books

Hi friends!

Throughout this new journey, I have been the first to admit that I have lots to learn about missions, development, Latin American culture, women's ministry, and the list goes on. God has a great way of continually humbling me in all these areas. 

This past month, I read some great books that I wanted to recommend for anyone else interested in similar topics and share a few quotes that inspired me. Thanks to all for your recommendations! 

  

1. Serving with Eyes Wide Open- David Livermore (Doing Short-term Missions with Cultural Intelligence)

We have been so influenced by science and the comforts of life in the West that the miracles of Jesus often seem like a first century phenomenon rather than reality for today.

Missions is about giving people a living picture of who God is, what he cares about, and how he acts.

As we understand the people God has made in cultures all over the world, we're drawn to worship him.

2. Half the Sky- Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn (Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide)

Education and empowerment training can show girls that femininity does not entail docility, and can nurture assertiveness so that girls and women stand up for themselves.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) summed up the mounting research this way: “Women’s empowerment helps raise economic productivity and reduce infant mortality. It contributes to improved health and nutrition. It increases the chances of education for the next generation.”

3. When Helping Hurts- Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert (How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor... and Yourself)

Indeed, the very nature of the question—What gifts do you have?—affirms people’s dignity and contributes to the process of overcoming their poverty of being. And as they tell us of their gifts and abilities, we can start to see them as God does, helping us to overcome our sense of superiority; that is, our own poverty of being.

God has indeed placed good gifts into every community. While sin has brought enormous brokenness, Christ has been sustaining all of creation—including culture—since the dawn of time and is in the process of reconciling all of it.

4. The Hole in Our Gospel- Richard Stearns (The Answer that Changed My Life and Might just Change the World)

There should be a balance of internal and external ministry. When our churches become spiritual spas in which we retreat from the world, our salt loses its saltiness, and we are no longer able to impact the culture. 

We tend to drift away from God's bold vision, replacing it with a safer, tamer vision of our own.

God can't give you the blessings he has for you until you first put down the other things you are clutching in your hands.

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The most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God. 

Carrying our this social relief work involves far more than helping meet the bare needs of poor Christians. It also produces abundant and bountiful thanksgivings to God. 

2 Corinthians 9:10-11 MSG

48 hours at Oasis

Most students here go to school in the morning or afternoon. The morning session lets out before lunch and the kids from this rural town scurry back into the streets. Back into their world. When your parents work long hours in the field, you are trusted to be responsible for your siblings the rest of the day. You get around by foot or bike and are fearless to roam for whatever you may need. There's pretty good accountability in small towns, but there are also lots of potential dangers to encounter at a young age.

Left on your own after school, what do you eat for lunch?  It is likely that you do not have a kitchen or even electricity at home to warm up some leftovers. To satisfy the immediate hunger, you pull out a few pesos for some chips and a coke at the market. If there are no parents home, who is going to ensure that you do your homework? Who will come watch your soccer game? Who will know that you aren't being lured into the temptations of the streets such as vandalism, stealing or drugs? 

Oasis will. Just as the name describes, this is a place of protection for kids in Vicente Guerrero.  I wrote a bit about this program (here) after spending a week in the town this summer. Across the street from the Baja Missions church,  the vision began from the members there, and is now beginning it's fourth year as an after (or before) school program for kids of all ages. We had the opportunity to help with various projects at Oasis a couple days this week, and I loved getting to see it fill up with precious hearts and contagious laughter.

Oasis is a Christian environment that provides a safe place for kids to learn, grow and be loved. They have teachers that help with homework and provide various classes such as Bible, English, computer, or music. Oasis provides a hot nutritional meal, which may be the only one they eat all day. They talk about dreams and encourage children to pursue their passions.  They play, form friendships and have mentors that desire to guide them along good paths.

This great place was started by our friend, Karly Dallas, a native from North Carolina who moved down with big dreams, a bigger heart, and huge trust in God to create and sustain this program. Karly meets with parents upon their child's enrollment and gets to know each child and where they come from. A Spanish and Psychology major from Pepperdine, she reasons with the children out of love and has fostered this program's continued growth each year. She fights for justice and equality for the migrant workers and their families by seeing that the children receive adequate education in fulfillment of their often discriminated rights.  The list goes on and on in the many ways that she is a light to this community!

It is so fun to be at this place and absorb the growth that is taking place each day.  Please pray for Karly, her staff and all the lives they will touch as they kick off a new school year.

We are so thankful to be friends of Oasis and wish many more great days to come!   

daily desperation

I have safely returned to Ensenada from a great trip back home (Gracias a Dios!). Slowly hit with reverse culture shock upon arrival in Nashville, the phrase that kept ringing in my mind was our daily desperation for Jesus. All of my life, I have never been desperate for primary needs such as shelter, food, water, health or even emotional and spiritual ones such as loving relationships or a church family. Wow. Even to type that is such a blessing. Riding on our various comforts in life, I have been so easily blinded to the daily desperation we have for Jesus each and every day.  Yes, we cry out to Him as our Lord when we face a disaster, loss or sickness and we trust in Him as our Savior that will be there to meet us when its all said and done but what about right now? What about when we are so blessed to go through each day with minimal worries and often allow the devil to fill up our thoughts with unneeded stress and negativity?  He reminds me that even we are too distracted to notice, we are just as desperate for Him.

As I have shared with many of you, something I love so much about the Christian faith here in Mexico is that the plan making is left up to God. Meaning that the conversations go something like this: "In December I am going to visit my relatives if God wants" or "If God allows, we plan to be there on Saturday." Also, when you thank someone for a meal a common response is "Thanks be to God."  The first few times I heard these phrases they stopped my continually churning brain to look up and say- "Yes, God. It is you."

It is He who controls all that we are. He created us and knows each one of our days to come. As we often reflect on having too many possessions, I am challenged by the reality that the excessive planning and striving may point to some doubt that HE is not enough. How often do we equate enough by having enough stuff? Enough money, enough qualifications on our resume, enough clothes, enough food? In my few years of life, I can testify that each of these things will never last. The money runs out, someone else is always more qualified, the styles are always changing faster than the seasons, and when we think we don't have enough food there's usually a full pantry and fridge full. Why are we striving so hard to keep up with the ways of the world?

It is all about perspective. Jesus is just as alive today on Earth as he was 2,000 years ago. May we continually strive to fix our eyes on His goodness and fall before Him in daily desperation as our Creator, Friend, Provider, Defender and True Love. Through this, may our "have tos" become "get tos" and our reactions in all situations be filled with His praise.

He is living in us, fighting for us and more than capable to provide for us. Let us rejoice in who God is and trust that He is enough! His grace is sufficient. His mercy reigns. We are desperate for Him. We are desperate for His spirit. A resource that will never run dry. Thank you Jesus!

The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. 

Isaiah 58:11