Friday, December 24, 2010

Twas the Night Before Christmas, Part 2

"Mary Did You Know"
[Originally written by Mark Lowry and Buddy Greene]

Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?

Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?

Did you know that your Baby Boy has come to make you new?

This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.



Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man?

Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy will calm the storm with His hand?

Did you know that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod?

When you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God?



Mary did you know.. Ooo Ooo Ooo



The blind will see.

The deaf will hear.

The dead will live again.

The lame will leap.

The dumb will speak

The praises of The Lamb.



Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?

Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would one day rule the nations?

Did you know that your Baby Boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?

The sleeping Child you're holding is the Great, I Am.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

I’m sitting at the kitchen table on Christmas Eve, my family getting supper and Christmas tree lights blinking in the background, trying to summarize the last 3 months into 20 top principles of development. After searching through my journal and notebook, picking out my favorite principles (which I narrowed down to fifty), and trying to explain what I’ve learned about community development in a five sentence paragraph, I’ve decided a quote is the best way to do it. It’s from what I would say is THE foundational book on community development. Interestingly enough, it’s both a biography and an autobiography. The main author was our key teacher during the last 3 months. He not only has a profound knowledge of human nature, but writes from hands-on experience in hundreds of communities from many different cultures worldwide. He has worked with communities suffering from relational and spiritual poverty in the U.S. and Europe all the way to starving, marginalized communities in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. I knew and respected him before I got to Costa Rica, but experiencing this school with him, watching him live both inside and outside of the classroom, has not only challenged my intellect, but my heart and the way I live as well. This is an experience he had:




“On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

‘What is written in the Law?’ he replied. ‘How do you read it?’

He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

‘You have answered correctly,’ Jesus replied. ‘Do this and you will live.’”



I want to point out a few things:

• My teacher didn’t answer the man’s question- he encouraged him to find his own answer.

• The man’s correct answer (or the solution to his problem) was holistic- it involved every area of his being and life.

• The solution began with living in relationship, intimacy, and obedience to God.

• The solution was manifested in relationship with other people.

• Knowledge of the correct answer wasn’t the solution; the solution was the application of the principles in his life.

If community development does not focus on changing a person’s heart and beliefs, all the practical solutions in the world are treatments, not cures. Poverty starts in our beliefs, and translates into our physical lives. The solution starts with God. The desire for change has to start with the community, and they will value and participate in the change if they discover the solution for themselves. And as my teacher says, knowledge is worthless unless applied to our lives. Transformation begins with me.

That’s a glimpse and a summary of the last 3 months- there is so much more about how and when and with who and with what that really I think you should just go take the school and discover it for yourself ; ). Thank you, everyone who has been a part of this journey. I'd love to share more specifics with you personally, so get in touch if you're curious ; ). Merry Christmas!

Friday, December 17, 2010

Nicoya

The sunlight streaming though the van window gently prods me awake. Through my mosquito net, the green mountains and pastures filled with grazing cattle invite the day in, along with the sounds of running, playing children in the large lot we’re parked in. I wiggle out of my sleeping bag, the heat close to unbearable already, and soak in the peace of quiet countryside.


The last few weeks have been a blur of classes, homework, and writing an intense 40 page Final Project demonstrating an application of topics covered. With topics as varied as resource stewardship, community health education, microenterprise, and church planting, still God has brought a couple recurring themes out: transformation starts with me and development must be wholistic. Then there is the question of what comes next simmering on the backburner of my mind. I smile at the thought of upcoming Christmas trees and family. And God. He’s pretty cool, actually. Guiding me through the waiting on direction, using the teachers to speak truth into my mind and about issues that much of the world faces daily. I’m enjoying this intimacy that is beginning to flow in our relationship as he challenges me on compromising and strengthens me in the inevitable spiritual resistance to obeying that challenge.

But today, the final project is handed in, it’s a long weekend, and decisions can wait for another day. After the cold weather, constant traffic, and cement landscape of mountainous San Jose, the sunshine, grass, and blue skies of the Nicoya YWAM base unthaw the stress. All of the bases in Costa Rica have gathered here for a weekend of casual fellowship, complete with a South Pacific style pig roast, campfire worship, a soccer game, and long bike rides on bumpy back roads. Thanks Jesus, for a weekend to experience your peace on a tiny farm in Costa Rica.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

On You

You are hope.
It's on this Hope I build my heart.
You are love.
It's on this Love I build my soul.
You are strong.
It's on this Strength I build my life.
You are truth.
It's on this Truth I build my mind.
It's on You.
It's on who You are.
Every good thing in me was in You first.
I am made in Your image.
And it is only in You that I have purpose.

You are doing something.
You are doing many things everywhere.
In the lives around me, in every life
In every tiny village hidden in the jungle or in the mountains
In every city flowing with progress and culture
You are doing something.
There is no place, no individual without hope
Because of You.

Friday, November 5, 2010

The Rocio Project: Week 6

As a display of typical Paraguayan dress,
Analia and I got to wear beautiful skirts and
blouses all night!!!
The pen scratches across the paper for a moment, and then pauses as I glance up, trying to find the words to capture my thought. In my brief break of focus, I notice AnalĂ­a flip a page in her book across from me. The click of typing behind me says that Tanner is hard at work as well. Stifling an inward groan as the clock lets me know how late it is, I finally catch a vague idea of the words I need to express this sixth principle. The pen begins scratching again, the English in my brain somehow coming out in Spanish on paper. Six down, four to go.


Last week, we studied the role of the local church in community development, both through teachers and this amazing book, “If Jesus Were Mayor” (Bob Moffitt). What am I taking away? The vision of reconciliation that God has is whole-istic-- physical, spiritual, social, and intellectual. As we develop communities (that’s people), our view needs to be broad and go to the root of the problem. Whenever possible, community development needs to happen through the local church. The church is uniquely positioned to influence every sphere of society and every area of life, long term. When a local church catches a glimpse of God’s wholistic agenda and applies it to their lives and their community, nations are discipled. This vision of the local church as a team guided by their Coach and united around outward-focused goal breathed life into me and made my box get a little bigger ; ).


This week’s topic of transcultural ministry involves one of my favorite topics- how to understand other cultures and minister effectively in them. Culture shock, types of cultures, how to learn customs, and the heart attitude that reflects who He is are a part of this teaching. All the stuff you wish you would have known ; ). This week marks the halfway point of the school- it feels like it’s flown by!


Every other week we have a “family night” as a base, and our class works together to present a community we’ve researched and pray for that community. It raises awareness of the needs of the world around us and even the cultures you maybe don’t hear about so much. Last week, my roomie, Analia and our classmate Rene took this project a step further and invited the Paraguayan Ambassador to Costa Rica to come share about their beloved country. Check out the photos!
The Ambassador's party, Analia, Rene, and I- "the Paraguayans" of the night!

I'm loving my classmates and my school staff! Here, we pose
with the ambassador and his wife. From right to left, it's Analia,
Kevin, Alex, Johann, Amanda, Yoel, Tanner, Elizabeth, the ambassador,
his wife, advisor, Giacomo, me, Jose, Marianela, Elsi, and Rene.

I've enjoyed practicing my Spanish with Analia and learning more
about her culture. She's got this amazing passion for her country
and the drive to actually do something about the problems she sees.



Monday, October 18, 2010

The Rocio Project: Week 4

Roots=Belief
Trunk= Values
Branches= Behaviors
Fruit= Consequences (Poverty, addiction, etc.)
New Ideas. . .
My pen can't move fast enough as the lightbulbs come on in my brain. The speaker, Christine Colby, has been showing us how we have to look deeper than the obvious problems and needs we see in communities- we have to go all the way to the root. Poverty is a mentality. We have to change the ideas and beliefs that cause the problems. It's what sets us apart from other, secular compassion projects- recognition that there is always a deeper issue than malnutrition, or illiteracy, or bad water, or consumerism. Unless you deal with the deeper issue at the root level- the belief- your program will not be sustainable and transformation is impossible. And unless your own perception or worldview has been transformed to God's, the change you bring to others will just be a reflection of your culture, not God's intentions for that community. Our hearts.


Deal with the root before you touch the fruit. Don't point out the speck in the other person's eye before you get the log out of your own. And seek God in the details- ALL of them.
Meet Tanner, Amanda, and Alex, fellow participants
in my school! There's 3 different countries represented
in this photo, and as we learned this week, 4 different
worldviews!

Whew! Talk about brain overload. Every week, the teachings just get me more excited- it makes so much sense! Suddenly, community development becomes much deeper than handing a skinny kid a bowl of soup. It's relationship and trust and commitment and teaching new ideas. But always relationship.

This week we'll be focusing on Dynamics of Development- I'm excited to put legs on these ideas and find out some practical steps of how to bring biblical worldview, and through that, transformation, to a community!
On a Personal Note. . .

As you can read, I'm loving what I'm learning. And surprise! All of my homework needs to be done in Spanish! Quite the challenge, but it's making me grow in my language abilities- like a built-in language school for free! I'm pretty sure my English spelling is getting worse, though. And then there's the random moments where I can't remember what the blasted plastic thingy with the handle that you drink coffee out of is called in either language. . .


 I translate for Amanda (costumes included!)
Every other Wednesday, our class
researches and presents a community
at our basewide "Family Night".  Amanda
and I were in charge of the first one-
Hispanic gang culture in East L.A. A drama,
statistics, and intercession were all a part
of getting the needs of this community out. 
I'm continuing to build friendships with the other students and staff here at the base and enjoying them. I had the chance to let off some pent up energy and see a little bit more of Costa Rica white water rafting on Saturday- can't get much better than a good adrenaline rush and some beautiful tropical mountains! Rice and beans are a steady part of my diet- like 2 times a day, but they do a good job of flavoring it up a bit. Still miss tacos, though!

My Paraguyan roomie, Analia, and I escape to MacDonald's
to research our communities and learn more about each
other's cultures. Creativity sometimes gets killed sitting
in the same bunkbed trying to concentrate for hours
every week, so we grab every opportunity to take our
work elsewhere!







I've been struggling with some mental fatigue in the last week. Apart from my classes, I've been trying to be more disciplined in my relationship with God (i.e. spending time with him, taking every thought captive, letting truth into the dark places in my heart), and I don't think Satan's appreciating the effort. But God has surprised me again with how He knows how to speak to my exact need and I'm loving Him for it! Please pray for a stubborness to not get lazy and good rest.Well, that's about all for now! I love hearing from people, so if you have a couple minutes, let me know what's up with you!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

The Rocio Project: Week 1

A few miles south of Ensenada sits Maneadero, a few stores, taquerias, and auto repair shops encircled by a rapidly growing diaspora of roughly constructed “houses.” Surrounding and breaking up the myriad of structures many Americans wouldn’t even consider a proper shed, fields of vegetables and large white tents patchwork the valley, a growing and packing industry fed by the proximity of the LA and California markets (ever wonder where those tomatoes come from?). The life and blood of this industry has cautious dark eyes, a petite frame, a gorgeous embroidered blouse, and speaks Mixteco more than Spanish. The indigenous Oaxacan migrant worker may make only $5-$7 a day, most likely doesn’t have proper drainage or consistent electricity, and doesn’t know he has a right to insurance, health care, or decent work conditions. These tribal communities of travelers have been the focal point of hours of research this week.



Each of us built a profile of a neighborhood or community that we would apply the teachings and principles of development to as we learn them. Population, ethnicity, language, culture, public services, infrastructure, schools, families, history, natural resources- all of this and any other details we could find (or a take our closest guess at) about how the people of the community live made up our profile. I’ve chosen the indigenous migrant community of Maneadero as my profile community, and the work me and God invest there I'm calling The Rocio Project.


It’s been a crazy blur of classes, homework, work duties, 6:30 breakfasts, outings to downtown, new faces and new ideas. I love my 10 classmates- we’re a funny mix of personalities, nationalities, languages, and hearts that take in everything. From Paraguay to Canada and several countries in between, we’re in Costa Rica to learn!


Last week focused around orientation to the Community Development school and it’s purposes, in addition to team dynamics. As we consider development, understanding not only that we need each other but also that the relationships, dynamics, stages, and elements that make up a team are important to understand. Not only in the team we take into a community, but also the community members we partner with.

One of those principles is that God has to be at the center of everything we do as a team or in a community. Before he can be the center of my team, He needs to be the center of my love relationship with him. And that’s what this week’s classes will focus on- Intimacy with God and understanding our destiny as His lovers and beloved. The gospel that we take to the world.


The absence of rain drumming on the roof feels strange. I can hear the shuffling of feet and voices in the hallway, with the hum of crickets singing in the background. For the first time since getting here, it’s the San Jose traffic buzzing instead of my brain! But breakfast comes sooner than I’d like and so does my first book report, so I’d better sign off for now!


Some Favorite Quotes from this week:


Giacomo Coghi, Team Dynamics


“When we think of developing communities, we need to think of developing people.”


“We don’t wait for them to come to us; we go to them.”


“Unity moves the hand of God, releasing blessing and power and bringing life.”


“Active listening is a ministry and spiritual warfare.”


“Every time a new person comes on to a team, a new team is created.”


“Preference is not a value or an ethic. It’s just a preference.”


“The deeper the understanding goes, the greater the potential a relationship has.”


“Trust is the bridge that supports the weight of truth.”


Vanessa Pavely, Intimacy with God


“The closer you get to Light, the more obvious your darkness and brokenness become.”

“Love cares enough about our pain that he came to suffer and conquer the power of sin and death so that we could be free of our brokenness.”

“God’s justice is motivated by Love . . . our works of justice need to create lovers of Jesus, not just comfortable people.”

“We were created out of the presence of Love, not the absence of it.”

Friday, August 27, 2010

The Questions that Are Becoming More


I could only discern a few stars through the smog as I padded softly across the roof. A mile away, I could hear the faint blare of car and bus horns, and imagined them weaving precariously between rickshaw drivers and donkey carts. The stench of the drainage ditch and open sewage in the street a few stories below rose in the cold night air as I glanced toward the invisible Muslim slum a few blocks from the base. I had only been in India for a few weeks, but the things I had seen and heard in that short time troubled me. Seeing greed, ignorance, corruption, poverty and misunderstood truth chaining people in an endless cycle of hopelessness grieved and confused me. “Where would I even start if I wanted to help?”


A year later, I met a little girl (and her little girl) in a migrant camp in Southern Baja who drove the desire to help even deeper in my heart. Read her story in my entry from January 2009 entitled “Unspoken.” Since then, many more encounters and people have left me with questions. Questions about our hearts and our brokeness and how they affect the injustice we see in developing nations. Questions about the root of poverty and the right way to help. Questions about how I’m supposed to be involved.

Unlike many assume, the root of poverty is not a lack of resources. Poverty begins our hearts, with our worldview. "Ideas have consequences." (Darrow Miller, Discpling Nations)
YWAM San Jose in Costa Rica started the Foundations of Community Development school (FCD) to address these questions and provide practical skills needed to work in areas of community development. With Jesus, commitment, and eyes that look deeper than the surface, change is possible. As I have prayed, I feel the FCD is the next step to discovering how these questions, ideas, and experiences combine with my gifts and abilities to produce a role in His dreams for people.
Read more about the FCD.


Learning how to aid the transformation process of a community 
 is part of the goal of the FCD. The first phase of the FCD costs $1800.
I am still praying about going on the practical application part of the school, and the cost of that portion will depend on the location.
I’m leaving for Costa Rica in a month, and I’m inviting you to be a part of my journey. I’m not okay with leaving things as they are. However, there is a right and a wrong way to do discipleship and development, and I want to start with a strong, clear foundation. I need people who will back me up in prayer, accountability, finances, and shared vision. Together, and only together, we can change life as it is for so much of the world.


Please let me know how you want to be involved!


The best way to contact me is via email: amy_beth87@hotmail.com or on Facebook.


Checks can be sent to:


YWAM San Diego/Baja
100 W. 35th St. Suite C
National City, CA 91950


*If you want it to actually get to me, please include a note stating that it is for Amy Esh! Thank you!


“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
(Romans 10:14-15)


Sunday, July 25, 2010

Seed of a Vision

Nato squirms and smiles, trying really hard to pay attention as I slide another popsickle stick up from behind my hand. "Ahora, cuántos son?" I ask, hoping this time he'll remember that four comes after three, not five. "Uno, dos, tres, cinco, siete. . ." Haha. Well, we'll give it another try.

A few months ago, Kirsty and Oscar, the couple that heads up the Homes of Hope department here, got the vision to begin working with the kids in a colonia outside Ensenada. What began as a soccer game and coloring sheets every Wednesday afternoon has developed into parachutes and 3 different tutoring groups (not that we cut out the soccer game ; ). I'm excited to see where God takes this ministry! Check out a few of the pics!

View of the valley from the cement slab that we do kids' ministry on- many families in this colonia and the surrounding area are migrant workers from down south. As you drive through the area, you can see fields of vegetables and huge tents where tomatoes are grown and packed.
l
Kirsty points to the animals on the card and has the boys count with her. She and I work with the youngest group of children-four to five little boys each week between the ages of 4 and 6. Right now, we're working on teaching numbers up to ten.
My friend Nato tries to pay attention but there's just so many more interesting things you could do with the popsickle sticks! But with his big eyes and toothy smile, it's hard to stay irritated for very long ; ).
Josh and Caleb perch on the rocks to work with the oldest group of children while Oscar helps a new kid sign up. We try to get a little info from each child and then visit their parents, explaining our heart for their child and beginning to build relationships with the whole family. Some of these kids are from families that we've built for in the last couple months.
Montse and Cole work with the middle group of children. The lesson of the week is how to tell time. Montse and Kirsty spend hours each week coming up with new ideas and cutting out and laminating the materials for each group. Uno is one of the children's favorite games- we like it because they learn numbers and practice their colors!
Our group of wiggly, eager learners and a couple volunteers, Abby and Katie. After going over lessons for as long as the kids (and teachers ; ) can handle, we clear the cement slab and play a game of soccer. And in case you were wondering, yes, half the kids are way better at handling the ball than I am! Thankfully, everyone's welcome at Kids' Ministry, even those of us who can't kick a ball straight!

Friday, July 16, 2010

When Isabel met Olivia

From above our heads, hammers ring loudly through the thin, water-splotched walls, mixing delightfully with the teasing and busyness bouncing around me as I try to help prepare lunch for the team outside. Just a few feet from the kitchen door, sheet rock, electric wiring, window trim, and shingles are somehow managing to fit together into a new house. Around the crowded table in the old house, onions, batter, fresh fish, and cactus will soon be mouthwatering fish tacos with all the trimmings. Between slices of cucumber, I enjoy watching the three women I'm working with interact. You can tell they've known each other for awhile- for all the teasing, Isabel is undisputedly the one in charge. In her late fifties-early sixties, she's had a lot of practice leading at her 7 day/week job supervising vegetable packing at some of the farm operations, the huge white tents just tiny specs in the valley below the build. Her eyes are warm and deep, her face telling a hard story. But she's a survivor- not the bitter type, but the one who's chosen reserved, dignified gratitude to a new-found Jesus. The kind of person who has your respect in the first few minutes of a conversation. And her friend, Irene, is all braids, honesty and exuberant life. Easily letting Isabel call the shots, but not afraid to shush her fretting and make her relax.She's the one who let me in on my favorite discovery of Mexican cooking- fish taco batter comes in a Just Add Water mix, available at any supermercado! And their third friend, who's name escapes me, adds a little quiet sweetness to the blend, trying to let me feel like I was actually helping.

Just as the cooking crew of the day is special, so is the team outside. John and Jane Ray have been part of our Ensenada family for years (even if they actually live in Arkansas), blessing us with their caring hearts, love, and expertise on responsible support raising and how to do it (Jane is the one I mentally beg for forgiveness from when I get lazy about keeping up this blog!) This summer, I got to meet their daughters for the first time (because I'm newer to the base than they are, not the other way around). Sadly, I never got to meet their youngest, Olivia, who died in a car accident last fall. This team is made up of people from different parts of the country who love Olivia and her family. It's in her memory that they are here, representing a whole community of people who gave financially to make this and three other houses possible so far. And despite having a good time and working hard, I can sense the seriousness with which they work. This house isn't just about feeling good- it's about love.
For the Olivia's Basket team, this home is an extension of their love for one little girl. And I know Isabel and her family felt that love deep down.

 The fish tacos were a huge hit (I believe I ate four myself), barely a scrap left over in the aftermath of bowls on the kitchen table. And a few hours later, as the keys to Isabel's new home are being passed around and each person has a chance to share his heart, I sense something that I'm just now putting into words. I may never have met Olivia Ray, but I think Isabel and her family did that weekend. I think they understand who Olivia was everytime they walk through the door of their home. And even more, they understand a God who collects our tears in a bottle and refuses to waste our pain.

Isabel's grandchildren and friends play follow the leader- the 4 yr. old in pink takes after her grandma's management skills. Isabel's husband, Ramon, watches quietly from the background.
Haley carefully paints a sign with Isabel and Ramon's family name to hang on the outside of the finished house. Go, Haley!
The aftermath of fish tacos and ensalada de nopales (cactus salad) for 30 people. Good times!

Jane's fabulous instructions for the paint crew adorn the corner of the port-a-pottie.

Impromptu soccer games are always hit in any Mexican neighborhood, especially since school's out for the summer.

This lovely young woman is doing an excellent job of painting the interior. Notice the drywall cutting going on behind her. Multitasking is the bottom line of getting a house done in a day and half.

During the dedication of the house, Isabel's sister and friend both thanked us for blessing her with a home. From the amount of tears shed in English and Spanish, I don't think that Isabel was the only one blessed by this outpouring of love.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Not So Ordinary

I’m pretty sure it started with the bed bugs. Yeah, there actually is such a thing. They like to come out at night and bite poor, unsuspecting high school girls down in Mexico on their first mission trip. Did you catch the first part: at NIGHT. Like say, about 1 a.m. just as you’re brushing your teeth and giving yourself a lecture about staying up too late. But another room, bunch of sleepy girls, an empty bottle of raid, a fumigator, and 15 bags of laundry later, I think we’re beginning to get on top of it. (Although unless someone else is more on the ball than me, there’s still several bags of bedding sitting next to the frozen veggies in the walk-in freezer- turns out bedbugs don’t like cold weather any more than I do).


Just the way I planned on starting my week. And it’s kind of set a trend for how the rest of the week’s gone.


Take today, for example. I’m in one of the guest rooms, wiping the bathroom floor for the third time because that’s what happens when Caleb is trying to fix the sink and I’m trying to clean the room for tomorrow at the same time. Just as I’m sticking the cleaner back under the sink and standing up, I hear water running. So naturally, I test the faucet to see if we’re all good for tomorrow. No water comes out. Yet, I still hear water gurgling. Opening the cabinet door, I find water spurting out of the pipes. Not quite a water hydrant but definitely a fountain. Panic hits as my mind pictures water puddling all over the room (this is while I’m sprinting down the stairs and manically pushing buttons on my pager thingy). And yet again, four bath towels, one Caleb, a few helpful volunteers from the rehab center, and another pass over the floor later, the room is ready for tomorrow.


Afternoon comes, and my friend Shelby and I combine our shopping trip for hospitality supplies (yes, my parking job was amazing even in a 15-passenger van- at least the first time) with blizzards from Dairy Queen. When she got here a couple weeks ago, I was the first to introduce her to DQlandia (ironic, huh? Kansas girl introducing California girl to DQ in Ensenada, Mexico). Since she’s headed out tomorrow, we took our break with a blizzard and a conversation about life (which was actually better than the blizzard).


My day is looking up, especially as me and a couple friends start toward Centro in a borrowed car to get our hair trimmed- mine’s needed it for like 4 months. A couple miles from the base, I get a call that the team that got in a couple minutes ago has 2 more people than anticipated and therefore don’t fit in the room I assigned to them. Thankfully my friend/ ministry team leader was at the base to handle the situation, so I told them to hang tight and I’d figure it out when I got back. Which was dinner time. By that time, Gemma had creatively rearranged people and we ran around trying to make sure beds were made for the guys that were going to be staying in the team’s new second room (as Gemm’s husband shows the guys around the base).


In the middle of the craziness, I hear my name across the courtyard and am nearly knocked over as 3 of my favorite little Mexican girls try to give me bear hugs at the same time. I was one of the staff that took DTS students to their parents’ soup kitchen every week last fall, and since then, we occasionally get to play when their daddy comes to fix the frequently broken washing machines and fridges on base. So as soon as the last bed is made and I’ve had time to microwave my dinner, we sit and talk about how Irahi and Maya want to be in YWAM (maybe in a decade, girls), Berenice playing peek-a-boo from underneath the table.


And even now, I shake my head and smile at the same time. Because weeks like this week drive me crazy. And I love it. I found out I can make it down 3 stories of stairs in 12 seconds flat. And that bed bugs die in the freezer. And how much I need the people on my team. And that I love blizzards and good conversations and haircuts and besos on the cheek from tiny brown-eyed two year olds. My ordinary is nothing close to routine. And crazy as it sounds, I wouldn’t change it for anything.


Friday, June 11, 2010

Summer and Toilets

Wheat harvest, tornados, hailstorms, Fourth of July fireworks. Missions trips, Camp, vacations, road trips. Beaches, surf boards, sun, and barbecues. Summer means a lot of things to different people. This year, my summer will look something like this: toilet scrubbing, bed making, handing out room keys, shopping for cleaning supplies or paper towels, welcome baskets . . . Yes, as you might have deduced, I’m running the housing department here at the base this summer. And while it does involve gross jobs like cleaning toilets and scrubbing mold out of dirty places you don’t want to know about, or trying to figure out how we’re going to fit all those people in just this many rooms, I’m enjoying the challenge! I’m so glad that there’s a need for my job- it means that people are getting over their fear of Mexico and coming back to serve! And it gives me the opportunity to understand the inner workings of how the base functions and appreciate the people that often get overlooked. It’ll be a busy summer- Mission Adventures starts this week, and Homes of Hope has already been rolling strong. But busyness is good; people are being exposed to God’s heart for Mexico and for the poor. Young people will be challenged to move against injustice. Families will get a home that gives them a head start at different future. And hopefully, those coming through our programs will sense Jesus’ love and passion for them. So bring on the sun, the masses, and the toilets!



Cool happenings from the last couple weeks:


My sister, Cassie, came down for a week and helped out. She discovered that there are cool people in Mexico and that she likes fish tacos!



My 2-year anniversary of working with YWAM San Diego/Baja was last week! Thank you, Jesus, for what you are teaching me through this culture and these people.

 
I got to build for the first time in since moving to Ensenada! AND I got to help with the trusses and the roof! It was great to get change from my normal job on paint crew. I’m not so bad at shingling, if I do say so myself!


So whatever summer means to you, I hope that you sense His deep love in the midst of busyness and rest. Many blessings!!!



Monday, April 26, 2010

New Promise

The office is locked, not hugely surprising considering it's 11:30 p.m. Guess the postcards will have to wait a couple more days before beginning their journey up to San Diego. Pulling my blanket a little tighter, I slow my steps as the sound of the ocean hitting the beach becomes as clear as the salty air I'm breathing. I wander back across the dirt street separating the base and the apartments, being sure to hop the ditch in the middle. In the unusually plentiful rain in the last couple months, thousands of  pretty yellow flowers and grass have popped up in every vacant lot and hillside. So has the mud. 
A cloudy black-gray sky hangs above the parking lot as I climb the stairs. Leaning against a huge pillar outside our second story apartment, I look back towards the base and begin to process the last couple days. Our staff retreat ended just a few hours ago. We'd flown in one of my favorite DTS speakers, Tim Pratt, to teach on team and family and help us evaluate how we're doing as a staff. We spent hours soaking and worshipping and processing. Tim taught on us as individuals and a family- spiritual gifts, the body of Christ, really loving each other. I don't think anyone expected it to be so intense. We're not okay. We tend to let what Tim called "superficial harmony" take the place of really trusting each other. Many of us are hurting and lonely, but really good at pretending we're fine. Instead of dealing with our issues with each other or our leaders, we gossip and complain to other people or get bitter. We feel judged. We hide. We put up walls to protect ourselves. And today, we started talking about it. Crying about it and apologizing. Being honest. Owning up.
I sigh. I know that doesn't mean it's fixed. You don't fix years of doing family wrong in a day. But it's a good start. Today tells me we have the potential to change things, and that's worth smiling about. Worth being vulnerable for. Maybe we really can start protecting each other and our leaders rather than protecting ourselves. Or assuming the best rather than worst. Choosing courage rather than passivity.
A breeze rustles the palm leaves in a row of trees, silhoutted against the sky by the street light. "Love God. Love others. Start with each other." Tim's paraphrase of Matthew 22:35-40. It starts with you, ya' know, I remind myself. I'm not innocent of any of those things I find it so easy to judge other people for.
That breeze caresses my face. I smile, getting the unspoken message. He loves broken people. That includes me. And He chooses to paint Himself across us. Chooses us to be Him to other people. And like a puzzle, that portrait of him would be incomplete if any of us were missing. I don't have to be all of Him. But I'm needed to complete the picture.
Breathing in the peace in the chilly night and sharing a final, relieved smile with a Friend, I grab my postcards to mail tomorrow and let myself in, the promise following me.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Cozumel, a little late ; )

FEBRUARY 7


It was 1 a.m.We needed to leave for the ferry in 4 hours, and I still needed to pack a few things.  I rubbed my eyes and tried to keep the numbers from blurring so bad as I finished balancing the finances from our stay in Cozumel and get my brain around how to handle them on the six day drive ahead of us. Our final location during the trip, Cozumel, was beautiful! A Caribbean  island just a ferry ride from Cancun, it had that laid-back, no hurry, what happens happens island feel. While we were there, we had worked with several different churches, doing everything from childcare during a regional pastors' conference, to street evangelism, to cleaning up the neighbor's yard, to the pre-program program for a Costa Rican Mariachi Evangelist's 3 day crusade. The rainbow colored friendship bracelet dangled  across the calculator for a moment. In the first church, we had presented our program in a local neighborhood soup kitchen and then came back the next Sunday to participate in their service. We got to hang out with the youth group (13-19 year olds) several different times during our 10 days there, taking them out for ice cream, playing soccer, or exchanging stories.  Discpleship happens in relationship, and I feel like we really got to know these young people. They even came to several events we did with other churches, just to hang out. One of the girls showed up to the pastors' conference with a bunch of these bracelets she'd purchased, and with a warm smile and a big hug, tied them around the wrists of the girls on our team. 


Even with all of the ways we'd been able to pitch in at the churches, I knew that we were all ready to get back to Ensenada. Sleep in beds instead of the vans the guys had been sleeping in for the last week and half when our rented space ended up being smaller than we expected. Or see the classmates and friends that had their own adventures from South America to relate. Maybe even move past graduation and DTS and on to the next step. Personally, I'd be glad to stuff all these receipts and bank notes into an envelope and had it off to the finance department. But glancing around at the girls giggling, sleeping or jamming final items into their backpacks, I knew I'd miss each of them when they flew off to their other lives. Focus, Amy. Now how much is the ferry going to be per vehicle and passenger again?


All of the sudden, a few guitar notes broke the low murmuring in our room, joined quickly by young voices singing worship songs in Spanish. We stuck our heads out of our curtain door to discover that the youth group had come to serenade us farewell! As we all piled out into the narrow hallway, grabbed hands with our new buddies, wiped a few tears, and lifted our voices to our Daddy, I felt that bittersweet goodbye feeling come, accompanied by peace. He was pleased with us. With this. With me. And that's what outreach and DTS and finances and life is about. Pleasing Him.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Chiapas


As we drag ourselves out of the vans into the humidity of Palenque's January evening, a hoarse, angry cry bugles from the thick jungle around DIF's compound. A few raised eyebrows note it the first time, but in the bustle of grabbing our backpacks and pillows it's easy to push aside. However, after the third or fourth cry, a team member finally asks our guide what the commotion is. "Changos," he replies. Monkies- the big, mean kind. Being greeted by ferocious calls from la selva was just the beginning of our adventure in Chiapas. It started out in Palenque, a small bustling town signifigant for the Mayan ruins just outside the city. For the first half of the week, we got to work with a church in the evenings using our kid's program, dramas, choreographies, and testimonies to do different types of services. 
One morning, we went to the local Red Cross to clean up the facility and help sort donated clothing. But after working there for part of the morning, the director took us to a near by school, offering willing hands. They needed some railing and the gate (puerta) painted, giving us the opportunity to serve them and get to know them a little bit. When they heard that we had a kid's program, they invited us to present it for their student body. So on the spur of the moment, we presented our Christ centered program to a bunch of adorable brown eyed elementary kids and their parents in a public school we weren't planning on being in. God moment, anyone? 
Fast forward a few days and you have me attempting to teach an arts workshop in Spanish to a group of young people that I found out I was teaching about 2 hours before we left!  It was so cool to talk about one of my passions and then help the DTS students teach our dramas and choreographies to them. By the end of the day, they were doing our dramas better than us! That evening, we joined forces to do 2 evangelistic outreaches in neighborhoods in Palenque. Watching these 12-18 year olds reaching out to their communities using the tools we'd just passed on sent chills down my spine.
After a day off and a pick up soccer game with some local guys we met the night before, our team loaded up and headed southwest. We stopped for a long lunch at Las Cascadas de Auga Azul, a beautiful series of waterfalls, and then wound and twisted and peuked our way up the mountains to our next ministry location- San Cristobal de las Casas, a city nestled in the evergreen blanketed highlands. Our team of 25 ( including 2 of the YWAM Cancun staff) bunched into a 3 room unfinished house. The first night was a flutter of hanging tarps on window frames, buying fleece blankets, hanging curtains over the bathroom door openings, and trying to figure out how to keep 5 young kids warm with no heat, tile floors, no windows, and air you can see your breath in- on the inside ; ). It was definitely culture shock from warm, humid Palenque to the extremes of San Cristobal. 
In the mornings, I went out to wash my face in the icy stream running outside through the middle of the colonia, and watched as the women in their bright skirts and braids walked their uniformed children to school, chattering the whole time in a language that neither my English nor my Spanish helped me understand. Chiapas has the highest population of indigenous peoples in all of Mexico. One of the pastors we worked with spoke his native language of Tzeltal, Tzotzil the language of the indigenous groups in San Cristobal, and Spanish, the language of the colonial conquistadores. We worked with 4 different churches, picking up garbage, visiting people from the church, prayer walking, painting inside and outside, and doing services in the evening. Considering our lack of running water, we were very blessed when 2 of the pastors offered us hot bucket showers. A couple of the churches even cooked us meals- they make some delicious soup in San Cristobal! God surprised us with the discovery that one of our friends from the YWAM base in Monterrey was also leading a DTS outreach in San Cristobal, so we worked it out with her and her team and got the DTSs together a few times during our 10 days there. It was fun and refreshing for everyone to see new faces and be with our extended YWAM family!
Everywhere that we have gone, God has set up crazy cool appointments. Sometimes, we see how God sent us to bless and encourage other people, whether it be staff in Chapala or the women we prayed over in San Cristobal. Sometimes, He's sent us people to lift us up when we're exhausted, like pastors who offer their personal showers to 25 people or random encounters with friends in far away places. He knows what His kids need. 
Right now we're spending a weekend off in Cancun to refresh and get ready for our final leg of the outreach- Isla Cozumel. Please keep us in your prayers, that our good attitudes will continue and that we'll press in to everything that God has to do in us and through us in these final few weeks. I can see the maturity, growth, and deepening that students (and leaders ; ) have experienced. We want to finish well!