I´ve ever seen done!!!
Amoung our ministry opportunities, Ivan has been introducing us to different aspects of culture by taking us different places. We went and saw the Christo (a massive statue of Jesus that looks out over the city of Cochabamba), he took us to the market and gave us some funky fruit that had the hugest seeds in it EVER..but it tasted good..and if you are ever sick, rumour has it to drink ´coka tea´. That would be tea make out of the leaves from coke plants. Sounds a bit sketchy, but it actually is the natural cure for pretty much everything around here!
I realize this is pretty condensed and not really that detailed, but I hope it gives a bit of an update for you!
Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouraging comments...especially the ones from when we were sick...they were super cute :) Please keep us in your prayers as we head out to La Paz tomorrow till Saturday and as we continue to be seeking and learning new things. There are times it all seems so overwhelming, but we are continually reminded that even though we´re halfway across the world...or is it the whole way??? I don´t know...it´s too late to be thinking....anyway, even though we´re so far from home, God remains the same. He is working just as powerfully here as there and has been holding us just as close as ever.
Love you all in Christ,
Kristen
We are all healthy! Praise the Lord for that! There is nothing worse than puking, pooing and sleeping all day to make for a long one...but as of right now we feel right back to normal. We are heading to La Paz tomorrow which is a few thousand feet higher than we are now, so we are praying that we won´t get altitude sickness in the next few days.
We´ve been at the Baptist school every morning helping with classes any way we can. Ryan´s in love with the kindergarten kids, Phil´s an awesome English teacher, and the rest of us go where we´re needed....or pulled and prodded to go by the children:) We spent yesterday afternoon painting the principal´s office which was an absolute blast! and very encouraging for the principal to have an office that´s now been painted within the last 50 years...
The afternoons are filled however and wherever we can find a place to work. We´ve been to Jire a couple times and just hung out with the kids. It´s a ministry that gives shoeshiner kids and kids that spend more time working than doing school a place to go after school and get help with homework. There are ESL classes at the church Ivan goes to that we sat in and helped one night. The guys went and sang at the six hour praise night that night I was in bed sleeping my grossness away. Saturday we got to go wash babies in the center park. SO cool!!! This missionary couple comes every saturday and sets up a tent with five or so little plastic tubs in it to wash kids in. All the mothers line up with the kids outside and one my one they are taken inside the tent, washed and given new clean clothes and then get milk and bread. It was one of the most incredible things I´ve ever seen done!!!
Amoung our ministry opportunities, Ivan has been introducing us to different aspects of culture by taking us different places. We went and saw the Christo (a massive statue of Jesus that looks out over the city of Cochabamba), he took us to the market and gave us some funky fruit that had the hugest seeds in it EVER..but it tasted good..and if you are ever sick, rumour has it to drink ´coka tea´. That would be tea make out of the leaves from coke plants. Sounds a bit sketchy, but it actually is the natural cure for pretty much everything around here!
I realize this is pretty condensed and not really that detailed, but I hope it gives a bit of an update for you!
Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouraging comments...especially the ones from when we were sick...they were super cute :) Please keep us in your prayers as we head out to La Paz tomorrow till Saturday and as we continue to be seeking and learning new things. There are times it all seems so overwhelming, but we are continually reminded that even though we´re halfway across the world...or is it the whole way??? I don´t know...it´s too late to be thinking....anyway, even though we´re so far from home, God remains the same. He is working just as powerfully here as there and has been holding us just as close as ever.
Love you all in Christ,
Kristen
Friday, May 11, 2007
Hola amigos!
So we finally got the blog to work here, so now you have the sweet luxury of finding out how we are. Pardon my typing, it´s a Spanish keyboard so it´s a little crazy. So we arrived here about 8:30 Wednesday morning and had an opportunity just to relax and get settled in, arriving safely
of course! We pretty much spent the afternoon sleeping, especially me because planes are the most uncomfortable sleep to try and fit 6´-5´body into without getting smoked on the head by people walking by. Yesterday was our first day at the baptist school they have here, and we each had the opportunity to help out and sit in on some classes. Tonight we have a 6 hour worship service we are attending and playing in, so we are pretty excited.
Last night, however, two of the five of us came down with some sickness, and then Kristen our team leader this morning as well. We werent quite sure what it was or is, so if you could pray for health that would be great. Phil is doing ok now, and Dan is still a little under the weather, and Kristen has it quite badly. We talkedf about it and it was strange how we talked last night about splitting the groups up and have Phil and Dan be the translators, and they were the first two to go down creating a problem for the ´language barrier´. Kristen then went down this morning, our team leader...so if you could also pray against the warfare that might be existing here as we do not believe this is coincidence. Ivan, the host here was very considerate and helped the sick ones out through drugs and he got a doctor as well, so it is amazing and we are blessed to have such a great host.
So, we still have a lot ahead of us, and if you could pray for health and safety througout the trip that would be wonderful. We are excited to continue on with things, especially the school we will go to every weekday morning. The language barrier is an obstacle, however the effort and the humility these people have is incredible. We will hopefully be able to continue to update somewhat regularly hoping it continues to work. Thanks fort your prayers and support and thougts already, as they are greatly appreciated! Blessings,
The Missions Team
of course! We pretty much spent the afternoon sleeping, especially me because planes are the most uncomfortable sleep to try and fit 6´-5´body into without getting smoked on the head by people walking by. Yesterday was our first day at the baptist school they have here, and we each had the opportunity to help out and sit in on some classes. Tonight we have a 6 hour worship service we are attending and playing in, so we are pretty excited.
Last night, however, two of the five of us came down with some sickness, and then Kristen our team leader this morning as well. We werent quite sure what it was or is, so if you could pray for health that would be great. Phil is doing ok now, and Dan is still a little under the weather, and Kristen has it quite badly. We talkedf about it and it was strange how we talked last night about splitting the groups up and have Phil and Dan be the translators, and they were the first two to go down creating a problem for the ´language barrier´. Kristen then went down this morning, our team leader...so if you could also pray against the warfare that might be existing here as we do not believe this is coincidence. Ivan, the host here was very considerate and helped the sick ones out through drugs and he got a doctor as well, so it is amazing and we are blessed to have such a great host.
So, we still have a lot ahead of us, and if you could pray for health and safety througout the trip that would be wonderful. We are excited to continue on with things, especially the school we will go to every weekday morning. The language barrier is an obstacle, however the effort and the humility these people have is incredible. We will hopefully be able to continue to update somewhat regularly hoping it continues to work. Thanks fort your prayers and support and thougts already, as they are greatly appreciated! Blessings,
The Missions Team
Monday, May 7, 2007
¡AY CARAMBA!
¡Hola Amigos!
¡Nosotros vamos a Bolivia mañana! Needless to say we are all stoked... right now the team is sitting in my kitchen, we are just relaxing and such before our big flight (as you can see posted below). I think that the greatest excitement that we are feeling is a sense of anticipation with what the Lord is going to do while we are on this trip. After He made the big switch-a-roo from Brazil to Bolivia we began to realize that none of this is really in our hands (which I'm quite thankful for!). I am so excited to be heading off to Bolivia (porque yo prefiero español, jajaja)...
Anyways, I am confident that God will bless our endevours and the He is already beginning to do things that we could never imagine!
"Stand back, look and the nations and watch... and be utterly amazed, for I will do a thing in your days that you would not believe, even if I had already told you!" - GOD [Habakkuk 1:5]
Con mucho amor,
Tu hermano en JesuChristo,
Felipè
¡Nosotros vamos a Bolivia mañana! Needless to say we are all stoked... right now the team is sitting in my kitchen, we are just relaxing and such before our big flight (as you can see posted below). I think that the greatest excitement that we are feeling is a sense of anticipation with what the Lord is going to do while we are on this trip. After He made the big switch-a-roo from Brazil to Bolivia we began to realize that none of this is really in our hands (which I'm quite thankful for!). I am so excited to be heading off to Bolivia (porque yo prefiero español, jajaja)...
Anyways, I am confident that God will bless our endevours and the He is already beginning to do things that we could never imagine!
"Stand back, look and the nations and watch... and be utterly amazed, for I will do a thing in your days that you would not believe, even if I had already told you!" - GOD [Habakkuk 1:5]
Con mucho amor,
Tu hermano en JesuChristo,
Felipè
Flight Itinerary
Well friends, we are leaving on our jet plane tomorrow :) Here's what our days of travel are going to look like:
Leave Toronto Airport at 1:50pm
Arrive at Miami International Airport at 5:00pm
Leave Miami at 11:20pm....sleep on the plane all night :)
Arrive in La Paz at 5:35am
Leave La Paz at 7:00am
Arrive in Cochabamba at 7:35am
...and then we have to go from the airport in Cochabamba to wherever we will be staying...
YAY!!!
So prayers for safe travel for the next lil bit would be fantastic!
Leave Toronto Airport at 1:50pm
Arrive at Miami International Airport at 5:00pm
Leave Miami at 11:20pm....sleep on the plane all night :)
Arrive in La Paz at 5:35am
Leave La Paz at 7:00am
Arrive in Cochabamba at 7:35am
...and then we have to go from the airport in Cochabamba to wherever we will be staying...
YAY!!!
So prayers for safe travel for the next lil bit would be fantastic!
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Romans 8:28-30
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
This has really been in my mind the last couple weeks since school has been finished. God predestined all in this world to be like his Son, and in the end we are all to be blessed in the glory of the Almighty. Pray that those kids who are with their parents in jail, and those parents witness the glory, that the kids shining shoes witness the glory, that the mothers with the little babies witness the glory...Luke 1:37 says that NOTHING is impossible with God. We know that we can do all things through him who strengthens me...so let's pray that we can have the courage and the strength in Christ to witness to these people the glory of the Father, if we plant the mustard seed, I truly have faith and believe that God can do the rest.
I want to be the hands and feet of Christ, and we are going to Bolivia as a part of the whole body so that this nation may experience the love and truth of Christ. God is mighty to save! Let's pray that the people we see are glorified in Christ....God is great!!
This has really been in my mind the last couple weeks since school has been finished. God predestined all in this world to be like his Son, and in the end we are all to be blessed in the glory of the Almighty. Pray that those kids who are with their parents in jail, and those parents witness the glory, that the kids shining shoes witness the glory, that the mothers with the little babies witness the glory...Luke 1:37 says that NOTHING is impossible with God. We know that we can do all things through him who strengthens me...so let's pray that we can have the courage and the strength in Christ to witness to these people the glory of the Father, if we plant the mustard seed, I truly have faith and believe that God can do the rest.
I want to be the hands and feet of Christ, and we are going to Bolivia as a part of the whole body so that this nation may experience the love and truth of Christ. God is mighty to save! Let's pray that the people we see are glorified in Christ....God is great!!
Techy note
Ok folks. I realize I'm not a techy sort of person by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm pretty sure the problem of you not being able to comment is fixed now! yay! If you would like to leave us a message, just comment on a blog. I changed the settings so anyone can comment now...I'm sorry that I didn't figure it out sooner for all you who tried and were rejected. *sheepish grin* And thanks to you who complained and brought it to my attention. So if you don't have a google or blog address, you can simply post anonymous and sign your name, if that's ok with ya'll... :) Thanks. Let me know if there's anything else we can do to make this better for you--our faithful readers and supporters.
:)
:)
Work we will be doing in Bolivia...
I love this. I'm just so excited to be leaving in three sleeps! yay!!!
A question keeps coming up which I decided maybe I should address for everyone to know: now that we are going to Bolivia, what are we going to be doing??? Well!!! Let me let you know what I know at this point :)
The plan as we know it is that we will be working in a school in the mornings. We have been asked to do devotions with the students every day, teach a music class, help with teaching English and play sports with the children. We have also been asked to lead the English worship services and Josh gets the opportunity to do some preaching.
In the afternoons we will be doing something different. CBM has a program called Casa de la Amistad that we may work at. The idea is that when a parent goes to jail and no one is around to care for the children, they go with their parents to jail. Casa de la Amistad takes the children out of the prison each day and delivers a holistic ministry program--nutritious meals, games, medical and dental check-ups and spiritual guidence. Older children receive after-school tutoring and learn skills such as carpentry, baking and sewing.
There are also children who do shoe-shining to make money who we will get to work with.
I think the thing I am personally looking forward to doing is something called baby washing. Mothers from rural areas come into town once a week to wash their babies in the middle of the town. ....I just think this is the coolest idea ever!!!
So this is a little bit of what we may be doing during out time. We have been told that there are many service opportunities and are more than willing to wait and see what else God has ready for us.
A question keeps coming up which I decided maybe I should address for everyone to know: now that we are going to Bolivia, what are we going to be doing??? Well!!! Let me let you know what I know at this point :)
The plan as we know it is that we will be working in a school in the mornings. We have been asked to do devotions with the students every day, teach a music class, help with teaching English and play sports with the children. We have also been asked to lead the English worship services and Josh gets the opportunity to do some preaching.
In the afternoons we will be doing something different. CBM has a program called Casa de la Amistad that we may work at. The idea is that when a parent goes to jail and no one is around to care for the children, they go with their parents to jail. Casa de la Amistad takes the children out of the prison each day and delivers a holistic ministry program--nutritious meals, games, medical and dental check-ups and spiritual guidence. Older children receive after-school tutoring and learn skills such as carpentry, baking and sewing.
There are also children who do shoe-shining to make money who we will get to work with.
I think the thing I am personally looking forward to doing is something called baby washing. Mothers from rural areas come into town once a week to wash their babies in the middle of the town. ....I just think this is the coolest idea ever!!!
So this is a little bit of what we may be doing during out time. We have been told that there are many service opportunities and are more than willing to wait and see what else God has ready for us.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
St. Patrick's Prayer
Christ beside me, Christ before me;
Christ behind me, Christ within me;
Christ beneath me, Christ above me;
Christ to right of me, Christ to left of me;
Christ in my lying, my sitting, my rising;
Christ in heart of all who know me,
Christ on tongue of all who meet me,
Christ in eye of all who see me,
Christ in ear of all who hear me.
This was recited at our commissioning service on Tuesday, and may it be true of every brother and sister, whether going away or staying home.
Christ behind me, Christ within me;
Christ beneath me, Christ above me;
Christ to right of me, Christ to left of me;
Christ in my lying, my sitting, my rising;
Christ in heart of all who know me,
Christ on tongue of all who meet me,
Christ in eye of all who see me,
Christ in ear of all who hear me.
This was recited at our commissioning service on Tuesday, and may it be true of every brother and sister, whether going away or staying home.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
HANDS AND FEET
So...this morning was one of those. Y'know, where the alarm goes off, you look hoping that maybe really you've been sleeping for longer than you really have. Maybe the clock will change with a second look. Turns out it doesnt...hahah. It was a rough one. For my Bolivian team mates, you ought to know right now that I am not a morning person. Hahaha so you have a week to think of a strategy to stay away!! Just kidding...I'm not that terrible. ANYWAYS....clocks. I wanted to go have some Jesus time, but the bed was so comfy. Jesus time...bed....Jesus time...bed....Jesus time it was. Something was just nudging me, giving me that extra lift to get out of bed that I needed - from there I knew it was going to be a great day. Slip on some shorts, the sun is out, and all is well with my soul!
So I had one of those mornings in church too. Phase in....phase out....phase in....phase out. Mhmm...the ones where everyone around you probably knows your doing it and want to give you a swift elbow, but know that on a Sunday morning in a church....it is neither the place nor the time. Breath in, breath out, in their case. But really, this morning was one like none other. I mean...CAKE AT A CHURCH?!!!! YAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! But I didn't even eat any. So our pastor today was talking about loving God with all our hearts and loving our neighbours the same way. One of those topics you expect a guilt trip from. (In a reverend Lovejoy like manner): 'Dear fellow believers...HOW MUCH HAVE YOU LOVED TODAY?'
But really, now the serious-non-rambling part of things. It started with the song "Hands and Feet" by Audio Adrenaline. I wasnt really thinking anything of it, I knew the song bla bla bla. BUT...then that ever so unexpected nudge comes; well, more of a slap. "Dan, are you even paying attention to what you are singing?!" "I wanna be your hands, I wanna be your feet, I'll go where you send me..." Wait a minute...holy cow I'm leaving for Braz...wait....Bolivia in 9 days!!! This song my friends had a new meaning to it. And from then on, everything else spoke the most clarity to me then I have had in awhile. It is one of those things where you can try to articulate it in a way that you will try to explain exactly what the feeling was...but it will NEVER work. It's a good feeling though. Like one of comfort and re-affirmation, and certainty that this is exactly right and it has been all along. Two scriptures: Acts 1:1-8 I believe and 2:42-47. Read 'em over and understand this:
-we live in a "Good Friday" world (pain, rejection, suffering, evil, etc)
-BUT...the church is the "pioneer outpost" of the new world
-God is not a God of limits, he'll reach those who are spiritually hungry through any means
So friends, I understand it like this. The church is the whole, worldly body of believers. We are the beginning of the world to come, and our constant desire and longing is to worship God and live for him forever. We know how rewarding it is, but many people dont. They have the Good Friday world, and deserve jsut as much as us, to be part of the pioneer outpost. In Acts 1:5 Luke writes that the church was baptized with the Holy Spirit - the guiding tool for our lives, the discerner for us for life. He re-affirms that in verse 8. Now, 2:42-47 is where we ought to be. Devoted and praising God, and Luke says that God will add daily those who will be saved. This whole service this morning was an eye-opener for me. We planned so long to go to Brazil, then as Kristen said, 15 days ago we find out it is changed. It's one of those things where you have faith that it's all in God's plan, but at the same time you kind of say "God, do you think you could let us know ASAP what we're doing? Oh, and p.s. ...your a trickster." We always know God is with us, yet there was still a little bit of uncertainty, at least with me. I was still cool and ok with whatever worked out, but this morning everything became crystal clear. Words cant describe, but I know everything worked out, and will work out, and I just cant wait to see what God reveals to us!! I believe when we arrive, within the first couple days we are there, we'll get that little backside nudge and whisper that says, "told ya you were needed here instead." And I fully trust in that. God is great and what more can I say?
Perhaps, readers, this is why I rambled so long about so many ridiculous things. I hope this makes a little sense - but I think the knowing of I am never going to find a way to fully explain it contributed to the randomness and weirdness of this post. All I know in the end is that, Christianity is a lifestyle that God has called us to share with the nations, and Bolivia is the nation we are called to. They said that much of the country claims to be Roman Catholic, however the lack of clergy ends up leading to a mix with the Amerindian and other religions - so there is a need. God says 'go and make disciples of all nations', and the 5 of us have been chosen together to do that. I know God will work through us and in us, and as we continue to learn and grow together about the trip and each other - this process will be incredible! Blessings friends and family in Christ,
Dan
So I had one of those mornings in church too. Phase in....phase out....phase in....phase out. Mhmm...the ones where everyone around you probably knows your doing it and want to give you a swift elbow, but know that on a Sunday morning in a church....it is neither the place nor the time. Breath in, breath out, in their case. But really, this morning was one like none other. I mean...CAKE AT A CHURCH?!!!! YAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! But I didn't even eat any. So our pastor today was talking about loving God with all our hearts and loving our neighbours the same way. One of those topics you expect a guilt trip from. (In a reverend Lovejoy like manner): 'Dear fellow believers...HOW MUCH HAVE YOU LOVED TODAY?'
But really, now the serious-non-rambling part of things. It started with the song "Hands and Feet" by Audio Adrenaline. I wasnt really thinking anything of it, I knew the song bla bla bla. BUT...then that ever so unexpected nudge comes; well, more of a slap. "Dan, are you even paying attention to what you are singing?!" "I wanna be your hands, I wanna be your feet, I'll go where you send me..." Wait a minute...holy cow I'm leaving for Braz...wait....Bolivia in 9 days!!! This song my friends had a new meaning to it. And from then on, everything else spoke the most clarity to me then I have had in awhile. It is one of those things where you can try to articulate it in a way that you will try to explain exactly what the feeling was...but it will NEVER work. It's a good feeling though. Like one of comfort and re-affirmation, and certainty that this is exactly right and it has been all along. Two scriptures: Acts 1:1-8 I believe and 2:42-47. Read 'em over and understand this:
-we live in a "Good Friday" world (pain, rejection, suffering, evil, etc)
-BUT...the church is the "pioneer outpost" of the new world
-God is not a God of limits, he'll reach those who are spiritually hungry through any means
So friends, I understand it like this. The church is the whole, worldly body of believers. We are the beginning of the world to come, and our constant desire and longing is to worship God and live for him forever. We know how rewarding it is, but many people dont. They have the Good Friday world, and deserve jsut as much as us, to be part of the pioneer outpost. In Acts 1:5 Luke writes that the church was baptized with the Holy Spirit - the guiding tool for our lives, the discerner for us for life. He re-affirms that in verse 8. Now, 2:42-47 is where we ought to be. Devoted and praising God, and Luke says that God will add daily those who will be saved. This whole service this morning was an eye-opener for me. We planned so long to go to Brazil, then as Kristen said, 15 days ago we find out it is changed. It's one of those things where you have faith that it's all in God's plan, but at the same time you kind of say "God, do you think you could let us know ASAP what we're doing? Oh, and p.s. ...your a trickster." We always know God is with us, yet there was still a little bit of uncertainty, at least with me. I was still cool and ok with whatever worked out, but this morning everything became crystal clear. Words cant describe, but I know everything worked out, and will work out, and I just cant wait to see what God reveals to us!! I believe when we arrive, within the first couple days we are there, we'll get that little backside nudge and whisper that says, "told ya you were needed here instead." And I fully trust in that. God is great and what more can I say?
Perhaps, readers, this is why I rambled so long about so many ridiculous things. I hope this makes a little sense - but I think the knowing of I am never going to find a way to fully explain it contributed to the randomness and weirdness of this post. All I know in the end is that, Christianity is a lifestyle that God has called us to share with the nations, and Bolivia is the nation we are called to. They said that much of the country claims to be Roman Catholic, however the lack of clergy ends up leading to a mix with the Amerindian and other religions - so there is a need. God says 'go and make disciples of all nations', and the 5 of us have been chosen together to do that. I know God will work through us and in us, and as we continue to learn and grow together about the trip and each other - this process will be incredible! Blessings friends and family in Christ,
Dan
Saturday, April 28, 2007
The Change
Why the change from Brazil to Bolivia?? We've been preparing for this trip since before Christmas, meeting every week as a team to have fun and plan together and just to pray, and almost had everything in place. Then our visa applications came back in the mail. In order to enter Brazil, you need a visa and our applications were rejected. This was in the middle of exams, 15 days before our leaving date. My first thought was that we don't have time for this!! We got on the phone and did what we could to get things straightened out, and then waited, not knowing if we would be able to go. We prayed and sent out prayer requests and had a bunch of people at school praying for us!
CBM, the organization we are going with, worked hard to sort things out, talking first to the consulate in Toronto and then in Ottawa. Then we received word that we were no longer going to Brazil. There was no way we would get our visas in time. This was kind of dissapointing. We don't know why this happend or why God chose to close this door, however, when God closes one door, He always opens another. CBM switched us over to a missionary in Bolivia!!! So even though we aren't going where we expected to go, God still has it in His plan for us to be going. So we are still in the midst of changing flights and finding out the difference in work and everything. This is such an exciting change because Phil speaks fluent spanish and Dan speaks some and understands alot of it, so language won't even be as big of a barrier!
Thank you so much for all your prayers and support through these last months. If all goes as planned from here on out, we will be heading out in 10 sleeps :) and would love your continued prayers! May God bless each of you as you follow in His ways, no matter where or how He leads. I just find it so inspiring that even in the planning stages of this trip, God has found us worthy of being tested and tried. It's so easy to assume that all change and challenge will happen while out there, but God is in every stage of the journey. May you all find rest and peace in Christ.
Love in Christ, Kristen
CBM, the organization we are going with, worked hard to sort things out, talking first to the consulate in Toronto and then in Ottawa. Then we received word that we were no longer going to Brazil. There was no way we would get our visas in time. This was kind of dissapointing. We don't know why this happend or why God chose to close this door, however, when God closes one door, He always opens another. CBM switched us over to a missionary in Bolivia!!! So even though we aren't going where we expected to go, God still has it in His plan for us to be going. So we are still in the midst of changing flights and finding out the difference in work and everything. This is such an exciting change because Phil speaks fluent spanish and Dan speaks some and understands alot of it, so language won't even be as big of a barrier!
Thank you so much for all your prayers and support through these last months. If all goes as planned from here on out, we will be heading out in 10 sleeps :) and would love your continued prayers! May God bless each of you as you follow in His ways, no matter where or how He leads. I just find it so inspiring that even in the planning stages of this trip, God has found us worthy of being tested and tried. It's so easy to assume that all change and challenge will happen while out there, but God is in every stage of the journey. May you all find rest and peace in Christ.
Love in Christ, Kristen
Dear friends and family
This is Dan, Phil, Ryan, Josh and Kristen coming to you to keep you up to date with what's going on as we prepare for our mission trip, and as we are over there. We are now 10 days away from leaving for Bolivia--and yes, we all thought up until a few days ago we would be heading to Brazil (hence the beautiful Brazil shirts and flag in our team picture:), but God has a different plan for us. This blog was created for you--our dear loved ones we are leaving for a short time--so that while we are away, you will be able to keep track of what and how we are doing. All five of us should be able to post on here to update you (...that's if I did this right:S). This way I sort of figure, you can read what you'd like, and it makes it more interesting for you, the reader, to read. So....enjoy.
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