Lord, Teach us to Pray

Luke 11:1- Lord, teach us to pray.

Today at ECA in both middle and elementary we were able to gather with our students to lift up Colombia. There is a very important vote taking place on Sunday, and the Colombian Evangelical church has claimed today, Sept. 30, a day of prayer. ECA students and teachers decided to take part during school hours and together we lifted up voters, political leaders and asked God to bring Biblical peace to this beautiful country.

Students in elementary met with small group leaders praying for about an hour this morning. We spent time reading and meditating on verses, praying for political leaders by name, asking for God to give wisdom to voters and expressing through art our dreams for Colombia.

My prayer for students as they move forward is as follows: "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Kinder students drawing pictures of their dream for their country

Art work from Elementary and Middle school was hung in the stairs

Praying together and drawing dreams of Colombia

Kinder students praying together for Colombia

More kinder students praying

PK students also got to pray together

Copying and meditating on verses about prayer

4th graders drawing dreams for Colombia

1st graders praying together

More 1st graders praying together for the election

Third graders praying and writing verses

Writing verses and praying for peace

Now let's talk a little about this election. For 56 years, the socialist group, the FARC has terrorized many parts of Colombia, pushing the military into a brutal battle. For the past 4 years leaders of the FARC and Colombia have met with international peacemakers to draft a treaty between the two organizations.

Because of the many implications of this treaty, the ultimate decision of whether it is signed will be left to the people of Colombia. This Sunday a vote will take place of "yes" or "no".

Peace sounds so good, but what makes this controversial is the fine print of this almost 300 page document. Many people worry that the treaty is too nice; FARC leaders are not given the justice they deserve. They also worry that through this treaty FARC leaders will be guaranteed positions in both the senate and the house of representatives. By allowing leaders from a different political ideology it will influence the political direction Colombia will take in the future.

On the other hand, there is promise of rehabilitation for those in the drug trade, restoration of farm land, and rebuilding of communities destroyed by the conflict.

In the end, there is no easy answer. Regardless of the outcome there will be many long-term implications for Colombia and international relations. It is interesting to be in the midst of such an important time in Colombian history.

If you are interested in learning more here are some articles with information on the vote and conflict in Colombia:

Explaining Colombia's Peace Plebecite

Colombia's Peace Talks Fact Sheet

What is at Stake in the Colombian Peace Process

When God doesn't do what you want

View of our front door. I love the beautiful flowers that greet me!

Welcome back to Bogota! Or at least that's how I am feeling right now. It's so good to be back, however I feel like I have hit the ground running. School starts tomorrow with new teacher orientation and it's been a blast getting to know our new staff and showing them around.

However, as we begin, life has also been a little scary. We are less than two weeks away from having kiddos walk in the door and we still have many teaching spots left open. Our director has been working hard, writing emails, calling and banging on any doors that might work. But, it seems as if God is not answering.

Today in church the pastor must have read my mind and my preoccupations. He preached from Habakkuk (side note: how do you say Habakkuk?). The first few verses of the first chapter highlight the prophet Habbakuk's call out to the Lord, begging His presence to be known.

Then God responds in verse 5: "Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told" (ESV).

I was fairly optimistic while he started his sermon expecting the "all things work together for good" outcome, highlighting a loving and caring God.

But as the verses continue, God declares the horrors he is going to allow. The rise of the Chaldeans described as "bitter" "fearsome" "violent" "declaring their own might as their god".

So....... "you would not believe" is not referring to the good things to come. Rather it is in reference to the bad things to come. Like really bad. Like taken captive and made slaves bad.

As the pastor expanded into the passage he didn't try to gloss over the challenges and the truth: God does allow and enables bad things to happen.

Right now in life is seems as if God is not making things easy. We are missing teachers and challenging situations have led to many last minute plans falling through. Now the question is how do I respond? Do I get angry? Do I doubt God's plan? Do I walk away?

I can. It's all normal human reaction, however at this moment I am telling myself "God is sovereign" "God knows what He is doing" "God's plans are bigger than my own". Mark tells us about a father went to Jesus asking for his son to be healed. Jesus replied “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:23-24).

That is my prayer... help my unbelief. I don't have control of the circumstances; but I believe God does. Whether it is staffing for the school year or the elections in the USA or family struggles or really anything. I believe God is in control. It may not seem good at the time but it is good because God is good and He is in control on this earth.

Summer 2016

Although it seems like we are living in the fast lane of life, God is good. We are a little over halfway into our time in the USA and, although I am ready to not live out of a suitcase, I am hesitant to go back and jump back into school. You see, this has been a good summer. We have been able to see friends from many different circles. We have feasted on favorite fast food joints. We have driven all up and down the West Coast. We (and by that I mean Ed) have battled a few mouse nests in our car for said road trip... ok, maybe that wasn't so great, but it's a story!

Over all, God has shown us again and again how beautiful the Church is. We have been welcomed by new church groups and reconnected with former communities. We have enjoyed lunches and dinners and just hang outs with many people. And although it's been two years since we were both back, it feels as if we just left thanks to so many people's hospitality. We have been reminded how amazing our supporters are and that we CANNOT do what we do without their prayers, words of encouragement and friendship.

So, although life in the States does not feel normal, it has been beautiful!

And here are some highlights so far :)

Ed's farm house

Lighting paper lanterns

Sunset on the beach

Girls weekend with the Besties (and Quatchi)

Hiking at Lava beds with Sarah's parents

Celebrating Father's day with my grandpa

Redwoods

Alcatraz prison

San Fransisco

Serve the Lord with all your heart!

One of the biggest joys of working at ECA is the focus on serving others starting from a young age. Once again, my PK class was able to go to the nursing home and serve the grandparents. This is one of my favorite events of the year because my students get to practice what they are learning.

We start the day by chopping lots and lots of fruit for a giant fruit salad.

Then we changed into traditional dress for the dance presentation. This year we decided to have students do the dance presentation from celebrate Colombia presentation, and students were excited to perform again.

We piled into vans and headed off to the neighboring town for our time of service.

We started off dancing, then sang a few songs in both English and Spanish.

Then students walked around, greeted the grandparents, colored pictures with them, and some did puzzles. We also handed out the snack of the fruit salad.

Every visit, God speaks to my heart through the loving service of my students.

While chopping fruit my students were saying "oh, make it small in case the grandparents don't have teeth" Or "Wow, mango, that's my favorite, I hope the grandparents like it too!"

On the ride there my students were excited and eager to arrive.

And the most amazing, the moment we walked into the nursing home my students were so loving! They greeted the grandparents without fear. While dancing and singing they were focused and joyful to share God's love through performance. And when it was time to serve the snack and talk with the grandparents, most were excited and eager to reach out.

I can't think of a more beautiful picture than seeing my students willing, able and joyfully serving others.

Celebrating Colombia

This week our school celebrated the country we all call home: Colombia. This year our annual celebration's theme was: From Colombia to Latin America. Through presentations, skits and dances we learned about many the many different cultures and traditions from Latin America.

Pre-Kinder celebrated Colombia and learned "contradanza". They have spent the past two months practicing the choreography and preformed in front of the entire student body and many parents. I was so proud of my students and you can't beat their cuteness.

Check out their cuteness!

In the week leading up to the celebration we had school-wide Spirit week. It's always hard to get pictures will all 24 wiggling bodies moving, but check out the fun themes:

THURSDAY: THROW BACK!

Our 80's gear was a little missing in the "groupie"

WEDNESDAY: PAJAMA DAY

TUESDAY: Topsy- TuRvY (No pictures that day...oops!)

MONDAY: PROFESSIONAL DAY 

Love your neighbor

As a teacher of PK I love to intentionally plan fun and meaningful activities for my students. This week we have been learning about the parable the good Samaritan focusing on God's love for us. Three years ago I found a great picture that shows how the Good Samaritan is a reflection of Christ. Although my students developmentally are not really for big abstract concepts, I thought I would see what they thought of the picture.

As I asked them what they saw, most reflected on the Good Samaritan helping the stranger or the donkey. However after probing deeper they recognized the cross. As I asked them why the cross was there, a light went on for many students as they realized that the cross is God's love, just like the Good Samaritan is God's love. Although my students are small, I am so blessed to build into them a deeper and more meaningful understanding of God's GREAT love for us. 

As a time of personal reflection, I asked each student to draw a picture of them helping another person. The majority chose to draw helping a friend who had fallen and gotten hurt- well connected with the Good Samaritan story- and as I asked them if they were showing God's love, you could see their pleasure with knowing they were reflecting Christ to one another. As a representation of that love, I would draw a cross on their picture like the example. My hope is that  as they see their art, they can internalize that they can be God's love to others- just like the Samaritan!

My work as a teacher is more than teaching English or how to count or how to be a good friend. My job as a teacher is to bring each one of my students little bit closer in their relationship with God. I can't think of a better job in the world!