Thinking About God

A Gateway of Hope

I have been reading some truly horrific things in the news here in El Salvador this week. A six year old girl was barbarically raped and murdered as part of a gang initiation rite. A police agent was brutally killed in front of his children. Meanwhile, the daily grind of violence pushes school attendance down and pulls the homicide rate up. I try to hide the paper from my children and swallow the physically ill feelings that this news brings. It seems like there is nothing left to do in the face of such reckless evil than to simply despair, give up, and wave the white flag. We deeply love this country, and it feels like it’s falling down before my eyes. How can I tell people that they can get […]

Gone Fishin’

One of the things that our clients truly look forward to is the chance to get off the streets and out of the city for the day. A few weeks ago, we took a group of guys down to La Libertad to fish off the pier. They watched the fishermen come in and out with their catch, they ate some seafood, and they tried fishing themselves. They loved it! Fishing is not for the impatient. It takes time, and there are no guarantees. If the fish aren’t biting, a fisherman could stand on that pier all day long gazing into the blue water and waiting for something to grab hold of the bait. The truth is, that our work sometimes feels like a long day of fishing. There are no guarantees and […]

This Year Is Going To Be Different

This year is going to be different.  I repeated that mantra to myself over and over again as I pulled out the Christmas decorations and looked over the December page on my calendar. I set up the Advent wreath with the hopes of remembering what Christmas is all about. The doing is not going to consume me…it’s going to be different.  Here I sit on the other side feeling like a total failure. Oh, we did the Advent wreath for two weeks focusing on the hope and the love. But joy and peace got lost somewhere along the way and my wreath literally fell apart. Buried. Sad and bent under a pile of gifts. They weren’t gifts for my family, but gifts that were donated for our ministry, and they […]

Advent

Several thousand years ago, Jesus arrived on a chaotic scene. He was born into a land with political strife, and He was born into an oppressed people. They lived in a state of longing, waiting, and hoping for more.  God’s people couldn’t understand why God wasn’t speaking, or where He was. He had been silent and here they were beaten down, struggling, and confused. Into the chaos, Jesus silently arrived. Humbly, quietly, where He was least expected and where He was least hoped for. Into the space of a dark night in a dirty corner came the great Deliverer. I can find myself in that chaotic place. There is crisis around me. Dear friends are hurting, crime rates are rising, and the stories I hear break me down. There is oppression and […]

The Fight Against Poverty

October 17th has been declared the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The day was first recognized back in 1987 with the purpose of focusing the world’s attention on issues related to poverty. In El Salvador, poverty is a root cause of many issues that face our friends. Things like human trafficking, homelessness, and the potential to be victimized by violent crime are all perpetuated by poverty. A child born into poverty has a higher chance of being victimized or exploited, and ultimately of ending up living a life on the streets or in unsafe conditions. This is the case for millions of people around the world who struggle to get through each day, and have to work their hardest simply to survive. It is a tragedy that so […]

Rest

We just got back from a week long family vacation in Roatan, Honduras. It was the first time in five years of living here that we have gotten away with just our kids. We were able to connect with them after a busy few months, clear our heads of burnout and ministry worries, and spend a whole week not even talking about work stuff. The kids loved having us to themselves, and they declared it their “best trip ever.” I think that we all needed it, and the fact that we are so close to the Caribbean gave us a beautiful place to rest and recharge. We had the island nearly to ourselves since we slipped in at the end of the low season before cruise ships and crowds take […]

Just Barely

This month marks 5 years (5 years!!!) since we moved out of the quiet suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and into the new reality of cross-cultural ministry. I remember starting out on our journey and feeling like I was taking my first steps onto a big, tall mountain. The adventure was thrilling and the climb surely seemed possible. God felt so close, like He was breathing there right beside me. So many days He still does, and the adventure is still thrilling. But sometimes the climbing gets rough, and we reach places that we just can’t pass. Things like the death of a parent, a cancer diagnosis, or a tragic accident. These impassable places knock the breath right out of us and bring us to our knees. Or maybe the slow […]

Rainy Season

I sit in my car and wait, and as I sit I watch the rain come down. One of the first rains of the season. Drop after drop hits my parked car and I listen to each sound as it echoes on the roof. I sit there and I think. And my mind hears each splashing raindrop of the season we are in. A life is lost, violence rises, and friends buckle under the weight of crisis. Addiction wins, hope seems far, and the darkness hovers just outside the doorway. Icy raindrops hit my soul, and I shiver. The cold seeps in when it’s all falling down around my ears, and the sun has fled. Windy rains are sweeping through the city and dryness and warmth seem so far off. […]

Finding God

“I want to serve you God! Where are you?” This is the cry of the man in the comic above, and the homeless man behind answers with the simple word “Here!” People talk about wanting to “find God.” They may look to the latest spiritual fads, or try to find Him in some other experiential way. But I have never found Him there. God is found in the low places…the dirty man on the street, the woman exploiting herself, and the child that lives in the hovel of poverty. He is found where things are broken, decaying, and seemingly beyond repair. He is found in the wreck of lives, in the loss of hope, in the place with no escape. He is in the silent eyes that shout out desperation. […]

Sunday Is Coming

It all began with a triumphal procession, shouts of joy and praise. As the week wore on, expressions would darken and the cries of “Save us!” would turn to rants of “Kill him!” For His closest followers the week would be an emotional roller coaster unlike anything they had, or ever would again, experience. They were part of a chosen group, come to claim power at last for their people. By week’s end they were denying their Christ, and hiding their faces in the shadows. They saw God die. With their own eyes. And then they buried Him, along with all their hopes. Nothing made sense for His closest chosen. Betrayal and fear hung thick in the air. What questions did they whisper to God in the dark? What looks […]

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