Count It All Joy

      

      Some months ago my friends Sara Salguero, Abii Stoltzfuzs and I began a bible study by Beth Moore on the book of James. I remember reading the second verse in the first chapter of James and feeling confused and unable to comprehend its meaning. The verse says, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds..." (James 1:2). According to Beth Moore,  James is telling us to think, reflect, and to esteem the joys available to us whenever we experience various trials. Uh... what!! How in the world can one experience Joy when faced with affliction?  

      Months went by until a few weeks ago I started to gain a glimpse of the meaning. I have been reading a book by Andy Stanley called Enemies of the Heart. In the book, Andy talks about the four emotions that control us, which are guilt, anger, greed, and jealousy. I really didn't think I struggled with any of these issues. Until I read the book and realized I actually did! 

      One particular issue God was highlighting in my heart was jealousy. According to Andy Stanley jealously says, "God owes me." It is the belief that God has blessed others but has skipped over me. It is when we tend to focus on the things that we lack as we see so evidently see them in others. 

      As God began to pour light on this issue I grudgingly accepted yet another sin in my heart that I had to work on and overcome. After struggling with this for a couple of days, God began to show me how I could overcome and deal with jealously. By the third day I felt I had gained some victory with this issue and my heart began to rejoice in the hope I had found to be free from this sin! It was then that I realized something: it is through this wrestling with God and coming to believe in His truths over choosing to believe lies, that fills our heart with Joy! When we fight the good fight of faith, we gain victory, even if it just one step at a time. And that is a reason to celebrate!!

Friendship

    Growing up, I remember being surrounded by wonderful friends. My adolescent years were full of memories of prayer vigils with friends, trips to Destin, Youth Retreats and just fun-filled days. One of these special friends, who is actually getting married in two weeks, is Paula. I had the opportunity to attend her bachelorette weekend  a few weeks ago. It was a beautiful time of sitting together and catching up with our lives. Many of us had not seen each other for a long time. Life has changed for many of us, but it was as if we had never missed a beat.

    Considering these amazing friendships I was always blessed with, one of the main reasons it was difficult to move to Guatemala was knowing I would leave my friends behind. Yet, I have been blessed so greatly as God handpicked amazing people that were brought into my life at just the right moment (like Sara Salguero!). I count it a privilege to run this race alongside these people and call them my friends. One of these dear friends is Abii Stoltzfus. A year ago Abbi, her husband Clint and their baby Jasmine came to serve at Casa Bernabé and this past week they returned to Pennsylvania. She was here at a key time when I was in need of a friend. We taught school together, encouraged and prayed for one another. I thank God for their obedience and their labor invested here in Casa Bernabé. Abbi and Clint, made an impact here, not only in the lives of our precious children but in MY life and for that I am thankful. God has shown me time and time again His faithfulness through these Godly people that I have been able to share life and call my friends.
   

“Is any pleasure on earth as great as a circle of Christian friends by a good fire?”
- C.S. Lewis

Summer Time

We have kept pretty busy these past few months. I wanted to share a few things that have happened so far this summer.

This past June I participated in a music Camp that took place here in Guatemala. Twenty-two of our kids from CB who are in the band program, got sponsored to assist the camp. I must admit I was reluctant to go (it meant being away from my darling husband and life at CB for almost 10 days). David encouraged me to go saying that it would be a great opportunity for me to reach out to the kids by being a counselor at the camp.

At the end of the week, I was able to reflect on how blessed I was to have been a part of this camp that impacted the lives of our kids on a spiritual level.

Ema and Milton: Two of the boys sharing their testimonies during music camp.

Throughout these summer months we have seen team after team come down and pour out time, money, sweat and tears here at CB. It amazes me how God, year after year, moves so many hearts to come and serve, showing God's love to all of us here at the orphanage.

I was personally refreshed when family and friends from my church in New Orleans came to visit just this past week. It brought back so many memories of the first two times I came as a single woman with our team; remembering the special feeling I always got coming through the entrance of beautiful CB on that big yellow bus.

New Orleans Team

My friend Abii and I continue to teach our little chickadees. Since the beginning of the year, some of the kids have left and we have received new ones. Our school year  has been so fun and a big learning process for me. We will be teaching classes until the end of October. 

Four new Chickadees since the beginning of the school year!

Every Good and Perfect Gift

"Ever Good and perfect gift comes is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation." James 1:17

God's Heavenly gifts come in different forms and all kinds of ways, but one thing is for sure that our beautiful Heavenly Father loves to lavish his children with gifts. In these five almost six months of living in Guatemala, I have seen, as Psalm 27:13 says, "the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." Day after day and even moment by moment, my life has been filled with gifts from above.

I want to share with you a few of those gifts as well as give you a little update on our life in Guatemala. 

On april 21st David and I celebrated six months of being married. I discover more and more everyday what a precious gift he is. There are days that we feel we have been married so long, and there are days when we feel that our journey has just begun. We have experienced God's grace and have watched as our Savior unites our hearts with His love. For this I am grateful.

In March David and I had the opportunity to visit both of our families; his in Canada and mine in New Orleans. I was blessed to have some bonding time with Poppa Larry and Mama Nancy ( David's parents) as well as David's sibling Heather and Ryan along with their families. 

We were able to spend a week there before making our way down south to Louisiana and later to Florida for a friend's wedding. Coming back home to Guatemala, David and I were able to reflect on the huge blessings that our families are. We were constantly encouraged by the incredible individuals that we get to call our families and we see this time spent with them as a gift from God. 

Life here at Casa Bernabe has been good as well. I continue to teach my little chickadees. My hearts fills with joy when I see their smiling faces coming up the stairs. I count it a privilege to be their teacher.  We continue to spend time with the boys in Nuevo Pacto. I remember how nervous and sometimes intimidated I felt interacting with theM, but today I praise God for each life that I have come to love so much. I have realized how much they have become part of my heart. 

David and I continue to serve on the worship team and work with the youth group alongside our other leaders. I am also part of a women's group here at Casa Bernabe and we had the opportunity to go on a retreat. I am so grateful for these women as well as my close friends Sara and Abii. 

I have mentioned only some of the many gifts God continues to give me. I thank MY heavenly Father for surrounding me with His arms of Love.

Dear Father in Heaven,

We just take a moment today to thank you for every good and perfect gift that you shower over us. We do not deserve your kindness, but we receive your Mercy that is new this day. We love you.

- Your Children

"I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living."

          - Psalm 27:13

ASM

My little Chickadees

Alejandro and Miguel pretending to be monkeys

        Learning the letter 'C'

         I remember when I was seven, sitting my brothers down in a little room behind our house, taking out the little chalkboard and teaching them math. Ever chance I had I was writing on that chalkboard wanting to teach something to anybody that wanted to learn. This desire was probably fueled by the wonderful teachers I had throughout my schooling years.
        When I was in kindergarden my teacher, Mrs. Warden, used to call her students "chickadees." Her laugh was contagious and if you were having a bad day her hugs would make all the sadness go away. Some of my favorite memories with her at school were planting sunflowers outside and going on a field to a pumpkin patch in the fall. I truly enjoyed going to school and being her student. Now that I myself am a teacher I feel I treasure those memories more and try to bring into my classroom all that love and creativity I received growing up.
          After moving to Guatemala I was given the opportunity to teach here at Casa Bernabe. My class consists of two three year olds, two two year olds, and one who we think is two years old. My friend Abbi, who also lives here with her husband Clint, brings her one year old daughter and helps out with the class. We have been teaching for two months and it has been fun. We have been teaching them their colors, shapes, letters and numbers, as well as basic motor skills.
         Here are some pictures of us.

Abii and I with our Chickadees

Cleaning up after finger painting!

Starting from the left:

Bella, Hannah, Jon Jairo, Alejandro, Miguel and Jasmine

Mercy Triumphs

          I wanted to share with you something that has been on my heart. Lately, I have been asking God to teach me how to love others with a giving and selfless heart. I have been confronted with my own incapability to truly love as Jesus Christ does. A few weeks ago this question popped into my head as I reflected on this topic, "why did Jesus, knowing Judas (his disciple) would betray him, still pick him to be one of his closest friends?" Jesus poured his time, knowledge, money, everything into those around him without any reservation. I look at people like Jim Elliot or Mother Teresa, missionaries who dedicated their lives to give of themselves to a group of people who, in the case of Jim Elliot, rejected him, were ungrateful and even killed him. Yet, they continued to love and pour themselves to foreign peoples. Why? Why? Why?
          As humans, when we are rejected or even wronged, our instinct is to seek out justice or we pass judgement on the one who has wronged us. According to Barne's notes on the Bible, "justice demands, as what is her due, that the sinner should be condemned..."(Biblos.com).
          This question kept hitting my heart when I came across this verse in James 2:13, " Mercy triumphs over judgement." This is why! This is why and how Jesus gave of himself over and over again, not only to Judas, but to a world of whom the majority rejected Him. This is why Jim Elliot's wife kept loving those people that killed her husband, this is why Mother Teresa denied herself and loved the very ones that the rest of the world rejected. Barne's commentary goes on to say, "Mercy pleads that he [the guilty one] may be saved - and Mercy Prevails"(Biblos.com).
          This is it!! This is the answer to our Why! Why did Jesus come and give of himself to a people who were condemned to death? Because Mercy Triumphs! It always prevails over judgement. No wrong, no sin, no injustice can conquer Mercy! According to Matthew Henry's commentary, "[Mercy] points to the great Truth that God's mercy ultimately glorifies over our sin." This is good news my friend! Not only did we receive Mercy, but God will fill us with the capacity to pour out His love to those around us. He will fill us with the grace to see beyond the injustice we feel and show Mercy.
          As I write this I realize how far I am from reaching this goal, but it is my prayer and my heart's desire to be like Jesus in every area of my life. Please join me in this prayer:

Our beautiful Father,

Give us your perspective of mercy. 

We want to love as you love, 

not with a self-seeking and self-gratifying love, 

but the same love that brought you to the earth to pour out your life unto death.  Amen. 

-acm

On a different note, I wanted to take this opportunity to wish my beautiful baby brother Josue Soto HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I am grateful for your life Josue and how you have filled my heart with so much joy and laughter. You are an amazing man of God with a heart of gold. You bring the light of Jesus everywhere you go! I pray God continues to lead and guide you every step of the way! I love you!

Back to School

When I was younger I can remember feeling the sense of hopelessness as the month of August came to an end meaning that September was soon to come. And we all know what happens in September in North America. Back to school. In Guatemala I feel as if it is even a little worse as the "Back to School" hype happens right at the beginning of January. As a type of popular-culture thermometer, I felt the intensity of this change walking into WalMart. It is no lie that HOURS after Christmas had passed, the Walmart employees had successfully dismantled the entire atmosphere responsible for the dreams of dancing sugar plums, and in its place constructed a "back to school" bazaar. But thankfully, something beyond the constructs of consumerism made this January a little different for me.

Over the past few months, God has been opening different doors for the youth here at Casa Bernabe, specifically in the area of education. I can recall talking with some of these youth through the years as they longed to connect with people beyond the confines of these walls and have the chance to study outside of the orphanage. Well, starting in January we took a giant step of faith and enrolled 14 of our youth in Verbo School No.1 (www.colegioverbo.edu.gt) on a half scholarship generously given by the acclaimed school. A half scholarship. The financial commitment of sending our youth to this school has been significant, yet we continue to trust that God will provide for every aspect of this journey He has called us to walk . Personally, I have felt so convicted and convinced about this decision that I was willing to literally place all of my personal finances on the line (correction: as of October 21st, they became OUR finances. Love you sweety!) with the unwavering belief that this is what God has in store for our kids. So we did it. We enrolled the kids. We bought the uniforms. We paid for the books. We prepped the kids. And now in front of me, I can see the pictures of these 14 kids: all of whom were one day rescued from some of the worst situations and sent by a judge to Casa Bernabe. I look at them and can't believe that God was so rich in mercy to have purposefully rescued each of these lives, to have taken care of them for years and now to have sent them to an amazing school where the only verb I could use to explain their current state is....to THRIVE. They are thriving. The homework is plenty and the challenges both socially and academically are great, but God has given these 14 youth the will, strength and courage to stand up, recognize who they are and choose to thrive in spite of their pasts. Talking with one of the boys this weekend about the social scene, he told me he had initially felt embarrassed to let his class mates know that he came from an orphanage. But he then told me that he has come to embrace these things and has made lots of friends and freely tells them where he comes from and that he doesn't have parents. That is the kind of courage that inspires me. I believe that this is what has made this year so different. Sure, I still don't find much encouragement going to Walmart (we are now on to Valentine's Day....) but it has been the wildest ride seeing our youth rise up to such an incredible challenge and learn to rise above. They have come to trust God on a deeper level. We all have; and we are thriving because of it.


dsm.

My Good Shepherd

View of Guatemala and its Volcanos

        I wanted to share a verse that I read today found in Genesis 49:15. This scripture is a blessing Jacob speaks over his son Joseph. He says, "May God, the God before whom my grandfather Abraham and my father, Isaac, walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life...bless [you]." At the time of this verse, Jacob is on his deathbed and he is blessing the sons of Joseph. Looking back on Jacob's life we see that he went through many seasons of good and bad times. Yet, through it all, he got to know God as his Shepherd.

        This past week I had the blessing to visit my family and friends in New Orleans. It had been about two months since I had not seen them, so it was nice. As much as I enjoyed my time at home, however, I came to realize how my husband and my new family here at Casa Bernabé have become such a great part of my life. I am so happy here now and count it a privilege to be part of this company of people so special to God's heart. 

         Going home always brings up so many memories of past seasons in my life. I remember so many beautiful times with my family, unforgetable moments with my close friends, as well as precious times in ministry with the youth group and the worship team. My heart is full of so much gratitude and joy when I remember those times. And now, I see how God continues to order my steps in the present season of my life. 

        First, I am the wife of an amazing man of God who fears God, loves His Word, loves people, has a heart full of compassion, is extremely intelligent and very handsome! (Looking back at our story I see how it was my heavenly Father who perfectly united us.) Secondly, I look around at the people I am surrounded by and I once again thank God to be part of a community who desire to serve God by serving others. I am privileged to serve side by side my friends; together to establish God's kingdom on earth. Lastly, I see the ministry I am a part of and I see how God is fulfilling my dreams. I have always wanted to serve in a ministry, to work with children, to teach and be part of a worship team. God has granted me this and so much more!

        My prayer today:  Truly, Jesus, you have been my good shepherd. Through my past seasons whether good or bad times, You have seen me through. I think about my future and my heart rests in the fact that you will lead me well. I say yes to Your ways that are so much better than mine. You have proved to be good time and time again. Help me in those moments of testing and trials to trust you. I hold on to your hand, my beautiful Shepherd!

Wanted to put this picture because I just love this man so much!

The Greatest of these is Love

       

        This past Sunday I had the blessing to hear my Dad preach at our church. He shared on Matthew 22:37: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." In verse 36 a Pharisee, who was a lawyer, asked Jesus, "What is the greatest commandment in the law?" He wanted Jesus to tell him what the best way we can obey God.  

        Some may think the greatest thing we can do on earth is make sure we obey the 10 commandments or work hard in our jobs, or to love others. These are all good things, but according to Jesus the greatest thing we can do in His eyes is love Him.

        More than doing things for God, more than even serving others, God's greatest pleasure is when we serve HIS heart; when we minister HIS heart. Our Heavenly Father desires relationship. He desires an ongoing dialogue of love between Himself and His creation. Jesus is looking for a bride who seeks Him just because she loves to be with Him; just because she loves His presence. He delights to see our face and to hear our voice (Song of Songs 2:14). For our God, the best thing we can do is to love with all that we are: all of our emotions, our mind, and with all our resouces and abilities.

        The first century church of Ephesus (Revelation 2) was a church known for its works, their labor, their patience and the unwillingness to tolerate evil in their midst. Yet, Jesus held one thing against them: they had abandoned their first love. The fervent and passionate love they onced had for Jesus had weakened. 

        It is so easy to let our love grow cold. At times we get distracted with entertainment or aquiring material possessions, or even serving people. In God's eyes these are secondary things. God's desire is that our hearts would be an open channel of receiving His love and of us to give our love to Him.

So, with that said, I ask you now: what is the best way you can obey God? What is the best way you can please Him? May it be our dream and heart's desire to live a life loving God with every part of who we are.

-ASM