Life in the Crucible

Have you ever had a season of your life that felt like you were living in the crucible?

What exactly is a crucible you ask? It can be a bowl for collecting metal that has been heated to extremely high temperatures, it can be an extreme testing or trial, or it can be a mortar bowl and pestle which are used for crushing herbs and spices.

The mortar and pestle resonates with me: I think I have been living in one for some time now. How exactly does a mortar and pestle work? A mortar is a bowl in which you place a natural product like peppercorns or herbs. A peppercorn in it’s natural state is nearly useless, (unless you like to break your teeth on tiny, hard rocks.) A peppercorn is not good for seasoning food, which is what pepper is meant to do, right? When you place and peppercorn in the mortar and crush it with the pestle, you release the potent, flavorful power of the tiny peppercorn. A little goes a long way with crushed pepper. You can actually magnify, multiply and lengthen the life of a peppercorn that has been crushed. 

I think I am a peppercorn. The Lord has been crushing me in the crucible with the purpose of refining me into a more flavorful, more intensely useful seasoning. I’m not gonna lie - life in the crucible sucks. It’s painful. Just when you think the refining is done, another series of poundings begin; resulting in further refinement. One big difference between me and peppercorn is that I can choose to get out of the crucible. I could say - Enough! I could walk away and say this is as refined as I get. No more!

If I didn’t know that God is GOOD ALL THE TIME, I don’t think I could take it. I have to fall back on what I know is true about him. He is good, ALL the time and his plan for me is good. He is faithful to finish the good work he began in me. He’s not content to leave me as I am. He desires to refine me like a precious metal or a table seasoning. 

These are some of my foundational beliefs about who God is and who I am in relation to him. I realize that I have had a few crutches to lean on that support me in these beliefs - my family, my friends, my church, etc. So what happens if God removes or changes of few of these relationships - can I stand on these foundational truths without crutches? Can these truths bear the full weight of belief? Is God still good ALL the time if I don’t have others around me affirming those truths? Especially in a season of life in the crucible?

“Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore.” Psalm 125: 1-2

In the end, the work will be for his glory and my benefit. I know and understand God in new and different ways. I have never felt his presence so near to me as I have while being refined. He is the God of comfort - who comforts us so that we might comfort others. For his glory. So I willingly submit to life in the crucible.

Is the Lord crushing something in you? Is it hard to submit? He is near, longing to bring comfort, healing, restoration. You can trust him, even in the crucible.

Teaching and Equipping . . .

I have a friend named Nancy. She and her husband have a passion for education in Guatemala. Mario teaches car mechanics at the local university. Nancy is the director of a small private school here in Pana, called Centro Educativo Josue. They believe they can change the future of Guatemala by providing quality, affordable education to children in their community. They also see their school as a ministry for sowing seeds of the gospel. 

Nancy showing off her lap book project. 

We get excited when we meet Guatemalans who are working and giving their lives to serving others in their own community. We look for ways to partner and advance the vision they have for making a difference. For the last two years, we have had the privilege of enriching and advancing the academic and spiritual goals of the Josue school through, After School Programs, Science enrichement camps, Art camps and teacher training.

This week we hosted the 2nd annual Teacher Training workshop. My partner-in-crime was Maureen, a 20+ year veteran of the classroom, and Katey, a 20-yr old Spanish major at Wheaton. We had so much fun encouraging, teaching, joking and learning together.

Katey translating while I teach science and lap books.

Katey translating as Maureen teaches about reading aloud to your class.

I feel completely unqualified and ill-equipped to teach these teachers anything. I have never taught in a traditional school. I have only had two students - and they are pretty easy to teach!! I know these teachers feel ill-equipped as well. In many cases, they are under-educated, under-trained and under-resourced. Yet, I have learned something about the Lord in my time in Guatemala. When he calls you to something, he equips you through his Holy Spirit. 

"May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ." Hebrews 13:20-21

Teaching how to use a microscope.

Teachers learning to make lap books.

Education can be a  key that unlocks many doors. It's not a cure-all for poverty, but it can provide a variety of options that are otherwise not available. I love watching others learn. I love it when you see the connections coming together and the fire ignites. I am humbled by the fruit I see budding in the teachers and students. I am so grateful for the opportunity to encourage these educators who are shaping the next generation. Thank you to those of you who make it possible for us to live, serve and advance the kingdom work in Guatemala. May he work in me what is pleasing to him through Jesus Christ.

What does it mean to Release???

As we begin a new year, we are excited about how God is at work in Guatemala. At RHI, we have three words that help us define what we do and how we serve those around us. 

Restore - Redeem - Release

We spent the first year trying to understand what it looks like to restore some measure of dignity and stability in families at the very edge of poverty. How do we help without hurting? What are the greatest needs and what can we do about it? We have learned so many invaluable lessons as we have sought the Lord’s wisdom. Sometimes, we learned from our mistakes. For us, Restore is about addressing some of the most basic and urgent needs of families: nutrition, safe housing, and access to medical care and more.

In year two, we began to intentionally focus on the Redeem phase of ministry. How do we build deep and meaningful relationships with these families? How can we encourage and challenge them in their walk with the Lord? As we pray, read scripture and sow seeds of truth in their lives, we have seen many hearts encouraged to press on another day; do the next thing. So often, I too, have been the one challenged in my faith.

As we begin our third year, we are asking the question, “What does it mean to Release a family?” Does it mean we stop working with them, we stop bringing nutritional supplements? Do you stop serving those in need? How do you know when to transition into a new or different phase of ministry? What does it look like?

We have always been mindful about creating a dependency with these families. We do not want to do so much that they are unmotivated to do for themselves. We do not want to reinforce the misplaced hope that we, (the gringos) have all the answers or resources to fix everything. We want to help, but we don’t want to do more harm than good. 

As with most ministry work - it’s messy. It’s not a clear path with 10 easy steps. The “phases” of Restore, Redeem, Release overlap. They don’t have clear boundaries. Lives are fragile. There are times when you take a few steps forward, and other times when you take a few steps back.

Maria sharing about how God has changed her life.

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to begin the shifting of gears into Release. Several months ago, my friend Maria shared with me a dream that she felt the Lord had given her three years ago. She has been burdened for the men who work in the river of Panajachel, sifting rock and sand that they sell for construction work. She knows that many of them have hard lives. They work hard and they live hard. So many have little or no education, complicated family situations and little church or faith influence. Alcohol and substance abuse is rampant. She sees their need for a Savior, but also their need for someone to care.

Maria desires to serve these men and there families. She wants them to know that God sees them in their darkness. He loves them and desires to know them. He can heal them and change them. She knows this because he has done it in her life and in the life of her family.

One gigantic pot of Chicken Pepian - delish!

Neighbors serving neighbors.

I told Maria that I want to help her pursue God’s dream for reaching out to the hurting people around her. I asked, "How can I help you reach out to your community?" That’s when I realized, this is the Release phase - partnering with families as they serve other families they see in need of God’s restoration and redemption. Maria and her family can be much more effective in reaching her community than I can. She has the dream; the Lord has given us a few resources with which to remove an obstacle. We can multiply the kingdom work, if we work together. 

What a joy it was to watch Maria, her family, her friends, her church body work together to feed and encourage close to 100 people. They shared songs, they shared the Word of God and they shared life-giving sustenance. They were lavish in their giving. They spent much time, energy and resources making a traditional meal and planning a service to honor God and his people. It was beautiful to see the dream become a reality.

Rice w/veggies, chicken pepian and tomalitos.

Hungry bodies and souls being fed.

I know this journey to Release families is like Restore and Redeem - it’s not linear, it’s messy, it’s forward and backward. It’s unique to each family, not cookie cutter. But isn’t that true of every one of our our own faith journeys - we all take steps forward, steps back. We all have seasons when we need to be served by the body of Christ and seasons when we look beyond ourselves to serve others. That’s the process of being transformed. We are all being Restored, Redeemed and Released.