Priorities

As I sat in a bible study tonight something struck me as funny. The study was on the book of Numbers and I forget the reference or reason but the teacher said, “Despite what you think God has given you enough time.” I almost laughed out loud. Enough time? Easy for you to say, I thought. You are not moving to another hemisphere in 90 days. You are not taking your wife and three children, (a propósito,  we had a healthy baby girl, Maggie Marie) to the jungles of Peru. But then I stopped to think about the statement.

I like to make things happen. When there is work to be done I am the first to show up and the last to leave. So as we are preparing to go I feel like there is more work to be done then could ever get accomplished. As a result the last week or so I wake up and hit the ground running. So much to do, so little time. In my mind this was what needed to be done to get things accomplished, but am I doing the right things? What are my priorities when I live life this way? Is this the example we see from scripture?

Jesus had a mission to accomplish. More important than any mission in the history of the world. Yet He always had enough time. He always took the time to eat with a tax collector or talk with a women who had five husbands or sit down and teach children. He was never in a hurry to get things done because He realized that the most important person in the world is the one in front of you.

In my haste I have forgotten this. I have been too busy to talk to a friend and even to talk with my God. How wrong of me. How backwards are my priorities?  Where is my trust? I have been putting my trust in self instead of the God who promised to see this through. Why do I worry about the details? God has been in this from the beginning put everything in place and now I want to act like a bull in a china shop just so I can accomplish some stuff.  ¡Que terrible!

So what is important? Spending time in prayer is more important than any “to do” list. Holding my baby girl is more important than finding a lawyer. Hugging my wife is more important than reroofing a building. Talking with a friend who just gave his life to Christ is more important than fund raising. Tucking my kids in at night is more important than email.

God is once again teaching me a lesson through my inadequacies. But my prayer that I am not the only one. Today make it your focus to do what really matters. You have enough time.

Can't Sleep

Hogar Materno

God has called us to join the work of Susan Holowecky and her staff at Hogar Materno "Hannah".  The home serves pregnant women and mal-nourished children in and surrounding Yurimaguas, Peru, mainly the Shawi people.The picture above is in an older part of the Hogar. The building was in poor shape and is now in the process of being torn down and rebuilt, hence the mess.

Who is served
The Shawi are an indigenous group of the Amazon jungle.  They have settled into small villages along the river and suffer from poverty, poor nutrition, discrimination, and lack of education.  There are some women and children from in town who also benefit from services of the hogar.

Services  Offered

Maternal Care
Maternal death during childbirth is a large problem and travel into town for medical care can take days.
The hogar is a safe place where high-risk women can come and stay while they wait to deliver their baby at the hospital in town.  They are provided safe shelter and nutritious meals as well as Christian fellowship and Bible study.  Women may be there anywhere from one day to a few weeks.

Re-nutrition Center
The hogar also helps to rehabilitate mal-nourished children.  These children sometimes come to the hogar from the hospital for additional care before returning to their village and sometimes parents bring children their directly.  Sometimes children are left at the hogar alone, other times the mother and possibly siblings will stay as well.  Many children suffer from parasites.  They are treated with anti-biotics and hygiene habits are also taught to help prevent future problems if possible.  Other children are simply starving and the hogar provides nutrition for them to gain strength and weight.

This sweet 3 month old named Milagro (miracle in English) is the size of a newborn except for her newly filled out cheeks.  She came to the hogar at just 1 month of age.  Her mother died during child birth and her father tried to keep her alive as best he knew how.  After a month of feeding her only the fermented root beverage they drink in the jungle, he knew she was dying and brought her to the hogar for help.  She has gained weight but still has a long way to go.  She does not support her weight at all yet and her limbs are still the size and maturity of a newborn.  Please pray for a miracle for Milagro as she recovers at the hogar.

The older boy in this photo is at the hogar with is mom and 3 siblings.  They all have parasites and are suffering from lack of nutrition but the littlest one is the worst.  They should be able to return to their village soon.  The little guy in the stroller is 8 months old.  He and his twin brother were brought to the hogar for care by their father after their mother abandoned them when they were just a month or so old.  They will continue to grow and gain strength at the hogar and dad will come back for them once they're older and he can manage them.  Formula or adequate nutrition for infants is not something the Shawi people have access to in the jungle or can afford in town.






The hogar is staffed 24 hours a day by wonderful Christian Peruvian women.  We were blessed to join them in their weekly prayer meeting and hear their hearts as they prayed over the women and children they serve.  They work tirelessly cooking, cleaning and doing laundry as well as loving on the children who don't have parents present at the hogar.  Women who are at the hogar either to deliver or while their child is rehabilitated do their own cleaning and laundry.

Home
The hogar has become home to 5 children who came for rehabilitation but were then abandoned.  Susan is in the process of trying to adopt these children and this past January they moved into their new home at the hogar with their mother.  The children enjoy the best of both worlds - they love the staff and children at the hogar and being close by but they also love having a home and mother to return to.

Their Home

Susan & her children (plus 1 extra!)

~ Jennifer

Where are we?

Our first day in Yurimaguas, Peru was a little different then we had experienced before. It was Sunday and we had planned to go to church at a Shawi village. The hotel restaurant was supposed to open at 6:30am. We woke up early to the humid jungle heat. Arriving at the restaurant promptly at 6:30am we find it closed. Around 7 they finally opened and we went in and sat down. The waitress told us they had a chicken sandwich for breakfast and asked “would that be ok.” What option did we have? We wanted breakfast so chicken sandwich it was. Then she asked if we were in a hurry? We told her our driver was picking us up at 7:15am and she responded, “esta bien.” She yelled something at the cook, then turned and ran out of the restaurant and down the street. The cook took a whole fresh chicken out of the fridge and began hacking it up with a butcher knife. A couple of minutes later the waitress returned with bread and we had the freshest chicken sandwich ever. Thanks to our driver being late, we even got to eat it. 

Next we took off out of town on a little dirt road that lead into the bush. The road was rough but passable…at first. Susan, our hostess told us that sometimes the road is too bad to get all the way through and we may have to hike the last couple of kilometers. The first hour on the road was pretty good. Passing the occasional plantain farm or cattle ranch.

We passed through these little villages with names like, San Lucia, San Antonio, and San Lorenzo. The houses were mostly one room with grass thatch roofs. Then the road got really bad with deep ruts and I began to pray that we could make it to church. I realized that it was the first time in my life that I prayed for God to help us get to church. Strange. After a long time Susan thought we might have missed our stop and asked the driver to pull over. After he stopped, she looked around and realized that we were parked next to the exact path we need to take to get to the village. More of God's provision to get to church. We hiked about a half mile through the jungle till we came to a river. On the other side of the river we could see the village and a couple of dugout canoes tied up on the bank. A man was bathing in the river while another man brought a canoe over to our side.

It took two trips for us to get across because we had five young children with us. After crossing we had to hike across a grassy field surrounded by small thatch roof houses, then up a hill to the church. The church was an open pavilion with a metal roof and a couple of handmade benches. The women wore bright colored skirts and tops. Most of them had a baby attached to their hip with a blanket. They had what looked like painted faces or tattoos. I latter found out that this was done with a plant in the jungle and stays on for up to two weeks. The men dressed in American clothes,and some had the same tattoo paint on their foreheads. A couple of men were playing guitar as we arrived. Three of the women were dancing in the front of the congregation and I noticed their feet and ankles were also tattoo painted. All the women danced with what looked like a string of walnut shells. The sound of the shells jingling to the music was almost magical.

  As soon as the music ended we were asked to get up and introduce ourselves and give them a greeting. Then the children were dismissed to a house with Jennifer and Susan for Sunday school. Arlen King, director of Missionary Ventures USA, was with us and got up and began preaching. The men speak Spanish but many of the woman only speak Shawi. As a result Arlen asked one of the men to translate. It was difficult to concentrate on a sermon preached in two languages I don’t understand but it gave me time to reflect on the beauty and diversity surrounding me. What a strange people and strange place yet it was beautiful to listen to their worship and to listen to the word of God as the read from the Bible in Shawi. After the preaching there was more worship and a giving of offerings. Then church ended with handshakes and blessings. We brought some candy to share with the children and it was so interesting to watch the little kids try to eat it with the wrapper on. 

We said our goodbyes and crossed back over the river with the help of some boys from church who couldn’t have been older than 8 or 9. Back on the road I forgot to pray for safe return and we were soon stuck. God provided again as a van load of men came down the road and about 6 to 8 of us pushed and sweated in the heat for about 10 minutes until we were back on the road again.   

Back on the road covered in mud and sweat I realized how remote we were, there is no cell phone service and no electricity. We were a solid day hike from town and if we did not get out of that hole in the road I am not sure what we would have done. About an hour and a half later we finally made it back to Yurimaguas. What an adventure. What a God we serve.
                                                                                                                                                  ~ Josh
 

"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 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 anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" Romans 10:13-15

What is God up to?

Disclaimer: This was written as a criticism of my self and no one else. The amazing thing about the word of God is that it has the ability to challenge different people to different things. I struggled with self-centered independent living. He opened my eyes to God centered God dependent living. 

Sometime ago I began to take a hard look at my life. Many questions came out of that. What is my purpose? Do I really want to follow God? What does it look like to be a disciple of Christ in the 21^st century? I have always had a fairly easy life. I have never needed for anything, but was completely self-reliant. The truth is in our culture we are taught self-reliance. I was taught that if you want or need something to go earn it. This is not a bad thing but when I began to take a hard look at scripture this is somewhat different than what is laid before us in the Word. When Jesus called His disciples they left everything behind for Him. When was the last time I left anything behind for Him? He made such bold statements as “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” and  "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." Honestly when is the last time I had to deny myself in order to follow Him? Because the truth is to follow, I must deny myself, I must get rid of my self-reliance. Then he said “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” This may well be the most challenging verse in the Bible. Am I willing to lose my life? Am I willing to sacrifice everything for Him and his service? “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” I know this sounds radical and reckless, but it is the word of God. How can I sit back and ignore it any longer? How can I continue to gain and have the whole world only to lose my soul?

As we began to pray through these questions as a family God began to change our hearts. No longer do we desire to acquire more stuff, toys, and wealth. In fact, through Him, we have grown to despise it. Because it has no place in the calling on our lives. No longer do we desire our safety and self-reliance, but instead God has given us a desire to be Christ-centered even if it jeopardizes our safety. Honestly we are not completely there yet, I don’t know that I can say I am willing to give up my life for my brother. But my prayer is that God gives me that kind of love. I desperately need that kind of love in order to impact the world for Christ so every day I pray for the Lord to increase my love for fellow men.

It is no surprise that as we prayed through this God began to challenge us and call us. We had to make a decision. Are we in? What a crazy prayer it is when we finally prayed God we are in for whatever you want us to do. That has led us to some strange places in the last 6 months. Mosques, homeless shelters, food banks, and cold streets, sharing the gospel wherever he leads. Now he has lead us to something even more. He has called us to the mission field.

In May we took a trip to Orlando, Florida to meet with an organization called Missionary Ventures International (MVI). We knew little about the organization but somehow the Lord led us to an orientation where we learned about them and their values. It is amazing to see what God is doing through MVI and their staff and there was no doubt in our minds that the Lord is calling us to be a part of the organization.

They have presented us with an opportunity to move to Peru and work in the Amazon jungle with the Shawi people. We are unsure what this entails and are therefore taking an exploratory trip June 11-19. Jennifer and I are going without the kids and Jennifer is 6 months pregnant.

This is where we need your help. The truth is we cannot do this on our own.  We are in desperate need for believers to intercede on our behalf. We need men and women of Christ willing to go into their prayer closets and get down on their knees and pray to the creator of the universe on our behalf. Please do this for us.  This list of things we need help with seems endless, strength, courage, boldness, discernment, understanding, clarity, timing, and finances. Please pray for our children during this time of uncertainty and change. Ask the Lord to bless our marriage that we may grow closer and make decisions in one accord.

We will also need people to partner with us financially to support the work we will be doing so please pray that God begins to put those people in place.

In Matthew 6 it says “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.” “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things, will be given to you as well.” That is the desire of our family, not to worry about our lives but instead to see His kingdom advanced, to see the lost led to Christ, to see lives transformed, and to see Him glorified in all the earth.
                                                                                                                                             ~ Josh

“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one how calls you is faithful, and he will do it. Brothers and sisters, pray for us.” I Thessalonians 5:23-25