A funny thing happened on my way to learning Spanish...

Well, actually, quite a few funny things have happened. And, since the blog gets a little heavy sometimes, I thought I’d share a few of the funny moments. Hope you enjoy!

Prayer Necessities for the Skimmers:

1. Pray for my Spanish teacher, Claudia. She professes to be Catholic, but in name only. In reality, she is deeply lost and desperately in need of our Savior. As my language abilities grow, we have had in-depth spiritual conversations and are currently studying the book of Romans in class every day. Please pray that she would not continue to harden her heart against the Truth that she hears.

2. Please pray for the eight missionaries here in Guatemala as they prepare to travel to their respective countries of service in mid-January. (As an FYI, I leave here in mid-February bound for three months of training in Peru.) Their names are John, Christine, Ryan, Brittne, and Mindy (Peru); Aaron and Stacie (Argentina); and Jessica (Ecuador). Pray that they would remain close to the Lord and that He would use them to bring Himself much honor and glory.

3. Pray for the five new Xtreme Team members who will arrive here in Guatemala to begin Spanish language study on January 4. Lift them up to the Father as they leave behind family and friends to serve overseas. Their names are Misty, Lori, Amy, Adam, and Jess.

Inquring Minds Wanna Know (Bonus for the Readers):

1.The Spanish word for “fortunately” is “afortunadamente.” But, in my head, it sounds like “UNfortunately.” During a conversation with a group of four Spanish teachers and three other students, one of the teachers asked me if adultery was common in the United States. My response? “Afortunadamente, sí.” (Fortunately, yes.) Needless to say, the response of the teachers was a variety of shocked expressions, followed by much laughter. :)

2. As many of you might know, Spanish nouns have genders. And, sometimes, they only differ by whether the last letter is an “o” or an “a.” For example, “hijo” is “son,” and “hija” is “daughter.” During the same conversation as previously mentioned, I was asked whether I was ready to have children. And I was trying to answer with, “I don’t have a husband.” But what I said was, “No tengo un esposa” (“I don’t have a wife”). Once again, the response was shock followed by laughter.

3. I had another conversation with various teachers and some other students. We were discussing some of the differences between Catholicism and evangelical Christianity, and we began to talk about the pope. In Spanish, “pope” is “el papa,” but we were saying “la papa.” No big deal, right? Well, we didn’t think so, either. But, after the second or third time we said it, our teachers broke down in laughter. When they finally explained why, we cracked up, too. “La papa” is “potato,” so we were just talking about the Catholic “Big Potato.” :)

4. And, finally, my personal favorite. The Spanish word for “German” is “alemán,” and the word for “pastor” is “pastor” (pronounced pa-STORE). Well, I come out of the supermarket one day and see a sign advertising an offer of an “alemán pastor.” And I had to look again because I thought, “What? A German pastor?” It was then that I remembered the Spanish word “pastor” also means “shepherd.” Makes a lot more sense for them to be selling a German shepherd, doesn’t it? :)

So stay tuned for more language blunders. I’m sure I’ll be able to keep you in stitches on my way to learning this crazy language!

Thank you for giving...

...to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering (LMCO). For those of you who know about and give to the LMCO, there's no need for you to read this blog. Just accept my very sincere thanks for your generosity. It enables me to be here.

But there are a lot of people who, if they've even heard of the LMCO, really don't know its purpose. If you have no idea who Lottie Moon was or what this offering is all about, read on.

Prayer Necessities for the Skimmers:

1. Please pray for the salvation of Linda, an American I've met here in Guatemala. She and I have had several very deep and meaningful conversations, and she has heard the Truth clearly and is very close to accepting God's gift of salvation. Pray that the things of this world would fade in comparison with the Light of Christ and that she would choose to follow His ways.

2. Please pray for encouragement for Nick Diaz, a Peruvian Xtreme Team member. Because of a crime committed prior to his salvation, Nick was recently sent to prison and awaits an appeal of his sentence. But, rather than wallowing in self-pity, he has continued to be a bold ambassador, sharing stories from God's Word with the other prisoners. Pray that God would use him during this time and that he would persevere in the Lord in the face of trying circumstances.

3. Please pray for wisdom for me as I begin leading two new students in studying the Bible. Neither of these women is familiar with the Bible, but both are open to hearing the teachings of Christianity. Pray that God would lavish His wisdom upon me in knowing what is important to share and that He would give me the words to present His Truth clearly.

Inquiring Minds Wanna Know (Bonus for the Readers):

Lottie Moon was from the state of Virginia (that should appeal to many of you! :)), and she became a missionary to China in the late 1800s. While she wasn't the first Southern Baptist foreign missionary, she's certainly the most well-known now. She deeply loved and continually ministered to the Chinese people, even to the point of giving them her own food and money during a time of severe famine. As a result, she died of complications from malnutrition.

Additionally, Lottie was a strong advocate for the involvement of the Church in the United States in overseas missions. She wrote passionately to those at home, encouraging them to give generously to the work on the foreign field. She was the mastermind behind the Women's Missionary Union (WMU) and behind the annual offering that now bears her name.

Today, every penny of the money given to this offering goes to support Southern Baptist missionaries serving overseas and is responsible for half of the International Mission Board's total income. I, personally, am overwhelmingly grateful for the LMCO and wanted to share with you some of the things it purchases:

1. My language school here in Guatemala. Thanks to the LMCO, I am receiving one-on-one instruction in Spanish from a reputable school. And, after only nine weeks of instruction, I am able to communicate with almost everyone, even if my Spanish is far from perfect.

2. My travel to and from the field. This includes air travel, visas, and extra baggage fees. At times, visas need to be renewed, and this may require a quick trip outside the country. As you can imagine, this can get expensive, and it's all covered by Lottie Moon dollars.

3. My medical care. Though I've not needed it here, praise the Lord, it is good to know that I am able to receive health care if I need it. The LMCO has already provided me with several expensive but necessary vaccinations.

4. My food and housing. I am so thankful that my basic needs are provided for by the generosity of the churches at home. Because of this, I can focus on spreading the Truth about Christ.

5. Though it does not apply to me personally, the LMCO also provides for the education of the children of missionaries (MKs). This includes a contribution toward their college education.

I could go on, but I think you get the general idea. I am so appreciative of the LMCO. Because of the generosity of those who contribute to this offering every December, I am able to be here. And, while I've been here, God has given me the opportunity to share the Gospel with Rianne, Dorothee, Sasha, Alma, Ines, Mirian, Linda, Claudia, and Mario. On average, that is one person a week that has heard from my lips that there is a Savior Who loves them and offers them forgiveness. And there are twelve other missionaries here who are also supported by this offering.

Thank you, Southern Baptists, for giving us such an enormous privilege!

¡Roma no se construyó en un día!

Translated, that means "Rome wasn´t built in a day." I daily learn more of the truth of that stupid saying. :) Read on...

Prayer Necessities for the Skimmers:

1. Please pray that my friend Leah and I would have wisdom as we begin a Bible study with a young woman named Ines. She is very open to Truth and has many questions about God´s Word. Pray that we would know how to present the big picture of the Bible, culminating in the saving truth of the sacrifical death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Messiah, and that we would be able to do so quickly and efficiently before Ines leaves Guatemala in mid-December.

2. Continue to pray for Bolivian Xtremers Graham and Efrain as they work in the community of Qhochumi. Pray for Santu Felipe, the man in the community who has been memorizing the stories of God´s Word. Pray that he and all his household would be saved and that God´s Word would spread like wildfire through the community.

3. Pray for my continued perseverance and patience in language learning. Pray that my words would be Spirit-led, whether I communicate in Spanish or in English, and that there would be no miscommunication of His Truth. May the One True God be glorified!

Inquiring Minds Wanna Know (Bonus for the Readers):

As promised, this post will be about language school. And I am feeling relatively optimistic about language learning today, so you won´t get the very bleak and depressing blog this might otherwise have been. :)

As stated in a previous post, learning a second language is probably the most difficult thing I´ve ever done. Well, it might be a toss-up with pharmacy school but, either way, I think you get the picture. It´s just ridiculously hard.

It can certainly be discouraging. I´ve now been here for just over five weeks and am starting to speak slightly better. I went to the hardware store the other day and was able to communicate that I needed a clamp and the purpose for which I wanted it. Lo and behold, the clerk came back with exactly what I wanted. I had a smile on my face for hours afterward!

Believe me, I know what you´re thinking: "Um, Kel? We´ve got to get you a life. Do we need to send you some magazines or something? Because, seriously, for you to be this excited about a clamp is just concerning."

Yeah, I know. But you have to take encouragement wherever it comes when you´re learning a new language because there is so much DIScouragement. If I can communicate even the most basic things, I am thrilled, simply because there is so much I can´t communicate. There are so many times when I know exactly what I want to say but can´t figure out how to conjugate the verb in Spanish. Or I don´t know the Spanish word. Or my dictionary doesn´t have the phrase I need. And the worst times are when I can´t even figure out how to say what I want to say in English. It seems that, as I learn one new word in Spanish, I lose two in English. Great, now I´m a terrible communicator in two languages! :)

It can be overwhelming at times. Spanish has two words for the English verb "to be," two words for the English preposition "for," two past tenses and multiple verb tenses that are rarely if ever used in English. I can read even the most basic stories and discover verb constructions that I don´t recognize. The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don´t know.

In that respect, learning Spanish is kind of like reading the Bible. I´ve read the book of Hebrews at least ten times, and God shows me something new every time. And every time I recognize that I haven´t even scratched the surface of understanding this amazing God that we have.

Of course, I have eternity to come to know Who God is, and that is the most amazing blessing there is. As a matter of fact, John 17:3 tells us that is actually the definition of eternal life:

"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."

I´m hoping that learning Spanish will be a similar blessing. I have been viewing it as a task to be completed. Learn this language, and you can move on to Quechua. But, as a missionary friend reminded me this week, the best perspective is to view language learning as a lifelong process. There are certainly goals to be achieved. I have to attain a certain level in Spanish before I can begin learning Quechua, for example. But language learning is less about the destination and more about the journey.

It can be very humbling. My teacher just yesterday compared me to her four-year-old nephew, who also evidently cannot pronounce Spanish words. She continues to remind me that Rome wasn´t built in a day, but, let me tell you, it´s pretty darn humbling to be compared to a four-year-old. :)

Honestly, everything about language learning is humbling. I feel stupid constantly. I came from a job where I felt very competent and where there was a lot positive reinforcement that I was doing a good job. I came from a church where I felt able to perform my responsibilities well. To learn Spanish is to be unable to do even the simplest things, and it is difficult and humbling, if not humiliating, to be in that position.

But you know what? That is good. Did you see how many times in that last paragraph I used the word "I"? Seven times in only three sentences. In language learning, there is no I. There is only, "Father, please help me. I can´t do this." Humility is so foreign for me but so close to the heart of God. "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6). And I´ve relearned the truth of this passage:

"But he said to me, `My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.´ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Cor. 12:9-10)

So being weak in language truly is good because it makes me recognize my utter dependence on God for even the smallest things. And it reminds me that it´s not now, nor has it ever been, about me. It´s only about Him, about His glory. I want to boast gladly in my language weaknesses so that Christ´s power may rest on me! And may His glory be seen and His holy Name exalted!

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." (Ps. 46:10)

La vida de Guatemala (Guatemalan life)

Field Update (Prayer Necessities for the Skimmers):

1. For salvation for those with whom God has given me the opportunity to share the Gospel here. Their names are Dorothee, Rianne, Sasha, and Alma. Also, pray for Mario and Odila, the family with whom I am living, that they would come to know Christ as Redeemer and Lord.

2. For my language learning. It is truly one of the hardest things I've ever done (maybe more difficult than pharmacy school, although I can't believe I just said that! :)), and there are so many times when I just want to pack it in and give up. I'm a perfectionist, and I'm impatient, and that is a terrible combination in language learning. Please pray that I would persevere and that the Lord would enable me to learn.

3. For encouragement for the team in Bolivia. They have had some disappointments in the village of Qhochumi, where the response has not been what they would have hoped. Please continue to lift up the people and ask that their hearts would be opened to receive salvation.

Inquring Minds Wanna Know (Bonus for the Readers):

Life in another country is... hmm, what adjective should I pick? There are so many to choose from! Interesting, confusing, fascinating, frustrating, different, new, amazing. Yeah, it's all of those things and more. So I'll just give you a quick run-down of my activities here:

1. Language school. Easily the most frustrating thing I've ever done. I think I'll make another post about this at some point in the future... hopefully, when I'm feeling a little more optimistic about actually learning the language. :)

2. Living with a local family. This is definitely one of the best parts of this experience. I live in a house with two older people who have essentially become my local grandparents. Mario and Odila have been taking in students from our school for many years and are such a sweet older couple, and their granddaughter Cristal also lives with them. We also have a dog, a cute little Dachshund named Kalua. The family is very Catholic, but Mario has been asking me lots of questions related to spiritual matters. In my limited Spanish, we have been having some wonderful discussions!

3. Interacting with other students. There are two other students who live in the house with me. Dorothee is from Germany, and Rianne is from Holland. Neither are believers, but I have had the opportunity to share the Gospel with them once. I am hopeful that the Lord will open up more chances to share before they both leave here in a couple of weeks.

4. The food. What can I say? Odila is a wonderful cook! We have lots of fruit and vegetables, though meat is a little less common in our meals. I know some of you carnivores would have a problem with that diet, but it's really fine with me. They have great squash, avocadoes, and papaya here, so I have no complaints!

5. Finding a church. Guatemala is predominantly Catholic, and there is no Baptist church in Antigua. There is a Baptist church in neighboring Jocotenango, which is a little over a mile away. There are also a couple of other evangelical churches here (non-denominational), so it's been a good experience to be with other believers. I attended one of the non-denominational churchs last weekend and the Baptist church in Jocotenango this past Sunday, and I enjoyed both. The non-denominational church is bilingual, while the Baptist church is only in Spanish. Both have advantages and disadvantages, but I'm likely going to spend most of my time at a predominantly Spanish-speaking church. I really need to hear the language!

6. Life in Antigua. There's so much to say here. Some of its offerings:

Three gyms - The one we joined costs a little over $20 a month. Don't hate us because we live in a cheap country. :)
Two supermarkets - One is similar to Wal-Mart, though certainly not as big or as comprehensive in what you can buy.
Many cafes and restaurants - They pretty much have all kinds of food, even sushi!
Three volcanoes - We're going to climb one in a few weeks!
Earthquakes - Yeah, I experienced my first one a few days after arriving. It was crazy.
Crime - Just like everywhere else, I suppose, though we gringos with our laptops are prime targets here. I've learned to not carry my computer around all the time and to never walk alone at night.

7. And lastly and most importantly, sharing Christ. God has given me three amazing opportunities to share His light with others, and all three just blew me away. The first time was with my housemates, Dorothee and Rianne, and they both listened very intently and seemed very interested. The second time was at the local gym (yes, there is a gym in Antigua!) with an American named Sasha, and she also listened very closely. And, finally, I got an opportunity to share the Truth with my teacher, Alma, this past Friday... in Spanish! Granted, it was a very simplistic presentation, but I was able to tell her that salvation comes only by Christ, not through any good works, and that it is by the grace of God alone. It is only by the grace of God that I had the language to be able to tell her all of that! She even accepted a Spanish Bible from me and promised to read it. Although none of these accepted Christ at the time, I am hopeful that the Lord is at work, and it's fine with me to be the seed planter. He is the One Who gives the increase!

¡Bienvenidos a Guatemala!

That means ¨Welcome to Guatemala!¨ for those who didn´t know. :) I´m writing this from one of quite a few Internet cafes within walking distance of my home, so I should be able to stay connected fairly regularly. What a huge blessing!

Field Update (Prayer Necessities for the Skimmers):

1. That we would shine the light of Christ to those around us, particularly the host families with whom we will be living.

2. That we would be attentive and motivated in learning Spanish.

3. That we would grow in our personal relationships with the Father and that we would be unified in fellowship with one another so that God may be continually glorified.

4. Continue to lift up the Xtreme Team in Bolivia. They were able to go out into one of the indigenous communities this week. Pray that the hearts of the people would be prepared to hear the Truth of the Gospel.

Inquiring Minds Wanna Know (Bonus for the Readers):

It has been a very eventful and very tiring day... but a very good one! The long and the short of it is that all 12 of us have arrived here safe and sound, and we are still awaiting one more from the States who should be here shortly.

After much time spent in airports and a VERY packed car (I have great video that I´ll upload later), we arrived safely in Antigua, Guatemala. We saw our language school, and they will give us a tour of the city in the morning, followed by afternoon classes for the next couple of days. We begin morning classes, in addition to the afternoon sessions, early next week.

My host family is very sweet. The wife´s name is Odila, and the husband is Jorge. They also have a niece named Cristal, and there is another language student named Rianna who is staying with them.

I´ve only been here a few hours and can already feel the frustrations of not being able to speak the language. I want to speak with my hosts, as they are very hospitable. They certainly speak to me enough, but I mostly just nod my head and smile like I understand. Oh, and I say, ¨No comprendo¨... a LOT. :) I cannot yet communicate well enough to discern whether or not they are followers of Christ.

Thanks so much for your prayers, as they are greatly needed, greatly appreciated, and greatly felt. I truly want to be devoted to language study so that I can share the Gospel as quickly as possible. You are a vitally important part of this ministry!

So what exactly IS the best way to drink from a firehose anyway?

Field Update (Prayer Necessities for the Skimmers):

Only one prayer request this time, but it's a big one. As many of you already know, the current political situation in Bolivia is highly volatile. Last week, the Bolivian government ejected the US ambassador, and the US State Department is now suggesting that Americans avoid all non-essential travel to the country. Our missionaries there seem to be in little danger, as they wisely steer clear of political demonstrations. However, there is increasing violence associated with those demonstrations, and transportation has become more difficult due to roadblocks and fuel rationing. All of this seems to be more problematic in the urban areas, rather than in the rural sections where my team lives.

The guys on our team are not being allowed to go into the Quechua communities for the moment, as those on the field try to sort out how to contact them at a moment's notice if needed. And, with the animosity between the US and Bolivia, there is also the threat that the Bolivian government will ask all Americans to leave and will refuse to grant visas to those who are trying to enter. This obviously brings a lot of uncertainty to the personnel there. All of this is a hindrance to the cause of Christ, but we know that "the king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes" (Prov. 21:1).

Please pray fervently that the Lord will direct the hearts of the Bolivian officials as He desires. And continue to lift up our team there, that they would bring glory and honor to the King even in times of uncertainty and waiting.

Inquiring Minds Wanna Know (Bonus for the Readers):

As many of you know, I’m still in the States and have been in orientation with the IMB for the last six weeks. I’ve given you small snippets of what we’ve done, but I figured I’d try to give you a more comprehensive version of what we’ve been learning.

First of all, let me just say the IMB is a top-notch organization. And I’m not just saying that because I work for them. :) They really are very well-run, and their vision to reach all peoples on earth with the Good News of Jesus Christ has been carefully pondered and planned. And every bit of our training reflects the Great Commission mandate Jesus Himself has given us. To the left is a shot of one of the auditoriums on campus. The pictures you see are typical, and they really serve to remind you of John's vision of "a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb" (Rev. 7:9).

We typically have classes Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm. On Sundays, we have house church meetings in the morning and a large worship service at night. FYI, the evening worship services are not like what you would expect at any church here in the States. They are meant to prepare us for what we will encounter on the field, so each week is a worship service reflective of what you would see in another area of the world. For example, one service was performed entirely in Indonesian, including singing, sermon, and prayers. I’m not kidding when I say there was no English whatsoever. It was a very different experience for me, but it will be enormously helpful when we arrive at our new homes. This is a shot of the lyrics to one of the Indonesian worship songs.

So let me tell you about what we’ve been studying:

Week 1: Personal time with the Lord

Far and away, the most important thing for any believer is to remain close to the Lord. He is the Source of our power, and we can do nothing on our own. If we think we can go to the field and accomplish great works on our own, we will fail miserably. It was reinforced to us multiple times just how much we must be people of the Word and people of prayer. No great movement of God will happen without much time being spent in His Word and on our knees. As Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5).

Week 2: Spiritual warfare

We were privileged to be taught by the IMB's president, Dr. Jerry Rankin, an incredible man of God and a wonderful scholar and teacher of the Word. It was so good that we got these classes early on, because it has been constant battles ever since. It was a good reminder that we have a powerful enemy and that we are now going behind enemy lines to infiltrate ground that has historically belonged to him. But we have a more powerful God within us Who has already won the victory! “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 Jn. 4:4).

Week 3: Church planting movements

This was a great week as we spent the early part of it learning the New Testament definition of “church” and what it really means to plant one. We discussed Jesus’ model of how to enter a community and seek out those who show interest in spiritual matters (see Matt. 10:1-16; Lk. 9:1-6, 10:1-12) and the churches planted by the apostles in the book of Acts. The end of the week was spent talking about the rapid multiplication of churches as national believers then go forth to spread the Gospel to their own people. Very exciting stuff!

Week 4: Persecuted church

We had LOTS of stuff thrown at us this week as we learned about how to teach new believers, from the very beginning, that they are to go out and share the Gospel with others. The Great Commission tells us to go and make disciples, and we are to do this from the first. Then, towards the end of the week, we learned about the things new believers may have to face in an environment of persecution. To turn to Christ in some countries means almost certain death; in others, it means years of imprisonment. New believers in these cultures know this when they make the decision to accept Christ, but they also know the truth of Matt. 16:25: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”

Week 5: Bible storying

My favorite week yet! This is what I’ll be doing on the field, and I’ve been looking forward to learning it for a long time. Chronological Bible storying is a way of sharing God’s Word with those who learn best orally. For those of you who like statistics, let me give you a few astounding numbers:

1. Did you know that two-thirds of the people in the world are oral learners? That doesn’t mean they’re necessarily illiterate, just that they learn best by oral methods, as opposed to print methods.

2. Did you know that only 6% of the world’s languages have a complete translation of the Bible? To give you exact numbers, there are 6814 known languages, and only 430 have a complete Bible translation.

Thankfully, the ones that do have a Bible are heavily used languages like English, Chinese, and Spanish. Still, there are many people who don’t have access to God’s Word in print and couldn’t read it if they did. That’s where storying comes in. Even in print cultures like ours, people love to hear stories… and often remember them. So you use stories from the Bible to evangelize those who don’t know Christ and to disciple those who do.

Week 6: Safety training

I’m sworn to secrecy about the details, but suffice it to say this was an intensive week of preparation for what to do if you are in a variety of difficult situations. Yeah, we learned a lot, and I could tell you about it, but then I’d have to kill you. :) I’ll just say it was helpful, it was intense, and I’m glad it’s over!

OK, that’s enough! If anybody does have any suggestions on how to take in more water from that firehose, I’d appreciate the tips! Only 2-1/2 weeks of training remain, then I am headed for Guatemala's language school in mid-October. Thank you so much for your prayers, and I hope you know how much each of you mean to me.

Acronyms Galore!

I am SO proud of myself for updating twice in a week. But, as I don't want to revisit the IMB's medical process, I'm trying to be a little careful not to strain my shoulder patting myself on the back. :)

Field Update (Prayer Necessities for the Skimmers):

1. Please pray for Gabino, a Quechua believer in the Ayuma community. When our missionaries recently came to his area, he felt the call of God to go and preach the Gospel to others in his vicinity. This is awesome news! As you might imagine, having indigenous believers share the Gospel with those of the same culture and language is far more effective and efficient than an American missionary doing the same. Praise the Lord, and pray that Gabino would remain faithful to the call and that he would resist the devil, who is no doubt highly displeased with his decision.

2. Pray that God would begin a great church-planting movement among the Quechua in this area of Bolivia. (See below for the definition of a church-planting movement.)

3. Please pray for me, that I would remain encouraged during this orientation period. It is truly an incredible blessing to be here but, unsurprisingly, there have been moments of great spiritual warfare. Pray that I would learn every lesson God has for me here and that I would be thoroughly equipped for the task to which He has called me.

Inquiring Minds Wanna Know (Bonus for the Readers):

So I've been here at orientation for four weeks and haven't really told you what we're learning. I thought I'd start with explaining that this organization has more acronyms than the federal government! Well, that's probably an exaggeration, but it's gotta be close. :) Let me just start with a few:

"Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'" (Matt. 28:18-20)

The Great Commission. Admittedly, that's not an acronym, though I guess we could call it GC if we really wanted. :) But it does underscore everything mentioned below and should be kept in mind as you read. It is the ultimate goal behind every acronym listed.

IMB = International Mission Board. I hope most of you recognize that as the sending organization who will be paying my salary. :) The home equivalent, which sends missionaries within the United States and Canada, is the North American Mission Board, or NAMB.

SBC = Southern Baptist Convention. The organization to which churches of the Southern Baptist denomination can voluntarily belong... and most choose to do so. The SBC governs both the IMB and the NAMB.

LMCO = Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. This is a big one, so I want to explain it accurately. If you are a member of a Southern Baptist church, you typically have the opportunity to contribute to this offering every December. Named for a former Southern Baptist missionary to China, every cent goes to support missionaries on the foreign field. It funds different projects on the field, as well as provides food and housing support for the missionaries, education for their children, and medical care for the entire family. If you've ever given to the LMCO, I would like to say thank you! And, if you haven't, I hope you'll consider it. The mission board truly does an excellent job of being a good steward of the finances, and those funds enable the missionaries to focus on the Lord's work on the field rather than having to be concerned with meeting the basic needs of life. By the way, the home mission equivalent is the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering, an equally worthy cause! (FYI, Lottie Moon gave her life in mission work. During a time of severe famine in China, she died of starvation giving her own food and money to feed the starving Chinese around her. A great heroine of the faith, I can assure you!)

SAM = South America region. In case you were unaware, that's where I'm going. :) But each area of the world has its own acronym. Among others, there's CESA (central, eastern, and southern Africa), CEE or CE2 (central and eastern Europe), and my personal favorite, NAME (north Africa and the Middle East). Does that make me a no-NAME? :)

FPO = Field Personnel Orientation. This is the eight-week training I am currently receiving. Performed at the IMB's training center, there are classes on language learning, on how to share the Gospel in various contexts (environments of persecution, tribal cultures, and many others), on the Biblical missionary model (better known to us as the book of Acts :)). We have house church in small groups every Sunday because that is what most of us will have on the field. In general, the goal is to prepare you as much as possible for what you will experience overseas.

MIR = Missionary-in-Residence. These are missionaries who have come from the field to live on campus with us during FPO. They are fantastic resources with a wealth of knowledge and experience. We have eight couples on campus now, and I am particularly close to one who spent many years in Argentina and Ecuador. I have picked their brains many times!

MK = Missionary Kid. The child of a missionary. They are now also called third-culture kids (TCKs), because they are often caught between their American home culture and their mission field culture. They don't fully belong to either one, although they can feel pretty comfortable in both. We have lots of them roaming around campus right now. Come to think of it, I'm technically an MK myself! :)

GCC = Great Commission Christian. Any evangelical believer looking to complete Christ's Great Commission mandate from Matt. 28:18-20, regardless of denomination. IMB missionaries work closely with other GCCs on the field to accomplish the task set before us. We should all be GCCs! Since your prayers are the most vital part of completing this work, that makes my prayer supporters GCC partners with me. Thank you!

CPM = church-planting movement. The primary missionary goal: To plant new churches and see them multiply. The concept of a CPM is based on 2 Tim. 2:2, where Paul instructs Timothy, "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others." The idea is that the missionary is used of God to lead a new believer to Christ and to disciple him or her. That new follower will then go and make disciples, who will go and make disciples, etc. This results in the rapid multiplication of churches and is referred to as a CPM. If we are all faithful to complete our Great Commission task, churches will multiply in such a way that every person in the world can hear the Gospel. And when that happens...

"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." (Matt. 24:14)

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye

For those of you who don't get the title, go watch "The Sound of Music." It's a great movie. You'll love it. :)

I do apologize for how long it’s been since my last blog. Time has really gotten away from me, and I’m sorry! But I do plan to make up for it with some quick updates in the next few weeks. So let’s get right to the prayer requests:

Field Update (Prayer Necessities for the Skimmers):

1. Graham, Javier, and Jeff are the current members of the men’s Xtreme Team in Bolivia, and they have recently begun going into two communities of Chayanta Quechua people. The goal is to build relationships with the people and to begin to learn the language with the eventual intention of sharing Bible stories with them. Pray that the guys will learn the language quickly and that the people would have “ears to hear” (Lk. 14:35).

2. Don is the “man of peace” (see Lk. 10:1-12) in the Quchimi community. When he was told the parable of the lost sheep, he recognized that he felt like one of those lost sheep. He is excited about hearing more stories. Pray that God would reveal Himself to Don as “that great Shepherd of the sheep” (Heb. 13:20).

3. “Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you” (2 Thess. 3:1). Please pray that the Gospel message would spread rapidly among the Quechua of southern Bolivia. So many of these people – a people who are every bit as precious in God’s sight as your children are to you – have died never having heard that there is a Savior Who lives to give them hope. I beg you to intercede on their behalf before the God of all hope.

Inquiring Minds Wanna Know (Bonus for the Readers):

“‘Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.’” (Matt. 10:37-38)

This passage has taken on an especially poignant meaning to me of late. The end of July and the early part of August were filled with farewells for me, and it seemed that each one got progressively more difficult. Here’s a quick rundown (click here for pictures):

I quit work on July 25, which was also my seventh anniversary there. I will and already do miss the people that I worked with and the patients I got to know. God richly blessed me with that job and, in particular, with the people He allowed me to know there. I have such great friends that I am leaving behind there, and walking out the door for the last time that day was much harder than I had hoped. Thanks for the memories, CHKD crew!

From there, I flew home to visit family in Alabama, and I said goodbye to them on July 30. My parents moved overseas themselves in early June, so I’m thankful that the most traumatic of my farewells was already complete. But it still wasn’t easy to leave my only living grandmother, a variety of aunts and uncles, cousins with whom I’m very close. Getting on that plane was especially hard after saying goodbye to my precious baby cousin, Gabriel. Knowing that he won’t even know who I am the next time I see him is a little hard on the psyche. (Wess, I know you’ll show him my picture on a regular basis. Just don’t scare the little guy by doing too much of that! :))

Then, finally, I returned to Virginia Beach to say goodbye to my church in early August. This blog isn’t long enough to relate how much I will miss the body of believers at London Bridge Baptist. I have learned from them the real meaning of “brothers and sisters” and have seen in them a small snippet of what eternity in the presence of God and His followers will be like. They are truly my brothers and sisters, and I already miss them desperately.

There’s no denying that it’s difficult to say goodbye to family and friends knowing you won’t see them again for a year or even more. I’ve had to face the reality that I may not see some of these people again on this earth. Yes, the cost of being His disciple is high. Jesus never tried to sugar-coat this for us. He demands nothing less than that we surrender our very lives to Him. Through this process, I’ve had to ask myself many times whether I’m willing to do that.

But, despite appearances, this post is not meant to be a downer, and here’s why:

“‘I tell you the truth,’ Jesus said to them, ‘no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.’” (Luke 18:29-30)

Whoa. Sweet! Look at the rewards you get in exchange for what you have willingly surrendered. Following Christ will never – and let me reiterate: never, NEVER, NEVER! – disappoint.

My human mind tells me that I am giving up a lot, but the Word of God says I will be rewarded many times over in exchange for the sacrifice. Whether I believe my fallible human thoughts or the completely infallible Word of the Living God is up to me.

I choose to believe Him, even if that takes me to the ends of the earth.

Especially if it takes me to the ends of the earth.

“From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised.” (Ps. 113:3)