Spanish Blog: Welcome Page and First Post

 *Click here to read the story behind my Spanish Blog

 

Welcome to my Blog!

  

To those who have honored my family with hospitality though we appear and act so out of place, 

 

To those who have been patient with us as we struggle to communicate in a newly learned language, 

 

To those who explained to us over and over again about holidays, traditions, and customs that we have been slow to understand, 

 

To those who have willingly entered into awkward interactions with us due to our ignorance of cultural norms, 

 

To those who have tried to protect us from theft, sun burn, food poisoning, and a host of other blunders we would have so easily walked into without constant warnings, 

 

To those who have graciously accepted our invitations to church, to Bible study, and to coffee meetings, 

To those who have repeatedly forgiven our loud and obnoxious North American tendencies,

 

To those who have included us in their friend circles,

 

And to those who have lavished love and kindness on us in so many ways:

 

 

This blog represents my desire to share my own heart and my story with you.  For those who honor me by reading it, I thank you.  May the Lord use my story to bless and encourage you in your own journey.

 

 

First Post:

Why are we here in Peru?

When I was a little girl I remember looking out the window of my parent’s suburban home and watching in awe as the huge trash truck rolled up to the curb to collect the garbage.  That truck was the most impressive vehicle I’d ever seen, and I hoped that one day perhaps I would attain to driving one like it.  In my young mind, such a position held much honor and status. 

 

Like most children, my aspirations changed often as I grew up.  I often pretended that I was a princess, possessing great beauty and grace.  Then as I learned about other professions, I daydreamed about one day being found to possess some coveted talent and becoming a famous acrobat, actress, or public figure.  Later on I dreamed of being a famous Christian leader who would lead many to Christ. 

 

I think we all dream, at least as children, about these two things: status and purpose.  We all want to know that we are deeply valued, and we have a unique role in this world.

 

I believe the reason we long for these things is because we were created to have them.

 

At the very beginning of God’s letter to humanity, we are told that He created man in His own image, imprinting us with His very Self, and then He honored us with an important mission—the highest of missions—to spread His kingdom of beauty, peace, and goodness across the world. 

 

“So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.  God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.”

-  Genesis 1:27-28a

  

Your high status

You were created to represent the Living God, bearing His very image.  This status comes with incredible value.  John 1:12 says you were made to be a son of God.  And that status changes everything. 

 

And what about purpose?

Read Genesis 1:28 again.  You were created to spread beauty, and order, and delight—the very kingdom of God—over the face of this earth, and according to 2 Peter 1:3 the Giver of all good things has resourced His children with everything they need for fulfilling that purpose. 

 

Isn’t this what we all long for?  

My family moved to Cusco compelled by this good news that we so undeservedly received and with a desire to share this joyous truth with others.  But in so many ways your culture has revealed truth to us!  

 

 My next post will explain what I mean. 

New Spanish Blog

This morning I launched a new blog--this time in español!  

 

This past year many different projects and occurrences converged for me and resulted in my desire to start a Spanish blog addressed to the people of Cusco.  I shall try to share these things as I experienced them chronologically, however they all overlapped with each other as well.

 

1.     As I worked on the DPI project with MTW developing curriculum goals for onboarding missionaries it eventually became clear to me that a larger, unifying narrative around the gospel and our mission was needed to unify and clarify what we are all about at MTW.  As I sought to hear from the Lord about this I spoke with many different leaders from around the organization, listened to audio and video recordings which seemed to speak to this need for a unifying story, and I combed through literature which had been written and/or used by MTW leaders over the years. 

 

The word that kept popping up, and the ideology which seemed best to encompass everything the Lord was leading us to was Kingdom.  The kingdom metanarrative seemed to be one that could explain what we believe about the world, God, ourselves, and our mission.  So I threw myself into the kingdom metanarrative seeking to understand it better.  I spent hours combing the scriptures, I read articles, listened to podcasts, read books, and engaged in much discussion around the topic with my DPI subteam.  As a result, I became enthralled with the kingdom metanarrative.  My delight in the good news and my conviction that it really is good news—grew immensely.

 

2.     Derek and I watched a video series put out by Focus on the Family that challenged me regarding God’s heart for the nations, and the profound way that Jesus and Paul contextualized the gospel message for their audience.

 

3.     I was working on putting together our virtual prayer journey for Cusco, and as I worked through how to communicate the spiritual landscape here, my own burden for the people of Cusco increased. 

 

4.     I attended a Christian education conference which, through its focus on racial reconciliation, challenged me to see the way the gospel honors people of all cultures uniquely, and how important it is for us as witnesses to the gospel to honor different peoples in the way we present the gospel.  It is not a white American gospel.  It is good news for all people.  And in fact, we as Americans received the gospel rather late.  Other cultures played significant roles in the birth and spread of the gospel from the very beginning.  As we share the gospel we cannot act like we are bringing our message, but merely sharing that which did not originate with us, and that for which we are extremely grateful recipients.

I was challenged, through this conference, to see that the way we view our reception of the gospel and our participation in the gospel story really matters.  God honors humanity over and over again in the Biblical story, and treats us not as unworthy beggars, but as honored participants and key players in His story.  We must also see those we minister to in this light, and seek to honor people as our heavenly Father does.

 

5.     Many of the speakers at the Christian education conference referenced Augustine’s writing and influence on the church and its interaction with the gospel message over the years, so I decided to investigate the man myself.  I began reading his Confessions, because I had heard this work was a good entryway into understanding him and his writing.  As I read the introduction to the book, however, one statement by the editor really jumped off the page and struck me as significant.  The claim was made that Augustine and the apostle Paul were arguably the two single most influential Christian leaders in the early days of the church and, in the editor’s opinion, this was largely due to the way each of them shared the gospel through the lens of their own lives and experiences.  They put flesh and bones on the gospel by the way they applied it to their own lives and shared this broadly through their writings.

 

As always, I processed all of these different experiences and ideas through writing, and a letter conveying my heart’s desire for the people of Cusco resulted.  I wasn’t sure at first what to do with it.  For one, it was written in English.  But I also wasn’t sure whether a blog would even be something that would interest the people of Cusco—not to mention my message.  But as I prayed over the idea, and time passed the notion kept popping back up. 

 

Since returning to Cusco, the Lord has graciously provided a couple of dear Peruvian women—sisters in the faith—to help me with this project.  They have been immensely helpful and encouraging, reassuring me that my message will be well received by the women of our church.  So, that is my immediate goal—to encourage the hearts of the saints and remind them of how good the gospel is.  

 

The new blog can be found here, though I think I'm going to begin sharing the English version of my posts here as well--for those who may be interested in my message for the people of Cusco.

 

- Laura

Morning Glories

 

On one of my prayer walks this week these morning glories caught my eye, and I was reminded of some of the beautiful similarities between the life of the believer and that of the morning glory.  I love it when God uses creation to remind me of truth I need in that moment!

Morning Glories    -       They don’t thrive in overly rich soil, which produces lush, beautiful foliage at the expense of blooms.   -       They love full sunlight, and if the plant is young enough a transplant to a more sunny location can make all the difference.   -       Each flower blooms only once and dies the same day.     -       A combination of light and temperature signals trigger the flower to open at a set time via a biological clock so powerful that, once set by the natural day/night cycle, they will bloom on cue even in a dark closet.   -       The plant dilates in the morning as water fills their veins.  This water action becomes pronounced as the day progresses until the flower is unable to maintain the water content and it droops and withers.   -       Though morning glories bloom for an incredibly short time period, it is exactly the time frame during which their pollinators are most active.

The Child of God:   -       Often shines brightest in seasons of struggle.  Too much comfort and we fail to bear fruit.   -       The more time with our Father the better—even if it means some major upheaval to attain it.     -       Our lives are incredibly short—but a breath.     -       If we are regularly feeding through time with the Lord we will bloom and yield fruit even in the darkest places.           -       If we continue to feed on the Vine, we grow closer and closer to the Father, shining brighter as we near our return home.       -       Though our life span is short, it is timed perfectly for God’s purpose in us—a purpose that involves our own growth as well as that of others.

When the Scales Fall

I think one day we’ll realize that all of the songs that moved us, the movies and shows that we watched over and over again, the works of art that mesmerized us, even the moments in life that we cherished, were dear to us only in as far as they reflected God Himself—His truth, love, and beauty.  

 

- Laura

A Reflection on Brokenness

 

The year 2020 was devastating for so many.  My heart aches for those who I know and those who I don’t who have experienced heartache and loss due to Covid-19, financial struggle, relational dysfunction, and many other afflictions this world and its people were not created to endure.

 

This year the Lord has taught me to walk out onto the waters of grief and lament with Him.  It is natural and good to mourn the affects of the fall as our Lord and Savior did Himself, and as God’s people were instructed to do throughout time. 

 

Why is life so hard?  Why such hurt and agony?  Why such brokenness?  As I ask myself these questions, I am reminded that this present world is a mere shadow of the beauty and harmony it was originally created to be.  God created this world to bring order and beauty out of chaos.

 

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.  And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” – Genesis 1:1-3

 

Humanity was created with honor, dignity, and the highest of callings.  As partners with and sons of the God of the universe, we were created to spread truth and justice, beauty, and love over the face of the earth.

 

 ^“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” – Genesis 1:26-28

 

I think all of us long for that.  We long for significance.  We long to be part of something big.  We long for those things for which we were created.  And yet, because we could not trust in our Father’s perfect plan, our perfect peace was lost, and our high calling all but forgotten.  Yet rather than scrap it all and start over, God chose to enter our pain and take our shame upon Himself.

 

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace [shalom] was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. – Isaiah 53:5

 

And so, as followers and partners with the true King, we also take on the suffering of this world.  We endure trouble, hand in hand with our Savior.  We weep with those who weep.  We carry the burdens of our brothers. We lament and confess the sins of our countrymen (as well as our own).  We take up the cross with Jesus our Brother.  But as we step by faith into this abyss of pain, of which we cannot see the bottom, we experience oneness and comfort with He Who went there first.

 

 ^“For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.”  - 2 Corinthians 1:5

 

And as we abide with our Savior in this hurt, we are reminded daily of the light that is dawning, of the hope for ultimate restoration that our Creator God promises. 

 

 ^“For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.  For,“Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay.” – Hebrews 10:36-37

 

"For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people; the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying." – Isaiah 65:17-19

 

 

- Laura