la bloga de brock

good day

2012-01-21T21:35:00.003-05:00

after experiencing the strongest earthquake i have felt here (the house was rocking, fridge and tables shaking, everything rattling, dogs going crazy!), it ended up being a great day.

we had our mandatory parents meeting for all 30 rhinos to kick off the 2012 year of the academy. it was an exciting night, great to see all the boys (including 6 new faces) who all expressed their excitement to get started again on monday. we had lots of positive feedback from parents, which comes as an encouragement since we've received some negative attacks lately...

looking forward to monday. we have new indoor shoes, cleats, hygiene kits, etc to give the boys. we're initiating some new changes into the program this year, all intended to help the boys love each other better - be better teammates and friends. we've only been off since christmas, but it seems like its been forever! i can't wait to get going again...

berter, my bro, and the great physician

2012-01-17T22:15:00.003-05:00

me, mynor and anthony were walking around today letting all 30 rhinos know about the parent meeting for this saturday. when we walked by our friends anna & berter's house (12x12 house, 3 precious boys, long history with this family) we noticed there were tons of people in their yard, mostly crying. turns out berter, the dad, following the death of their 4 month old a couple months ago, had a stroke and has been in bed ever since. (crazy they never told us.) we went inside. he had just had a 2nd stroke, and half his body is paralyzed and he cant talk. he looked disabled and deformed.

we surrounded him and prayed over him as he cried and mumbled. he looked into my eyes intently - i have never seen eyes so desperate. when we got home we called a doctor who i just went down and met at their house. he said his blood pressure is dangerously low and he needs immediate attention. it is likely he could die or be paralyzed for life. when he said the exams (just to find out what we're dealing with) could be anywhere from $400 to $500, the family just cried. they said "that is impossible, there is nothing we'll ever be able to do."

i told them about my brother chad, and that i had just received a donation from him that was designated to help someone sick. unbelievable. they rejoiced, praised God, cried, hugged, thanked, and prayed. tomorrow we're taking him to get tests done. please join us in praying for the best. we already know that our God is the Great Physician and he holds it all in his hands.

of course i could have blogged this story, sent it out to people and asked for help. but the urgency would have made the wait super tough. if he has the slightest stroke in the next 24 hours, doc said he will almost certainly die. plus the fact that the check had already been sent gave God all of the glory in that moment! just crazy. as often as God does these amazing things, i still get blown away every time! unbelievable stuff. so thankful that people listen and obey the Spirit. awesome, awesome, awesome.

tomorrow we take berter in for tests. pray for him... i will keep you posted.

"only if you become his dads"

2012-01-14T22:43:00.006-05:00

not a quote you here everyday.

Melsar is one of our new Rhinos starting the boys academy this year. we were visiting with his grandma today, explaining that he had made the team and that we would like for him to begin at the academy.

Melsar is an orphan. his mom and dad abandoned him when he was 25 days old, dropped him off with grandma and never came back.

as Mynor explained what we do at the academy (teach the bible, education, values and soccer)... grandma responded:

"i will allow Melsar to enroll in the academy, if you promise me to become his dads." she went on to say how thankful she is, and that she believes this is the opportunity that God has been waiting to give Melsar.

i think it is too.

so excited to have him in the program, and in our home every day.

Juana and my mom's birthday present

2012-01-11T23:48:00.000-05:00

this morning, as mark and i were walking a group of friends around buena vista on a little tour, my friend greg asked if there are any 12x12 houses we could show them. we happened to be standing right in front of the entrance into Dona Juana's house, so i said sure - lets go visit Juana and you guys can see a "before" and "after", since their old cornstalk home is still up, being used as a kitchen.

Juana is an elderly widow, no parents, kids, brothers, sisters, aunts or uncles. she has no one. in the last stages of cancer, she battles with chronic pain. her skin is being eaten away, and her nose has literally fallen off of her face.

when we found her, she was on her porch in tears. she was having a terrible day. she was banging on her head with her hands, saying the pain wont stop. she began crying out to God, "please just come and take me home". it was as miserable as i had ever seen her.

a week or two ago, i had gotten an email from my dad, saying that my mom had asked him for a unique gift for her birthday. instead of a present, she asked if he would "send brock some money to start a 'Dona Juana Fund' that could be used as needed for medicine."

as Juana was crying, scratching her body, and banging her head... i remembered the fund. i called Dr. Carlos and asked if he could come out and treat her. he arrived right away, cleaned out her nose, gave her a shot for pain, and started her on a 5 day antibiotic treatment.

when i got home, it struck me that today - january 11 - is my moms birthday.

francisco's tears

2012-01-06T00:11:00.003-05:00

today we went out to meet the hernandez family. our friends the moreaus are in town with us, and they wanted to meet the family that they had sponsored with their fundraiser for a "home for christmas."

when we got there, i was asking francisco (the father) some questions about his life, trying to get to know him. i was not expecting what i heard.

when francisco was 9 years old he watched his parents be burned to death during the guatemala civil war. he was left with no one other than his grandma, who dropped him off at an orphanage that had just been opened by some american missionaries.

francisco grew up from that point on with 300 other orphaned kids. he credits the "north americans" for saving his life.

tonight, as he cried, he said that God had once again sent north americans to "save his family." he said he knows that God continues to rescue him. as i put my arm around him, i watched a tear fall from his cheek to the ground. i could only imagine how difficult francisco's journey has been, and that it had led to this moment, to these tears.

it was a sweet time together as we prayed for francisco and his family. the beginning of another special friendship... between the hernandez family and the moreau's, and with our family as well.

Milagros and her family need prayers and help

2011-12-31T01:10:00.004-05:00

while christmas eve was one of the most fun days i've enjoyed in quite some time with friends and family, it was just the opposite for our friend Milagros and her family. you may remember Milagros... i have blogged about her in the past. we helped her through a tough time a couple years ago when she needed some serious medical attention.

on christmas eve, her husband was robbed and murdered - shot 5 times in the chest.

we walked to the village of Tablon today with the Schmidt's, and a team visiting from memphis, to visit Milagros and her family. together we were able to give her a donation to help off-set some costs they have incurred (burial, morgue, etc). but the needs for this family are just beginning.

PLEASE read more at mark & gina's blog, watch the video mark posted, consider helping out, and most importantly pray for Milagros and her precious family.

"true religion... to look after orphans and widows in their distress..." James 1:27

the gift of friends

2011-12-25T22:19:00.004-05:00

hope you are having a great christmas!

our last couple weeks have been memorable to say the least. we have our dear friends the harmons in town and we have tried to pack as much into 10 days as possible! in addition to quick overnight trips to mynor's coffee plantation and monterico beach, we have had end of season tournaments, ceremonies, and christmas parties for the 30 boys currently in the boy's academy... we have given out dozens of christmas gift "food baskets" to people in need... and yesterday we had the privilege of sharing the news to 21 families that they would be receiving a new home soon thanks the "home for christmas" campaign through the 12x12 love project! finally, last night we had a big christmas party with all of the deepStream families serving together here in guatemala.

for us this christmas we feel especially blessed that the deepStream family in guatemala continues to grow. last night (christmas eve) amidst games, laughs, and fun, it was easy to be thankful for this blessing. while many christmas gifts are temporal, the gift of christian family is eternal. serving together, living, journeying, working, laughing together... are gifts that will never grow old.

we love you all. we miss you all. we appreciate so much your friendship, support, and prayers.

feliz navidad!!

Doña Juana

2011-12-15T23:13:00.003-05:00

our family has become close with Doña Juana. she doesn't know her age (probably 70-80). she doesn't know any of her living relatives. she is in late stages of cancer, it is literally eating away her flesh (she doesn't have a nose). she lives in the home of one of the families we have built a home for through the 12x12 Love Project, in exchange for watching their kids while they work.

Juana cried hard today as we visited. Kerrie gave her a pair of "fuzzy crocs" to warm her feet, and a nice warm under armour sweater. denea gave her a food basket full of food and goodies from the students of "converge on campus".

she cried, quoted scripture, and shared her heart. most memorable was her quote from matthew 25 when she said "the bible says that what you have done for the least of these, you have done for Jesus... today you have done something very special for Jesus."

it struck me later that night that i have always read matthew 25 from the perspective that i am the one being commanded to love and help the poor... and that Doña Juana reads the same passage from the perspective that she is the poor.

it is a simple yet incredible fact, that in moment such as these - taking care of people that are in need - the scriptures are being fulfilled, lives are being changed, and Jesus himself is receiving the glory.

worse than a widow

2011-12-11T21:44:00.007-05:00

that is what she said... "i am worse than a widow."

she didn't say it in a way that wanted attention, or hoped for any response. she was just saying how she felt.

i have blogged about enrique before. one of our rhinos, he is a precious kid with an unimaginably difficult life. his dad is an abusive alcoholic and his mom works ridiculous hours to take care of the family.

his mom has never asked us for anything. in fact, the only times she has ever walked up to the academy is when we host parent meetings. hesitant and embarrassed, she knocked at the door tonight.

she apologized for the "bother." was clearly nervous. i tried my best to put her at ease. she began to share...

they are completely broke, in debt, and desperate. they have no food. they owe money to the tienda, who has been allowing them to buy food on an "tab" to be paid later. on her last trip to the tienda, they told her they couldn't allow it to continue.

enrique wants to continue studying next year, but there is no way they can afford it. (the only costs are the uniform and school supplies).

that's when she said it. "my husband... all he does is drink. he takes the money i earn for the family, and uses it to get drunk every single day. what am i supposed to do? i work long hours to take care of my children, but he steals the money i earn. he is hurting us. i believe that i am worse off than a widow."

my eyes filled with tears. i asked her what all she owed, and told her we would share her need and do all we can.

enrique will be here tomorrow, like always, for class and practice. he will have his typical sweet smile on his face. this week, his team is walking through the village, giving out food and cookies to their neighbors. knowing enrique, he will do this with joy in his heart, despite the overwhelming needs in his own home.

--------------------

if anyone feels led to help enrique's mom, please send me an email at brockadamjohnson@gmail.com or you can donate through our website here. here are their current needs:

- $270 to the local tienda for their last 3 months for food.
- $75 to cover all costs for the 2012 school year
- any additional donations will be used to buy food for their family

opportunities in sufferings

2011-12-01T00:55:00.010-05:00

a few weeks ago we were elated (a little shocked, but elated!) to find out that kerrie was pregnant. we shared the news with a few people, and began to really get excited about the thought of having another baby. needless to say, our kids were bouncing off the walls ecstatic (i was too!). a few nights ago, kerrie started bleeding and cramping, and sensed that something was wrong. at a doctor's office monday morning, we confirmed that she had miscarried. as if the bad news wasn't enough, this miserable day had just begun. following a couple hours of tears, letting the kids know, and making some arrangements, kerrie had to have an uncomfortable procedure to clean out the remaining placenta... and after 7 hours in a hospital came a bill that we couldn't afford.

very strange to experience such joy followed by such sadness....

we've had a few days to take it in, share as a family, pray, and think. while i consider myself a faith-led person, i have tendencies to be a practical thinker... so i kept trying to figure out why God was taking us through this trial. what can i learn, and how can i grow through this? i wondered if this experience was to help us, especially kerrie, better relate to the many local women who miscarry or lose their newborns. i also wondered if God allowed kerrie's body to reject the pregnancy because it knew something was wrong.

while either or both of those scenarios could be true, in my own quiet time with the Lord i was able to reach a different conclusion. phillipians 4 is so good. most christians know the reference to the "peace of God that transcends all understanding." but guess what allows us to know this amazing peace? its when we rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS, and we are thankful in ALL situations - including the toughest ones. immediately following this verse, paul shares how he has learned to be content in all circumstances... wonderful and miserable.

i have realized that i dont need to know Gods reasons why, as long as i am willing to seek him and grow. strangely, this tragedy has helped our family know God a little bit better. it has helped us strive for contentedness and peace in a tough circumstance. it has made us a little bit more dependent on Him. that alone makes it totally worth it.

over the last 10 years or so of taking God's word seriously, the very biblical idea of joy in suffering has been a mysterious concept that we've been pursuing. honestly, i don't feel like we suffer much at all. in fact, when i compare "where we live", "what we do", and "what we're sacrificing" to the examples given in the bible, i always feel like total B team! i have a friend named Cesar who puts me in my place in this department as well - taking joy in suffering to another level.

but i am learning something. situations such as the one we recently experienced are actually "opportunities". they are opportunities to suffer with joy in a way that can bring glory to our Lord Jesus. they are opportunities that help us prepare for greater sufferings that may come our way. and they are chances for us to gain the Lord's trust in permitting us to suffer for his glory time and time again...

my prayers this week have been riskier than normal (if that even makes sense with an all knowing God!). i am praying for God to trust me with greater suffering. i love God's word... it saved my life! so i am clinging to the constant and mysterious strand throughout scripture where God uses sufferings to glorify himself. all of the saints, the biblical heroes, suffered. they considered it joy to be counted worthy. they realized that their Savior is glorified best through their sufferings.

From Romans 5, The Message:
There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!

happy thanksgiving

2011-11-24T23:40:00.005-05:00

happy thanksgiving everyone!

we had a great one. spent the morning handing out food baskets to 14 families. they were donated from a family in the U.S. what this family does is donate food baskets to families in need, then for christmas gifts for their own friends & family, they send out a picture of the guatemalan family who received the basket. the christmas card says "this family in need received a basket of food in your name."

how beautiful is that? we've been talking a lot lately about using the christmas season as a time to rebel against the machine of consumerism and instead help those who are suffering around the world. i think this example of doing just that is awesome.

the only thing i wish is that the families receiving the cards & photos could be there when we give the food. to see the faces, hear the stories, and receive the hugs. our morning was full of special moments and it was quite obvious that God used these baskets to help some people in very specifically tough situations. one of which is Maria (pictured here), a single mom struggling to take care of her 5 children.

after that, we got together on this beautiful sunny day with the steeds, leivas, schmidts, and bunsos. mark's brother matt and his family are also in town, and their friend rodri as well. we enjoyed a meal, soccer, football, and hanging out together.

pretty close to a perfect day.

girls share about cesar

2011-11-10T23:45:00.004-05:00

blogging from savannah, GA... we are here for "Faith Promise", a week celebrating the mission work done around the world that is supported by savannah christian church. i was blessed to have a chance to share our story, and about the Rhinos, at their main campus last night. i am thankful and humbled to have had that opportunity.

and my daughters madi (14) and brooke (13) had a chance to share about Cesar with over 400 students at "blitz"! blitz is the middle school youth group at scc who partnered with another family to build Cesar's family a new home last year.

the girls were also asked 1-what is school like in Guatemala? 2-why did your family move to Guatemala? 3-what do you miss about America? and 4-what can you share with the students about following Jesus? we (kerie and i) weren't able to be there b/c we were sharing at other campuses, but everyone told us they did a great job! so proud of them...

having a great time here. feeling loved and encouraged. nice to have a time to reflect, praise God, and thank people. missing our Rhinos, buena vista, and our guate fam.

for cesar, defying the odds is normal

2011-11-01T13:04:00.002-04:00

late sunday afternoon we got a call from andrea that cesar was worsening. she said she had never seen him like this before. he was throwing up, wincing in pain, and unable to sleep. when we got there, he seemed to be slipping in and out of consciousness, his eyes opening for only a moment before nodding off again.

if you have visited us before, you probably met cesar. without going into great detail, i can confidently say that he is the most amazing person that i have ever met. 7 years ago he was given a few days to live - his spine is fusing together and his body is withering away due to an unstoppable degenerative disease.

he fights on... confined to his bed, he shouts out praise songs, gives glory to Jesus, and clings to scripture for his strength. he knows more scripture by memory than you can possibly imagine. it keeps him full of joy and hope. it keeps him going. from his bedside, his faith convicts and challenges all who meet him. often times, it leads people to their eternal salvation.

on this day it seemed to be the end. at one point he said, "this is it, i cant take it anymore." one by one, we all knelt at his bed and said our goodbyes. even his relatives came through, saying what seemed to be their final words.

he faintly quoted scripture. when he would open his eyes, clearly longing for strength to even speak, he would repeat over and over "God is good, and he'll always be good." somehow, as he struggled to stay with us, he began shouting worship songs.

it would be appropriate to say that we could't believe what we were seeing. but because i have been around this man and his family for the last couple years, it simply felt normal. with cesar, he makes radical faith seem normal.

the image that is stuck in my mind is when his little girl joselyn (7) laid on his chest sobbing as he stroked her head and told her that it would all be ok, that he would always be with her, and that God would take care of her.

today at 7:15am my phone rang. when i saw "cesar & andrea" on the caller ID, my heart sank, assuming he had passed away. but she said she was calling b/c cesar wanted her to tell us all thank you, that he was feeling a little better. he said that as all the kids (johnsons, schmidts, bunsos, steeds) came by his bed with words, prayers, and tears, he felt as if angels surrounded him with comfort. andrea said he really just wanted to say thank you to all the gringo kids.

cesar, andrea and their family are fighters. their love for Jesus, for others, and for life itself, is nothing short of incredible. cesar is still in a lot of pain and not sleeping. please join us in prayer for them during this difficult time.

this is why we are here

2011-10-24T15:33:00.007-04:00

this is why we are here. all of the long days, emotional roller coasters, crying, working, laughing, worrying, praying, grinding... its all for moments like this.

a couple of our older Rhino's (in the boys academy) chose to give their lives over to Jesus.

this puts in perspective the last 4 months of daily interaction, friendship, struggle, practices, classes, and experiences. sometimes in the daily grind of it all, the bigger purpose of what we're doing can slip my mind. but friday night, around a fire pit on the roof of the bvsa house, it all made sense.

me, mynor, and anthony were sharing about our own walks with Jesus, his love, grace, and the freedom and joy we have in Him. as we talked, Gato (pictured far right) - by far the hardest, toughest, most distant, street kid on the team - broke down. actually "broke down" doesn't begin to do it justice. this was a new experience for me. Gato's heart was literally overcome with pain. he couldn't breathe. as he gasped for air, he leaned over and told me he couldn't take the pain as he tapped his chest over his heart.

his symptoms were as if he was having a heart attack. he needed help. he began to cry. as we prayed over him, he finally gave up. he let go of the life and the image that he was holding on so tightly to. he chose to be free. to give it all to Jesus, and start over.

it was intense and beautiful to experience. anthony, mynor and I knew exactly what was happening - God was literally fighting for this young man's heart, so strongly that he had his head between his knees in pain, gasping for air. but he had to be the one to let go, he had to choose to say yes to the grace of Christ, or to hold on to his sin. he said yes, and he was freed.

another Rhino, Josue (2nd from left), shared with us that he had fallen to the temptation of the world. satan, he said, had many things to offer him, and they were all too strong for him to say no. in tears, he said he wanted to leave it all for Jesus Christ. he confessed that his life of sin only brings temporary happiness, and he longs for true, lasting joy.

i am so amazed that i get to be a part of this. are you kidding me God? i get to be there in the trenches for these battles? what an honor!! thank you! thank you! thank you!

this is what it is all about. this is how the future of this village (and any village for that matter) can be changed and transformed. God, help us disciple these boys well. use these young men to break the generational chains of sin and abuse in this place! we praise you for what you are doing!!

hearts softening

2011-10-17T00:22:00.005-04:00

i know i write a lot about the rhinos, our 30 boys who we pray will one day change the entire village of buena vista (www.bvboys.com). they are an amazing bunch of kids, and we dont take lightly each day and each opportunity we have with them.

i think we just experienced a breakthrough.

a team from savannah christian church was here serving, and they did a week long "camp" with the boys. every day was full of activities... interactive games, arts and crafts, drama skits, music, dancing, and much more. we even closed each day with worship songs and prayer.

for us as the staff at bvsa, one thing that we all agreed on was that this week came in God's perfect timing.

we have been spending the last several months getting to know the boys. through schooling, practices, movie nights, and opening our home, we have been seeking to get to know each of them deeper. now we know that God had planned this week in his perfect timing to soften their hearts towards hearing his voice.

i could not believe how they cried tonight. so sad to see their new friends leave, they stood up one by one (voluntarily) and shared how much the week meant to them. some of the comments included "i will miss you so much", "i love you more than my own family", "you have filled us with joy and happiness", and "i will pray for you every day."

God used this wonderful, selfless, and loving team of 12 individuals to soften the hearts of our rhinos. i watched one of the hardest/toughest of our boys break down in tears tonight as he hugged them goodbye.

how exciting for us going forward, to work with these softened hearts and be able to share more with them about the one true hope found in Jesus Christ!

another unexpected death

2011-10-06T21:29:00.006-04:00

have had a broken heart lately. a local man in his 30's named Angel died last week, leaving behind a wife and 3 kids (15, 11, and 9). Angel worked for us on the boy's academy jobsite for the last 5 months that we were under construction. as usual, the family is unsure why he died. from various people, i have heard "bronchitis", "neumonía", "heart problem", and "lung problems." whatever it was, as is the case with so many others who have died here, i can assume that it was something that could have been prevented. which means that it was none of those causes that killed him... rather it was poverty that caused his death. no health insurance, no doctor or hospital visits, no money for medicine, and nobody to help. i just wish we would have known.

when we went down to visit them, Geronima (Angel's wife) was sitting in their house next to the memorial shrine that they had set up in their home. her 15 year old son Edgar sat on the other side of the shrine, crying. we brought food and toys, but what do you say? so we just sat there and shared with them in their sadness. i ended up sharing about Jesus with them. i dont even remember it all, but i hope what they remember is that He is always good, even when we dont understand.

i am reminded - yet again - about the definition of true religion as stated by the apostle James, the brother of Jesus. true religion is caring for the widows and orphans in their distress. as we sat in Geronima's home that day, she asked me in tears, "what are we supposed to do now? our family does not work without Angel. he takes care of us. he does everything for us." if these words dont define a widow's distress, i dont know what does.

I told Geronima and Edgar that our door is always open to them, and to please come to us with any needs they have. i worry that they won't, as they seemed extremely reserved and shy. but we will check in with them regularly, and i will keep praying that God provides for all of their needs.

if you would like to help them out, make a donation by clicking here, and note "for Geronima's family". we will carefully use all donations for them in the most appropriate manner that we can, beginning with food, bills, and daily needs.

more than a trip to mcDonalds

2011-09-26T00:14:00.006-04:00

have you ever been to new york city? if so, do you remember the first time you stood in times square and found yourself in awe as you looked around at all the buildings, lights, and billboards?

now imagine what that same experience would be like if you grew up in a small farm town, and this was your first time to ever leave home.

now times that by 100.

that must have been what it was like for our rhinos the other night. we traveled into guatemala city to play against a high profile futbol academy with 4 outdoor-fields with synthetic grass, in a lighted staduim-style atmosphere surrounded by giant billboards on all 4 sides. then (after a tie and a win)..... we took them to mcDonalds.

we confirmed, for every single one of them, it was their first time to guatemala city. this fact is amazing, because from our village of buena vista (which means "good view"), the sights of guatemala city are all these kids have seen since they were born. but from buena vista, the city is a distant, far-away place that they will likely never visit...

each sight captured their attention. the bus ride was shockingly quiet...because they were all glued to the windows, anxious to take everything in. when we entered the stadium, it was easy to sense their mixed emotions of excitement and nervousness. they all must have used the bathroom 3 times before we played.

but it was the trip to mcDonalds that i will never forget (link to short video below). as i sat back and watched these boys enjoy a happy meal and play in the playplace - something most of us consider completely normal - i couldn't stop my eyes from watering. my mind kept drifting back to their village, and their living conditions. the thought of their families... and how they were doing something in this very moment that none of their parents had done in their whole lives.

as we ate, my wife and i sat there speechless, just taking it in. surrounded by people (ourselves included) who completely take for granted a mcDonalds meal, God was giving 15 boys from the poor village of Buena Vista a moment that would forever be lodged in their memory.

as if the moment wasn't special enough, most of the boys saved half of their meal so that they could take it home and share it with their families. the next day at bvsa, they all told us that their parents said to thank us.

i feel blessed to be a part of something groundbreaking that God is doing in this place. not that it has anything to do with traveling to the "big city" or eating at mcDonalds... but in the process of all that is happening, generational chains of poverty are going to be broken, and brighter futures await.

quick thank you to lindsey - a 24yr old girl who is visiting - for sponsoring the 15 happy meals.

check out this short video from our trip to mcDonalds!!

SEEDS: baseball, wrestling, school, girls, and soccer

2011-09-11T23:13:00.007-04:00

this afternoon our property was littered with neighborhood boys. there were a few rhinos (members of the academy), but most were other neighborhood kids who live nearby. one of which is a known antagonist of our program, who constantly heckles me and our boys. he was standing outside the gate so i invited him in. i have made the mistake in the past of engaging his comments and spouting back at him... so today i had the opportunity to try another approach... invite him in to hang out and play some ball.

there were no breakthroughs, but we had a good time. my daughter brooke accidentally drilled him in the mouth with a baseball, which i thought was pretty funny. being about 15-16 years old, he was clearly embarrassed, so he laughed it off as well...

at one point me and a few of the older boys found ourselves sitting up on the balcony hanging out as the others played below. he (the antagonist) was up there with us. we all talked about school, girls, and soccer. again, no breakthroughs... but maybe some foundation laid for the future.

one thing i know is that God's promises are true. we are called to love the poor in the name of Jesus. i know that if i do that for these boys, it will not return void. i believe that every seed planted in His name will eventually return fruit, even if we never see it for ourselves. today, a few "seeds" took the shape of teaching kids to throw a baseball, play football, wrestling in the grass, and hanging out on the balcony talking about school, girls, and soccer...

we should all take advantage of our moments to plant seeds. the opportunities are all around us, all day long...

blessed by the moreau's... again...

2011-09-10T22:49:00.004-04:00

recently we were visited (again) by the moreau family from lake city, FL. do you have people in your life that simply leave you speechless because of how generous they are? thankfully we have several... and the moreau's are certainly one of them.

they have come to guatemala every 3 months for the last couple years. they have blessed countless guatemalan families with houses, kitchens, stoves, and water projects. they sponsor the education for several local kids, and bless widows with new roofs and kitchens. they have fed more families than i can possibly count.

in addition to all of that, they bless us. not only with needs and finances, but with love and encouragement. their friendship is real... its the kind that encourages you when you need it, shares truth when necessary, and always leaves you wanting to be a better person.

while the moreau's have given thousands of dollars and countless hours to directly help the poor in their time of need, they also have a tendency for blessing our ministry in "behind the scene" ways that don't have as much emotion, or feel-good involved. they buy ministry vehicles, lawn mowers, car parts and paint. these are the things that are difficult for "missionaries" to keep up with or ask for because of the awkward nature of the expenses.

think about it... someone donates $100, feeling led to bless the poor... and we reply with something like "wow, this was amazing timing because we really need a new tailgate for the ministry truck!" don't exactly walk away feeling warm and fuzzy, right?

but thankfully the moreau's (and others) know that these things keep us here, working more efficiently, allowing us to keep the ministry efforts alive... all of which are focused on blessing and serving the poor in the name of jesus christ.

during their las trip, we celebrated a weight room that the moreau's donated for the boys academy. even though they have no desire for recognition, we had a little plaque made to show our thanks... not just for the weight room, but for the unwavering support and friendship.

having great friends makes me want to be a better friend to others.

thanks moreau's.

wonderful & dark... more on robinson

2011-09-06T23:07:00.003-04:00

finally got a chance to meet robin's mom. is it possible to describe our time together as wonderful and dark?

robin's mom is precious. she shared her struggles and fears with us. since her husband died, she has been in survival mode. raising 5 kids, working from 4am to 8pm. paying for her oldest who is studying to be a mechanic, and prepared to pay for her next oldest to continue his studies as well. she grinds away every day, just to keep them afloat.

recently she received death threats from someone that apparently knows her. they would follow her and her family (knew what they were wearing that day, etc) and said that if they didnt pay them a certain amount of money they would kill her and her son. this type of extortion is common here. but to bring it upon a widowed woman fighting for the survival of her family infuriates me. sadly, the longer we live here, digging in, the more of this unheard of darkness we see (or hear about) in many of the people.

robin's mom told us that she pretty much "stays" scared. says she cant sleep some nights.

on this day we had brought her a giant food basket with approximately a month's worth of food. we also had friends visiting who after hearing her story offered to pay for the oldest boys schooling for 2012. her response was simply: "God hasn't forgotten me."

james 1:27 says that true religion is caring for widows and orphans in their distress. i would say "distress" would define the last decade of this particular widow's life. God, help me practice religion that is pure and faultless.... help my family be a blessing to this woman and her family.

robinson

2011-08-30T23:43:00.005-04:00

robinson goes by robin... he is one of my favorite kids. he talks a lot - enough to drive kerrie and walda crazy on most days. but his constant chatter is always upbeat, joyful, and funny. during some down time with robin recently, he shared with me about his dad. years ago, his dad was killed by some bad men trying to rob somebody's home. robin's dad responded to the lady's call for help, and ended up dead on her front porch.

robin is now 11. his older brother castulo, now 18, took on the role of provider & protector. robin speaks highly of his big bro. "he took care of us when my dad died, and he still does. he is a good person. and he is the best goalie in all of buena vista."

we invited castulo to play on our men's team. not just because of robin's glowing recommendation, but as a way to connect with him. in addition to finding out that robin was right about his soccer skills, we also found a bigger version of robin with a permanent smile glued to his face.

robin also told me that ever since his dad died, his mom has had to work double-time. she leaves home between 4:30 and 5:00 in the morning and doesn't make it home until 7pm. in fact at our last 2 parents meetings, it was castulo who came to represent robin.

i can't imagine how difficult robin, castulo, and their other brothers and sisters lives are. and what explains the joy they maintain? what else could explain it other than our mysterious God who can make joy out of sadness, and use all things for good. for us at bvsa, all we can do is pour our love, time, energy, and resources into kids like these and trust God to glorify himself in the process.

i believe the sky is the limit for kids like robin and his brother. they have taken on a serious load of responsibility at a young age. they have learned to be men at the age that most kids are still whining about what's on their plate for dinner. they learn to work, cook, and provide when most kids their age are wasting away hours per day in front of a tv or video games.

kids like these, after overcoming such circumstances, are incredibly tough and savvy...prepared to handle whatever comes their way. sadly though, in places of such poverty, the opportunities just aren't there. we are doing all we can to make sure that is not the case for robin, and others like him here in buena vista guatemala...

oh, if you didn't notice... robin is playing goalie in the picture to the right (and he is a stud). to me, that just makes sense, since his brother is his hero.

www.bvboys.com

going away to the mountains

2011-08-21T01:33:00.005-04:00

jesus took breaks and went away to the mountain. i cant even imagine how chaotic his world was, and how necessary it must have been. even in my little world, these short breaks are a must do from time to time.

this one came as the result of a celebration of my old man's 60th birthday. we (his boys and son in law) were honored to find out that when my mom asked him what he would like for his birthday, he said a "guys trip with my boys and grandsons."

so we all met in LA where my brother lives, and drove 5-6 hours north to the yosemite national park, home of the tuolomne river. a 150 mile river set in the heart of the sierra nevada, the beauty of this place totally caught me off guard. we whitewater rafted incredible rapids, hiked, rock climbed, and slept on the river banks under open skies lit up by the milky way and meteor showers.

for me personally, in addition to the great time with my pops, bro's, and nephews, this was some special father-son time. jake and i are extremely close, we are best buds and do pretty much everything together. but it is always different when you "get away" together and do "guy stuff." in addition to all the adrenaline-filled-fun, we shared some great quiet moments together - praying and reading the bible. there were some very memorable moments and breakthroughs that i dont think we'll ever forget.

we arrived back in guatemala today. even tired from the long day of travel, i feel refreshed. excited to get back to life. thankful for the opportunity to hang with family, go deeper with my son, and to get away to the mountains.

click here to see some more pics from our trip...

photos from tournament weekend

2011-08-02T19:39:00.003-04:00

CLICK HERE to see a bunch of photos from our first tournament with the BVSA Rhinos!!!

Also includes pics from our big spaghetti dinner and movie night with all 30 boys...

what a weekend

2011-08-01T01:40:00.002-04:00

friday: two 2 hour training sessions, followed by a huge spaghetti dinner with all 30 rhinos, followed by a movie night (karate kid) with all 30 boys!

saturday: our first tournament! we were invited to play in a tournament in san lucas celebrating the grand opening of some new short-court (futsala) fields. we divided our boys up into 4 teams, and had nonstop games from 12:45am to 7:00pm. it was an incredible day, all 4 teams played great - 2 of the 4 advanced to their finals and 1 of them won their championship.

sunday: we had a team from arkansas in town (mynor's brother's church) and they scrimmaged against our rhinos.

needless to say, we are exhausted....

a weekend of firsts...
it was a great weekend in many ways. for many (most) of the boys it was their first time eating spaghetti, first time watching a movie, first time in a car, and first time in another city. when we pulled up to the fields, there was a huge crowd of people, music blasting, a live DJ, etc, etc... our boys were wide-eyed but we were very proud of how they kept their composure.

one thing we were all amazed by was their toughness on the field. being more on the "indigenous side", our boys were much smaller (and darker skinned!) than the rest of the players...but we out hustled and out-fought. clearly not "fitting in", many people throughout the day asked who we were and where we were from. it was an all around great experience for them!

one thing we realized toward the end of the tournament was that our boys were playing up in each age category. so we were playing against kids 2-3 years older than us in every grouping! that being considered we could not be prouder.

oh, and just as a side note, our two gringo boys played great too (my son jake and the schmidt's boy eli). they each scored goals, and played tough.

ok, i have bragged enough. thanks for listening....

can we stay and play in the grass?

2011-07-23T19:39:00.000-04:00

sitting here on a saturday night, downloading pictures onto my computer from the last week, and noticing how many are from the boy's of bvsa hanging out on the property after practices and classes. i love that they love being here. usually we have to tell them its time to go because either its getting late or kerrie and i have to leave! in fact today is saturday and they have been knocking all day asking to play. right now as i type a few of the boys and one of the neighborhood girls are playing in the grass with our kids. kerrie and i are enjoying watching them play...

the grass has been a real blessing. once the boys kept starting to ask to "play in the grass" all the time, we started thinking about how little grass is in buena vista. we had never thought about it before unless jake and i were wanting to go hit or throw baseball, and had to go find a park in another place. for the most part, buena vista is only dust and concrete. we are so thankful to those who donated to grass the property....

we are making memories, building relationships, setting foundation for all that God has to come!

here's a little video of the kids enjoying the property, playing with our kids, and dog piling anthony!!

looking back...

2011-07-21T23:01:00.002-04:00

crazy... i just came across the letter we sent out to family & friends back in june of 2008, explaining what God was doing in our hearts and our intention to move to guatemala. having been here almost 3 years now, i am in awe - again - at how amazing God is... and how he longs for us to surrender and follow... check out these excerpts from the letter:

"Two months ago, our family visited Guatemala for a week and we fell in love with the people. We saw the tremendous needs...we were able to love beautiful children who were longing to be hugged... we were able to take part in home-building projects... we met local christians desiring to bring sports and activities to the poor neighborhoods.. we left Guatemala longing to come back, our hearts and minds spinning with thoughts and ideas...

Each of us (our family) believe fully with our collective heart and soul that God is calling us to serve and live amongst the poor in Guatemala. We would be naïve to suggest that we know every detail God has for us, but what little he has already shown us is enough for now...

For now, we are simply responding to the unmistakable voice of Jesus, saying “go and see what I have for you.” Through whatever vehicle God provides, our desire is to help transform communities where poverty has stolen the hope, joy, and life from the people. These are communities we have seen for ourselves. We believe that once we get there, learn the language, and seek God’s path for us, he will give us specific avenues to make that vision a reality!"

for me to read those words right now is breathtaking. seeing how he has blessed our desires, because they matched up with His own heart. the sentence where we shared our "desire to transform communities where poverty has stolen the hope, joy, and life"... is precisely what we pray to see happen through ministry to the boys of bvsa!

and to re-read about our connection with mynor, bringing sports to poor communities, and even the connection with home building projects... all pretty amazing in hindsight. at the time we sent that letter out, we could never have imagined...

as kerrie and i read that letter again tonight we were blown away! praising God tonight for his faithfulness...

there is hope for enrique

2011-07-20T00:25:00.002-04:00

last friday, enrique (pictured here) began crying during conditioning drills in practice. by the time we got to the bottom of it, we determined that he hadn't eaten all day, and was now being pushed physically and experiencing a migrane headache. after a nutrition bar and some gatorade, he was ready to go.

yesterday after practice, enrique approached us in tears, and explained that he could not continue in the academy. things had gotten tough at home, and his family needs him to take on a job to help out. if he works from every day after school until 6pm, he could earn Q10 per day (just over $1). i will never forget coming around the corner and seeing anthony on his knees bear hugging this sobbing child and praying God's peace over him.

today we went to visit enrique's home. when i walked into the rough, dirty, dark home, i immediately recognized his dad. the only times i had seen him before he was belligerently drunk. in fact, his own mom and sister had apologized to me in the past, saying "don't listen to him, he is always like this."

as we shared with the dad about enrique - how well he is doing, how sharp of a kid he is, and how much potential he has - the dad smiled. he told us how good of a boy enrique is, and how respectful. he assured us he could continue in the program. we need to talk to enrique's mom - it seems clear that the dad is absent and she is the one providing for the family (she works every day from 5am to 7pm).

we (myself, mynor, and anthony) all got the feeling that enrique's dad was simply telling us what we wanted to hear. but at one point he looked at enrique, took a deep swallow, and with tears in his eyes, told him "enrique, the truth is, i don't want you to become like me." it was clearly hard for him to say this.

later that day we were talking with enrique. we reinforced how good of a kid he is, how much we love him, and how much jesus loves him... and that with jesus, he has hope. we agreed to pray for his dad and their family. i also told him that he we are always here to talk to, and he can share anything, anytime... that we are here to help.

thats all it took... with tears in his eyes, this precious boy shared how his dad gets violent when he drinks. "he hits my mom, and he hits all of us."

enrique is an incredibly sweet boy. he is in 6th grade. young enough to be led, shaped, and taught. his heart is very soft.

i believe enrique exemplifies why God created this boy's academy. without help, without somebody loving enrique towards something different, what ever stops him from becoming his father? the reality is (and odds are) that enrique is just a few years away from being an abusive drunk. this is the case because it is all he knows. it is a vicious cycle.

i pray for enrique, his family, his dad. i commit to be here for him. to tell him (and the others like him) about jesus, love, and hope... for as long as it takes. God, help me love these boys as my own... help all of us who are working with them to be patient with them, and lead them to you.

stealing and growing

2011-07-13T22:24:00.000-04:00

finding the need to blog more frequently... so much is happening everyday and i dont want to forget! i always love going back and reading old entries and being reminded of all God is doing and has done...

background: we believe God wants us to help the boys nutritionally, so we have started a cliff bar ministry. every day after practice, the boys get a cliff bar - to help recover from their workout. more than that, this bar is loaded with good stuff and is by far the best thing each of these kids eat all day long. most of them eat only two meals per day, both of which are usually tortillas. its the cheapest and most practical way to get full...

each day there are 15 bars on the table outside the gym after practice. today we had one come up missing, so one boy missed out on his bar. mynor and I gathered all the boys in the lockeroom - no one leaving until we figure this out.

we explained that we all make mistakes, we all sin. if the guilty one speaks up, there will be no punishment. "coach mynor" then interjected... and if not, we're all running until everyone pukes - today, tomorrow, and each day going forward, until we figure it out.

after a little more talking & encouraging, one of the boys, Luver, pulled the stolen bar out of his bag. we could see in his eyes that he was extremely nervous, burning inside.

unexpectedly and beautifully this led to a conversation about Jesus and the cross. we celebrated Luver's decision, and explained to the boys that this is what the cross - the blood of Jesus - is all about. we all steal cliff bars (sin in different ways), and the cross allows us to come before our God of Grace, repent, and be cleansed.

after the team meeting, mynor and I had a moment with Luver outside. we shared with him that he did a couple of things today, one bad and one great... and that the GREAT one completely erased the bad one! we told him we loved him, that Jesus loves him, and that no matter what else is going on in his life, no matter what other sins or darkness, it can all be cleansed at the cross.

after a couple long and tight hugs (something men dont do to boys in this village), Luver walked away with giant tears in his eyes.

i have been praying for Luver ever since. praying that he knows Jesus better, maybe experienced His true nature the first time. as mynor and i talked afterwards, we both sensed by the way he was looking at us that he was waiting to get smacked. knowing a little bit about his family life, that would probably make sense. we could both see the fear in his eyes as we spoke with him.

but what he got instead was something he had likely never experienced before. grace, forgiveness, reconciliation, and a hug.

i can't judge Luver. he very likely could have been trying to take something good to eat home for his mom or brothers. i cannot relate to being hungry so i cannot assume that i wouldn't do the same thing. but i can point this young man to a God who upholds honesty and righteousness, no matter what the circumstances. and i can point him to a God who knows all of his needs, and can meet every last one.

i just pray that Luver continues his journey towards Jesus, and for my own sensitivity and patience to be a help along that journey. will you pray for him too?

reflecting...Jose and more

2011-07-12T23:26:00.000-04:00

most of us grew up playing sports or other activities. i couldn't even try to count how many teams i was on, how many "seasons" all with uniforms, equipment, and half-time snacks. it was so common that, even for an avid lover of sports, i'm sure i took it for granted.

i can't even imagine how different it would be if i had grown up here, in the village of buena vista guatemala. take Jose for example. jose has never owned a ball much less hopped from season to season, sport to sport with new uniforms, shoes, and equipment for each one. Jose takes care of himself all day. he doesn't go to school, instead passing his days on the streets, usually getting into trouble. he has a mom, but hardly ever sees her. his dad died years ago.

Jose has never taken a shower or a bath (at least the way we think of them). he has an old concrete sink outside his house that his family shares with other families. it gets refilled every other day with ice cold water. to bathe, Jose and the others stand outside the sink in their underwear and splash water on themselves. this scheduled "cleaning day" happens once a week.

for a bathroom, jose's family shares a concrete hole with 2 other families. i have never seen toilet paper there.

ADVOCATE: an intercessor, a person who pleads the cause for another.

the boy's academy has allowed us to be the advocate for Jose and many others. Jose now showers under hot water with soap and shampoo at least 3 times per week. he uses toilets that flush. he has a private locker with "JOSE" on the front, equipped with his jersey, shorts, shoes, socks and underwear. at the academy, Jose has his own desk and school supplies, and is beginning to learn how to read and write.

i don't mean to glorify the material things that the boys are receiving, that is not the point. (in reality, it is the love and affection they receive that is infinitely more valuable.) but the thought of it all does overwhelm me. when i think about my own childhood, or that of my own kids for that matter, where it is "normal" to have these basic things and so much more. i just cannot imagine how Jose and the boys must feel, coming from where they come from, and receiving all of this at once.

thats why this one particular day was overwhelming. it was the second week since we opened the academy, and all the boys were receiving their equipment bag with all of their gear. we had our friends in town, the youngs and hults families. we called each boy's name and they came up, received their duffle bag, bathroom kit, socks, shorts, jersey, shin guards, and shoes. they tried to play cool but the smiles said it all...

then came their moment... fully dressed, first time in new soccer shoes, they entered their gymnasium together as a team. we all watched with chill bumps. we could sense the excitement and their hearts exploding from their chests!!

i made a little video that doesn't even capture a fraction of what it felt like.

please pray for us, pray for Jose and the others, and for the future of this place!

fun with the boys

2011-07-11T23:42:00.003-04:00

hanging out after tutoring with the varsity boys today. as is often the case when guys hang out, somebody ends up getting their head shaved....

i love the opportunities before and after classes & practices, to hang out and get to know these boys...

always read more about what's going on at www.bvboys.com

bienvenidos wideners!

2011-07-11T19:11:00.001-04:00

on thursday, anthony and denea widener arrived in guatemala on one-way tickets! they are committing a year to serve here and jumped out of the gates ready to go on day one... fridays are set aside specifically for strength training at BVSA and anthony knows a little bit about that... so he led both sessions, JV and varsity, with two 2-hr training sessions.

denea got started this morning helping out walda and kerrie in the education center and is already getting to know the boys. i am so pumped about their arrival here... and looking forward to all God has for them, the boys, and all of us.

first 2 weeks at BVSA

2011-07-08T00:25:00.002-04:00

we now have a couple of weeks under our belt at the Buena Vista Sports Academy for Boys. it has been nothing short of amazing, at least to me...

we have a rough & tough roster of 30 young men that we have started to get to know. there are orphaned kids, abused kids, kids with absent parents, kids who work full time jobs, and kids who were raised on the streets. these boys are tough. i would not want to be the "other team" if a brawl ever breaks out during a game...

at the same time, under the tough skin and hardened hearts, there are sensitive boys full of potential. in only a few weeks some basic things have become obvious, and given us so much hope for them. at the Academy, the boys feel like somebody. they love being here, and i believe that is because the feel some self worth. here they feel loved and appreciated.

there is one 17yr old young man who has a particularly tough-guy image. i have intentionally put my hand on his shoulder or neck during impromptu team meetings (like a do my own son), simply to show him some affection, that he is loved. i have not had any idea how he felt about this until today, when he gave me a hug goodbye. i was shocked. you would be too if you knew this kid.

to me, this is ground-breaking, bigtime stuff. this is the beginning. there is a long road ahead, but i believe it will be a road full of hope, laughs, tears, challenge, and joy. all for your glory, Jesus.

finally

2011-06-18T23:01:00.002-04:00

today we hiked up a crazy mountainous path through a beautiful rainforest to a visit a family. they live in a remote area, completely separated from anyone else. a local friend who took us to them described them as "abandoned".

when we got there, they were thrilled and amazed to see us. each member of the family, as they introduced themselves, said "we have never had visitors here before."

we shared about the ministries that we have here, and that we wanted to help them. we told them we would do what we can, and we will share with others about their needs, etc...

most touching was the old man (pictured here)... 72 years old, his wife passed around 10 years ago. he now lived with his son and 2 daughters, and all of their spouses and their kids. here's what he said before we left...

"God has shown me by your visit that he hasn't forgotten us. He knows our needs. We are all his children, poor and rich. Finally, he has shown us that we are not forgotten." when we prayed together, he fell to his knees and sobbed.

the entire thing was emotional, but what struck me was the way that he said "finally." i got the impression his 72 years have been tough. the 10 years since his wife dies probably tougher. he feels forgotten. abandoned, just as my friend had told me. maybe he hasn't received much help in his life. our visit gave him the chance to take a deep breath and say, "finally, thank you God."

is it not absolutely insane and amazing that we get the opportunity to be that for somebody? that God uses us to remind someone that he loves them... that he has not forgotten them! what a privilege!

He has blessed us so that we can be a blessing to others. i pray that as we help this family they do not see us at all, but only the awesome God that sent us to them. my son Jake described it by saying that we are like "the mailman"... the blessings are sent by God, but we get to deliver them. how beautiful is that...

shoes

2011-06-15T01:09:00.004-04:00

growing up in the states, and playing all the major sports, having the right shoes was always a big deal to me. they needed to be the right style, right brand, and fairly new in order for me to play my best. one thing that always amazes me when i watch the buena vista boys play soccer is how good they play in light of the shoes they are wearing.

many of the kids showed up to tryouts wearing rubber boots, or dress shoes. black dress shoes are mandatory for school, so for many of the boys that is the only pair they own. one kid showed up in an old pair of slip on crocs with bailing line tied around them to keep them on.

to see pics of the various shoes worn to tryouts, click here and scroll down to the photo gallery titles "shoes worn to tryouts".

i am looking forward to getting our boys into some high quality soccer shoes. thankfully we have friends donating indoor soccer shoes as well as cleats to the team! as good as these kids play in rubber boots, i expect they will play even better with a sweet pair of nikes.

oh - the kid in the tied up old crocs had a great tryout and made the team... so we'll be replacing those for him soon!

JV team established

2011-06-11T22:43:00.003-04:00

i will write more on the bvsa website soon, with pictures and more info. but wanted to share that we officially selected the JV rhinos. (we will have 2 teams of 15, a JV and a varsity.) we made the decision to change from 24 boys to 30, which i will explain more on that later as well...

what a day!! while we expected to need one more day to trim down to the final roster, both mynor and I had the same final 15 on our lists, so we decided there was no reason to wait!

with tears in his eyes, mynor told the 15 how proud he was of them, and how this was the culmination of months of preparation. hiding back a few of my own, i shared my own joy, and how so many people are behind them, praying for them, and supporting them. as hard as it was to make so many cuts, it was a amazing day!

these 15 are the JV rhinos!!

click here for more pics from tryouts...

tryouts day 1

2011-06-10T23:05:00.000-04:00

i have stood on the current site for the buena vista boys academy almost every day for the last year. (in was in june 2010 when the money was donated for the land, and august when we broke ground.) but today was different. today, it was full of kids for the first time.

during orientation for the first group, i tried to hide my emotion. it was a little bit harder during the second group. as mynor and I shared with the 50 or so kids in that group, that they are the future of this village, i noticed my son jake and mark & gina's boy eli - listening intently. it struck me that they too could very well be the future of this village. i saw their faces, no less nervous and excited than the rest of the boys. for some reason in that moment, it all hit me pretty hard.

it was a great day. the first round of cuts were tough, many boys that we love won't come back tomorrow. we assured them that we would have plenty of leagues and activities for them soon.

tomorrow is day 2. we expect it to be more intense, and more difficult to evaluate. sunday we will round out the tryouts and pick the final team. will keep you all updated...

thanks for the prayers.

los rinos de buena vista

2011-05-31T20:20:00.004-04:00

during the recent inauguration of the buena vista sports academy for boys (more here) we announced the team name for the official 24 boy roster we will carry - the Buena Vista Rhinos (or, Los Rinos de Buena Vista). in case you don't know why we use the rhino so frequently, here is a quick summary...

2 facts: rhinos cannot see beyond 30 feet. rhinos can run between 30-40mph.

those 2 facts together make no sense! could you imagine driving 40 mph in your car and not seeing 30 feet ahead of you?

but what makes the rhino special is that he will not run top speed alone. a pack of rhinos is called a "crash" - because when they get together, they run their hardest, without any concern for what lies ahead. they know that, together, they can run through anything.

what we are trying to do with the next generation of leaders in buena vista at times seems impossible. our hope is to lead these boys to break generational cycles of abuse, absence, and spiritual emptiness. many dad's beat their wife and kids because they have never seen a man in their life who didn't. the root of the problems run deep.

as we spend the next years digging in and attempting to bring life, hope, and grace in Jesus name to these future men, they will need each other in order to stay strong. that's where the rhino concept comes in.

just like the lead rhino runs hard, leading the pack, encouraging the others to run harder... these boys will look to their "lead rhinos" to push them. while we (mynor, myself, others) will take on that role of "lead rhino" in the beginning, our prayer will be that leaders begin rising up within. then as life's journey moves along, the lead rhino will naturally change, allowing various teammates to step up and lead while their loyal crash runs hard alongside them.

i pray that these boys will become a "rhino crash" - running hard for Jesus, growing together in their faith, and leaning on one another as they face their community together... a group of young men who love the Lord and their neighbors, work hard, respect women, and live lives of integrity.

eventually, may the influence of the rhino crash of buena vista spread like wildfire and have a transformational impact in this place.

real, honest community

2011-05-25T01:17:00.002-04:00

the bible has a lot to say about community. especially after jesus died, rose, again, and returned to inspire his disciples to launch the original church. there in the book of acts we can read about the early church community life.

you get the feel that people helped one another, sacrificed for one another, and loved one another deeply. and you don't get the impression that people were protective of their stuff, time, and space.

a few days ago we were walking around buena vista with some friends. as we walked by the front door of a sweet elderly family, they asked if we wanted to stop in for a visit. so about 12 of us packed into their house... they offered as many tortillas & salt as we could eat.

as we were leaving after about a half hour of stories and laughs, a thought struck me. imagine sitting in your home and seeing 12 people from another country walking by your home (maybe from india, mexico, or china?). is there any chance you would stop them, say hello, and invite them in for a snack?

sure, we do it all the time now that we live here as missionaries... but it is thoughts like these that make me want to rewind the clock to when i lived in the states.

these very simple and poor folks in guatemala continue to teach me about real, honest community.

challenge/blessing of no internet

2011-05-10T10:14:00.006-04:00

i can't believe its been a month since my last blog. we have not had internet for almost that long, and it has been tough to keep up. we should be (God willing) getting internet within the next week or so...

as much as i miss having internet, i love not having it.

we need it for several reasons: reconciling finances for dSg, bvsa, 12x12, etc. is a full time gig all by itself. updating websites & videos, and communicating blessings, needs, and updates are all very important for us to do what we do. i also love reading other people's blogs, seeing pictures, and being encouraged & blessed by so many of you. and of course, our kids need to be online almost daily for school.

but... i am also becoming more aware of how much time is purely wasted online. without having internet i have read my bible more, spent more time with my kids, talked more with my wife, and been less distracted in general. we also haven't had TV during this time (not as big of a deal as we dont watch much anyway). but without both of those options, i am not tempted to entertain myself during that split second of "free time" at night when i typically grab the computer or the remote control.

for me this is a weakness that i want to work on. i pray that what God has already showed me through this will help me organize my time better, and reduce unnecessary hours of meaningless browsing/watching. its easy for me to justify myself by saying its no big deal... its not like i am "sinning" or doing anything terrible, right? but that is a lame excuse i use that ultimately hinders me from growing in my walk with Christ. as he encourages us towards righteousness, and becoming more Christ-like, it is our responsibility to work on things that are obstacles on that journey.

do you have similar weaknesses? facebook? magazines? tv shows? lets encourage one another not to waste hours/days/years of our lives entertaining ourselves meaninglessly. our lives are too short... our time is borrowed... and God has much to do through us.

pray for emily

2011-04-09T12:36:00.005-04:00

asking for prayer for this sweet little 3yr old girl. her mom just brought her to our home, not knowing what else to do. she was in tears.

we think she has psoriasis, but not totally sure. it is very strange for a 3yr old to contract, but the symptoms, etc, seem to match up in every way. we are trying to confirm the diagnosis and get medicines, etc. you can help by praying for her, or offering any assistance, advice, etc.

TO SEE PICTURES OF EMILY, CLICK HERE

her name is emily and her entire body is completely covered in these sores. it started about 5 months ago and has spread rapidly.

while its easy for me to get frustrated at the parents for waiting so long to do anything, i have to remember that i cannot understand what it must be like to not have the means to do anything. it is not their fault. poverty destroys.

the good news is that the love of Jesus conquers all things. wherever you are today... go help somebody that can't help themselves. in the name of genuine Christianity, be their advocate. love radically...

update on cruz

2011-04-06T12:40:00.002-04:00

we are so happy and blessed to report this news. i dont think it could be any better. the brain doctor who was here from tampa studied the mri and ekg tests and quickly told us that the cyst is completely irrelevant. he said it is on a part of the brain that literally is unaffected by it... that it will not grow or ever have any impact on him. he said that it is not the cause of his fainting or convulsions - that those are from a neurological issue that can be maintained with the medicine he is taking. he wanted to be certain that cruz and his parents understand that this is VERY GOOD NEWS and that he can go back to school, study, and play in every why like a completely normal kid without any concerns whatsoever.

it makes me sad that they have been scared for so long, without the ability to get a solid diagnosis. i can't imagine living in that fear that something major was wrong with my child, but not knowing what it all meant. at the same time, i am praising God that he intervened and allowed us to be an advocate in this situation.

so... with the help we received for him from our friends howard & dawn, we are planning to continue helping with the medicine and eventually get him to a pediatric neurologist to monitor things. chris and i had a great day with them today, full of conversations about faith, God, church, etc. they are an incredibly sweet and seemingly genuine family. afterwards we celebrated at pizza hut (i asked cruz if he could eat anything he wanted what would it be... and he said pizza). we walked around a mall for a bit looking for a pharmacy, which was quite the experience for them. (they had never been in a car before last week, so a mall probably resembled another planet.) but it was a great time and we are thankful that they are sleeping in peace tonight. praise our sweet and awesome God!

attaching a pic of cruz at the mall. thanks for your prayers!

pray for cruz

2011-04-01T00:35:00.005-04:00

cruz is a 9 year old boy with a cyst on his brain.

after several visits to our home asking for help, his mom finally brought the xrays, ekg, and mri results for us to look at. not that we knew what we were looking at... but her point was so that we would believe her.

we explained that we never doubted her... its just hard to respond to every knock we get at our door. we get several per day, each with important needs. but something was different with her. she was genuine, and she was clearly at the end of her rope.

very long story made very short:

cruz has been diagnosed with a cyst on his brain. he has convulsions, and passes out frequently. he has terrible headaches. he's only 9 years old.

the problem is, the family sold almost everything they owned of value in order to pay for the first round of tests. their beds, tv, radio, etc... and they have no more money to even sustain the medicine that helps the headaches.

we recently visited cruz and his family with a group of friends from journey church. when one of the families returned home to the US, they couldn't get him off their mind. they contacted us, sent money, and offered to cover whatever is needed to help make cruz well.

i remembered that the father of one of my daughter's classmate's is a doctor, so i asked brooke to see if he would call me. he called right away, and offered to see cruz immediately. yesterday, we took him to his office...

the doc confirmed the diagnosis. he said he knew of a group of neurosurgeons that are in town from the US, helping kids who need surgeries. he made a call and found out today was the last day they could see him for evaluation. he told them that we would be coming. when he hung up the phone, he yelled out "how big is our God!!"

chris and julio (his spanish teacher) picked up cruz and his family at 4:15am this morning and headed to the city... he was evaluated, and has an appointment this sunday at 11:00, during which they will determine if his case is accepted. if so, he could be operated on as early as monday or tuesday!!

please keep this in prayer! we believe God connected us with this boy and his family.

car sales supporting bvsa

2011-03-23T18:57:00.003-04:00

as 2010 came to a close, we were praying (and sweating!) about how we were going to support the boy's academy on a monthly basis. we had the leiva family starting full time starting jan 1, with more bills soon to follow. in addition to 2 one-time gifts that came in, what happened within a 2 week span was really cool.

inside a 2 week span i met 2 different guys that God led to support the boy's academy. one owns a used car lot and the other runs a large dealership. they do not know one another, and live in different states. the way that each of them came to the decision to support the ministry is awesome... and only God...

one of the guys, after a visit to Guatemala, decided to give $25 to guatemala from car his company sells. he decided that at the end of each month he would send the total from that month's sales to the boy's academy!

the other guy, being stretched in the area of finances, had recently made the decision together with his wife to initiate a salary cap for their family. they determined a reasonable amount to live on, and committed to give everything away that they earn above their established cap. through talking it over with their pastor, they decided to help support the boy's academy with a large chunk of the money they earn above their salary cap!

both of these guys now know, but at the time they didn't... that as God was touching their hearts to give to the boy's academy, the leiva family was struggling with stepping out in faith to work as full-time missionaries. it was during the same week that the leiva's decided to trust God and leave their careers that i heard from both of these guys regarding their decisions!!!

these stories are so worthy of our praise!! we were praying, as were the leiva's, for this support to come... but we could have never imagined how God was going to make it happen. what a beautiful example of his faithfulness, and of his church stepping up when called!

love wins - new book by rob bell

2011-03-17T14:27:00.005-04:00

b/c of technology, living in a third world country doesn't remove you fully from the hubbub. while i haven't read rob bell's new book "love wins: a book about heaven, hell, and the fate of every person who ever lived", in the last 3 days i have read several reviews and also watched a few of his interviews. having not read it yet, i can only say so much. but based on the excerpts and the interviews, i can comment a little...

i like rob bell's stuff. i have been encouraged by his teaching over the years. he is passionate for the poor, and devoted to rethinking church in (i think) a necessary way. velvet elvis impacted me, as did jesus wants to save christians. i love the nooma videos, and have listened to and appreciated many rob bell messages. in fact the name "deepstream" came from a rob bell message, where he described God's love as a "deep stream"... moving slowly, impacting and touching everything it comes into contact with as it flows, breaking off frequently and starting new streams, etc, etc...

so i have no anti-bell agenda like so many who have already written reviews of this book. tough to be objective in a book review when you already have an issue with the author.

that being said, i fear that rob bell has taken what so many love about him - his healthy approach of asking questions and exploring God's mystery - and taken it too far. questions, searching, and exploring are lacking in the christian faith - there is no doubt about that. but it can also be true that questions can go so far as to imply that we aren't satisfied with what God's word literally says. when passionately searching with open minds becomes too much of the focus, it can cause us to ignore what is there.

while bell is right to say that no one knows everything there is to know about heaven and hell, does the book avoid the seriousness of how Jesus taught on eternal damnation? again, i haven't read it yet, but in the excerpts and interviews, he eludes to the fact that in the end (even in the postmortem) we all get rescued and make it to heaven. this, he says, is the true nature of a loving God.

interestingly, (for me anyway) our church community here in guatemala recently started a study on the fear of God. for me personally, as i seek what God is teaching me through this, i am looking at the recent writings of rob bell and wondering where the fear of God is. this makes me anxious to read the book and see if he touches on it, or if it is avoided altogether. surely we are to have a healthy fear of God, as it is referred to over and over again in scripture through teachings, stories and clear warnings. but if God "loves us so much" that we all get forgiven and make it to heaven... why would we need to fear him?

i see "love" as a God who knows how horrible hell is, and longs to save us from it. i see him as just, punishing the wicked... and as grace, allowing the wicked to repent and go unpunished. i see love in the form of his son on a cross, dying in our place so that we may have life, and avoid the punishment we deserve.

i do agree wholeheartedly with the title of the book - love wins. i think we should be careful to not be overly critical of rob bell - he has been a catalyst in bringing many doubters, searches, and deep thinkers to a place of loving and serving Jesus. i also think we should not be influenced as much by the teachings of men, whether "celebrity pastors" or otherwise, as much as we should our own bibles, our own wrestlings with God, and our own faith communities. i encourage all of us to not care so much about the "debate" - but to truly open our bibles and allow the holy spirit through his living word do the teaching.

rafaela

2011-02-26T22:50:00.006-05:00

with the annual men's team in town, we had the wonderful opportunity to build a new home for an elderly widowed woman.

rafaela lives in the village of tablon - a remote area in rural guatemala. her home is literally a disaster. a rotten tin shack layered in thick soot from her indoor fire (pics attached). her home sits directly behind one of the soccer goals in the village. i have been in her home while the men are playing soccer. the ball bangs against her wall time and time again, echoing louder than you can imagine. she sits on her floor sobbing. its dark, hot, and nasty... and she has nowhere to escape it.

with 16 friends, we rallied together to build rafaela a new home. furnished with a separate kitchen, new beds, linens, towels, and a giant basket of food.

when we had finished, we walked rafaela from her old home to the new one (pics attached). it was a beautiful moment! we celebrated in prayer and laughs, all of us thankful that she will never spend another night in that dirty, smoke-filled shack.

to watch a video from the men's trip with footage from rafaela's home project, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YhsFq4dKkU

"religion that is pure and undefiled before God is this... to look after widows and orphans in their distress..." james 1:27

so proud of my girls

2011-02-23T20:49:00.005-05:00

the kids are a month into their 3rd year in local school. each year has been a huge step towards becoming "comfortable in their own skin" in a fully spanish speaking guatemalan school. but this year has clearly been different.

all 3 kids have told me already how much they are loving school this year. i think it has a lot to do with the language. their grasp of the spanish language is increasing year-by-year to the point that they are able to fully express themselves. brooke recently told me "i am finally able to be sarcastic in spanish!" (for those that know her, a key component of her personality...)

jake is totally adjusted, and for the most part has been good-to-go from day one. i brag about him all the time... but this post is to share how proud i am of my girls.

we found out a week or so ago that both of the girls were running for office in their student council. while this may sound routine for many teenage kids, remember that they are in a foreign country, speaking another language! we were shocked!!

they both won. madi is the secretary of 8th grade, and brooke is the president of 7th grade!

we are so proud of them. not because they won, but because they were even willing to take the shot. and because they have adjusted so well. they know how to "bounce". they adapt, look at the bright side, don't complain, and trust God in the challenges. they have all struggled through C's, D's, and F's (when they didn't know any spanish), to now all 3 making their honor roll's.

there are still hard times. just a couple days ago, brooke shed a few tears with me as she shared how a group of kids laughed at her after mispronouncing a spanish phrase. we talked it through, gave it over to God, and she got over it. the next day she found out that her classmates had elected her president...

cause of death: poverty

2011-02-02T23:13:00.006-05:00

one of the boys from buena vista that we play with all the time - alan - recently lost his dad. suffering with stomach pain, he had been avoiding going to the hospital. aside from not being able to afford medical attention, he had become accustomed to dealing with pain and not going to the doctor. all too common in extreme poverty.

it eventually hurt so bad he couldn't take it any longer, so he went to the local hospital. they told him his appendix had ruptured, and there was nothing they could do. "nothing they could do"? the next hospital said the same thing. he went home and died in his sleep, leaving behind his wife, alan, and his 2 younger brothers.

just a few days later, i met 3 more children that the same man had fathered with another woman in the town of magdalena. he had left them for his current wife years ago. the oldest boy, "chino", held back tears as he explained that they were expecting to get the money from their dad that very week for school uniforms, shoes, and school supplies. he said his mom told him they may not be able to go to school this year.

a ruptured appendix is not what killed this 31 year old young man. simply said, it was poverty that killed him. any one of us would have gotten medical attention and been fine. born a couple borders-on-a-map to the north, and he would have been fine too.

when you only earn a few dollars a day, have rarely been outside of your rural village, are intimidated by hospitals b/c they hand you forms to fill out (you can't read or write), etc, etc... this is what happens. in under 3 years living in guatemala, i have seen this happen time and time again. friends, daddy's, mommy's, brothers and sisters - unnecessarily dead - from something that could have easily been prevented.

statistics (if he doesn't fall under the radar) will say that he died from a ruptured appendix. statistics also report how many all over the world die of hunger, AIDS, malaria, and preventable disease. the true cause of death? poverty.

if we eliminate poverty, all these categories go away.

jordy as myself

2011-01-25T16:10:00.005-05:00

a couple months ago, i posted a blog about rosibel. unfortunately, her story is not uncommon in rural guatemala - or any area of extreme poverty for that matter.

jordy (pictured here between 2 of his buddies) is 13 years old. we have known jordy for a while - he is a student in our dear friends carlos & thelma's local art school. while i have hung out with jordy several times, yesterday i learned a little bit more about his life.

not long ago, his now 8 year old brother got sick. he was falling down a lot and "losing his mind", as jordy described it. his mom started taking him to doctors to see what was wrong. doctor after doctor, all they were told was that he was "sick in the head" and "mentally not there." my best guess based on how he described the symptoms, is that jordy's brother has some kind of mental retardation.

with no father in the picture (he left them some time ago), jordy's mom had to pick up a second job to start chipping away at doctor bills. she now leaves home at 2:30 in the morning to catch a bus to guatemala city and prepare her fruit/vegetable stand for the early morning crowd. additionally, jordy had to drop out of school and pick up a full time job - just to help them get by.

perhaps the saddest part of the story is that while mom and jordy work all day, the 8 year old brother is home taking care of jordy's 4 year old brother.

when i asked jordy if his brother is capable of taking care of his littlest brother, he said "not really, but they just sit in the house so its not a big deal."

these are the realities of extreme poverty. medical diagnosis' and health care are atrocious. wages are pitiful. husbands and fathers are so often non existent. there is no easy answer, especially when these situations are everywhere you turn.

what do we do? us as missionaries on the ground, and you as concerned/willing friends back in the states? resources always help, and are necessary in order to get things done, but what else?

the best answer i can find in scripture is to join them in their suffering. jesus did this for us, and he calls us to do the same for them. the simplest and greatest commandment of all is full of depth to apply here:

"love God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself."

if we are willing to think honestly about the phrase "as yourself", i think we find the answers, as hard as they may be to accept and carry out. if we are to love jordy and his family as much as we love ourselves, what do we do?

love God fully and love others as ourselves. jesus said all of the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments. maybe we are over-complicating things.

carly & cruz

2011-01-12T12:51:00.004-05:00

i became an uncle again - twice - in the last week! my sister jacki, with husband matt, had a new baby girl named carly... and then mark & gina had a new baby boy here in guatemala - named cruz.

too far away to have been there to see carly, i have enjoyed IMMENSELY all the photos of my new baby niece. she is precious. cruz, on the other hand, i was able to see, hold, and kiss on, just hours after he entered the world.

trying not to get all cliche here... but i am still just amazed at the process of child birth. how life starts, how it grows, and how it develops. how the heart matures and becomes capable of choices, emotions, and free will. its an incredible design that can only point to one amazing creator.

as i praise God for carly and cruz, i pray for them to grow into radical jesus lovers and followers. i pray for their parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, and uncles & aunts who lead and influence them. i pray that they will realize they only have 1 purpose in this life - to glorify God and make him known in all they do. everything else is empty without this central purpose!

God, mold these 2 precious babies into sold out followers of you!!!

Have a happy (challenging) and prosperous (sacrificial) new year!!

2011-01-01T15:01:00.002-05:00

as we hung out last night around the fire pit with mark and gina, we were talking about how we always wish others a happy new year. in fact, most new-year's cards, songs, and notes reference a “happy, prosperous new year.”

i’m usually not one to over analyze or sweat the small stuff… after all it’s just a traditional phrase that most say without really thinking about it. but the more we talked about it the more I started thinking how crazy it is, at least from a biblical standpoint.

Jesus called us to give our lives away in order to gain life. he taught that real joy and growth comes through sacrifice and suffering. he taught that this life is too short to live for ourselves… seeking earthly happiness, prosperity, and personal gain.

personally I can say that giving up worldly pursuits for eternal ones has brought a greater joy than I could have ever imagined. while by no means I consider myself a martyr, I am learning that the real “happiness” comes through generosity, giving, loving others, and ultimately through sacrifice.

as we sat there around the fire I caught my self strangely staring into it for a while (we all do that when sitting around a fire, right?). i thought about the passage in isaiah that talks about being refined through the fire of affliction – and how i should apply that to my hopes/dreams for the upcoming year.

if God gives you a prosperous 2011, may you use it to bless others who are less fortunate. and if He brings happiness your way in 2011, may it come refined by fire - through challenges and even suffering.

may your 2011 be full of service, generosity, sacrifice and love.

Have a Sacrificial and Challenging New Year!!

update on recent blog below titled "hope from ashes"

2010-12-30T00:58:00.003-05:00

before reading this, please read the post below titled "hope from ashes."

immediately following the posting of that blog, the response was beautiful and immediate. the genuine, loving, generous church of Jesus stepped up bigtime.

a new home was donated. (actually, 3 were donated - two of which will be given to other families in need!) a temporary home until the new one is completed, new clothes, a brand new bicycle, lots of food, blankets, toys, and a new bible have been given. in addition, the loan that daniel's family took out to pay for the 20 days of life support for his baby girl was paid in full.

most importantly, daniel and his family have witnessed the grace and love found in Jesus and his church. new friendships have begun. a process of healing is in motion.

thank you to all of you who gave to, visited, prayed for, and loved this family in a time of great need. through the hands and feet of the living church, daniel and his family are learning what the love of Jesus truly is.

christmas in poverty brings perspective

2010-12-26T01:39:00.006-05:00

i love christmas in guatemala. and not just for the christmas eve midnight fireworks and the delicious tamales and "ponche" (all of which are amazing)!

i love christmas in guatemala because of the perspective it brings. it's a bold reminder of the reality that can escape us all, if we allow it to.

millions celebrate this time of year by excessive shopping and spending, even sleeping in parking lots for the chance to buy the latest items. we celebrate and anticipate a jolly delivery man in a red suit who leaves presents under our trees and fills our stockings with treats.

but living in a third world country, stricken by extreme poverty, does something to shatter what i once considered fun and innocent.

we spent christmas eve hanging out with rosibel's family, among others. rosibel is 13 years old (pictured here with her grandma and little brother). her dad was murdered when she was 9. her mom and older sister have to work full time 6 days a week (5am to 8pm) to keep their family afloat.

as for rosibel - she hikes up a mountain for firewood (twice a day), cooks, cleans, and takes care of her little sisters and brother.

that is her reality every single day. no school, no sports, no sleepovers. a brutally difficult life for a 13 yr old girl.

rosibel did not wait up for santa last night. her sisters viviana (10) and luki (7), and her little brother anderson (2), weren't having a hard time sleeping because of the excitement for what they might open up the next morning.

unfortunately, this christmas eve reality is what dominates the majority of the modern world. if we allow that truth to sink in, it should change us. not just fill us with guilt and lead us to ban christmas presents. that would be missing the point. it should lead us to care more deeply for others. to call those who suffer in poverty our neighbors, and begin loving them as we love ourselves.

as we gave gifts to rosibel's family, we knew that these were the only gifts they would receive for christmas this year. their hugs were longer and tighter than normal. the gratitude in mom's face and the tears in her eyes spoke loudly.

this is our third christmas in guatemala. we continue to learn and grow. we continue to be stretched. i pray that process never stops.

hope from ashes

2010-12-01T01:14:00.002-05:00

Broken, denied, and ready to give up, he knocked on our door.

This morning a young man, 25 yrs. old, knocked on our door for about 30 minutes straight. When we finally answered, there stood Daniel Gonzalez. He nervously explained his situation.

He did not want to come to our house today, but some friends had convinced him that it was his best last chance. He said he was not the type of person to ask for things, so he was sorry for coming. He explained that yesterday he had lost his home in a fire. A husband and father of 2 young kids, they had lost almost everything… house, bed, clothes, TV, food, and belongings - all ashes.

We were his last hope. I am thankful for that much – just being here, able to be that hope for somebody. That hope has a name – Jesus – and it is always amazing to me that we can “be” Jesus…

Now to the frustrating part. Why exactly were we his “last” hope?

Before showing up at our house, Daniel had exhausted his options. Most alarming was the response from his church, from whom he was misled regarding “God’s justice.”

Rewind just 2 months… to when Daniel and his wife Martha lost their 3rd child. Following childbirth, Florcita (little flower) spent 20 days on life support. Born two months premature, she hung on for 3 weeks before letting go. Daniel spent all 20 days & nights in the hospital at his wife’s side, praying for Florcita to pull through.

Following their daughter’s death, they returned to their church. Daniel, who was striving to become a deacon and took seriously his role collecting the weekly offering, was put on “probation” for missing 3 Sunday mornings and several other gatherings. He was told that missing church, for any reason, is a sin and requires discipline from the church authorities.

Now, after losing his house and all his belongings in the fire, the “church authority” explained to Daniel that God is righteous, punishing them for missing a few church services while clinging bedside to their dying daughter. The only effort to bring comfort was a simple reminder of the story of Job, and how God won’t give you more than you can handle.

After being denied by his church for help, they decided to try another church, this one well known for helping the people of his neighborhood. This specific church has been working in his neighborhood for years, even recently completing a new community center to better serve them.

Martha returned home with the news. The church said there is nothing they can do, because they only help families in the community who are members of their church.

Broken, denied, and ready to give up, he knocked on our door.

When we showed up at the site of their house this afternoon, Daniel made small talk for about 5-10 minutes. He was cheerful, seemed thrilled actually, to see us. When he introduced us to his kids, and showed us the extent of their remaining belongings, he got quieter, clearly trying to hide some emotion.

When he shared about the response from the churches, he broke. Confused and hurt, he began sobbing. It wasn’t the loss of his daughter, or his house, that brought on the sobbing. It was the pain inflicted from the “church” that ultimately crushed him.

The very thing that is supposed to bring life, support, love, help, and hope… was killing him.

I wondered to myself if Daniel’s pastor that avoided helping (but reminded Daniel about God’s justice and Job’s sufferings) had forgotten, or ever read, where Jesus said to love your neighbor as yourself. Paul’s teachings about carrying one another’s burdens also came to mind.

I also wondered how, as members of the same body of Jesus Christ, we could possibly deny help to those who aren’t “members” of our own little private congregations.

But as we prayed, grace and hope started replacing the anger that was raging inside me. As frustrating as the pious, prosperity-blessing, false religion that poisons this culture is, in this moment God was giving us another opportunity to demonstrate His grace.

We prayed that this time of suffering would somehow bring freedom and set them free from the bondage of legalism. I hope that as we love on them they will experience the real Jesus, his grace, and his church.

Praying for hope to rise from these ashes.

commitment without glory

2010-11-21T15:11:00.005-05:00

today we are praising God for our monthly donors, who because of their consistency, sustain our monthly expenses to be here on the ground in guatemala.

they receive no glory. there's no feel good video at the end to recognize what they did. no specific house that was built, or surgical operation that was paid for.

the money is just sent, every month. some give $15. others give $100. some give $500. some months a donor doubles their committed norm without even mentioning it. not even a note saying why or for what. usually when this happens, we know exactly why... because something has recently happened or there is a sudden need that came up. God uses his people to meet the needs without any need for fanfare. i love that because only He gets the glory.

obviously we need houses donated, money raised for specific needs and projects. in fact we are very often pleading and praying for it!

but today we are celebrating the ones that send monthly checks that end up covering johnson family groceries, rent, electric bills, school supplies, clothes, gasoline and haircuts.

YOU ALL ARE AMAZING. WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH. YOU'RE GENEROSITY KEEPS US GOING, AND KEEPS ALL OF OUR EFFORTS MOVING ALONG.

challenging/crazy/strange/cool last few days

2010-11-18T23:27:00.003-05:00

its been a CRAZY last few days. to summarize... we found out that obtaining water in Buena Vista is not easy. in fact its a complicated political mess. (if you didn't know, we are currently working on building a house in BV as well as the boys academy.)

we discovered that the "committee" of buena vista men is in charge of deciding if "outsiders" can obtain access to water. we also know of some who have lived there for a couple years and still are fighting to get water access.

after learning this, i went to the head of the committee's house to see what we needed to do. he said the committee meets to discuss the request, then advises the town, then there is a town meeting and a vote.

in all of his much enjoyed authority, he reminded me that he inquired over a year ago for a new home for his nephew and we never did it. i reminded him why... that, by comparison, his nephew's house was not nearly as bad as many others, and we try to base the home ministry on helping those with the greatest need.

he then said "so why should i help you if you've never helped me?". i politely reminded him that we have built almost 40 houses for his community, started businesses, helped with numerous medical needs, and on and on... ultimately he said "yeah but never anything for me."

he closed with saying he has the power to swing the vote and get us our water access if we build a house for his nephew. i told him no thanks, that i don't feel right getting our water by using someone's donation to the 12x12 ministry to fulfill a bribe. i said most of that as i walked away, because i was fighting against a familiar feeling i get when i am about to punch someone in the face. (i know, not very Christ-like.)

so... the committee meets and a meeting is scheduled for sunday at 6pm. we notified some BV friends and asked for support. the turnout was incredible! everyone showed up and voiced opinions in our favor.

but the big man had a wild card up his sleeve. he withdrew the "law book" from his inside jacket pocket, and had someone read a reference that he twisted a bit to mean "if you're not a legal resident of guatemala, and have lived in the town a year, you can't gain the privileges of the town."

he then in a patronizing tone explained that he is sooo sorry, that he really wants to support us, but his hands are tied because the law is the law. what he didn't know was that in God's ever-so-cool-and-perfect timing, i had received my guatemalan citizenship ID card that very week!! he wasn't expecting that.

what does he do? he says "we need to schedule another meeting so that more people can be here to vote. the only people here are your friends and ones that have received benefits from your ministry." so he set another meeting for tuesday at 6.

we were told he spent monday and tuesday inviting people. more people came than i could believe. the place was packed, with more standing outside looking in. lots of faces that i didn't recognize. lots of men that must return from work late at night, because i had never seen them before. there were enough "new faces" to bring some concern.

the floor was opened for the people to speak. one after another came forward in our defense. what made it so amazing was the number of those who spoke that we didn't even know personally. one man spoke for 5-10 minutes about his gratitude for what we do.

he said he didn't know us personally, but he knew about us. he said what makes us unique is that we don't only attempt to meet spiritual needs, nor just physical needs. he went on to say... "some people just go around preaching, telling everyone about God. but what's that help if the people are hungry? then there are others that only meet physical needs, giving shoes and food. that's great, but it doesn't last forever like the truth of God does. but these people are doing both! what a blessing they are to our community! i can't believe we would even consider denying them water! we should be supporting them in all they do!"

one after another came forward with similar statements. it was a 100% vote in our favor.

it was a beautiful night and a big encouragement for me personally. before we left, i asked if i could say something. i wanted them to know that for us, this was more than a request for water. it was a request to be neighbors. to be welcomed into your community. i explained that i know it must be strange for a family of gringos to be moving into town! but also that it isn't exactly easy for us either. i told them that sometimes my kids cry because they miss their grandparents, or their cousins, or their aunts and uncles. but we do what we do because life is about following God. we believe in Jesus. we believe he died on the cross to wash away sin and give us life. and we believe God wants us here in Buena Vista. i thanked them for saying yes to our request to live amongst them.

i don't expect the resistance to go away. when we start teaching boys about respecting women, equality, freedom in christ, etc, it will cut against some small-town-guatemala cultural norms. i expect some challenges along the way, especially from the men.

but right now we are celebrating an encouraging boost of support from our friends and soon to be neighbors.

who is your neighbor?

2010-11-07T16:49:00.003-05:00

Jesus broke down the path to eternal life simply: love God with all you've got, and love your neighbor as yourself. as basic as that sounds, some of us inquisitive types might ask, "yeah, but i wonder what he meant by the word neighbor."

my next door neighbor? those in my neighborhood? my city? county? state? nation?

thankfully, there is no reason to wonder. someone - just like us - once asked Jesus that very question.

remember the story of the Good Samaritan? do you know why Jesus told the story? he told it because someone asked him what he meant by "neighbor."

if you don't know the story, check it out here. the parable teaches more lessons than i can even begin to expound on. but here's a couple quick points:

samaritans and jews were not friends during this time. for Jesus to use a samaritan as the "good guy" was profound and must have been inconceivable to those he was talking to.

the priest and the levite would have likely been traveling back from jerusalem to jericho. jericho was known as a principle residence for priests, and jerusalem was the site of the temple. the samaritan, on the other hand, would have lived near galilee and would never associated himself with jews (john 4:9).

Jesus is making a clear point to show that the samaritan was neither a neighbor in nationality, nor in proximity.

ultimately, the overarching point of the parable hits hard. jesus asks, "so which one was the neighbor?"... and the man responds with "the one who had mercy." to this, Jesus finally responds "now go and do likewise."

your neighbor is anyone, anywhere who is in need.

a child in a third world country is dying... she is your neighbor.
a young man in your city is struggling with addiction... he is your neighbor.
one of your friends has lost a loved one... he/she is your neighbor.
a mother in africa longs for food & water... she is your neighbor.
someone in your office is getting a divorce... he/she is your neighbor.

the boy in this picture is named danilo. he is an orphan in guatemala who is HIV positive. he is your neighbor.

loving this journey...

2010-10-13T00:19:00.008-04:00

God put this crazy idea in our hearts to build a gymnasium in the town of Buena Vista, Guatemala. A place to be loved, a place to play. A place to train the boys of the village not only in soccer – but in faith, character, and love. A gymnasium is something a poor rural village like this has never seen before…

So much more than a gym. For us it’s the answer to a question we’ve been asking for more than 2 years. “How can we best change this place over the long term?” We’ve been meeting needs since we got here – and we will always be a needs meeting ministry – but after a while you start longing to go deeper.

When a village is plagued with hopelessness, abuse, addiction, and empty legalism religion, what do you do?

Plant a New Garden
What if it were a garden? Imagine… the plants are lifeless. Nothing is growing. The crops are dead. Everything is dry and brown. For years, nothing has produced.

I think you would prepare the land, then plant new seeds. After you plant them, you would take care of them. They need a combination of water, sun, shade, and attention. Some grow faster, and fuller than others. But eventually, after a lot of hard work, love, and care, you will begin to see a healthy garden.

That’s what God is leading us to do in Buena Vista. It doesn’t mean give up on the adults. Our lives are our ministry, and we’re always available to help anyone at any time. But as far as a daily effort and focus, God told us to zero in on the kids. They are like seeds full of potential - crying out for nourishment.

We have had 2 years of tilling the land. Making friends, earning trust, and developing relationships.

Grow Leaders
Who are the future leaders of Buena Vista? Or, any community for that matter? In large part, they are the boys. Those who will soon become young men. After that, husbands and fathers, responsible for leading their families.

In this community, as is common in Latin American poverty, the men are old school. They are chauvinistic and domineering. They do as they please and expect their needs to be met. Many hit women and children. Most escape from their realities through drunkenness or simply disappearing.

In general, the kids in this village have no direction. Their parents don’t care if they go to school or not, much less about their grades. They don’t bathe. They don’t show respect towards adults. Boys treat girls terribly.

It's not their fault. They have no hope because their parents don’t have any. Neither do their grandparents, uncles, or friends. They’ve never seen it before. How could they know hope if they’ve never heard of it?

Our goal is to bring them hope. To tell them that grace abounds. To show them truth. To bring them Jesus.

We are praying that God will allow us to guide a community of boys into a new generation. A generation of love, service, generosity, and strong character.

We’ll start with 24 boys, and we’ll pour into them. It’s a daily effort. Every day, teaching in areas of faith, discipline, character, love, grace, respect, honor. They will literally hear the stuff every day for 4, 5, 6, 7 consecutive years of their lives.

What could that look like? 24 boys become young men, get married, lead strong families. Different families. Each young man impacts a few of their friends. After all, they’ll have each other… a team of Jesus followers. That will be attractive. Others will join. Love, joy, and goodness, is contagious.

Each have anywhere from 3-8 kids (not uncommon here!). Now a generation of new men are leading strong families… hundreds of lives changing in one generational swing. It’s a new direction of love, freedom, grace, joy… and hope.

And that’s just the beginning. If I have the ability to even imagine this much, who knows how much more our God – the creator of the universe – is planning?

Must Read - Crazy Cool God Stuff
Well, as if we didn’t already know this vision was God’s vision, here are some pretty cool confirmations.

God used a youth group (and a dollar-for-dollar match donor) to raise the first $20,000 for the boys academy. With that, we bought a piece of land that had given us goose bumps ever since we saw it. (It is right next to the playground and basketball courts we fundraised for and built.) The owners actually knocked on our door having no idea we were interested… but that’s a whole other story!

God brought us a contractor and architect who are practically taking on the project pro bono. They are Christian guys who heard the vision and want to help.

After being told we needed $9,000 to get started on phase one, we received a donation the next day from a first time donor for $9,000.

When we ran out of those funds, the contractor told us in order to continue through the next part of phase one, he would need at least $10,000. Two days later, we received a check in the mail from a first time donor. The note said, “please use for the boys academy.” The amount was $10,000.

In 10 days, we will need more funding to continue construction. After meeting with the contractor a couple days ago, he said we need $50,000 to finish the framework, columns, beams, and roof. He said with 40% of that (20k), he could purchase materials and get started. Today we received a donation. You guessed it – $20,000.

I am at a total loss for words. Following Him takes my breath away.

We still have a long way to go. The whole project – land/security border (30), leveling/retention walls (40), gymnasium (160), classrooms, weight room, locker room (50), personal residence with guest rooms (70), and furnishings (20) – will cost around 370k.

Does that sound crazy? It did to me. But I am beginning to think it doesn’t to God.

“That’s too much money,” I thought, “seems excessive.” “Lets pull the plug, do something smaller. Besides, I hate big fundraisers.”

But God worked on me. He checked my heart. He taught me, stretched me. He began showing me that money isn’t the issue. The heart is. It’s always the heart.

The missions pastor from a church that I had never visited recently gave me a call. I knew the guy, but not that well. His son married my little sister, and he had conducted the wedding. The wedding was not long before our family moved to Guatemala. So while we had met, it wasn’t more than a couple times at family get-togethers. I knew he was a missions pastor, but that’s about all.

He called to say he would be traveling to Ecuador soon, and asked if he could stop through Guatemala and give us a visit. Next thing I know, he and another pastor from their church were here staying with us. It was a great visit, albeit only a couple days. We got to know them better, and them us.

Long story short, assuming their own goals are met, they recently committed to give $200,000 towards the boys academy. (That last 20k I mentioned was their first payment towards it, which came earlier than expected.)

“That’s the minimum”, he told me. “We believe in what God is doing here. We want to help more – whatever we can do to support what you’re doing and help free this community from the bondage that poverty has on them.”

Lazarus Raised – Everyone’s Faith Increased
If it’s even possible to sum up my feelings right now, it may be best compared to how Lazarus’ sisters probably felt after Jesus raised him from the dead. Mary and Martha believed that Jesus was the son of God, that He was capable of doing anything. They had already witnessed many miracles.

Yet despite Jesus telling them that their brother’s sickness would not end in death, they doubted. When he came to the place where Lazarus had died, he told them that their brother would rise again. They still doubted.

When Jesus commanded the stone to Lazarus’ tomb be removed so he could raise him from the dead, Martha again objected, concerned of the awful odor that would escape. Finally, Jesus says, “did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”

Martha and Mary loved, followed, and believed in Jesus. Like most of us, they just lacked a little faith. When he displayed His power right in front of their eyes, I expect their faith must have increased tenfold.

That is how I feel. I doubted, worried, and hesitated. I am still nervous about moving out to Buena Vista. But God has asked me to step in faith and commit everything I have to this vision. He asked that of us well before providing all the resources needed to make it happen. It would require some faith.

Now, as I sit back and watch Him at work, I feel as if he is saying to me with a bit of a sarcastic smirk, “come on dude – didn’t I tell you that if you believed you’d see the glory of God!”

May His glory be seen through this ministry. May His name be lifted high. May many come to know Him. As this poor little village in Guatemala undergoes transformation, may the name of Jesus Christ be made famous!

whirlwind weekend

2010-10-04T19:58:00.003-04:00

with our friends the primosch's and jackson's in town this weekend, we squeezed a week into 2 days.

supporters of the boys academy, we first went out to the jobsite. while out there, we played with the buena vista kids, visited several families, read books to kids, and gave out donations.

we then spent some time at the women's baking school. it was the day of the students first exams. all 6 students had to bake a cake, pie, or dessert all by themselves... and we got to taste test all of them! they were all delicious... all passed with flying colors. more special than the desserts themselves were the smiles on the ladies faces. they shared their stories, their dreams, and their gratitude. a few tears were shed... it was a wonderful time together.

then we were invited as guests to the 50th wedding anniversary of one of our 12x12 Love Project employees, Jose Cupertino. you heard right... yes, Cuper is 70 years old and works in construction... on his feet all day, carrying 50lb sacks of concrete and hauling block. this guy is a machine. and his anniversary party was awesome. lots of music, great food, and good people. we arrived late after being at the baking school, but when we walked up, romulo escorted us to the front table where they were holding seats for us! it was a great night...

the next morning we headed to the HIV orphanage. more tears shed. great time with the kids, but even better with the nuns. we brought 15 gift bags to give to the nuns (thanks to martha & tom primosch and all their friends who donated items!) and they were so very thankful. we had a great time laughing and joking with them... the orphanage director summed it up when she said, "listen - everyone always remembers the kids, and we understand that, but this sure is special to be appreciated like this."

from there to antigua for the markets and lunch at monoloco...

returned to buena vista to hang with the family that the jackson's and their youth group donated a home for. a great visit with them, as well as a few other folks there in the village. back home for dinner and hanging out with the leiva family!

at 5:00AM this morning we took them to the airport. as i was sitting here going through pictures from the weekend, this one that i am attaching caught my eye. it reminded me that when things settle down, the running stops, and all is calm... there they are. the kids of guatemala. the faces of buena vista. how precious. they are why we do what we do.

14 crazy years

2010-09-28T21:56:00.002-04:00

today kerrie and i celebrate 14 years married, 19 years together.

this is one amazing woman. she loved me even when i was a partying goof-ball in high school and college. she stayed with me when i lost my way and got caught up in the chase of a big career. despite those tough times, unfaithfulness, arrogance, etc (long list), she stayed with me. she prayed. she was faithful.

her prayers were answered when i finally broke and gave it all to Jesus. now i am arguably more out-of-my-mind than i've ever been... and there she is. not just along for the ride, but the encourager, supporter, and leader.

she is my faithful wife. my cheerleader. a crazy faith-seeker, a wonderful mom, a wonderful woman.

better than anything, she loves Jesus more than anyone i know. her love for the Lord and commitment to spending time with Him challenges me.

its been a wild 14 years that i wouldn't trade for the world.

boys academy update

2010-09-25T16:52:00.002-04:00

here's a short video update of where things are on the building of the boys academy facility! for more info go to www.bvboys.com

true missionaries

2010-09-23T16:35:00.005-04:00

several weeks back while our friends where here from indy metro, we visited the family of a jose - a boy who attends the local art school that indy metro is partnered with.

as we hung out and asked a lot of questions, we learned that the jose's older sister violeta (18) and his mother matilde have always dreamed of learning to cook. violeta in particular shared how she never finished school, and she feared never being able to do anything with her life.

with the support of indy metro, as well as our friends the moreau's who donated a new stove and baking supplies, God has birthed a baking school. perhaps what made it happen is the passion to help others that pours out of our friends carlos & thelma lopez.

carlos & thelma run a local art school. the time and energy they put into the school does not earn them a living. in fact, they probably lose money on it. yet it takes up more than 50% of their time. so why do it? because they love their community. they love these kids and want to see them grow. they want them to know christ. they are true servants.

the baking school was their brainchild. once they heard about violeta and matilde's dreams, and saw that they had our support, indy metro, and the moreau family, they came up with an idea that could help even more people.

they contacted a friend of theirs, a local housewife named antonietta who is a graduate of culinary school. they spoke with violeta and matilde, as well as 3 other women who they knew had families that were struggling to make ends meet. they developed a program, and launched a baking school.

the dream? to teach local women a trade that can allow them to sell pastries, work in bread stores, or even in restaurants. when they graduate from the one-year program, they will help them find work, and a new group of students will begin. (pictured to the right: thelma & antonietta in the back, the 5 students in the front.)

once again, no material or financial gain for the lopez family. just the joy that comes from giving, and the peace that comes with helping others.

they are missionaries to their own people. shouldn't we all be?

juliana & manuel... and romulo

2010-09-20T23:09:00.004-04:00

we celebrated home #36 yesterday, definitely the sweetest so far.

juliana & manuel. the "least of these" without a doubt. both in their 70's, they have no one. no family helping out, no kids taking care of them. their life a constant state of exploitation as they hop around from borrowed home to home, living in tin shacks or worse, in exchange for watching over people's farms or animals.

manuel is blind. he walks a muddy path every day - about 2 miles - to catch a bus to antigua where he begs on street corners for money. juliana stays home and watches over the land owner's property so they can live in a dump, rent free.

spiritual giants, they are known for ability to heal the sick. people speak of them as the ones who sing out their thanks to God all night long... praying and shouting out songs of joy.

when we have come bearing gifts of food, they just fall to their knees praising God for answering their prayers. (story here in other blog)

yesterday we moved them into their new home that was donated by our friends kat and milan. a nice, safe, warm, block home with 2 rooms. no strings attached. their own front door that locks and a window in each room. also donated by our friends at "church on the way", they have a new kitchen, bathroom, bed, and chicken coup.

at the ceremony, me and romulo shared a little bit. this home was extremely special for romulo as he had told me about this couple and his desire to help them several months ago. he's been excited for this day to come for a long time.

before we gave them the keys, i asked if there was anything they'd like to share. their response was as all of ours should be...

they immediately shouted out praise to the heavens, thanking God for being their provider... for never forgetting them and never letting them go... for hearing their prayers.

they sang, jumped, shouted, and cried. they yelled to the top of their lungs "thank you daddy (gracias papito), you love us so much!!!"

they didn't want to stop singing worship songs. manuel even apologized for his singing voice, but just couldn't stop. even through his off-key, loud, stuttering, elderly voice, it was as beautiful and pure as worship can be.

at one point as they prayed and sang i saw romulo crying. my tough guy foreman - the field general of the construction crew who barks out his orders and is no doubt rough around the edges... crying tears of joy as sees, feels, experiences Jesus.

today driving around with romulo he was literally beaming with joy. he thanked me at least 5 times for letting him be a part of the ministries here in guatemala. what God is doing through the 12x12 ministry is changing his life.

romulo is leading a crew that is building a wall around the future boy's academy site. today, as i shared the vision of the academy with the entire construction crew, romulo emotionally shared to all who were present, "right now i want to give thanks to God. he is doing many things here in guatemala, and using our friends from the U.S. to help. it is an honor to be a part of his work. if this ministry helps the boys of buena vista one fraction of how it has helped these 12x12 families, i will give my hands and my heart to it completely. now lets get to work."

kerrie and i looked at each other and smiled, enjoying the depth and beauty of the moment. (romulo is not known for showing his guys his soft side!)

i pray that tonight as juliana and manuel lay in bed, their hearts are full with thankfulness, peace and contentment.

i know ours and romulo's are.

not going to be easy

2010-09-16T00:34:00.003-04:00

i should have expected it. its what the enemy does when God is working... he slips in and tries to discourage.

if you've read my last few blogs, you already know that we have been amazed at all God is doing to build this boys academy. its been life changing for me personally to watch him at work in this. a thrill ride of sorts, just pure awesome to be a part of.

i decided to meet with the men's committee of buena vista, just to share a little bit about what we're doing, and answer some of the questions floating around lately. just the simple fact that there's a huge front loader on the property working has been "the" thing to talk about out there. plus, i wanted to ask their blessing on our moving out there and becoming neighbors.

so... as mynor and i explained a surface level version of the idea, the leader of the committee asked to share a few thoughts. he wanted to make sure we understood that they don't want anyone trying to change the "traditions" and "customs" of their boys.

he said "we believe in our customs. we believe the men have a place in our culture, and the women have their place. we want to make sure it stays that way."

it seems that some of the things we have already shared with the boys has reached the men of the community. maybe some of the teachings about respect and love for women has gotten out and has been taken as a threat of some kind. it was obvious that this was the case... as we did not discuss or imply anything like that in this meeting.

it's not going to be easy. the task of changing generations of a twisted mentality will not come without a struggle. we must have resolve. we must balance truth with grace well. we must pray.

the message of freedom, grace, and love was a threat to the culture over 2,000 years ago, and it still is today.

surrender

2010-09-12T22:34:00.007-04:00

recently i have been enjoying one of those insanely obvious seasons when you know you are part of something that God is doing. there's no other explanation.

not long ago God led us to take a faith step and commit to the Boys Academy vision. pictured to the right are some BV boys playing on the property where the future academy will be. (more info on that here if interested.) after freaking out for a minute, we told God we were in.

we committed. we'll transition our family further out - into the town of Buena Vista. we'll commit however many years it takes to see through a generation of boys to adulthood, and see what God does with that. our kids will likely graduate high school in guatemala.

we bought land (another cool story), met with builders, and broke ground. despite every ounce of practicality in me, we plunged in. my flesh kept crying out, "wait, we need to think about this more... we need to raise funds, go slow, talk to everyone we know...etc, etc."

but God had no time for that. He brought Mynor & Walda, our guatemalan friends who share the passion and are leaving their careers to help. He brought the land to our front door (as well as the funds), and brought us a contractor and architect. we drew up blue prints. we've been dreaming and talking a lot about how it can work. most of all, praying.

we shared the entire vision with the lead contractor and architect. they were excited, especially after visiting Buena Vista and meeting the boys. after we told the contractor "we don't really have the money for this... but we believe God is going to provide it", he shook my hand and said "then lets do this."

so... the machinery is on site and the builders are working. we still haven't made one phone call to raise funds.

since then: a few different groups have contacted us. ALL of them i barely knew, if knew at all. ALL of them i never would have considered contacting. ALL of them, unsolicited, interested in building this facility and making this vision become a reality. ALL of them with giant hearts leaping out of their chests... longing to help people, and heavily drawn to the idea of breaking generational chains of poverty.

in each case, some special people helped connect the dots. people who knew what we are trying to do here and immediately thought of that someone who might connect with the vision. these special friends are the facilitators that make things happen by being in tune with the spirit of God.

God thank you for continuing to amaze! Please etch these moments into my heart and brain so deeply that i never forget them. let them encourage me to continue a life of surrender and letting go. i want to live by faith every day. use all of this, use me, use all of us, to bring glory to yourself.

amazing story of faith, obedience, and healing

2010-09-06T00:31:00.001-04:00

Our friends the Moreau’s are in town and we were all hanging with Esbin’s family last night... After hanging out for about an hour, having a great conversation, Felix (Esbin’s dad) told us that about a week ago God woke him up to a dream/vision that Kerrie was sick in bed. He said she was too sick to get up, and God told him to get up and pray for her.

So he woke up his wife Petronila, and they got on their knees and prayed for Kerrie. He prayed that God would touch her body and heal her right then.

What Felix did not know was that Kerrie was very sick. Many of you who are reading this already know that she has been sick for about 2 months. She has been miserable. Unable to eat, and some days unable to get out of bed. She has lost 10 lbs (which is a lot when its 10% of your body weight).

We counted back the days to see if they matched up.

Kerrie had felt a knot move around in her stomach. She told me that something physically touched her and when it stopped she immediately felt healed. She has shared this with several friends and family. Even though she said it seems crazy, she believed God touched her body and healed her.

Come to find out, this was the same day/moment that God woke up Felix and he prayed for her.

We follow such an awesome God.

I have to say, living here in Guatemala, being surrounded by the poor... the ones who need Jesus... who are desperate for Him each day... who pray daily for their food... who aren’t distracted by all the nonsense... It is here that I see God do amazing things. I see prayers answered daily. I see people healed. I witness unspeakable and inspiring acts of faith. I see the Holy Spirit at work.

God help us remove all the distractions and depend on you like so many of our friends here do. Lead us, guide us, use us. We are yours, Jesus! O praise your name! Thank you for healing my precious wife! Thank you for using Felix. Thank you for his obedience and faith.

in awe....

2010-08-24T23:32:00.005-04:00

i am headed to bed, but couldn't crash without journaling about this.

today the construction crew showed up to start the excavation/retaining wall phase of the boys academy. while the contractor and architect have agreed to take on the project pro bono, he contacted me two days ago to say he needed 8-9k to get started. this would buy materials and pay the workers for their time.

having not raised any funds for the project yet (other than for the land which God used a youth group to purchase), i hesitated. i asked if i could have some time and possibly bring the money back from the US when i go in september. he said sure, but we would have to wait to september to start...

that was two days ago. LAST NIGHT i received an email from theresa (who receives our donations stateside). she scanned and emailed a check that we had received from a family for $9,000!

this is not normal at all to get donations this large. additionally, this donation came in from first time givers, completely unexpectedly. (thank you for your obedience in responding to holy spirit!!)

will you give praise to God with me for this?! not only is this crazy cool evidence of God's faithful provision, but it is also a great source of confirmation and encouragement for me... that He desires this vision to become a reality and He is so clearly at work in making it happen.

i just re-read my blog from yesterday. i am in awe and praise of my awesome God tonight. when this Boys Academy comes to pass (and all along the way) MAY GOD RECEIVE ALL THE GLORY!!!

HE is big - why not dream big?

2010-08-23T21:32:00.009-04:00

here we are again. it doesn't make perfect sense... it seems crazy... ridiculous actually. but none of that matters to God.

he is the one who uses the foolish to shame the wise. when we say "but that makes no sense... how can we do that without considering X, Y, and Z"... he chuckles at us because, once again, we are forgetting for a moment that he is, after all, GOD.

this idea to change the future (and maybe the current) generation of the village of Buena Vista through the Boys Academy is not just an idea any more. it's happening!

a couple weeks ago we closed on a beautiful hillside acre of land in Buena Vista. tomorrow we break ground on the Boys Academy facility.

you can read all about this vision at www.bvboys.com.

one thing i love about following our God is that no dream is too big for him. and when our dreams match up with his, nothing is impossible.

i was advised by a friend recently as we pursue the Boys Academy dream. he said, "is what you are pursuing so great, so crazy, so incomprehensible, that when it comes to fruition, there will be no other possible explanation than the awesomeness of God?".

i have considered that question for a couple weeks now. talked about it with my wife constantly, and considered it in my prayers. i have come to the conclusion that the answer is an overwhelming "yes". here's a few reason's why:

1. after 2 years living and working in this area, i am yet to find a man from Buena Vista that i would consider a model husband, father, and man of God. our desire is to grow all of the boys in the program into this type of man.

2. to my knowledge, no one has ever graduated high school (much less college) from buena vista. our desire is to get all of the boys in the program sponsored and into high school.

3. we are currently breaking ground on this facility without the funds to pay for the project. in faith we believe that God will provide in his perfect timing. when He does, how could we possibly point to anyone else?

this list could go on and on. it's a big dream. but our God is big. all of it seems like more than i can handle or even comprehend. that's exactly why i am resting in God's bigness tonight.

incredible examples of real faith

2010-08-16T22:54:00.003-04:00

today my faith was checked bigtime.

with the roads to Buena Vista blocked due to repair, we have been re-routed through corn fields and back roads to get to the village. the last few days we have passed a house out in the middle of nowhere that simply looks nightmarish.

mark and i have been wanting to stop in and meet whoever lives there. with a group from journey in town today, we stopped by to say hello.

the closer we got, the worse the living conditions became. old rotten pieces of tin, tacked together and barely standing. mud floors. no water, no bathroom.

we were greeted by a 76 year old blind man named manuel, and his 74 year old wife juliana. manuel stumbled out, shouting greetings and introducing us to his wife. the next half hour or so was spent getting to know them.

manuel lost his sight 14 years ago in an accident where he fell off a cliff and landed on his head. they literally have nothing. the land does not belong to them. they borrow it in exchange for watching the owner's property and caring for the pets. it is filthy.

they have no work, therefore they earn no living, therefore they struggle to eat. the have no family that helps them. nobody.

what's amazing (and beautiful) is what we found out next. a friend of ours named nato was with us when we stopped by. he is a local guy that was helping us with a garden micro-business we were working on this morning. as we hung out at this older couple's home, nato began to share more with us about them...

he said he remembers manuel from when he was a little kid. manuel had a candy cart that rolled around town selling candies and ice creams to the kids. nato said everyone bought candies from him.

then he said "i still walk the path in front of their home almost every night and they are always singing out praises to God. they sing so loud you can hear them up and down the path. the sing out their prayers."

i asked him what they sing, and he said "they shout out thanks to God for all they have."

for all they have? i cannot over exaggerate how little they have. no home, no food, no family.

later we asked to pray for them. as my friend chris began praying, his voice was drowned out by the prayers (shouts!) of manuel and juliana. they cried out thanks to God. they cried out prayers for us. that God would bless us, protect us, and overwhelm us with his love. with tears streaming down their faces, they thanked God for our visit and praised Him for the work that we are doing.

i left their home amazed at their faith, and my own having been seriously challenged.

i wonder how much of my faith correlates with good fortune. does my faith fluctuate depending on variables such as good health, paid bills, plenty to eat, family, friends? does basic worldly happiness help me have greater faith? i have so much to learn...

For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10

HIV orphans

2010-08-11T09:45:00.006-04:00

we have some friends who run an orphanage full of children with HIV. their mission: "to serve the poor, and specifically the most desperate among them." but these friends don't only serve the poor, they give their own lives away completely in order to do it.

it is a catholic orphanage. our friends are the 14 nuns that run it. they live there, eat there, they never leave. the only time they see the outside of the facility is when they are taking kids to the hospital. unfortunately, that is frequently.

almost all of the 70 or so kids they care for are HIV positive. most of them were thrown out when they were born. "they were thrown out with the garbage" the director said. a friend of mine responded "this is the most beautiful garbage dump i have ever seen."

suzie is a friend and one of the nuns working at the orphanage. when she was 11 she started going to school there (they are also a private school that accepts students without HIV). as she grew up in that school, she eventually knew she had a calling on her life to take care of these kids.

her heart broke for the HIV kids, and she admired how the nuns sacrificed their lives to care for them.

when she was 18 she changed from "evangelical christian" to catholic (two very distinct camps in guatemalan religious culture), and became a nun in order to work at the home. this change did not come easy for suzie, as her father and brother are pastors at evangelical christian churches.

she has not seen her family since she made the change. (a choice they have made, as the nuns are allowed to have visitors at the HIV home.)

the more i get to know suzie, the more i admire her. along with the other nuns, she is following a biblical model of service that i have never seen lived out with such conviction. truly giving up her life for others, she does it with a smile and with joy.

"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it." ~Jesus

then i look into the faces of the kids. no parents, no family. son's and daughter's of sexual abuse and prostitutes. sick and diseased, with no value to their family, they were thrown out with the garbage.

like suzie, i am compelled to do more. Jesus said when we look into the eyes of "the least of these" we are looking into His own eyes.

forgotten, betrayed and thrown out... these kids are Jesus.

no more suffering for Esbin

2010-07-31T23:44:00.000-04:00

even though i spent several hours looking at his lifeless body, i know that he is far from dead.

today around 2:00pm, my buddy esbin took his last breath. also at 2:00, he got up and ran for the first time in over 7 years.

those of us left behind... we all cried. but not him. he is finally free from suffering. he is finally out of the bed that he's been in for what seems like forever. he is finally running, jumping, and playing soccer. his dreams have finally come true.

my kids and i just finished sharing together, and we were imagining esbin playing soccer with Jesus. my son jake said he pictured esbin shooting penalty kicks while Jesus played goalie.

surely esbin is happier now than i've ever seen him, happier than anyone has ever seen him.

today i am cherishing the last conversations we had. in the last few weeks we have talked much deeper about Jesus, about grace, love, and faith.

we talked in depth about his illness. big questions of "why me?" and "why do people have to suffer?". i told him God is using his sickness to glorify Himself... and that he must be an amazing kid for God to have so much confidence in him to use him in such a mighty way. kerrie and i both came away from those conversations believing that esbin "got it."

i also think he finally understood that he didn't have to hang on any longer.

his mom told me that this morning esbin told her he was going to die. she said "don't say that" but he said it again. a couple hours later he started to struggle breathing. normally, this is when we would get the call and we'd be there within minutes with Dr. Carlos to go through the routine of stabilization.

but this time esbin cried out to God "please take me home." his mom admittedly didn't want to hear that, but again esbin cried out "God, if you want me, please take me today. I don't want this anymore." minutes later he fell asleep for the last time.

we were in the village with a mission team working on a project. we received word and rushed up to the house.

a few hours later, we watched a father come home from work to find his son dead.

after 20 minutes of weeping and shouting - he finally cried out "thank you Jesus... receive my son... take care of my boy..."

as things calmed down, we were able to have some wonderful and sweet conversations with esbin's family. they thanked us over and over for the support over the last couple years. his dad said "we can never repay you for what you've done." our response, on behalf of ourselves as well as all of you who have gotten to know him, was that esbin has helped us far more than we could have ever helped him.

i was told that esbin's last words, as he looked at his mom, were "tell brock to take care of you."

no worries little buddy. i'll take care of your mom. but you have to score one against Jesus for me...

i miss you.

As he passed by he saw a man blind from birth. And the disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he may be born blind?" Jesus answered them, "it was not that this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God may be displayed in him." John 9:1-3

the truth is: there are tough days

2010-07-20T15:55:00.005-04:00

i think i started blogging regularly in 2005. i love to journal, and i use blogging as a way to "log" experiences, feelings, things that i am going through and things that i am learning. i see great value in being able to go back and read them - seeing God's hand in everything that i go through.

i do like that it is also a way for people to follow things that happen here in guatemala, but the thought that people are reading them is not the motivator.

however, i almost didn't write this one simply for that reason.

it crosses my mind at times that i don't want my bloggings to make it seem like i am struggling. i don't want people to read them and ever say "boy, they are really sacrificing." i dont want to come across as having the "poor me's". so sometimes after tough days or frustrating/challenging experiences, i will write about those in a different hand-written journal.

but why? if i am to answer honestly... its because i am concerned with what people think. i don't want people to feel sorry for us. for some reason i don't fully understand, my pride doesn't want to hear friends/family say "i am sorry that happened", or even "hang in there." i think its because i am a problem solver, so i just prefer fixing it and going on. or, if it's not "fixable", i want to put it to rest, forget about it, and start over the next day.

God is teaching me that this is not always a good thing. we were created for community. i need encouragement, edification, opinions/thoughts from others, wisdom, counsel. maybe it's someone who has been through a similar situation that can shed some light, or maybe its the person who sarcastically responds "quit complaining."

i am accepting (with God's grace and patience) the fact that i prefer facing tough times alone for other reasons as well. simply put, i always want people to think we are doing great, that the ministry is thriving, and that every day is productive and amazing.

i am working on it. step one... writing this blog.

the last couple weeks have been strange and hard. many people in this community that i love have seemed darker and upset. lots of dirty looks. i am having to confront guys in the street who are messing with my daughters. drunks (who are normally "happy drunks") have been aggressive and belligerent with us. various people in the village we work have blasted me about how bad we are because of how often we "help others but not them."

one couple recently told kerrie and i that all we do is trap the poor by helping them. she said "maybe they don't all understand but we do." the same couple, mind you, has asked us repeatedly for a new house. we have explained to them before that we don't feel their need for a home compares to the needs of many others.

these types of things have been sprinkled into our lives ever since we moved here. but the last few weeks seems to have been full of them. crime issues have heightened a bit. there is a different mood. i pray it passes.

is missionary work supposed to be hard like this? i think the answer is a clear "yes." serving is hard. unfortunately, for every one that we help, several others are jealous if not angry. part of the deal i guess.

i pray for a steady mind and a pure heart. i struggle. the next guy who gives the up-down stare at my 13 yr old daughter might receive a broken nose. maybe that wouldn't be very missionary like, but that's where i am...

thanks for listening.

my cool kids

2010-07-12T00:55:00.005-04:00

give a dad a minute to brag...

this weekend the kids had their first soccer games in a new league they are playing in, in antigua.

madi and brooke haven't played on an organized team since we moved here almost 2 years ago... this after playing softball, basketball and soccer year round when we lived in the states! needless to say they have missed it, but until recently we haven't found any leagues for girls.

anyway, mark & gina's spanish teacher julio found a women's league, and they just had their first game. they are the youngest on the team (most are 20's and 30's). their team won, and they had a blast. madi played midfield and brooke fullback, and they played awesome! they are so excited for the season ahead...

jake also started in a league of boys his age, since the league he was playing in here in magdalena has boys from 6-16 on the same team! they won their first game 5-1 and jake had 3 goals and 2 assists. but even better, i was so proud to see him play so aggressive, flying around the field at 100% the whole game. i am amazed at how good he has gotten at soccer, b/c before we came to guatemala all he wanted to do was basketball and baseball. kerrie was laughing at me as i jumped up and down cheering!

so proud of my kids. not just for playing great soccer games, but for the awesome transition and adjustment they have made.

statistics on boys/dads

2010-07-07T12:56:00.004-04:00

on the plane back from our family reunion in south florida, i was reading a magazine article on absence of fathers. maybe the #s struck me harder since my heart is softer in this area as we pray and prepare to begin an academy for boys.

boys without fathers in the home are:

- 5 times more likely to commit crimes
- 5 times more likely to end up living in poverty
- 9 times more likely to drop out of school
- 20 times more likely to end up in prison

the data is equally as alarming for girls without fathers. girls without fathers in the home are:

- twice as likely to have sex at a young age
- 7 times as likely to get pregnant as an adolescent

the data only supports what we have already felt and seen. that is why we believe that saving the boys saves everything. if a boy can grow up hearing about and seeing Jesus, surrounded by good men who love God, love & respect their wives, and live with integrity... he can lead his family, and his community in a different direction. the cycle can be broken, and future generations will be changed.

while our mission will be to the boys of Buena Vista, Guatemala, the trend is the same no matter where you are. boys need men. they need love. they need example. they need Jesus.

seasons

2010-06-30T18:37:00.004-04:00

i love summer and hate winter. always have. i remember growing up (who am i kidding, i still do it), wishing with frustration that the cold would hurry up and pass so we could enjoy 100 degree days again.

i am learning how our independent journey's with God are like seasons. suffering, blessing, rest, growth, etc, can all be seasons that God gives us at any given time.

there are so many things happening right now...

we leave tomorrow morning for a quick trip to the US - its a johnson family reunion in south florida. super excited to see everyone and relax for a few days.

but when we come back we've got steady back-to-back mission teams through the summer, until the end of august. there is lots to do and we've got some great projects lined up for the teams to help get some work done!

all this while the vision for the boys academy is truly beginning to take shape. we see the coming months closing on land, praying for funds, breaking ground on the facility, planning to move our family to buena vista, praying for more funds...

with so much going on, stress can creep in and be a buzz kill. while there is definitely a temptation to enter freak-out mode, it is pretty cool how God gives peace when you know the "busyness" was instigated by Him alone.

life is made up of seasons. i have had plenty of busy ones. but personally i prefer the simple seasons of life moving slowly, full of relationships and community, with lots of time to read. i can anticipate that the next few months won't be like that, but that's ok.

more important than anything is that we embrace the season that God gives, and seek to bring glory to His name whichever it might be. for now i am buckling up for a crazy next few months. praise God.

train! milk! carrots!

2010-06-26T19:05:00.005-04:00

anyone remember the 80's movie Stand By Me? if so, you'll remember the part when the kids are walking across the bridge and the train comes up behind them. hold that thought for a sec...

today me and my girls, along with our friend carter who is staying with us, went to deliver a food basket to a family. noelia is a single mom with 4 kids (pictured), and they have been sponsored to receive a new home but are still about a month away from their start date.

the sponsor for their home recently sent us some money and asked us to bring them some food. it was enough money for a huge basket of various things - probably a month to 6 weeks worth of food.

when we walked in the house, the mood was somber. it was raining hard outside, and all 4 kids were snugged up together on their only bed - cold and quiet. we talked for a while, then carter and i went out to get the food basket. when we walked back in, the mood changed completely.

with the same passion that the kid in Stand By Me stands up and yells "trrraaaain!", noelia's kids popped up and looked at the basket with bright eyes - one yelling "miiiilk!", another yelling "pineapple!", and another yelling "carrots!".

i successfully fought back my tears.

for the rest of our visit, as i watched my girls play and laugh with their kids, i thought about how excited they were to see food.

i thought about how animated their reactions were. easily as animated as when the kid from Stand By Me yelled "train."

stolen camera, God's grace

2010-06-23T22:46:00.003-04:00

couple hard days working the jobsite. like always, it refreshes the respect that i have for my workers who do the same thing, day in and day out. i am feeling a sore back from digging and throwing shovels of dirt for a couple of days...

interesting thing happened yesterday. i left my camera on the jobsite, sitting on a window seal with a coffee mug. not worried about it, i returned today to find the coffee mug but no camera.

with almost 100% certainty, it turns out the very family we are building a new home for - stole my camera. while i do not think it was the older, widowed woman we are building a home for, it was undoubtedly one of her sons or other family members.

this was a camera my parents gave me for christmas. a great little camera with HD video that i have been using almost every day.

how am i supposed to handle this? i asked all the family members today if they had seen a camera, and of course they all said "no".

my flesh says stop construction until someone returns it. my spirit says explain to them that while i know one of them stole my camera, we will continue to love them anyway.

maybe a way to show them how unimaginable God's grace is towards us, despite our constant sin against him.

pacaya damage - francisco's new home

2010-06-21T01:05:00.003-04:00

you may have already seen the pictures mark posted of some of the aftermath of the eruption of volcano pacaya. if not, you can check it out here.

we finally were able to make it up there and build a home for our friend francisco and his family. they lost everything in the disaster. their home was destroyed, along with their beds and practically all of their belongings. he explained that the damage was due to 50lb boulders that shot out from the volcano - where in the center they were filled with lava. the boulders would come down the mountain crashing into homes, and as they broke open the lava would destroy whatever it touched. he described it simply as "amazing."

anyway, along with carl bunso & carter jackson in town, we were able to spend a day in the rain building franciso, his mom, grandma, and one of his brother's (with wife and child) a new 2-bedroom home. they were extremely grateful. we are looking forward to coming back soon with a team to build 2 more homes.

another close call with esbin

2010-06-20T20:27:00.002-04:00

yesterday romulo and i were in a widowed lady's home, looking it over as a potential candidate for a 12x12 house. we were interrupted by mildred, esbin's sister, who was frantically explaining that esbin is having trouble breathing.

when we got there, esbin was clearly in trouble. he could not breath, and seemed to be moving in and out of consciousness, with his eyes frequently rolling back into is head. we called for help, and dr. carlos was there within 15 minutes.

according to the doc, we normally breath at 95-100%, and should never dip below 85%. he was breathing at 55%. his lungs are full of mucus and needed to be drained. the next couple of hours was spent doing this...

when we left he was feeling better. please keep him in your prayers. this is the 4th time this has happened in recent months, and the specialist from guatemala city doesn't seem to think he has much more time.

co2 youth group

2010-06-13T14:12:00.003-04:00

been a busy week with a youth group from lake city, FL in town. what an amazing week. this group of kids came down with the excitement and energy to pour themselves out in service. they had raised and donated 20k to purchase the land for the future Boys Academy! i was reminded by a friend how cool that is... that a group of "youth" from the US are laying the foundation for a ministry to the "youth" of guatemala! never underestimate what kids can do!

while here, these kids worked on building a home, brought running water to a family that has never had it before, repaired a family's roof, and brought donations, love, and hugs to orphaned kids with HIV. and these are just a few highlights....

you can watch a video from their trip by clicking here.

THANK YOU C02!!

pacaya & agatha

2010-06-02T18:53:00.003-04:00

in the last several days, guatemala has been nailed by 2 different natural disasters. first volcano pacaya erupted, killing several people including a cnn reporter. entire villages were wiped out by lava and avalanches. our friend franciso, who lives in a village on volcano pacaya, lost his house and all his belongings. we've got to do something...

then tropical storm agatha came. so far the storm has killed more than 180 people, with another 100 still missing. last report said over 35,000 homes have been destroyed, leaving approximately 300,000 people homeless.

we almost lost two of our 12x12 love project homes, as the edges of the mountains they were built on washed out right up to their front porches. all in all, our villages got through ok. others, just a few miles away, weren't so fortunate.

join us in prayer for these people.

god speaking to me through romulo

2010-05-28T22:23:00.004-04:00

today i was on the jobsite helping work on the current 12x12 home. during lunch break romulo and i were sitting talking (romulo is the foreman for the 12x12 construction ministry.) where we were sitting had us both watching the happenings of a next door neighbors place. as we talked, a drunk guy kept harassing us, shouting about how he wanted a new house. i told him we could talk another day. romulo finally nudged him off.

the neighbor's house we watched had 6 or 7 kids running around. all morning they had been on their own, occasionally walking over to hang out with us. the oldest looked about 14, and the youngest maybe 3. the oldest girl stayed busy sweeping and cleaning, and every once in a while she'd ask some of the others where the little ones were.

i asked romulo if he knew them, he said yes. i asked if the kids are always alone like they are today... again, he said yes. i asked if he knew where their parents are... he told me the mom is in another city, working a vegetable stand, and the dad is the drunk guy who just left us.

i know this guy. he is drunk in the street almost every single day. usually passed out on the sidewalk or street after taking a hard fall.

romulo and i continued to talk about how sad their situation is. he told me he has known their family for years. we talked about how these kids have no hope. they have no example. no one teaching them anything. no one encouraging them, nor disciplining them. no one loving them.

they dont go to school because no one cares if they do or not.

after a couple minutes of silence, romulo asked me "and you know who is guilty?" who, i asked. "the dad."

he went on to tell me that this family has never had a leader. he said these kids have no hope because their dad is their example, and they will likely follow his footsteps.

as i listened to romulo, i thought of our vision that we have been having for the boys of Buena Vista. for over a year now, we have been feeling led to start a ministry devoted to mentoring young boys, with hopes that they may see there is another way, and break the generational patterns they follow.

romulo doesn't know anything about this, yet i felt God was using him to speak to me, to remind me, to push me forward.

thanks for the reminder romulo. thanks for the encouragement God.

candelario

2010-05-24T19:50:00.004-04:00

We met Candelario over a year ago. Romulo had recommended we visit his family as a potential candidate for a new home. When we arrived, he wasn't home, but his wife and daughter-in-law's were there.

It was a great visit. His wife was so sweet, and his daughter-in-laws had a similar sweet way about them. His wife told me she thought Candelario was out drinking. A little embarassed, she looked at the ground as she told me.

Since then, we have slowly developed a friendship with Candelario and his family. He is an alcoholic, and he admits it. He knows it is a problem. We intentionally talk openly with him about it (unusual in this culture), and confess our own struggles in an attempt to let him know that we love him all the same, and that God's grace is sufficient.

On Christmas Eve night, 2009, we showed up at Candelario's house with food baskets. The Moreau family was visiting us, and it was something that God had put on Paul's heart to do. We arrived with the food only to find out that they had NOTHING TO EAT on Christmas Eve or on Christmas Day. Candelario's sons (young men) cried as they realized that God knew their hunger, and He had sent us to bring them something to eat.

Finally, in February of 2010 we received sponsors to build Candelario a new home, complete with a bathroom.

One of the challenges was that they have 8 children, 7 of which are adults who have their own families. So 19 people (Candelario, his wife, 6 of their kids with their spouses, and 6 grandkids) all sleep together - packed into a giant tin shack. One of our standard 12x12 Love Project homes would not be enough. So God blessed us with 3 different sponsors to build a home twice the size of our normal houses!

When we delivered the news the family was ecstatic. Candelario was a few drinks into his evening when we arrived, but i honestly think the news sobered him up! They cried and celebrated as we shared the plan to build a house big enough for all of them.

Over the months that followed, genuine friendships developed. Candelario is doing better, and he regularly initiates the conversation about his drinking and how he is improving. The conversation always seems to find a way back to the grace of God... to the cross of Jesus.

The key ceremony was a sweet moment. Candelario emotionally shared that this home is "beyond all of my dreams." He said that he had honestly dreamt about having a block home with doors and windows, that he could pass down to his children, but that it was always just a dream with no possibility of becoming true.

I asked Romulo (the 12x12 Construction Foreman) to give Candelario the keys to his new home. Fighting back tears of his own, Romulo said to his friend since elementary school, "with these keys, your dreams have come true."

I believe Candelario and his family are learning about Jesus. I believe God is using the 12x12 Love Project and it's supporters to open doors of true friendship and discipleship. He is using this ministry as an tool to make known his grace and love.

for lots of pics of the construction process and key ceremony, CLICK HERE

anna's family dry tonight

2010-05-21T01:12:00.003-04:00

as i type it is pouring outside and i am thankful. about a month ago, our neighbor anna asked if we could help with her roof, which was full of holes and leaking water. we finished the project this week... and tonight anna & carlos, and their 3 beautiful girls are sleeping dry in the rainstorm. praise God.

blanca's 15th birthday

2010-05-18T13:50:00.005-04:00

here it's called a quinceanera. its the HUGE celebration when a girl turns 15. in latin cultures, its kind of like welcoming the girl into womanhood.

if you're unfamiliar with blanca suzanna, please give a few minutes to watch this video about her life and how we met her before reading on...

about 2 weeks before her 15th birthday, blanca asked me if we could all come to her party ("all the gringos", she said). of course we said yes, and began asking her more about it. there really wasn't anything planned, as normally a quinceanera resembles an all-out wedding bash... and this family has zero resources to throw a party. nonetheless, blanca was determined to have a quinceanera.

we decided to try to make it a little bit more special for her. kerrie and gina spent a day with her shopping for a dress, shoes, etc. they also took blanca out to lunch, which i'm sure was a first time experience for her.

blanca's blue dress was exactly what she wanted, and it fit her perfectly without needing anything done. they also picked up a new dress for blanca's mom.

the morning of the party, kerrie and gina took blanca and her mom to get their hair done. probably another first...

it was a sweet day. blanca cried as people hugged her and told her how beautiful she looked. her mom and family members made chicken, and others chipped in to bring salad, tortillas, and drinks.

considering her life story, blanca sadly gave up a normal childhood long ago. but i hope she always remembers her 15th birthday party.

see all the pics from the event HERE

no soy doctor

2010-05-16T00:04:00.004-04:00

struggling with the new role of doctor, taxi, and ambulance. word has hit the street that we've taken some people to the hospital, helped with medicine, helped some people get surgeries, etc. but it seems like someone made a public announcement in the last 3 days!

yesterday i was asked 4 separate times for help with medical surgeries. each one started "i heard you are taking people to the hospital."

today i was asked another 3-4 times (twice inside a 10 window about an hour ago - 9pm). 2 separate knocks at the door asking for a ride to the hospital. the first was for a 9 month pregnant woman, the 2nd for a baby that her mom thought needed to get to the hospital.

man... talk about difficult to discern. God, help us know what are emergencies and what is not. obviously we can't be a full time medical shuttle to the city.

kerrie and i went and checked on the 2yr old. gave her some fever reducer and some gatorade and we'll see in the morning. as for the pregnant mom, turns out she wasn't even in labor... just wanted to know if we would take here when her labor starts! she thinks it will be tonight or tomorrow...

wheww... it is already impossible to get through the to-do list each day. running around to hospitals on a daily basis doesn't seem possible. sure would appreciate the prayers. needing God's help in discerning...

cecilia's cancer scare

2010-05-11T23:18:00.005-04:00

the child pictured to your right is named elda. she is 6. she thought her mom was dying of cancer.

a month ago cecilia walked into our medical clinic and told jon, one of the doctor's, that she was dying of cancer. she had already been diagnosed and needed a surgery that she couldn't afford. in tears she asked us "who is going to take care of my 5 children?"

the next couple of weeks was spent learning more. doctor's, blood tests, and a cancer treatment center... not to mention long and difficult talks with the family.

as is becoming the case more and more, we are realizing challenges that we never could have foreseen. to make a very long story short, this ordeal has taught us more about:

the corruption in the guatemalan health care system, where the poor are exploited and told they need expensive surgeries when they really don't. knowing they cannot research things, go for second opinions, etc, the doctor's know that the poor will return to their villages, borrow money from friends and family, sell their things, and collect the necessary money "so they don't die."
the challenge of educating the poor as they receive medical attention. with no education whatsoever, and no ability to read, they simply listen to doctors with no idea what they are saying, and are too intimidated to ask questions. (we discovered cecilia had a surgery that removed a cancerous cyst on her uterus and she didn't even know it)
the challenge of educating the poor as to the importance of hygiene. cecilia and her husband do not bathe regularly, and told the doctor it's because of old stories passed down from their grandparents about the danger of water getting inside your body through your private parts.
the need for the poor to have a voice - an advocate who can speak for them and defend their rights so they can be taken seriously.

through all of this, the good news is that cecilia is fine. she is cancer free, the infections are cleared up, and she seems to have a healthier life ahead of her.

and elda, who hasn't left her mom's bed (thinking she was dying) can finally return to school knowing that mommy is ok.

"why do they do it?"

2010-05-05T21:54:00.007-04:00

a while back some friends (who wished to stay anonymous) donated the funds to build a home for a local family named the Marroquin's. at that time, the Marroquin's lived in a mud and cornstalk home. click here to watch a short 2 min video about them...

ever since then, a friendship has been developing. we love to visit the Marroquin's, hang out with them and their kids, and just sit and visit.

another friend, who had connected with the Marroquin's while he was here visiting, sent money for Christmas gifts for the kids. you can watch that little video here...

not long after that, the same family that donated their home sent birthday gifts to the family. we brought the gifts...color books, toys, etc. there was also a spanish bible included.

recently, the anonymous family also donated bunk-beds and linens to the family, so that the 5 of them no longer had to share the same twin-size bed.

as we were installing the beds, Maria (the mom) told me she had to tell me something. beaming with excitement, she began explaining that on the evening the birthday presents were delivered, her husband Eulalio asked her out of the blue: "why do they do it?".

when she asked what he was talking about, he went on to explain that he didn't understand why the gringos keep blessing them. it did not make sense to him, and he was convinced that there must be some reason. something selfish or self gratifying, he thought.

Maria explained to her husband that she thought it was because "they just love God and they want to help people."

Maria went on to tell me that after a few days had passed, Eulalio said to her, "if that's the only reason they are doing it, than i want to know more about their God."

so she recommended he start reading the bible that was given to them...

he read the bible each night for several weeks (praise God he can read, as most in the village cannot). one evening, to Maria's amazement, he told her while laying in bed, "I think want to follow Jesus." she said they talked all night... and he went on to commit his life to Jesus and was baptized in his local church the following week.

in tears, Maria said their family life has been completely different ever since - "full of joy and peace." still poor... still struggling to get by... but full of joy and peace. she told me that Eulalio is a different person, husband, and father.

she said to me as she wiped her eyes: "i want you to know that it's all because of you guys. you have shown us God's love and you have shown us Jesus. we learned about His love by the way you love us."

for me there is nothing more encouraging than seeing people come to Jesus through seeing Him, feeling Him, and being touched by Him.

i'm sure Eulalio has "heard" about Jesus his entire life. but until recently, he had never been radically loved on in Jesus' name. that's our job as the church.

when asked what is the greatest commandment of all, Jesus said: "love your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength... and love your neighbor as yourself."

thank you to everyone who has loved the Marroquin's as themselves. one has been added to God's kingdom as a result.

dSg teams

2010-04-30T09:53:00.006-04:00

now that the dust is settling from the teams-hosting shake up, God is beginning to show us some direction with regards to hosting groups. (we still need help personnel-wise... but we're certain he's got that under control too!)

God has initiated so many wonderful ministries here. the 12x12 love project construction ministry, the playground and community center, the chicken micro businesses, sports programs, kitchen-stove-bathroom projects, and of course the regular medical emergency situations that we take on.

in addition, we have been so blessed to be joined in purpose with a handful of churches and families who support what we are doing. selfless folks who don't seek mission trips for their own purposes, but who genuinely come to serve and pour themselves out. thankfully, these groups love and support our ministry, and simply want to come help out with what God has already begun.

that approach has shaped our philosophy as we continue to host occasional mission teams. not to mention, it sure takes the edge off... we don't have to go through hoops to make it a "great week" for anyone. we don't have to over-do the catering. no need to over-think or over-plan. just allow friends to come down and serve the poor and take part in what God is doing.

with this approach, the Holy Spirit has complete freedom to lead. so long as we're listening, we can anticipate that He has something incredible for each team, whether we see it coming or not.

basically we can approach each team not as if we are going to plan out a great mission trip experience for them - but rather that God has entrusted us to seek His will for this group, and to give an opportunity to meet the needs of the poor.

before our last team, i read the following "vision statement" as related to dSg teams:

"you are here to serve the poor. this is an opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus to some people whose needs are far greater than our own, perhaps greater than anything you've ever seen. this week is not about "us" or "our experience", but rather it is about them. it's about serving them, and God can do to us whatever He wants to. we are not aiming to give you a great week here. that may not be what God has for you! we will simply give you the opportunity to meet the needs of the poor, to hear the voice of Jesus through the poor, and leave the rest up to the Holy Spirit."

thank you God for leading us regarding how to approach teams. thank you for being so far ahead of us always! we are so thankful for our family of teams who support us, and seek to come serve the beautiful people of guatemala. and we can't wait to see what else you have in store!

pictured to the right: children in Buena Vista saying goodbye to the Watershed Charlotte team.

Juan Miguel

2010-04-27T22:27:00.004-04:00

its been a couple weeks since my last blog. hard to find time to sit and reflect when so much happens so fast. right now i sit here amazed at it all, and want to share just one quick story.

we had some friends visiting from watershed charlotte, and we were hanging out in the village of Buena Vista with some locals. a woman who is the local midwife for the town yelled my name and i walked over. she was in a panic. she explained that she was delivering a baby (in someone's home) and there were serious complications. "come now" she yelled... so we went.

when we got there, Marina was lying in the bed. she was dilated 10 cm, and had been in hard labor for a couple hours, but contractions had stopped. she was drifting in and out of consciousness. our doctors who were with us told us immediately that she needed to get to a hospital.

for most people who live in Buena Vista, this is not possible. this is a village where people earn a few dollars a day (if they have work). catching a bus to the hospital is hard enough, but the bigger challenges are the actual money it takes to have the baby, or the education to even know what to do or where to go. in extreme poverty when these things happen, it is considered "their time" and someone simply dies.

to sum up what was a CRAZY next couple of hours... we rushed Marina, along with her husband and mom, to a hospital in Antigua. through the help of some great friends who i called along the way, we were able to contact the hospital from the car and they were ready when we arrived.

as i drove like a maniac to the hospital, the docs in the van were fully prepared to deliver the baby in the car. they tried to get Marina to push several times, for fear that it may already be too late, but she couldn't do it as she was barely awake.

when we arrived, John, the emergency paramedic from charlotte, was yelling out all of the vitals to bring them up to speed. with no time to waste, John was given some scrubs and he went into the ER with the local doctors. the local OB doctor did a quick exam and decided to try one time to induce the labor and have the baby naturally before going to an emergency C-section.

we all waited with the husband and mother, looking through a small square window into a hallway in the ER... after just a few minutes, John came around the corner holding a crying baby up in the air. we erupted into shouts of joy and praise to God.

they named him "Juan Miguel"... "Juan" after the gringo EMT who delivered him, and "Miguel" after his father.

since then i have done all of the "what ifs" and the one thing i know for certain is that God had us there in that moment to fulfill His will for that mother and baby to live.

one thing about these "mission trips" that people take here is that it gives them a week without cell phones, TV, email, facebook, twitter, and all of the other distractions. it allows time for constant prayer and seeking. time for reflection and time for discussion. time to ask God to lead us and use us.

He sooo desires that we seek Him, follow Him, and make ourselves fully available for Him to use. and it is truly incredible what He does with us when we do.

grace and worth

2010-04-04T20:01:00.004-04:00

the last few days we have been talking a lot as a family about grace. we've been sharing with our kids about Jesus' death, what it means, why it happened, etc. and really the word grace sums it all up. he bore the bloody punishment, flogging, beating and brutal death that i deserve. that all of us deserve. to think God gave up his own son to receive all of that in my place... that is grace.

i have also been thinking about what grace means as we measure what we are worth. what are we worth to God for him to do this for us? what value would something have to have in order for me to give up my son jake - to be beaten and crucified - in its place.

think about "value" from a business standpoint. certain things have more value than others. for example, a new porsche is worth more than a beat up work truck. now think of everyone you know. do some seem like new porsche's, and others like old beaters?

but to God, there is no one with greater value than another. mine and your value is exactly the same as the malnourished guatemalan child, his skin covered in scabies, and his bloodstream carrying the sexually transmitted diseases passed down from his parents. with arguably no hope for his life, his value is no different than mine. to the one who created him, he is worth the same as those who are considered the most powerful people in the world: presidents, billionaires, businessmen, and entertainers.

that is grace.

the more i grow in Christ, the more i want to know grace.

~to ignore to the poor is to not understand grace.
~to look differently at other races is to not understand grace.
~to be overly patriotic to the point of arrogance is to not understand grace.
~to consider myself better than anyone else is to not understand grace.

sometimes i forget that my "good fortune" has nothing to do with me, but is only by His grace.

as we continue to gladly receive His grace, we should be being changed by His grace, and learning to extend it to others the way He does to us.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Eph 2:4-7

my little chapin

2010-03-28T00:18:00.005-04:00

chapin is what guatemalans call themselves.

lately i have been amazed watching my kids live and interact so comfortably in the guatemalan culture. on friday they received their grades for their first semester of exams and they were all in the top three in their entire grade levels! normally this wouldn't be so incredible, but considering they are in a local, fully spanish speaking school i think it is pretty amazing.

yesterday jake was invited to a movie in guatemala city with a bunch of his classmates. as they ran around in the play area outside the theater, i was so proud as i watched him interact with his buddies. the way he has picked up the language (including slang!) is crazy. the picture attached is of jake arm-wrestling a buddy on his soccer team...

the only downside is that he is losing a bit of his english. he had just turned 7 when we arrived in guatemala (he is about to turn 9) ...so i have to remember he really didn't have any advanced english grammer in his brain when we got here!

for example, today he said "i am going to go remember Eli and Isaac about the game." in spanish, the same word (recordar) is used for "remind" and "remember." when i brought it to his attention he genuinely did not understand the english explanation. he had forgotten the meaning of the word "remind."

another one... the other day he said "don't worry, i'll cuidar for the ball!" he didn't even realize he threw a spanish word in the sentence. when i asked him about it, he thought for a second (and laughed with me), then said "but dad, i really don't know how to say 'cuidar' in english."

not long ago, someone asked jake what state he was from in the US and he answered "jacksonville." when kerrie said, "jake, he asked what state are you from", jake said sarcastically, "i know, and i said jaackksoonviille" in a long drawn out voice that implied kerrie was the dummy! we laughed so hard...

while there is a part of us that wants to make sure he learns his english, american history, geography, etc... we are so very thankful that he is embracing the guatemalan language and culture, and thriving in his new environment.

my girls are too... but i'll write about how proud i am of them in another blog!

lunch at lazaro's

2010-03-27T23:30:00.001-04:00

if you are unfamiliar with lazaro, you can watch a short video about him and his family here.

we have had some great times hanging out with lazaro's family recently. kerrie and the kids have really been connecting with their girls and helping with reading and writing the last few times we've stopped by. last week we were able to deliver them 2 sets of bunkbeds that a friend donated (they have 9 kids). the kids were giddy and carmen commented "i don't understand all of this blessing."

last week they invited us to come to their house for lunch today. they were so happy to host all 11 of us (our family and the schmidts). they were literally chuckling with joy as they served the food.

when it was time to leave, lazaro said something that i'll never forget. "we're sad that you have to leave. our house lights up with happiness when you're here." kerrie and i fought back tears...

lazaro doesn't claim to be christian or catholic (basically everyone here is one or the other), which probably means he has in some way been burned by both.

as we continue to build this friendship, my prayer is that he and his family will come to know that - while He may be using many of us - it is Jesus who is blessing them, and lighting up their home when we come.

kerrie saved his life

2010-03-22T22:22:00.009-04:00

the doctor said if he had gone to bed that night without medical attention, he wouldn't have woken up.

for a few days before this, kerrie (my wife) had been saying she wanted to get esbin to the doctor. she said he was acting different, breathing strangely, and she felt like something serious was wrong. by saturday, kerrie was determined to get him seen. i saw esbin's mom that morning and asked how he was. "much better", she said. "he has been resting and is feeling ok."

good enough for me. no need to make doctor office runs on this already very busy day. but kerrie insisted, so we picked him up and took him to the doctor.

one of his lungs had shut down, and more mucus had to be drained from his lungs than you can possibly imagine. doctor carlos couldn't believe it, and once he was finished draining his lungs he began antibiotics through IV fluids for 3-4 consecutive days.

ever since all of this went down i have been thanking God for my wife's determination and willingness to trust fully what she felt the Holy Spirit telling her. despite being told by esbin's own mother that he was fine, kerrie insisted that what she was feeling was strong and that she was going to act on it.

when doc told us that esbin would have not made it through the night (he said, quote: "i am certain, certain, certain"), i felt like my heart was going to stop. this is the kid that so many people have prayed for, donated money to, and loved on. this is the kid that we have taken to the dentist the last 10 monday mornings, to therapy, to specialists, etc, etc. i was so thankful that he was still with us.

God is not finished with esbin. the Holy Spirit is real. my wife is my hero.

miracle

2010-03-17T23:02:00.008-04:00

what does it mean when the bible says "speak for the poor when they cannot speak for themselves"? why would they not be able to speak for themselves? they can speak up just like anyone else, right?

the last couple days, as we have been navigating Milagros and her husband through the necessary steps (consultations, clinics, lab work, tests, and finally today's surgery) i was able to get a better feel for that what that passage means. Milagros and her husband, at each stop along the way, were faced with questions and paperwork.

but neither one of them can write their own name, much less read through and fill out medical forms.

without people speaking up for them, how could have ever been possible? first, they needed more money than they have ever seen in their lives in order to pay for the operation. but beyond that, they had never been out of their village and surrounding area, much less to the "nice side" of guatemala city. it was total culture shock. they were brighter-eyed than a 3 year old stumbling into FAO Schwarz! as forms were slid in front of them, they looked at us the same way every time, as if to say in desperation, "please help."

update and today's surgery
within 24 hours from sending out the story of Milagros needing surgery, we had over $1,800 more donated - to equal over 2,800 total. this covers all expenses, including medication and follow up appointments!

this morning, mark and i picked up Milagros, along with her husband and sister (pictured above) at 4:30am. surgery was at 7:30 and everything was finished at 9:00. it went wonderfully and the doctor said she's going to feel like new within days. even the painful recovery after a hysterectomy will be a comfortable relief compared to how she has felt the last 2+ years.

in spanish, Milagros' name means miracle. i believe that it is nothing short of a miracle that she had a surgery today that - to quote her husband - "no matter how long we worked we would never be able to pay for this". we are talking about a family that, with steady work for the husband at about $4.50 per day, will earn around $1,000 this year.

so in 24 hours, God, using many of you, provided approximately 3 years of salary for Milagros' family in order to have the operation that she needed to make her well. if you asked her, do you think she would say that's a miracle?

thank you to all who have donated and prayed to make this happen.

YOU HAVE SPOKEN UP FOR PEOPLE WHO COULD NOT SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES... AND DEFENDED THE RIGHTS OF THE POOR AND NEEDY. Proverbs 31: 8-9

series of short updates

2010-03-16T10:55:00.002-04:00

MILAGROS: yesterday was an incredible day. mark and i (along with Kelly, Holly, and Roxanne who were here visiting) picked up Milagros and her sister Gerada from their village of Tablon. after dropping off the ladies at the airport, we headed to a private hospital in guatemala city. Milagros is a 37 year old woman that we met a few weeks ago. she's been suffering from abdominal pain for over 2 years. already a mother of 3, she describes it "as if i am giving birth every day of my life". she had been to a hospital over two years ago, but since she didn't have the money to pay for her follow up visit, she has been suffering ever since. anyway... we are on a mission to make her well. instead of telling the story all over again, CLICK HERE for mark's blog. if you want to help (we are still $1,375 short from what we need), you can let me know or follow the link on mark's blog.

BERTER & ANABELA: after celebrating their key ceremony (they recently received a new home through the 12x12 Love Project) some of our friends who were here visiting felt the need to get their baby Andre to the doctor. along with his mom, Anabela, we were in the clinic the next morning. Andre has a skin disease (scabies) so severe that the bugs are living in his bloodstream, completely draining his energy. we purchased medicine to kill the bugs and begin treatment to his skin. however, the doctor gave mom a complete exam as well, and determined an even greater problem. her and her husband are carrying serious sexually transmitted diseases that without treatment and hygiene care, are not going to go away. sadly, the doc explained the "taboo" nature of these diseases within the context of the poor villages and indigeneous culture. he said it is considered bad/wrong to talk about these things (sex, female issues, cleanliness, etc) and therefore the STD's, etc, continue to spread without ever being treated. while the doctor was frank and honest with Anabela, our fear was that her husband may not support the recommended changes to their lifestyle. so... mark and i decided we needed to talk with dad. knowing the cultural issues, this was chancy... but we prayed for God's help and trusted it would work out. before long, we were in a closed door meeting with Berter and Anabela. we did not mince words. we assured him that this was not Anabela's fault and to not hold it against her. we went over the procedures necessary to improve their health. we told him we love him, that we are his friends, and that he can trust us. i pray that a couple weeks from now little Andre is acting like a normal 2 yr old, and mom and dad are all cleaned up and good to go.

ESBIN: kerrie knew something was wrong. esbin was not himself. when we got him to a doctor, we were told he has pneumonia. had we waited another 24-48 hours, he said he would have had to be rushed to an emergency room. right now esbin is home, being treated with IV fluids, and using a ventilator to help him breath and drain mucus. he is going to be ok, but as many of you know he has a long road ahead of him. based on several doctor's opinions, i am beginning to doubt if his mom & dad are doing to the daily rehabilitative exercises that they should be doing in order for him to get well. he should be improving more than he is. please pray with us as we continue to support esbin and try to get him healthy again.

TABLON: about a 45 minute hike below Buena Vista, visiting the village of Tablon is always an emotional experience. a few weeks ago when we we went, we were told by the locals that they had never seen white people ("gringos") in their entire life and certainly ever in their village. last weekend, with our friends, Roxanne, Kelli, and Holly visiting, we walked through the village visiting families. the first place we stopped had recently had their kitchen collapse from the strong winds in the mountains. the second place we visited was an 82 year old lady whose home had recently collapsed during the last earthquake. standing in her filthy soot covered tin shack, she cried and explained that she had no one who cared for her. each story after that had a similar story, and similar feel of hopelessness. i told mark as we walked away from one of the homes, "every time we visit here i leave depressed." Tablon is a sad and isolated village, far from anything civilized. i always leave feeling like people are sick and unhappy. i don't know what this means for us as we continue to live and work here. but i know that we are here to show love and bring hope - and that the people of Tablon desperately need both. so... it sure feels like this is the beginning of something.

lazaro

2010-02-27T23:20:00.003-05:00

today we celebrated the key ceremony for lazaro's family. it was a great day, but extra special when you know a little bit more about lazaro. check this out...

lazaro was born into a very poor family in the town of buena vista. his father died when he was just a baby. at only the age of 3, his mom died. he was left with his grandma, who was his last living relative. three years later, his grandma died.

at 6 years old he had no one left. living in a place so poor that everyone is struggling for food, lazaro was left alone to fend for himself. from age 6 to 14, he lived on the street, bouncing around finding enough food to stay alive.

at age 15 he married a local girl named Carmen.

today, along with Carmen and 5 of his 9 children, we welcomed him into his "dream home".

the hope that i shared with Lazaro today is that this gift of a new home represents God's love for him.

a love that carried him through a difficult life. a love that never forgot about him and never let him go. and a love that still has a great purpose for his life.

i look forward to a much deeper friendship with Lazaro. but i pray that, for now, he understands that while the home he was given today is only temporary, it represents something wonderfully eternal - the relentless love of Jesus.

click here for a short video of lazaro's story

"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison..." 2 cor 4:16-17

baptism's and beer chugs

2010-02-26T13:22:00.009-05:00

during last year's mens trip to guatemala, my friend alex gave his life to Christ. on this year's trip, my brother - who has been his spiritual mentor and friend for years - had the privilege of baptizing alex in guatemala. it was an incredible experience and a special day... not only for alex and chad, but for all of us who were able to share the moment.

that night, during a group dinner at Monoloco in antigua, another buddy of chad's challenged alex to a beer chug. no rookie himself, alex accepted the challenge...

i'll never forget alex's comment to me the next morning. "what a day yesterday. i was baptized in guatemala, the place i found Jesus, by my friend who led me to the Lord... i hiked an active volcano...roasted marshmellows over the lava...toured antigua...then finished off the day with a beer chug contest against Ed O. man... i slept like a rock, and can't help but wonder what today has in store!"

i have told that story to a lot of people. as i tell it, i celebrate the paradox of grace and truth. i love how alex's day represents the freedom that we have in Christ. that his old life was symbolically washed away in the pool, and he came up from the water with a new life in Christ Jesus.

i love that he didn't come up from the water a religious stiff. that he didn't come up with a new list of "rules" in hand. a new life-manual of do's and dont's that help make you more "holy".

and i love that his group of Christian friends aren't encouraging him towards this canned variety of faith. that he can have a beer with buddies who understand boundaries and hold one another accountable.

i love that alex is a fun-loving, fun-having, fun-filled young guy with the majority of his life ahead of him. i hope his spirit of fun and joy never changes.

when i think of alex i think of his huge heart. i think of his love for this place (guatemala) and for these people. i think of his love for the poor in general. i dream of how many more memories we will have together, and how many people we will help together.

i pray that as he matures in his faith and grows in his love God and his knowledge of God, he holds tight to the freedom that he has in Christ. a freedom to be funny, goof off, have fun, and chug a brew.

i pray that as he grows in Christ, he maintains a hatred for all sin, and a passion for grace and truth.

i am thankful that he has a community of believers in charlotte that don't seek to make him a robotic american-christian prototype.

alex: be careful as people tell you what you need to become. i have watched too many people get weird and legalistic after getting "plugged in" to a certain version of Christianity. stay who you are! stay in his Word, stay close with your Christian buds, and God will refine you as He sees fit.

proverbs 21:13

2010-02-19T23:16:00.002-05:00

"If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered."

God is God

2010-02-11T09:12:00.000-05:00

its been a challenging week. there is potential for a lot of change on the horizon, and we are truly feeling the need to seek God and follow Him.

do you ever feel a great sense of comfort just basking in the thought that God is God? that no matter what, there He sits on the mighty throne, with nothing out of His control?

ahhh... that is simply the most settling and comforting thought i can come up with.

a friend sent a passage the other day, and i found it completely amazing. i had read it many times before (and always seem to remember ren mckormick reading it in the movie footloose!).

but on this particular day it spoke to me differently. maybe someone out there is having a similar type of day/week/month?

a time to break down, and a time to build up,
a time to weep, and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn, and a time to dance
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing
a time to seek, and a time to lose
a time to keep, and a time to cast away,
a time to tear, and a time to sew,
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak...

i hope the word of God encourages you today like it did me.

before/after - marroquin family home

2010-02-01T19:26:00.003-05:00

just celebrated the completion of 2 more 12x12 love project homes!

i'm going to try to make short, easy to watch 2 minute videos of the before/after stories with these homes.

each story and transformation is SO AMAZING. please take the 2 minutes to check it out.

CLICK HERE for the marroquin family video.

garcia family coming soon...