Jonathan & Kristy's

Hola, Como estás? We certainly hope the answer to this question is more or less “bueno.” Do send us a note letting us know the latest with you if you have a free moment! It is a nice break to set aside a moment to check in. We have now been here for over two months. With such time we have now found ourselves in many positions to observe. Below we want to touch on a theme of particular interest to us and to most—we estimate—who are journeying with us here on the site.

In the last couple of weeks Unión Biblica hosted two teams from the States. Both teams stayed at Cerro De Luz, our beautiful camp here in Siguatepeque overlooking the city. Both teams were here for about a week. Both teams left an imprint on Honduras by means of accomplishing tangible acts of service. One team was medical professionals, the other helped out around the camp. However, only one team seemed to realize (or perhaps care enough?) that they would leave more than this one imprint. Only one of the teams honestly purposed to navigate their time in such manner that each imprint they left… would bear the Servant’s image.

So in what specific ways did they make imprints? Well, how did they react when the first stop on the way to Siguatepeque from the airport was not “authentic” food, but Wendy’s? How did they react when the food served at the camp was not within their normal diet? How did they handle differences between work styles either at the camp, when they went to schools, or in the medical clinic? When things were different, when expectations went unmet, how would the team respond?

Now as we look back on these two teams, and the many short-term teams we have either been around or been a part of in the past, each seemed to align themselves with one of two fairly easy to categorize groups:

1) A team that goes to openly serve.

2) A team that goes with a self-defined service.

1) A team that first asks, “how can we serve?”

2) A team that first asks, “where can we provide this particular service?”

1) A team that leaves their hosts feeling both refreshed in their ministry and feeling served.

2) A team that leaves their hosts feeling worn out from serving the short-term team.

1) A team that comes to learn first, and tell when asked.

2) A team that comes to tell first, and rarely learns (or teaches effectively).

Many teams fall into the second category (unfortunately at an expense to their ministry, their hosts, and the their ability to grow). It is not hard to be a 2. After all, having come up with the money to take the trip, sacrificing our time to come to a new country, and having something valuable to offer… do we not rightly arrive with a sense of entitlement?

Considering such questions that probe the motivations of our hearts and minds are one of the most important things we could do in preparation for a short-term mission trip. We need to consider these questions, and listen for the Servant’s answer Phil 2:5-8. After all, was not Jesus a “short-term missionary”?

Phil 2:5-8 through a short-term missionary filter:

Your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus Christ:

who while being entitled,

did not consider his entitlement something to be acted upon,

but made himself nothing,

spending his time from home as a servant (akin to a slave for Paul),

being made into a short-term missionary,

And being found as a short-term missionary,

he humbled himself,

and became obedient to the whatever, whenever, and wherever.

Here are some details of our recent happenings to close up:

After having a bit of a rough start, the UB soccer league 2010 is up and rolling! It takes quite a few reminders and phone calls to make meetings happen, but we finally have 7 churches signed up. The season started on Saturday with a time of praise and prayer before the first game. We are excited to see how God works in the lives of the children of Siguatepeque through this ministry.

We started teaching weekly Biblical values classes at a local elementary school this week. A beautiful bunch of kids and we look forward to being with them weekly this coming year.

We traveled to the coast this weekend (3 hours) to give another training session to another group of new volunteers that will work in the schools. There was a good turn out and they were very receptive. Of course we didn’t mind the added bonus of being able to spend a few hours on the Carribean while we were there!

Kristy is looking forward to a few relationship building coffee dates with girls in our Sunday school class this week. And Jonathan is looking forward to one-on-one meetings with the members of his worship class as a final evaluation/teaching time as the worship class wraps up.

Alright, thanks for checking in with us (don’t forget to check the new pics and prayer request list)… And we really would enjoy hearing from you!

Buen día to all!

First off we are pleased to report that we continue to be doing well. In case you are wondering, in mid-February began what they call “Summer.” Yet instead of the typical lack of rain coupled with hot sunny days, we have been enjoying cool days (80ish) with beautiful clouds. For those of you digging tunnels through the white stuff falling from the sky, feel free to come visit for a respite. We’re pretty sure they have never heard of such foreign devices as a “snow shovel” or an “ice scraper” here!

With the open invitation officially on the table (no matter where you are reading this from), please continue on below to hear a bit about the recent happenings since our last chat.

This past week we traveled to the city of La Paz (about an hour away) for Kristy to provide another training workship with Union Biblica volunteers that will give Bible classes in the schools. Jonathan and another UB staff member taught the group a new song they can use in their lessons and we taught them team building activities they can do with their students. The day went well and the volunteers were appreciative of the training time. We are planning to travel to Marcala (about 2 hours away) on Monday to give the training to the volunteers there as well. There have been rumors of the coordinators of the children’s ministry on the coast asking for us to come do a training there… and as we wouldn’t mind going to the beach, this doesn’t sound like a bad deal.

Also, Kristy led her first Sunday school lesson with the 18-21 year old class. She had fun doing it and the there was lots of great participation from the group. It is fun to see the creativity and the depth of thought that the students have about their lives and spirituality. She is currently working to set up coffee dates with a few of the girls from the class this week to start deepening discipleship relationships.

Jonathan has thoroughly enjoyed working with the Thursday evening worship class. The last part of our time is for those who wish to be part of the music leadership team for the church (as you can see in the photo to the left). Yet the first hour each week is worship education. This coming Thursday will be a kind of culmination of the past month as each participant will be bringing a worship service that they have created. We are anxious to see what they develop. Jonathan’s approach has been to have them investigate pertinent Biblical texts, and push them to explore deeply. The result has been such remarks as, “one thing that this text contains is the realization of our unworthiness in God’s presence, and a confession. We do not seem to take this seriously in our worship.” God at work. And looking back Jonathan had to contain himself when this was said. We have been privileged to watch God use Scripture, to be sure through the Holy Spirit, caress the wet clay as the great Potter. As stated above, we are quite anxious to see the art gallery on Thursday evening…

Yet there has been a serious challenge… the Union Biblica sports ministry has been having a harder time taking off this year than we would have liked. We are finding that it is difficult for the churches to find someone to commit the time to coaching and working with the kids during the week. However, Orlando attended a monthly citywide pastors meeting last week to drum up some interest in the ministry. After all, it is a great idea for a ministry: drawing kids in from the neighborhoods to play soccer, and having the opportunity to teach them Biblical values once a week and connect them to a local church.  We had a meeting Monday to try and get things off the ground with the potential coaches, and it was very encouraging! Many churches asked for one week to confirm their involvement, yet it appears we will be hosting 8-10 churches. Or in other words, this ministry would be a consistent presence to around 300 kids.

What a blessing each of us have been given as the Lord called us to partner with him in God’s mission. As Jesus prayed, “Santifícalos en la verdad; tu palabra es la verdad. Como tú me enviaste al mundo, yo los envió también al mundo.”