What's In A Name?

We’ve been enjoying having the Joshua (Wilderness Institute) students with us for the past week.  This group is 65 strong, and we are privileged to have 5 Joshua participants at the Social Work Site in El Callejon.  Three are students, and two are leaders. 

Their first week was learning more about the community, the people, etc.  This week, they’re in charge!  Of course, we’re there to help out, but each one of them will have the opportunity to share some of the gifts God has given them.  We love watching how the Holy Spirit works through them and in them in their time with us!

This afternoon we had our meeting with the Adult Women.  Close to 30 women came for a time of prayer, praise and teaching.  As they entered, we gave each one a name-tag with their name written on it.  We, too, wore name-tags. 

Some of the women go by ‘nicknames’.  It was fun to learn some of their ‘birth names’.  Tiva, a lovely, quiet woman who always takes great care with her crafts, is really named Navidad, which as you may know, is the Spanish word for Christmas. 

For Americans, some of the women’s names were hard, like Quirinia, which is pronounced Irina.  Of course, they find our names difficult, too.  If Mallory is pronounced Spanish-style, it would sound more like Majori. 

After the women had their name-tags, we began with prayer and a time of worship, singing praise songs.  Sarah, one of the Joshua leaders, then shared her testimony.  She did a great job, and the women really paid attention as she talked about how God has been at work in her life. 

Sarah shared how her brother had talked with her when she was younger and expressing a desire for a boyfriend.  He showed her a quarter, and said that even though there are millions of quarters, this specific quarter is the only one that is this one.  That is what God has for you, he told the younger Sarah.  He has someone specific for you.  She talked about trusting in God, and waiting until He reveals the husband she is to have. 

Jenae and Sarah sharing.
And yes, you do see an umbrella! 
We have a transparent panel in the ceiling,
and a couple of the ladies thought it was too bright! :O)

Jenae, another of the Joshua leaders, then talked about why we had name-tags.  Part of it was to help the participants know the women’s names, and vice versa.  However, she went deeper, talking about how just as we each have a name, God knows each one of us. 

Some of the names of the women are ‘made up’, describe a physical attribute (like Negra, which means Black), a combination of their parents’ names, or a feminized version of a father’s name (Miguelina, for Miguel). 

But, like the quarters, each one of us is the only one of us there is.  God made us and knew us before the creation of the world.  We are loved by Him, and He calls us by name. 

Both Sarah and Jenae shared scripture passages like Psalm 139 and the Greatest Commandment (in Matthew 22) with the women.  The women were interested and took note of the various verses.  We pray they will read them at home, and continue to learn to see themselves as God does - His beloved daughters, each unique, one-of-a-kind and precious.

 

Feliz Año Nuevo!

Feliz Año Nuevo!  As we welcome each new group back we greet each other with Happy New Year!  After visiting friends and family over Christmas in Columbia (Daisy) and the U.S. (Kimberley), we returned to El Callejon last week. 

It’s been great to be back, reconnecting with the women, teens, girls and other little ones of the community.  To hear how they are doing, to share in hugs and laughter again.  To look forward to this new year, knowing that Jesus is already there, and we can expect Him to move in powerful ways. 

We have a terrific team of students with us from The Forge, a gap year program in Texas.  They've brought great ideas and an incredible passion for Jesus with them.  What a wonderful way to begin 2013!

our students made 'flag banners' with the Chiquitas.
"Hija de Dios" means Child of God to help remind
them of how much He loves them!

As always, we’ve got lots of plans for the year, including new classes, encouraging the women to go deeper in their faith, more one-on-one discipling, finding new and creative ways to share the joy and hope and comfort of the Gospel. 

And, as always, we want to hold those plans loosely, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us in all that we do.

Returning also meant plunging back into the problems of the community.  As you all know, poor choices, financial difficulties, and strained relationships, rarely take a ‘Christmas holiday’!  

We know that only the power of the Gospel can transform this community and the people living there.  And so, we have recommitted ourselves to making this our first priority.  In every situation, in every conversation and encounter, to speak of Jesus and His love, to point the women to our only Source of hope. 

the students teaching our Teens how to write
(and pronounce!) Child of God in English.  We want
them to remember who they are, and help with their desire
to learn English, too!

This year is going to be a full one, with more Outreaches (students, adults and others who come down to minister with us for one week, two weeks, or even several months) than ever before. 

Our prayer is that each of them will meet Jesus in new ways during their time with us.  That they, too, will come away with the conviction that the Gospel is the most important thing we can offer. 

It is a huge responsibility and honor to be in El Callejon, serving the people there, the participants who come down, and, most important of all, our Holy, Almighty, Triune God. 

We invite you to join us in prayer for the community, for Students International, for Daisy and Kimberley, for the many (many!) people back home who give sacrificially of their finances, who spend time in intercessory prayer, who write to encourage us, who visit.

We wish we could reach out and hug each of you and wish you Feliz Año Nuevo as well!  Know that we appreciate you and your interest in the big things God is accomplishing in this small part of His world!