Trifecta -- Experiencing God

To all of my friends and faithful supporters as we have closed out Mission: Ecuador,, closing news and parting comments:

I´d like to send thanks and praise to my Lord, who privileged me with the following recent experiences:

1- Sunday, 31 July, last day of Mission: Ecuador, at Iglesia República where I attend, a young missionary spoke and cast some very wonderful wonderful visions and plans... and at the end of the service, after many came forward to accept Jesus, he asked another question, if anyone there was feeling called to be a missionary... 15 people came forward.

2- In the midst of a humongous crowd of people waiting for the inauguration of the Soccer Championship in Carolina Park at Coliseo Rumiñahui on Saturday morning, God sent the one person from the Municipio that I had met 1 time, who saw me, recognized me, said he knew where "my kids" were and took me back into the tunnels where they were all forming up to parade in... he took my foto with them, I got to meet their sponsor, give her my email and she said she´d let me know how they´re doing in the tournament. From the floor of the stadium, they made eye contact with me in the crowd of people in the bleachers, right while I was in the middle of praying for them. I didn´t find them again after the event, but did see they were getting their picture taken with dignitaries from the city.

3- After the book launch, I found out that 5 local hospitals are interested in having the Dysphagia program in their hospital. May God give Paty and Karla the strength, desire, and courage to follow through. And may the work I completed in God´s name here be good enough to hold up and get all those who are interested, moving forward on the subject.

I´ll be signing off on the blog now. But as Mission: Ecuador ends, a whole new phase complete with challenges and amazing adventures awaits. If I weren´t so technilogically-challenged, you´d have a bunch of fotos to look at right now. As I get settled at my next post, I´ll see what I can do to find someone to help me out in that area.

May God be with you all, every step of the way, as our journies with Him continue.

M

Launch

To my friends and family in support of 7 years of Mission: Ecuador.

Looks like a new phase is launching, and it goes something like this:
* Jhon managed to sign up his whole gang (12 of them) for the city soccer tournament in the park. They invited me to see them practice, I got to meet the coach, and they all did incredibly well for a 2-hour intense work-out... but they ended up discouraged for having lost a scrimmage game, and haven´t gotten back to practice as of yet. Please keep them forever in your prayers,, that they would keep trying and never give up. They´ve made such huge gains and growth steps, to have been able to risk doing something like that. And for strong Christian men to "get in the game" and start backing these kids up... I´m still praying someone will come to follow through with them in their older teenage years.

* I have significant possibilities for continuing here in Quito next year, for doing some interim work with colleagues in the States, any time in the near future, and possibly even specialty recognition. We´ll see what God does there.

* UTalca has let me know (yesterday) that I´m on their payroll for August. I assume that means I should be going down there in the next week or so. It´s a good thing. And very certainly a God-thing.

* My family is doing incredibly well.

* I´m getting ready for a special meeting tonight at the Swissotel and complete with dinner,, sponsored by the Ecuadorian Academy of ORL... they´re formally presenting the Dysphagia book. I wish you could see how excited everybody who has participated on the team is about the whole deal. I hope we have a good turnout. Dr. Juan Carlos Vallejo is just about the most amazing person. He´s president of the Academy, and is the one who decided to take responsibility for us as we grew up in the hospital. He also sat beside me and edited the book line-by-line,, to make sure I was saying what I thought I was saying in Spanish! He has made sure this launch happened. For me, it´s a wonderful closure to this tremendous mission project.

I´m convinced it´s so much more fun to take God with me, in me, wherever I go -- then it can all be used according to His discretion. Staying empty and alert, ready to move as He leads. Nothing boring or even close to predictable that way! And forever seeking His face, because I have to admit constantly that I don´t already know.

Thank you all for trusting me to follow God´s lead and represent Him and you here in Quito. You set an incredible challenge for me, and with God´s provision we all made it a very long way, , with lots of collateral effects. I pray that everything we worked so hard to plant would bring God honor and glory,,, and restore our trust and confidence in Him,, no matter what.

m

Back to the beginning :)

It´s my privilege to share the following updates with my friends and family who have supported Mission: Ecuador for the past 7 years:

* the Dysphagia book is in my hands, and is being scheduled for a launch on the 28th of July, sponsored by the Ecuadorian Academy of Otorrhinolaryngology, and SEFAL (the SLP association).
* there is currently underway a small possibility that ASHA (my professional organization in the States) recognize my clinical skills and accomplishments here in Quito, and designate me a specialist in the area of dysphagia (this is good for program credibility and/or growth, and offers the team here access to some very accredited professionals stateside, as God sees fit.)
* the road ahead, as of 1 August, currently smacks of several different possibilities, still. I´m concentrating on keeping my eyes on my immediate next steps, and not getting ahead of God. I´m learning new ways to trust Him and step firmly in the meantime, while I still don´t know. I do know He won´t leave me stranded. And I do know, He will work it all out for my good and His glory.

I don´t know how many more blogs I should or will write, as Mission: Ecuador officially draws to a close on the 31st of this month. I realize that that date isn´t a magic one, and I may indeed have several more months (or even longer) of twisty turny roads and hops, skips, and jumps to make before I have any real idea of what´s coming next. So although I may not be able to tell you all how things have neatly finished and closed, and this-that-or the other thing is coming next, you can all count on the fact that God is still Lord of my life and He is still leading me. And wherever He takes me, I´ll still be in His service.

And I pray that you all have enough evidence, having passed through these things with me, to trust Him in new and amazing ways every single day -- maybe even especially in the most insignificant details and supposedly humdrum places of daily life... because I´ve seen God is willing to use it all,, whatever we give Him. Even the tiny details.

Thank you all for the amazing difference you´ve made in my own life, and in the lives of I really don´t know how many others here in Ecuador. Thank you for stepping it through with me. I will continue to hold you all closely in my prayers.

M

Hungry

Do you believe, like I do, that everything God makes has His signature on it? Do you believe that by studying, or getting to know His creatures, His universe, and all those things that we get to know Him better? I remember the email a friend sent me once that talked about the "cross in our bodies". The white blood cells (infection control) that are shaped like a cross.

Well, as I´ve been studying to boost my dysphagia CV, I´ve gone over the respiratory system in a fair amount of detail. Basic life function, right? The study I was reviewing talked about the difference between normal respiratory function and the use of a ventilator. It described our normal system design as being based on differences in pressure between outside air and lungs --- that is to say, there is lower pressure in the lungs (an empty space, as it were), which sets up a flow that goes from higher to lower pressure. The "emptiness" inside, pulls the air in from the outside and inflates the lungs. Necessary for life. (For those who have an even better understanding of this system,, please forgive if I´ve over-simplified; and please correct if I´ve mis-interpreted.)

The contrast, in the man-made system (mechanical ventilation), is that it pushes the air into the lungs, and forces the lungs open and then sucks the air out according to the machine´s timing and strength.

It´s Biblical, isn´t it? An emptiness inside that actually pulls life-sustaining breath into us from above. Strength in weakness. A higher thinking that uses inequalities to create flow, instead of "forcing air in."

As I continue to wait on God´s timing, and feel that emptiness inside that comes from having breathed it all out, I guess I can choose to be "ventilator-dependent" or let Him fill my lungs. I guess, in that sense, it´s really good to be hungry. To not have everything I need at hand, right when I think I need it. To have to ask, to have to wait, to have to wonder -- and trust. To empty out and fill back up, according to God´s timing and design. Necessary for life.

Now, what do you think about when you sing "This is the air I breathe"?!!

Gonna run get some lunch now -- I´m hungry!!!
Wishing you all of God´s best, always.
M

Forks and knives

Thanx to friends who have been treating me to meals, I had some extra cash on hand to treat Jhon and his little brother Miguel to lunch yesterday. They got their own whole plates, which included soup, meat, rice, vegetables and a juice.

When the plates came, they asked my help in how to hold the forks and knives, and cut the meat. You see, at home they eat everything with a spoon. They ate broccoli and green beans on my "3 tries-challenge".

Over lunch, they told me that David ("Davicho") is getting confirmed this weekend and was planning to invite me (they were grinning when they told me). They thought they´d be interested in doing something like that (both had been baptized). Thanx for keeping us all in your prayers as I seek how best to participate.

I love being able to be with these guys in the details of their lives, so that when their big day comes, they´ll be ready for it and won´t be afraid!
M

As for me and my house...

It has come to my attention that many out there are apparently waiting on me to make a decision about what I´ll be doing as Mission: Ecuador closes here in Quito.

I can´t tell you how many times (in these past 2 years especially) that I´ve wanted to just launch from my own decisions and "readiness." And (even though I should have done it much sooner), I gave up my rights to do that as soon as I left for Ecuador. And faith-walking is a bit more complicated. It´s a process of surrendering my own will to God´s leading. It means deciding, and then re-deciding when outcomes aren´t what you thought they would be (or when deadlines hit). And it means not getting ahead of God, even when He shows you glimpses of the road ahead, assuming that you know what it´s all about. It means waiting on Him, til He gives the "go" signal. It´s what He was training the Israelites to do in the desert, with the cloud by day, and fire by night before they entered Canaan. "Go, go, go",,, "stay -- wait, wait, wait," now "go, go, go"... left ... okay ... now, right. now stop. you´re in a bind: what do we do when we´re in a bind? we look up and we pray, right now go, go, go...

I´m as curious as you are to know what God would be working on (probably actually even more curious). And I´m sure I´ll always be curious about what He´s working on, since I don´t quite know how to think like He does. But the curiosity you´re showing in your own questions let me know that you´re paying attention, and you´re also recognizing the incongruencies that I´m seeing. That´s a great signal, actually. Means that when God moves, you´ll recognize it --- and you´ll know it wasn´t me, but Him. Some of you have already been responding with even more faith (what a GREAT response) --- holding me up and egging me on because you "just know God is up to something good." Thank you for helping me to remember that.

I don´t know exactly what is coming or when. I don´t know if it will be difficult or fun, or how long it will last. I don´t know where I will be geographically located, or who will be around me. I don´t know what my responsibilities will be.

But having considered the evidence this far, I have made one single decision. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

M

God´s amazing plan for us all in Quito

In addition to establishing the Dysphagia Program, training therapists, seeing patients and working with the street kids here in Ecuador, I´ve had the privilege of working closely alongside many other missionaries (short- and long-term) to help advance their efforts, encourage them along the way, connect them here in Quito, and pray them through the many challenges of their own assignments. I consider that to be a privilege, and want to say "thank you" to them all for the opportunity to share the walk a bit. It´s fun to see what God is doing with my brothers and sisters in Christ.

Thank you for the opportunity to participate with Childreach Ministries in hospitality and transport arrangements, Compassion visits, and translating in often very challenging situations. Nuevos Amigos has changed so much since we came down with that first team, and looks like it´s just going to keep on booming. Kudos to the Brinkley´s for the intricate groundwork they laid, and to Childreach as they keep it going and growing. I pray that the relationships with the Ecuatorian community continue to broaden and deepen through their frequent visits.

Thank you to my friends at La Comuna/Nuevos Amigos who joined me in prayer as I was working my way through trip, ministry and relationship decisions last year. It was my privilege to lift them up in prayer as we shared personal challenges. We´ve kept up with each other over the years, and it´s fun to visit when teams come down. It´s challenging to find transportation to get up that way on a more regular basis!

Thank you for the opportunity to collaborate with Extreme Response in these last 2 years with their Zambiza mealtime ministry, translation for team trips, and to help them get started with a very special women´s ministry run by Teresa (Pastor Jose´s wife). I love their energy and sense of humor, and appreciate every chance I get to work with them. And I´m blown away by Teresa´s amazing example and faith-walk. If you guys thought I was daring, you should meet Teresa. I pray that Pastor José and Teresa will always have that same amazing stamina they´ve shown me time after time, as they´ve brought so much dignity and direction to those who work out at Zambiza. And I pray for the whole Extreme Team, their humility is contagious and I love sitting down to pray with them.

Thank you for the opportunity to lift up new missionaries at Republica´s Kids Missionary group. I didn´t get to participate there for more than a few months, for risk of abandoning my own street kids (and other ministry responsibilities!). But it was incredible to see the whole church lifting up their little ones and teaching them to reach out from early on. Wish you could see them all. I´m so glad God has gifted me that church family.

I´ve had the singular opportunity to assist Compassion in their tremendous challenge, by translating letters, visiting CSP sites, treating children with speech/language problems and developing treatment plans (this mostly in the first year of ministry). Since then, I´ve developed training materials, a children´s book (yet to be published), and provided them with several workshops to facilitate speech/language skills in the 0-3 and 3-5 age-groups. I had the privilege of helping out with countless tours in the area of translation and lunch/activity arrangement. Earlier this year, I was able to do another volunteer round posting statistics, and helping them process their annual reviews. The team is famous for it´s hospitality, and I really can´t believe they get through all those monthly reporting and letter-mailing challenges. It´s an incredible organization, and I´ve had the opportunity to pray with several individuals at different times there, seeking God´s face, unity, and wisdom. I know that they are committed to the kids, their safety, and excellent education and services for all served through them. I pray for God to continue providing Fernando with all the grace, wisdom and vision he´s shown. What a tremendous labor of love for the Lord!

I had the chance to learn from the Borman family about 2 generations worth of mission here in Ecuador, with a separate indigenous tribe up north in the country. What an incredible family!!

And the Holmes, who have worked with the Shuar and Achuar Indians out in the jungle (I haven´t gotten up the nerve to visit them out there yet, with the humongous tarantulas and such.) Wooowww,,, you want to be amazed -- try more than 20 years of walking trails with them to build confidence, trust and language skills. They´ve got about 5 indigenous couples who are leading worship there now. And Dwain has been working on a Shuar Bible! Thank you guys for every opportunity to share the goofy laughs, the scary moments, and the challenging, grueling parts of the walk.

And GMU/AVANT with Darryl and Mandy (I did get the chance to help wash dishes and clean up after meals and such from time to time.) Kudos to faithful service in the form of devotionals, meals, and clean sheets in an often very hectic pace. And thank you from the bottom of my heart for just sitting and having coffee with me in the last couple of years, and helping me to keep going. The guesthouse kept me meeting SO many people, just for being there here and there -- I even had the opportunity to meet Nate Saint´s family here.

For the Chappels (Don and Phyllis) and the rest of the GMU/AVAVT team -- I enjoyed the times I was able to participate with you in your fall gatherings/conferences to share experiences and laugh a lot. The GMU/AVANT team has been the closest thing to family here. What a privilege!

For the Ringenbergs and the Sunday night hymnsing. Boy THAT makes me feel like I´m back there with you guys at Mt. Calvary!! What fun,, and amazing to sit welcome, in a room full of tried and true missionaries.

Kudos as well, to Vista Para Todos and Most Ministries, who are giving incredible gifts all over the world as they do free eye screenings and exams. I can´t believe we saw so many people when you guys came down last June! (and it seems so much longer than 1 year ago!).

And to HCJB, for allowing me the privilege of building up this program and team inside their mission hospital. It´s my hope that this program bring them and Ecuador great blessing, and that it testify to God´s grace and mercy -- through excellence in care, teamwork, individual treatment plans, and ethical decision-making. Again, an incredible privilege to collaborate under or alongside of a tremendously long list of amazing Christian warriors.

Early on, I wondered a lot why in the world God would pull me up out of my happy home and circumstance to bring me to a place that was already full of mission, and ministry and missionaries. I couldn´t figure that I´d have anything important to add or contribute. And although I can say without hesitation that I gave my best for all of you and to God´s glory --- can you just imagine how immense the project is when you go over this whole list, and so much still undone? Everyone reaching, stretching, going and growing with all they´ve got --- to meet needs and lift up God´s name in Ecuador.

Thank you all for the privilege of walking along with each and every one of you. God grant us all the careful listening to KEEP hearing Him, TRUSTING Him and OBEYING Him in all the twists and turns. That one day, this world that we´ve been loving a little at a time every day, have the sweet smell of Jesus on it.

M

Praying with "Guillo" and "Pony"

More time with the little guys on Thursday morning.

Pony and Miguel were playing "Sorry" with me, when all of a sudden Miguel got up and, mumbling something, walked away, crossing the street. After sitting for a second, Pony decided he would go too -- (it has cost me SO much to try to figure out what anybody means when they do anything here,,, I´m not surprised at all anymore) -- so I just pulled out my Bible to read another chapter in Numbers (that´s what I´m studying this month along with Charles Stanley´s life principle about God´s Word being an anchor in storms).

Guillo (Guillermo) came along maybe 10 minutes later, and Pony told him to "go play with Michelle" (hee hee) ... which WAS nice, because I was just sitting there with a game board all set up in the middle of play, not knowing if they had any intention of coming back and playing or not. (Hard not to make some sort of joking reference about the rapture here.)

I had been keeping glances at Pony here and there to see how he was doing ... boy was he ever putting his best into shining that guy´s shoes. And his whole posture was soft,,, the gentleman was a bit coarse with him,, but Pony just kept looking him right in the face and asking him was this or that okay. From what I could see, he did a good job. Then I saw the gentleman get up and hand Pony a 50cent piece ,,, and Pony looked up into his face again (the kid who tends to have a temper, remember) and simply said in a quiet tone "vale más señor" ("it´s worth more, sir"). I couldn´t see or hear the rest of what happened, as the gentleman had his back to me at the time. But he left, and Pony came over, sat down, and was getting ready to start up the game again. He didn´t say anything, and he didn´t even look upset or angry.

So I asked him if the gentleman had been fair to him, and he said "no". So I suggested we stop and wait right then and there and pray ,,, to forgive the man the injustice, and to confess that we knew God was watching all the time, and would take responsibility for Pony´s justice. They bowed their heads immediately, and let me say that short prayer, and then we went on with things.

Later, Pony had promised to teach me to play chess -- which I found out meant that he´s really good at wiping out the pieces (which is actually an incredible feat if you could see just how fast he does it). I suppose he´ll figure out the whole "protecting the king"-thing as time goes on. Come to think of it --- maybe we do the same things as Christians sometimes, learn to wipe-out the enemy and forget to protect the King ---

Anyways,,, after I failed miserable against Pony´s aggressive strategy,, Guillo decided he´d be the one to teach me. (He heard me tell Pony I didn´t really understand anything of what he´d just done,, although I was really impressed with his authority on the board.) When Guillo started moving the pawns sideways, diagonal and even a few steps backwards, I realized we may have a ways to go. Sometime later I noticed that BOTH the kings were off the board, and both boys were left with just their towers (what are they really called?). They were making sound effects as they slid back and forth trying to corner each other to take the last piece. Although I asked how on earth they could keep playing with both their kings gone,, they were really much too engrossed in getting all the pieces off the board to even really hear me --- and just kept going.

I´m telling you all this much because you´d have to know the back-story to really get the effect of the outcome. They were closing up the game and were just getting into the discussion about who won, and (thankfully) asked my opinion. I told them I didn´t think either one of them had won, since neither one had protected his king -- and had lost him about halfway through the slaughter. Then the amazing thing. They looked at each other and giggled and said they thought that was probably true, come to think of it. They walked away happy.

Please keep someone named Rafael in your prayers -- he´s offering to help with the kids and we´re supposed to meet up on Monday.

m