Children and the Church

ESEPA and VIVA Latin America (www.redviva.org) held a seminar at ESEPA Seminary recently on the need to work with children. We had a great turn out with nearly 30 Sunday School teachers and church leaders concerned reaching out to children at risk. I shared the morning session with Alexander Cabezas of Viva on looking at God’s heart for children. One of the focuses we had was on child protection policies. One of our growing concerns is with the lack of commitment many churches have when it comes to setting up protection policies in keeping children safe from abuse. We were able to help church leaders see that God desire for his place of worship to be a safe place. We will continue to work with some of the churches towards accomplishing this needed focus.

Tyler and Kira enjoying life

This is a “jacuzzi” we have on our deck…now don’t get to thinking we live in a resort. The jacuzzi hasn’t worked for years! We have turned it into a kiddie pool for Tyler and Kira for those rare warm days up here on the mountain. Anyone want to come down and fix a jacuzzi?

God’s Global Mission Force.

god_s-new-global-force-in-mission

Here’s the power points from the message at MHC on April 6th.

News from Calif

I arrived here last Tuesday (the 25th) and jumped right into some meetings at Fuller. The meetings that I and others were invited to was the Consultation of the Global Alliance for Holistic Child Development (HCD). Basically, we gathered to discuss how we have progressed from last years meetings in Chiang Mai, Thailand and to set a course for this next year. Participants were from all over the world (nearly 30 in all) and represented Christian educational institutions dedicated to training and preparing children at risk workers and leaders. A number of very concrete goals were developed and it will be exciting to see how God’s people are better prepared to deal with issues of children in crisis around the world as a result of these meetings. We would continue to appreciate your prayers as we move forward in developing this type of program at ESEPA seminary. There is a lot of work ahead for us.

So. Cal. Visit

Two weeks ago we asked that you would pray for our need for more monthly support. Thank you for lifting up this need. Our pastor here recently preached on Philippians 4 and the contentment that Apostle Paul expresses about his life regardless of his needs. It was a good reminder to us of God’s faithfulness over the years. I have been comforted by this passage knowing that God is sufficient for us. He is all we ultimately need!

Please be praying for a conference this coming Tuesday at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena. The conference is co-sponsored by Compassion International and Fuller School of Intercultural Studies. People from around the world training Christians in ministry to children in crises will be attending. The primary focus is on developing programs and curriculum that will help prepare God’s people to serve children at risk! This is a real answer to prayer as the entire trip has been paid for. We have decided it would be a good time for me to share more about our vision for equipping Latin American missionaries in ministry to children at risk and in other areas. We are praying that God will use this to encourage others to join our support team. I will be in Pasadena from March 25^th-28^th but will continue on until April 7^th in Southern, CA, concluding with a message at Mission Hills Church in Mission Viejo on April 6^th focused on the New Global Force in Mission.We are looking for some families that would be interested in inviting and hosting a time for people to become acquainted with our ministry. If you would like to host a dessert or coffee time for me to share more about the global need for providing quality care to children in need, please let me know. At this point the week of March 31st - April 6th is wide open.

If you are not in a position to host a meeting, would you please keep us in prayer during this time. I am looking forward to the opportunity to share the vision God has given us.

I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Phil. 4:10-13)

Internet Fast

We have been in a new home now for nearly a month. Here are a few pictures of the place. We are up in the mountains east of San Jose. It has been a real refuge for us. We do not have internet connection at this point in case you are wondering why we have virtually disappeared from the whole virtual world scene. It has actually been refreshing. Instead of writing e-mails at night etc., Christina and I have been enjoying life by sitting on our couch, watching the fire flies pass by our window, sipping on coffee (or another fine drink) and talking. It has actually been very good for our marriage and friendship. It’s amazing how we fill our lives with so much stuff. I can’t say we will continue on without internet at home, but it has been a good partial fast from the on-line world. I highly recommend it!

Costa Rica Ranks 5th in eco-friendliness

A news alert just arrived in my in-box stating that Costa Rica was rated 5th on the environmental scoreboard at the DAVOS World Economic Forum. That is so cool! Not surprising given the nation’s quest for carbon neutrality by 2025. For more on this, see the AFP report.

Reflections from the bus

Partly out of my re-commitment to reduce my carbon footprint I took the bus today. I also took it because it just worked better for our hectic family schedule. I have been a little hesitant to take the bus to the seminary given I often carry my laptop with me. I just can’t afford to lose it. But I am glad I did, as it gave me time to read and reflect on a book called They Like Jesus but Not the Church. The author is: Dan Kimball. Anyway, while written primarily from a North American perspective, I think a lot of the info is very pertinent to many in the global Church. In a section entitled: “The Transformation from the Excited Missionary into Citizen of the Bubble,” Kimball says, “Other than maybe at an office Christmas party that we have to go to, we rarely ever hang out with non-Christian friends or go to movies with them. For the most part, only Christians are in our circle of peers. We begin buying little Christian stickers or put metal fish symbols on our cars, and we even have a few Christian T-shirts . . . We find ourselves regularly using Christian words and phrases and cliches . . . .” How true this is! Despite the fact I am a missionary I am frequently around Christians and now must go out of my way to hang out with people who do not follow Christ. When I worked in Caracas that wasn’t a problem. I worked with street living youth and children. Besides an occasional street preacher, I was mostly around people who were very much caught up in surviving and self-medicating their pain. To be honest it’s a little quiet at the seminary on most days, not that I don’t enjoy teaching and pouring myself into students, I do, it’s just all so predictable. I need more action I guess. I don’t yet know what this means for me, but I hope to be more intentional in spending a little more time outside of the bubble with those who are in need of God’s mercy. By the way, I highly recommend the book! I’ll probably be blogging quite a bit about this book in the days to come, so if this is of interest, please come back and unload your opinions/comments on me.

Ministerial Goals for 2008

In thinking through this new year, we are working towards several projects at the seminary. We would appreciate your prayers as we move ahead. In particular, would you be praying that we are given a $15,000 grant for the missions dept in order to move a head with these projects? I worked night and day back towards the later part of November in trying to get a grant proposal turned in to a foundation to cover some of these projects.

Missionary Training

Pueblos Musulmanes Internacional (PMI) has asked the Missions department at ESEPA to help with on-going training of their missionaries. We have agreed to help provide scholarships for missionaries on the field taking on-line courses and for missionaries on furlough or study leave to take courses at ESEPA.

Practicum in Mission

The missions department at ESEPA has worked diligently to develop partnerships with important agencies in the region and around the world engaged in missionary work. We believe it is essential that our students participate in practicums that will accelerate their cross-cultural understanding by placing them on the field in supervised programs working side by side with other Latin American missionaries. We have three significant partnerships at this time where students will be located. These locations are: India, Venezuela and Equatorial Guinea of Africa.

Books on Children at Risk and Mission

We are hoping to build up our missions library and if granted the funding will add an additional 200 books and mission journals to our cross-cultural missions and children at risk library.

 

ESEPA Mission Center

Here are some recent pictures of the missions center at ESEPA plus a few extra photos of classes etc. The missions center includes a library for mission research, a meeting area, desks and of course a coffee maker! It has been a great place to mentor and pray with students.