God Of This City

Today is our last day in Uruguay and I could not be more elated with the harvest thus far. We spent our Saturday answering the doorbell, visiting with friends and attending several church services. During our last Kids Club on Sunday morning, 3 little girls accepted Jesus into their hearts! Further, we spent the rest of the day traveling to Montevideo with the church to hear Rick Warren speak. His formulas for church-building are quite revolutionary for the church of Uruguay and it was very exciting to imagine the possibilities for God’s people here! On the way back, Joni and I sat in the back of the bus translating and singing worship songs with the friends that have become so dear to us. One of my favorite moments was singing, “Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, our God reigns!” in two languages – ‘tis only a glimpse of what is to come. Sunday was our last night in church and they prayed a commissioning prayer over us as we head back to the States. What a family.

Also on Sunday, I had to cut the word “impossible” out of my Spanish dictionary. In June, we attended a baptism for a woman who had been a strong atheist before she met Jesus. We also met her husband, who shared her atheist views (and was also a card-carrying Communist, if that really matters at all). Though Joni and I prayed for him regularly, I will admit that I did not see much hope for him to know Christ anytime soon. Thankfully, I was proved wrong on Sunday when we received word from his wife that he was nearing a decision. We managed to squeeze out a prayer for him among the “No way! Seriously? That guy Fernando? Are you sure?” and we received word later that day that he had indeed accepted Christ! God thinks it’s kind of fun to do the impossible.

Claren, Joni and I spent Monday and Tuesday in Buenos Aires, Argentina just because it’d be a shame to leave South America without doing so. Today, we are doing our best to tie up any more loose ends, and tonight we are having a big going away fiesta with all of our girls. It will be a hard goodbye but we know that it is not forever. There really isn’t any greater joy than watching the Lord do what He does best – changing lives. It’s even grander when we can be involved in making all things new.

This morning, I woke up much earlier than usual and felt suddenly led to go for a walk. Bible and journal in hand, I walked to the city center, sat down, and listened. Two months seems so long ago since I first sat foot in this city, and since then, I have grown to love it and the people therein dearly. As I watched this beloved people go about their daily lives and listened to the Lord declare “Return to me, for I have loved you!” over them, I began to sing:

You’re the God of this city

You’re the King of these people

You’re the Lord of this nation

You are

For greater things are yet to come

And greater things are still to be done in this city

There is no one like our God

And You are the God of this city

Yes, it’s hard to leave the field that you have labored in so fervently, but there’s comfort in knowing that there is a coming harvest. Though many of the seeds still rest beneath the surface, there will come a day when it will all be brought to light and all that we can say in response is, “Wow, now that was worth it.”

So, I’ll go out in joy with sheaves of the harvest in hand and a song in my spirit. Ciao, Uruguay – I’ll see you before the throne.

“The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy”! –Psalm 126:3

No Hay Nada Imposible (Nothing Is Impossible)

It’s our last Saturday afternoon in Uruguay and we are beginning to say “ciao” for now. The past week has been full of kids, teenage girls and - the doorbell. I love the constant hospitality of the Uruguayan culture and we gladly open the door to whoever wants to come in (which goes completely against everything my mother taught me as a young child).

I am also welcoming my parents to Uruguay this week (and really enjoying showing it off to them!) They will be traveling throughout the country with Lyle, visiting many churches and towns as visionaries to determine future ministry opportunities in Uruguay. And, they brought Krispy Kremes, which made my parents extra welcome here.

Church services have been going increasingly well in the past weeks. A new youth group has begun in another Baptist church here with quite impressive attendance. After Resplandecer, several girls and their families began attending church as well. There’s no heart too hard for God to soften – certainly, there is nothing impossible for Him!

Yesterday, Sofia came by to bake a cake with us (We decided that if we’re going to get fat, it’s best to have friends to get fat with!) Her entire demeanor has transformed this summer from a cynical, somber girl to a joyful and confident young woman. As I flipped through her new Bible last night, I noticed that all of the highlighted verses relate to the theme of “Resplandecer” and the purpose she has therein. There is meaning behind her smile now, last night, she looked me in the eye and said, “Christ lives in my heart now!” Though we will continue talking with her to confirm her decision, the life-change is certainly apparent. The laughter didn’t cease last night, and I can’t imagine a greater gift I could ask of the Lord than this!

The youth group also threw us a surprise party last night for no apparent reason except for the fact that we are here. (Uruguay doesn’t need a real reason to fiesta). We didn’t do much but laugh, talk, dance, and take about a zillion pictures. We sang several songs, and one of my favorite moments of the summer is when three of our girls – Camilla, Angie and Mikaela – sang “You Are My King” together. This has been my prayer for these girls from the very beginning – that they would find their “Esther” purpose, delight and beauty in an intimate relationship with the King of Kings.

If I could describe the past week in one phrase, it would be “delighting in the harvest.” Now, we get to see just a glimpse of what the Lord has been doing beneath the surface this summer, and I don’t think I could ask for anything more.

Yes, the King has come – and with Him, it’s not impossible to turn a city upside down.

On The Road Again

It’s Friday morning and we’re back in Uruguay after a 5-day excursion along the coast and into Brazil. There’s something so enlivening about embarking upon an adventure with only a destination in mind and no idea what you will encounter on the way. There’s no doubt about it – the past week has certainly been an adventure.

After a stop in Montevideo to say goodbye to an ‘ambassador’ family going stateside, we began our trek in Periapolis, a small coastal city with the beach on one side and the hills on the other. We decided to climb one mountain simply because it was there, and we made it to the top without much difficulty. After climbing up into the cross that stands atop the mountain, we began our trek down. However, we lost the trail (who really needs that anyway) and to make a long story short, we found a hornet’s nest (good thing I’m not allergic), got really, really muddy and made it to the bottom a couple of hours later with a few battle wounds and a really good story to tell. (And from this day forward, Lyle shall be known as Cap’n.) The picture below depicts our “We’re on the side of a mountain and Lyle doesn’t know the way down” faces:

On our way to Punta del Este, we saw two whales off the beach. And no, this is not the Atlanta Zoo.

Fast forward through La Paloma, more lighthouses than we can count on one hand, Rocha, a really creepy hotel without a real shower, Randy Stonehill, and salmon-filled ravioli; we went to an incredibly secluded fishing village which requires a 20 minute ride off the road, through a wilderness of pastureland and down the coastline in an open truck to get there. After walking through the sleepy village, we found massive rocks overlooking the beach - and a sea lion colony! We spent the morning on the rocks watching the sea lions. They didn’t do any tricks, but again: This is not the Atlanta Zoo.

At last, we made it to Brazil. One of my favorite parts was the supermarket. (Joni and I suffer from an addiction to Brazilian chocolate.) We also met with a Uruguayan ‘ambassador’ couple in their home. They have a very strong ministry in this city and we got to stay for the prayer meeting that takes place in their home. We met a 13-year-old girl named Camilla and had the pleasure of spending a couple of hours with her talking about Jesus. We prayed for her before we left and are looking forward to seeing the fruit that comes from her life!

After a traditional Brazilian meal at the Churrascaria (meat, fried bananas and Guarana– it doesn’t get any better than that) we drove back through Minas, where we met with a pastor and his family about a very exciting ministry prospect there for next summer. There’s nothing I like more than a little groundbreaking.

Thus concludes the incredibly condensed version of our trek to Brazil and back again. One thing’s for sure – the food alone is worth the trip.

La Luz Ha Resplandecido (The Light Has Dawned)

It’s a beautiful Sunday morning and Resplandecer has come to a close. All of the decorating and prom dresses has left us saturated in glitter and quite ready for a nap – though it was completely worth it. I can’t help but laugh when I think of the past two weeks, especially Chocolate Night. When we opened the table to the girls, I expected two orderly lines on each side where each girl can carefully and calmly serve herself. Needless to say, I thought I was going to die when 40 girls rushed the table like a stampede, pushing and shoving their way to the elaborate spread of chocolate we had prepared. I was completely surrounded by hungry teenage girls, overly eager to grab the last piece of cake (and to grab 3 more pieces for their mother, friend and second cousin). Fortunately, I escaped with my life but covered in chocolate (attempting to serve hot chocolate during this time was also a foolish idea.) Chocolate Night was the best. J

We threw a pajama party on Thursday and watched Princess Diaries 2 in Spanish. Each girl also got a white t-shirt to decorate on her own, so we each now have a nice keepsake with all of the girls’ signatures. And, we all know that no pajama party is complete without a pillow fight, and oh, did we have a big one.

We decorated and prepared for the ball all day on Friday and Saturday. We woke up early Saturday morning praying for the Lord to stop time – and He did. J Several church members came to help and we finished decorating the church in half the time we had expected. We even had time to go by the pastor’s house for his daughter’s sixth birthday party (where it was absolutely necessary for Joni and I to jump around in the inflatable side. Oh, the trying days of missions!)

The ball was the perfect end to a fantastic two weeks. It was a pleasure to watch all of the girls who have become so dear to us walking in looking and feeling beautiful – many of them so for the first time. We finished reading the book of Esther, talked about Jesus, the source of beauty and how it’s important to be bold about our faith in Christ. Because Christians are in such a minority here, they are exposed to much ridicule, so it is difficult and takes much time for someone to make a public decision to follow Christ. Most of these girls are the only Christ-followers in their families, which only adds to the pressure. Several girls have expressed interest in making public decisions to follow Christ, but it will probably take them much time to step forward and do so. But when they do – it’s genuine.

Still, there have been incredible transformations in many of the girls in the past two weeks. Please pray for Nazarena, a young woman who is currently in this in between stage of whether to make her decision public or not. Please also pray for Sofia, who has come under a deep conviction and is powerfully struggling with a decision to follow Jesus. Also pray for Annie, a beautiful young woman who came the first day under the watchful eye of her boyfriend (who is involved in some rather shady activities here). She has returned every day with a bigger smile on her face and is considering a relationship with Jesus.

Each girl got a door prize and a goodie bag (thanks to everyone for your donations of cd’s, makeup and purses – the girls loved them)! We ended the evening with a shower of confetti and several of the girls stayed afterwards to help us clean up. While we were cleaning, some of the girls began to sing with me:

Hosanna, Hosanna in the Highest!

I believe this is the perfect prayer to end our study on Esther, as it is a cry for deliverance and restoration from Jesus, our Messiah. As we have each been called to this royal position of following Jesus for such a time as this, we must also continue to cry for deliverance for those who have been entrusted to us. Rejoice, Uruguay – no longer must you live in darkness, for now a light has dawned. His name is Jesus, and He is the hope of this nation!

“El pueblo que andaba en la oscuridad ha visto una gran luz; sobre los que vivian en densas tinieblas la luz ha resplandecido. Tu has hecho que la nacion crezca, has aumentado su alegria. Y se alegran ellos en tu presencia como cuando recogen la cosecha.”

(Isaiah 9:2-3)

Prom Dresses, Tiny Bugs and Lots and Lots of Chocolate

It’s Wednesday afternoon and there is no place on earth I’d rather be at this moment than right here. The weekend was very enjoyable. I actually played softball (I know, I know, please remain calm. It was only temporary insanity) and attended several church services on Sunday, including Missions Emphasis night at church. We decorated the sanctuary with international flags, Joni spoke about her call to Uruguay, Lyle preached, and I got to sing “Revelation Song” in English and Spanish. We are also still fitting girls for prom dresses (there have been a few stragglers). We have zipped up, zipped down, hung up, taken down, buttoned, unbuttoned, and gently tugged our way through 75 prom dresses for almost 40 girls. We’ve said, “Ah, que linda!” (Oh, that’s lovely!) “Oh chica, eso vestido es muy hermosa para ti!” (Oh girl, that dress is very beautiful for you!) and “Eh, Yo creo que el otra es mejor” (I believe the other is better) more times than we can count. Needless to say, it’s been fun, and we’re very excited about seeing the culmination of our dress-fitting efforts this Saturday!

The number of kids coming to lunch every day is still increasing. It’s been fun to greet them every morning by name and to learn about their lives. The condition of some of the children is still heartbreaking. Yesterday, I was holding a young girl when I looked down and saw quite an infestation of lice in her hair. We’re not going to stop holding these children no matter how dirty they may be, so we bought some lice shampoo to use as a preventative measure. I wish I could take each of them and individually take the lice out of their hair – unfortunately, this is only what they’ve always known.

We are in the middle of our last week of Resplandecer and it absolutely could not be going better! Monday was makeup day, so the girls came over and had a great time with all of the donated makeup samples. Tuesday was Service day, which far exceeded our expectations! The activity was serving a meal to the kids luncheon at church, and we really didn’t think we’d have a turnout – but all of the girls came and served wholeheartedly. It was such a sweet sight to see them putting the Esther attitude of servanthood into practice!

Joni, Claren and I have spent half the night yesterday and most of this afternoon preparing for our long-awaited chocolate night! We are indulging the girls with more chocolate than they could ever long for (and having a really, really good time in the process!) We’ve made almost 60 cupcakes, brownies, cookies, and many other chocolatey treats. We absolutely can’t wait to see the faces of the girls when they walk in to our elaborate chocolate spread (that is, if the majority of this chocolate actually makes it to the table!) I’m sure you’ve all noticed by now that we’re not suffering too badly on this mission trip. Before the end of the trip, I’ll post a few of the exaggerated stories we’ve concocted to make it sound like we’re really suffering for Jesus here. But as for the chocolate, baking and eating - it was said best last night: “If this is missions, then here am I, Lord – send me!”

So appreciating your prayers – there are far too many stories to relay here!

Crowns of Beauty

It’s Saturday afternoon and Joni and I are watching Spanish cartoons. The first week of Resplandecer is now behind us, and quite a week it was! Our average attendance has been between 30 and 35 girls between the ages of 12 and 22. Every day, we begin by reading a chapter of the book of Esther and a Bible study on selected topics within the book. On Tuesday, the girls came over for “La Dia del Pelo” (The day of hair. J) and played with each other’s hair. On Wednesday, we watched “One Night with the King,” at the church and gave flashy tiaras to all the girls. On Thursday, we did color charts to determine the right colors to match the girls’ skin tones, and Joni and I sang a song with Pamela and Evelyn, two of our girls in Spanish. The song is entitled “Un Largo Viaje,” and the translated lyrics go something like this:

For this hour I have arrived, for this moment I was born

In Your eternal purposes I see myself

For this hour I have arrived, though I believe the cost is great

In your plans for today I have found myself

The song fits perfectly with the “For Such A Time As This” theme of the book of Esther, and we even found a YouTube video to the song with clips from “One Night with the King.” We also shared the gospel with the girls on Thursday and had an incredible level of interest. Please pray for these girls to make the initiative step to a relationship with Christ, many of them are extremely close!

We were also very excited to announce the center event of Resplandecer that will take place next Saturday night. We are going to have a formal ball for all of the girls to dress up, come and enjoy themselves! Several weeks ago, a team from Indiana brought about 90 prom dresses to Uruguay. On Friday, we spent about 6 hours fitting girls in dresses, and each one received a dress to take home, wear to the ball and keep as their own! We’ve already heard rumors that several of the girls wore their dresses for the rest of the day on Friday simply because they didn’t want to take them off. We reminded the girls that no matter how beautiful they look in their dresses, there is eternal beauty bestowed upon them by the King of Kings. Oh, and ashes are being replaced by crowns of beauty all around us …

In further news, we have also been working with the church in preparing and serving a meal for children every day. We are in the midst of the July vacations from school, and many children do not have access to lunch when they are out of school. The first day, we had between 30 and 40 children, the next day was almost twice that many! I know they had not prepared meals for that many children, yet we still served liberal portions and even seconds to those who asked for it. At the end, even the 8 of us servers ate a meal as well! If I have ever seen a “5 loaves and 2 fish” incident, this was it. “And they all ate and were satisfied …” This ministry of the church was even featured in the newspapers and on the news this past week!

It’s about time to go play softball with the girls. (Correction: It’s about time for Joni to play softball with the girls and for Amy to stand on the side of the field and cheer for them.) Many blessings, prayer warriors – we couldn’t do it without you.