having a target on our backs

I often listen to podcasts while doing work around the house. I started my podcast exploration about 6-8 months ago when a friend had recommended "God Centered Mom" podcast. (the name has now changed to "Don't Mom Alone" but I still highly recommend listening to it!)

peeling potatoes into the yard (our form of a compost pile)

This got me into finding a number of different great podcasts.  I run into a conundrum when listening. I am so "far behind" do I listen to the most recent podcasts or the ones I find the most appealing to me? I currently have 30 some podcasts downloaded on top of being subscribed to 50 different podcasts.  It is a bit overwhelming at times.

Zion and Zephaniah hiking in the bush with Nathanael

All of that last paragraph to say the podcast I was enjoying most recently is from quite a while ago. It was a podcast called Journeywomen.  She was sharing about marriage.  They talked specifically about times and seasons where marriage can be extra difficult. She named things like military families, those in ministry, and missionaries.   The speaker, Carla Weathersbee shared "they walk around with a target on their backs".

Anna agreed to do cornrows in Abigail's hair

This phrase brought me to tears. I commiserate because that has been my experience.  The devil doesn't want us to succeed, especially in marriage. Couples both in Jesus Deaf Church and Koinonia often decide not to get married. We are living examples of marriage and why God calls us to it.

I was attempting to use the fetoscope on Eliaznie but I couldn't get a good heartbeat(moving baby and lack of experience)

In the process of tears and speaking to God, I was also reminded that being a target isn't always a dreadful thing. We are also a direct target for prayer. I could recount to you times when I have physically felt prayers over us. Prayers for peace, prayers for our family and for the ministry.  You play a vital role. Thank you for "aiming" at our target!

Anna tried our bentonite clay mask

This past week, Nathanael had a discussion with one of the guys he is mentoring. There was a question of salvation, and this guy was unsure if he is/wants to be a Christian.  I mulled over that for a while. I started to fast and pray for salvations on Sundays.

Nathanael and Misael play kings

Monday Nathanael took Elizanie to the hospital for an appointment for her pregnancy.  The lab was closed however her heart was open.  After long discussions and spending the day at our house, she decided to give her heart to Jesus. We rejoice with her!!

Elizanie accepted Jesus!  We are so excited!!! 

She brought her boyfriend (and father of their child) the next day. Elmer is open to the gospel but hasn't made a decision yet.


Thank you for making us a target. Thank you for praying for and with us. We need to be in a place of health to minister to others. You are a vital part of this process.

The list of what people are bringing to our Easter service. Please be praying for this as it's our biggest service of the year

The post that I've been hesitant to write

Good News, Great Joy, to ALL people

If you read our newsletter this past Tuesday, I shared some of the spiritual things that we come against in this area.

The back area behind Koinonia

As I became more and more aware of the fact that a lot of the Jehovah's Witnesses live on our street, I was overwhelmed. They seem like there are so many of them. Their building is huge. They seem to have different concepts on if helping hurts.  (in other words, they seem to spend a lot of money on it and a lot of the people who go locally have a good amount of money)

hanging around before Bible study Friday night

As I stated in the newsletter, Nathanael reminded me that we have more on our side.  I would also like to mention that in the same area of street, we have 2 Christian churches. (one Spanish speaking and one Kreol). It is comforting to know that in the physical sense, there are more buildings devoted to Christianity than JW's.

an intense game of "kings" on a Fun Friday

All of this to say I was personally challenged. It is not my responsibility to convince or persuade. It is my job to do what I'm called to do.  I have felt that calling in the way of doing prayer walks on our street. This is where the title of the post comes in. I haven't done the prayer walking yet.  I am hesitant to post this because then I need to hold myself responsible.

Thanksgiving time at Koinonia, everyone brings things to share and we pay for the treats. The funds go to the church's mission trip to Central America

I will be starting to prayer walk on Jan 8. I am hoping to do it every Tuesday, 7am our time.  If you would like to pray with me, please sign up for the prayer emails. (which yes I also need to take more responsibility for!) I hope to share short snippets of the prayers and pictures of our street so you can picture it while you are praying.

we went to Corozal with Koinonia as they did baptisms. Nathanael helped as people were baptized

Thanks for joining with us on this journey. Thank you because without you we would be unable to do what we do.

Happy New Year!


Spring

PS please be praying for us as we prepare for the New Years party, our biggest event of the year.

The Harvest is pleantiful

When we went to CTEN for training, I was told not to applogize for waiting so long for another blog post/ newsletter. My life has felt like I've been running since my trip to Dangriga. I am hoping to get into a regular "groove" again soon, but it won't happen this week.  Why you ask? Truth is I'm saving that for a different blog post (perhaps the level of suspense creates a readership?) This has been on my heart for a while so here we go:

I have mentioned the Spanish Church we attend: Koinonia a few times on the blog. I just "happened" upon the church as I was looking at Google Maps one night. Nathanael established a contact through Facebook. Pastor Ed returned the message promptly and they met.

The kids graduation after finishing the curriculum from samaritan's purse

The rest is "history". Koinonia is a church that has a passion for Children's ministry. They actually started as a children's ministry and the parents were coming so they could go to church.  We are thankful for the community we are finding through them.  I really can't praise them enough.

Spring was asked to pray over the children on a Sunday afternoon

One humbling thing they do that I probably mentioned is prayer. They pray every week for the pastors, children, and us. They bring us up every single week and pray over us. I can't tell you how uplifting that is.

Abigail went with the youth group to visit some Maya Ruins

They also have stepped into helping us.  They committed to coming once a month to work with the children in Sunday school.

Pastor Ed and his wife Dyna at the Sweetheart banquet in Feb

During April, they came while I was in Dangriga. They came in May while I was there. It was wonderful. I had an opportunity to observe Nathanael. It is also a great time for me to work on learning ASL, something I haven't been able to focus on this term.

Abigail participated in a drama at a local high school with Koinonia

The kids weren't just taken care of, or entertained. The teachers from Koinonia had a whole lesson planned out. The kids learned a dance, a verse and Biblical truths.

Why am I mentioning this in our blog?  A seemingly little thing, has made a huge difference.
We haven't found a homeschool helper yet.  I blame myself for not being clear that the person will have to raise their own funds.

Carla prays over our family on a Sunday afternoon

I am asking you to see the fields ripe for harvest and pray for workers, specifically for us. Nathanael and I can do this work alone. Nancy did it.  I don't believe that is how God would have us do it though.  We really feel that another individual or family would really benefit the community. We wouldn't be stretched so thin.  We are thankful for the support (unexpected) of Koinonia, but realize they are also entrenched in their own ministry.

Nathanael Preaching while I was in Church

So please pray with us. For someone. The harvest is plentiful and the workers are few


Spring

A call to prayer

I first learned about prayer when I was a part of YES (Youth Evangelism Service) in 1998. Intercessory prayer was a part of our discipleship training.

(the children getting prayed for at Koinonia)

Since then I feel like I've been on a learning curve. Prayer is such an important thing. It involves both speaking and listening. It involves coming face to face with our Savior, trusting that I can leave things in his hands. It changes me as I grow into deeper trusting my maker, learning more about him.

I have felt that my time in Belize is marked with a call to prayer. I don't have a lot of opportunities for ministry, I am still language learning. (along with maintaining our house and homeschooling).

We had been looking for a church. We don't have an opportunity to go every week, but it is good to fellowship beyond the church that we lead. I was looking on the map when I saw a church pretty near us. Nathanael contacted the pastor of the church, and Pastor Ed suggested meeting.

The first week we attended church I was humbled. Every week, they call the pastor and his family forward. They spend time in their service praying for their pastor, the children and when we are there us as well. They pray for us in their weekly fasting service on Thursdays.

(Dayna and Ed Perez pastors of Koinonia, at the sweetheart banquet) 

I have been able to go to the Tuesday evening prayer service. It as an honor to pray for others in the church. It is also a lesson. When I go to prayer meetings in the US, usually one person prays at a time. Here the prayer request is stated, and everyone prays at once, out loud.

(Some of our friends at Koinonia)

We know you pray for us. We love the opportunity to pray for you. Please let us know if you have a request we would love to pray for it.

(this is Pastor Ed and his family getting prayed for at Koinonia)

The last blog post I asked if anyone would like to be a part of a prayer group that would receive separate emails. We would like to give a more in-depth look at our ministry. We are hoping to send requests weekly or bi-weekly. We want to focus on the Deaf in the area, giving you a peak into their lives.  It won't be a long email, I promise :)


If you would like to receive these e-mails, please let us know. We will add you to our list.

Have a great week!!!

Spring

Is Deaf church different?

I struggle with how to write this post as I don't want to come off as all knowing. I am far from an expert in Deaf culture.  Even Nathanael would be more "qualified" to write this as he's taken Deaf culture classes for his interpretation degree.

Let me then reiterate, this post is about me and my experience, perhaps to open your eyes to what Deaf church looks like.

One of the first things you will notice when walking into any Deaf event is it seems quiet. People all around you may be talking, but there isn't much noise when talking is done with your hands.

The call to worship looks similar.

Prayer..

Growing up I was taught to bow my head and close my eyes. In Deaf church you don't close your eyes. (how would you know what they were signing?) It may seem silly but this was an adjustment. Years of indoctrination about what you do when you pray went out the window. It has been a learning experience for me!

Worship is an interesting topic. Last month we went as a Family to the Anabaptist Deaf Retreat at Laureville. I had started this blog post before going. I am glad that I waited until after the retreat was over to finish the post.  It was really neat to be a part of the discussion relating to what Deaf worship looks like.

Since I'm not an expert, I would sum it up by saying I don't think Deaf worship needs to look the same as it does in a hearing church. I also wanted to say that as a hearing person it is not a good idea to sit in front of or even near the speakers at Deaf church. Deaf people love to feel the music!

Here is an example of Deaf worship I was introduced to this weekend.

Sermons look very similar, minus the fact that it's in ASL. Since I am still learning ASL, it is darn near impossible for me to take notes. If I look down at the page, I loose words! While in Belize Nancy took a lot of time illustrating her sermons with pictures. I found this very helpful. 

Conclusion: Deaf church is similar to what I grew up with in some ways, and others very different. We worship the same God. It doesn't have to look like I expect. 

The importance of prayer.

One thing I really miss about living where we lived in Pa was a great Christian Library. Calvary of Souderton has a library open to anyone. It is the biggest church library I have been in. Even though we're not members, Calvary allows us to borrow books.

In the midst of the confusion of last year (when were we going to Belize.. how to raise support.. how to live with your parents when you have a family of your own) I "happened upon" a book by Paul Miller called A Praying Life.

Needless to say this was exactly what I needed at the time.  He approached prayer in a way I really hadn't looked at in a long time.  He speaks about our utter dependence on God, just as Jesus was. How could I expect to be less dependent on my creator than Jesus was?  It was a strong challenge!  I was able to find a great "prayer card" app which I really like. I can edit cards, add verses and requests for different people.

We all have ways we pray.  This is an intimate thing. This is not a post on how or what to pray.

A while ago I was convicted. We have this blog so you can connect with us.  You can see a little of what is going on with us.  I do my best to give a little taste of what is going on in our lives.  I have neglected making prayer a part of that.

My goal is to have a place.. and hopefully a tab you can simply click on with our updated prayer requests list.  For now here is the short list:

• A YWAM team arrives for a short term trip on Saturday, pray for them and pray for us as we work with them
• 
  
• We pray as a team on Tuesdays please pray with us as we pray for each other and the church
• 
  
• Please pray for God to tap on people's hearts in church, for them to hunger after him
• 
  

Joel and Heidi Kolb visit (part 1)

This past Thursday afternoon things were all set.  Nathanael would borrow Nancy's van, the children went with him.  I was staying home to finish wash and get the house set up.  About 25 min after they left, I got a text message. 

The clutch on the van was stuck. Nathanael could not drive. My whole family was stuck by the side of the road baking in the sun.  At first Nathanael asked if I could jump on a bus to pick up Joel and Heidi.  Instead of doing that, he spoke to our taxi driver friend. 

Our friend stopped by to pick up the kids (who could identify Joel and Heidi); rescuing them from the sun.  Nathanael stayed with the van till Nancy's mechanic could pick it up.  Fortunately Joel and Heidi are pretty "Go with the Flow". They were okay with the fact that we weren't at the airport immediately after their arrival

They were able to meet our dear friend Jose.  You can see some pictures of him and his family on Lucianna's post.  Jose has now rescued us several times with his taxi service!  We are blessed to know him. 

Friday, Joel and Heidi explored Orange Walk with us. Selah of course insisted that the first thing we do was to  have some Bubble Tea.  After walking and having some tacos, Joel and Heidi allowed us the privilege of an afternoon date! 

Jose stopped by before we left on Friday to have a spiritual discussion.  It was a privilege to pray with and for him.

Friday night was movie night at Jesus Deaf Church.

Lest anyone think that Joel and Heidi came to vacation; I will clear things up for you.  Both were a huge help.  Due to there not being a church van; Nathanael had to help pick up people (usually Nancy does this).  Joel and Heidi did a thorough cleaning of the church. I cleaned the bathrooms and cooked hot dogs. Joel said he encountered a few roaches in his sweeping.  I am thankful I didn't have to see them this time. Heidi also sat in the back of the church and played with children while their parents watched. I wish I had pictures, apparently we were all too busy to take some!

Saturday we had plans to go to Lamanai Ruins. (The ones we visited with Chang-He and Greg) It was rainy and a chilly 65 degrees pretty much all day.  We instead used the borrowed vehicle to see a little of Belize City. Joel and Heidi got some gifts to bring home. 

Almost the whole time Joel and Heidi were here it's been unseasonably cold!  We even picked up a jacket for Abigail in Belize city, since she hadn't had one. 

Apparently all of my good pictures I am saving for the next post about our visit to Dangriga. Stay tuned :)