More hellos and goodbyes

There are many styles of mission work, ours has developed into to hosting and hospitality to visitors and volunteers on a regular basis. As a result, there are many Hellos and Goodbyes.

This week we said goodbye to Raphaela, from Germany, who has been working with our project for the past five+ months. Raphaela's sister and brother in law come visit the last three weeks. They spent some time touring Colombia and spent a few days touring the island with us. It was great having them here. It is hard to say goodbye, but we are blessed the Lord gave us this time together and a new friendship we will cherish.  They are now homeland bound.

Left to right: Gregor, Anna, and Raphaela

Jonathan Snyder is a teacher from Bogota in a Bilingual school. He came to visit our projects and work in the community as well as relax a bit. He is a USA native that is working as missionary with youth. The boys enjoyed playing and roughing around with him. He helped Luis with the filter project, and played soccer with him and the young folks.


Jonathan Snyder

Adriana left to Bogota for two weeks to take care of business, and visit family. She is experiencing the Bogota cold after living and adapting to the island heat.



We said hello to two new tortoises, The kids named them April and August, they roam around our lot eating the sparse grass. Kristen has adopted them and takes very good care of them.

August the tortoise is a fast mover. My boys often ask why people say tortoises are slow??? He loves ripe bananas and has taking a liking to April.

April, is a shy tortoise! She trusts Kristen and knows her touch.

Zippy the turtle gets a weekly scrub down with a toothbrush to keep her clean and her water changed. 

This month we also say goodbye to old school books and start with some new. We are grateful to the Sumrall family, who are missionaries, working Cartagena. They gave us a bunch of books that are the right grades from some of our kids..While we have to wait on our other books to come in November, we are always thankful to have access to the internet to keep all kids occupied.

Funnies from the boys. We find some worksheets in their school books have words or pictures the boys don't know due to living on the island.

Mailman: the boys have never experienced mail being delivered, nor seen a mail truck.
Patrick had a photo of a stamp, with a confused look he asked what is this?
Another time, he pointed to a picture of a pretzel wondering if it was a toy or food.
Patrick wants to go to the States and get a bucket you can go down a hill with. (a sled)
One of the pictures needing to sound out was a gas pump. We don't see those here on the island, and when in the city we walk so the boys never notice gas stations.

Prayers for the up coming month:

Please join us in praying for a team we have coming from Maryland July 10th. For safe travels, health, and the work projects we will doing.

We are almost half way done with the pregnancy. :) Pray for our son as he continues to grow.

For the community of Bocachica. For those we come in contact with. That the Lord would be glorified in all that we do!

Thank you for your prayers and support to our family.

Happy 4th of July to you all! Enjoy a burger for me!

Tara

Impressions from home

First impressions, being away from home for 3.5 years is enough time that there are first impressions again. The USA brought back the old like a new experience. The smell of green, Bocachica has green in the rainy season, but the smell isn't the same as NC. The grass smelled what I would have imagined green would smell like. I know the smell of brown, the dirt and dust. Burlington smelled of freshness and green. Grass felt like carpet, soft and clean.

 Food, there is something spiritual about food. I think I had an experience when I came back and tasted the ordinary. The flavors were rich and deep. The quality of food and the tones. Baby back ribs, bacon, Ginger chicken, steak, Italian sausage. There is so much variety that three weeks isn't enough to review the American menu.

Safety, it is strange that the laws of order liberate one to exercise freedom, even strange freedoms. No walls with iron bars and barbed wire. Some inject fear into such tranquility, but the reality is there is freedom to do a lot without recompense. Bikes in the lawn, windows open at night, a simple lock on the door with no one needed to guard the house.

 Abundance, there is so much of everything. Cars, clothes, houses, shopping centers, tools. Everything can be done right with the right tools. Everything functions in order, and it is upsetting if on occasion it doesn't. Water, electricity, telephones. I enjoyed the blessing of being home, it is the best place in the world, I think. It is sad to imagine that the majority population in the world will never get to live in an environment like the USA. Bocachica is closer to the environment of the world majority, it has benefits, but it is hard living compared to the USA. Americans have a privileged place in this world. That privilege shouldn't be rejected, though that seems to be in style these days, but used to bless others. Use the advantage to lift others up, and spread the good news.

Patriotism, after touring Washington DC and seeing the history of our USA. Seeing the museums and monuments gave me an appreciation for the work and lives that have gone into our past. Christianity has had a major part in this considering the referencing of God in so many places. At the Lincoln memorial a friend mentioned how awe inspiring it was to read what is inscribed on the walls. Not only the quality of writing, but the depth of relationship with God that shows. The USA can try to ignore this aspect of history, but until they erase the stone it is permanently reminding us. The Christian culture of the USA is something that is taken for granted and something that I miss.

 Church, Christ's bride, it was refreshing to see old friends, and renew relationships. The church seemed the same and new. The church in NC wasn't so overwhelmingly lost in sensation. I think because we have the church in Bocachica. Two very different styles and places, but very similar. Similar because of Christ. I miss our friends from Antioch, but the building, liturgy, music didn't create the ambiance. What triggered emotion was fathers holding young children close, something that isn't common in Bocachica. A young sister crying for her sister that passed away. Gray hair showing among many sitting with third generation heritage. It is great to experience church in the ways it is supposed to be.

Via Geoff Gentry

Via Jorge Caraval

 Thank you all who helped with this trip, and all those who support our work here in Colombia. It was great to see you all, it was refreshing and fun.
We think of you all often, blessings,
Nate

Christ covers it all.

Happy Resurrection or Easter! The past couple of months Atonement has been a theme that has been circulating the internet. The Bible doesn't define atonement plainly, it alludes to it and over the past 2000 years people have been studying and developing what many us now take for granted. Much like the Trinity, we know the basic idea, and don't have rediscover it in the Bible. It is fully supported by the Bible, but we take for granted what many have argued about for years.


 Many times today when theologians talk about topics like atonement, they don't offer anything new as much as find out what truth has already been said and perhaps forgotten. After reading and hearing some of these folks this past spring I heard something that glued together ideas that float in my head. 
 The view that Christ has died for us is simple on the surface, but the details... One detail is interesting. That Christ's death was abundant. In Adam all men were affected by one sin. Everything felt the curse. Since then, sin has multiplied and continues. In Christ, though, the atonement is abundant. By one man all that sin is covered.


Romans 5:17, "For if by one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ."


It has to be so abundant as to swallow up even your future. It is that one act by one man that rushes over the past, present and future of us all.

 This is an aspect of Christ that is important to be aware of. It helps make sense of the miracle at Cana. Christ not only covered what was necessary, but went beyond that with the quality and quantity. Not only did he forgive a man his sins, but He healed him also. He fed the crowds, but he also had left overs. He gave his disciples fish, and enough to about sink the boat.  He works and delivers extra beyond the need.

 One problem of our human condition is fear of scarcity, it is what drives the Capitalists market. Economics 101 is supply and demand. If you can increase demand your profit goes up. Watch how high the prices go up when something seems to run out. (Twinkies) What is notable about the fear is  we are non-critical with ourselves. We pay the extra money to guarantee we get the iphone because we need it. Even in small things like a coffee, we are not critical of ourselves in how generous we are to ourselves. This is the difference between us and Christ. His abundance went out to others.

"You will again have compassion on us;

    you will tread our sins underfoot

    and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea." Micah 7:19

Christ is Abundant in His work. It doesn't barely reach the edges of humanity with just enough to cover the debt, He washes over it and drowns it. Part of the Christian walk of maturity is the imitation of this behavior. Because we have received this abundance, the Christian walk should include the abundance of giving. Practice the same practice we already know for ourselves, but turn it outward to others. Give the same quality of service to our neighbors that we bestow on ourselves. It will help us evaluate how we use our resources, perhaps we are to extravagant towards our own. Perhaps we will be more liberal with blessing others.

This Easter season we celebrate the sacrifice of God generously giving His only Son, Christ abundantly living with us, and His sacrifice being more than sufficient. Christ "who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us," which is the Holy Spirit.

 Walk in the abundance of grace by imitating that action toward others, and not fearing scarcity for ourselves.

Concierto para el Rey de reyes

This Easter (Semana Santa) season Nate had an idea that we could do a concert for all villages on Tierra Bomba to enjoy. Now we have never put on a concert, but loved the idea that we would have a night to worship the Lord. Many people in Bocachica celebrate this holiday by drinking at the bars. Any holiday on the calendar that is red (federal holiday), they drink. They don't know the meaning behind the holidays which are observed. This year we wanted to have a night for the whole family, a clear way to present the gospel, and a way to provide an alternative to the bars (cantinas).

Yeklin Pao de Avila Seca presenting the Gospel to all! 

 It was a success! There were at about 1200 people there, a great percentage weren't christian either. There was great music, and a clear message of the gospel given. The people were impressed and loved the event. They already want to do it again. Like our name "Juntos", many came together to make it happen.

Mitchel Martinez of Tierra Bomba

We found out there is a lot of planning that goes into hosting a concert. Finding bands to attend, food vendors to sell, security, and medical team to help and a lot of time going into getting the word out. The Lord blessed us with wonderful help, and sponsors to help make this night a success.
We had Snoot from Medellin bring a team of 30 people. Margarita Osario Cano works with Gospel Park doing Christian concerts, and she helped us by guiding us and showing the vision of what they have done. Her fiance, and brother also helped out with logistics. Risen a band that came as missionaries last year came again to preform in the concert as well as bringing a friend from another band to preform. We are grateful for the partnership with Snoot.

Margarita Osorio Cano of Gospel Park helping us with our logistics team.

Logistics team

Raphaela, the girl from Germany, put in a lot of time with design and promotion of the concert. We are thankful for the work she has done here with us. She is a great team player, and even took the leadership for bringing in a band from Cartagena and hosting them at our house for the concert.

Raphaela always with a smile!

Luis and Adriana's new house is broken in for service. The bands were held in waiting in their patio, they gave hospitality to the Snoot team that night for meeting up. Adriana made popcorn and drinks to sell at the concert. The new house turned into the pivot point for all things needed for the concert. It is great that the Lord is already using this investment for greater things for Him. Juan's bed even became available to sleeping babies that needed a quiet place.

Luis and Adriana's house in the back ground. Singers from Pueblo Fuerte church

The churches in the community came together to provide the instruments and microphones for the concert. They were represented in the performances as well. Volunteers from both churches helped with setup and sound. It helped to create better unity within the Christians on the island.

 There are students in Bocachica that are part of the civil defense in Cartagena, and they provided emergency medical if it was needed. The local guys from the church helped them with security as well. We are thankful for them because the emotion and energy surged during the concert and they helped keep everyone safe while still having a good time.

Civil defense practicing backboarding.

Resting with the security guys after the concert.

I am grateful for our family too. We have a large family, but it is a blessing. We can accomplish much more than we could if it were just two of us. All the small errands, the work of setup, cooking for teams, and a myriad of other tasks that would require a staffed team to preform are handled by our children. The size of our house and the daily needs of living required for a large family are easily available for teams that come as well. We can welcome in a team of 10 and the dynamics don't change to severely because we are already used to handling large amounts of people. The last night we had supper here at the house and there were 50 people around the table enjoying themselves. Without the large family dynamic already in place this would be impossible to do.

Group game after supper in our dining room.

 Our supporters monthly are the reason we can stay and serve here. Thank you to those who support us and those who especially gave to this event. With the support we rented the sound equipment, paid transportation, bought gifts for the concert, fed the workers who helped. We were able to buy the materials for promoting the event, pay workers to help move heavy equipment, and extra miscellaneous  items so that we had everything we needed.

Kids winning prizes from sponsors

It was a group effort for sure, and it is great that we could publicly glorify the Lord.

We hope you all had a great Semana Santa and Resurrection Sunday!

Concert Invite!

In Bocachica the biggest holiday of the year is New Years Eve. Not Christmas, nor Easter. Not for what the Lord has done for us, not for a meal with the family or any tradition like that. Why New Years Eve? The people here believe that if you go to church and give money this day, you will receive an extra blessing from the Lord for the up coming year. The church here on New Years Eve is packed. So much so there is a waiting line to get into the church.

New Years Eve 2014
photo credit Pastor Jorge Carvajal

Now, afterwards the non-Christians celebrate the night with drinking and parties. If you have visited us here in Bocachica you know the people here spend a lot of money drinking. There is no mall here, no movie theater, no grocery stores, (we do have mom and pop stores) There is no sports center. They do have bars, and lots of them. The people here in Bocachica drink a lot! Youth start at a young age. They is no one that regulates what age you can drink here. They have the largest speaker systems I have ever seen that literally hurt my ears as I walk down the street. You can hear them all the way to my house. Many times there will be three or four houses on the same street blaring music. No matter if they have kids, if it's time for the neighborhood to quiet down. They will drink for days and enjoy their music.

Part of a weekly delivery 

Unloading the other half

This year Nate and I thought we'd give a try at something new. This year we are hosting a Christian concert. A time to celebrate and remember what the Lord has done for us!  We have 7 bands, of which a local musician from Tierra Bomba who is well known on the Island, three local churches, and a band from Medellin and Barranquilla. We have teams from Bogota, Medellin and Barranquilla who will be coming as well to help make this night a memorable one. We are busy getting everything organized.

We are inviting all the villages on this island. We have been handing out save the date cards and invitations. Setting up meetings, scheduling housing arrangements, even getting goodies to hand out in the crowd. We will have areas to hand out bibles, take prayer requests, talk to anyone who wants to know more about the Lord. I am excited to be able to have a night where we can include families, have an event that is not at the bars and a way to glorify the Lord.

We are excited to put this concert on, but we need some outside help! If you would be willing to help make this night a hit please consider helping us. It can be a donation of any quantity. You can send it to our paypal or to Antioch Community Church, P.O. box 40, Elon, NC. 27244.

Here are some costs we need sponsored:

Paper and ink to print out posters, invitations and save the date cards
Bottled water for those performing the night of the concert
small meal provided to all singers
prizes to hand out to the crowd

April 3rd in the concert, if you feel led to pray for us we would be thankful.

Blessing to you all,
Enjoying celebrating the Lord's resurrection with your family.
Tara

February update

February has flown by! This month has been busy from beginning to end. On Jan 26th we welcomed Raphaela to Bocachica. She comes from Germany and will be working the next 5 months with us and our project Juntos. Her brother Florian met up with her in Colombia, where they toured a little bit of Colombia before coming here.

Raphaela and Florian

This month we housed a team from a private Christian school in Cartagena. We housed 15 teenage girls and three teachers for 5 days. The purpose of this trip was to complete a social credit needed to graduate from high school. After having 7 kids I would always say...aww, what's one more? Well once you add 15 teenage girls I have realized a whole new level of noise. :) At the end of their time here we had 2 teenagers ask to come and possibly work 6 months with us. The director of the school was happy to hear that some kids walked away with the desire to help more. The school also liked Raphaela so  much they asked her to volunteer teaching English at this school 4 days a week. This keeps Raphaela busy working in both Cartagena and Bocachica, but she never complains. :) She enjoys all opportunities she can have to influence other's lives.

Team from Cartagena

Nate and Luis have been very busy building a house for Luis's family. They are ready to move in this week. This is Nate's 3rd house he has built here in Bocachica, while he is blessed to work in the cooler months, Luis is having his first experience of construction in the hot sun.

Luis and Adrian's house in the works! 

Building Luis's house doesn't slow Nate and Luis down. They are still busy with making filters, providing sanitation classes, and weekly movie night. Luis has also been busy with his bi-weekly check ups of how the community is using the filters. It is our desire to follow through with the filters that are installed and make sure the families are using them correctly and answer any questions they have.

Dan enjoying a cup of filtered water!

This past weekend Nate and Luis went to another village called Recreo. There is approximately 80 houses in this village. A church from Bocachica has started a church there in Recreo, and asked for a filter. There is no potable water in this village. They get their water from a river that is full of sediments. They add a powder to the water and all the sediments fall to the bottom of the tank and they drink the water on the top. Nate also handed out bibles that Antioch had bought in Jan. The church there had mostly New Testament bibles. Nate and Luis spent the night there in the church and had a wonderful time.

How the locals in Recreo treat their water.

The church who asked for a filter

The filter is installed

Adriana has been asked to tutor more kids in the neighborhood. She has 4 days a week that she provides one on one attention for kids needing help with their school work. She will also start March 2nd working at El Shadday helping tutor kids through Compassion International.

Adriana tutoring

This past week we opened our house for El Shadday for medical appointments for all kids in their program. A week full of 400+kids getting medical check ups! The Doctor from Barranquilla, Colombia wanted to learn how to make American pizza. We were happy to show him.

A doctor from Barranquilla doing medical exams for El Shadday.

Our waiting room. :)

Dr.Jaeder ready to make American Pizza

I will leave you with exciting news from our family. Nate and Alicia have purchased their plane tickets to go to NC in May. They are both excited to go back for a visit. If you would like them to come to your church, bible study, or school and give a talk about missionary life and our projects here, please email us! They would love to share with you!

We need your help! If you would like to help Project Juntos here's how:

We need more funds for filters here in Bocachica. Bless a family in need of clean water.

Want to help a local Colombian family? Luis and Adriana are looking for monthly support. They are doing a great work here in Bocachica!

Contact us at ariel.family.mission@gmail.com for more information!

Thank you all for your support and prayers for our family! We are thankful to be able to work here and look forward to the following month. Many blessings to you and your families.

With love,
Tara

Same world different places

When we hear about typical topics of Christianity in the modern world they vary from the third world. This is easy to imagine, first world : car trouble, third world: donkey is sick. The list is endless. A view on life changes also. In the first world there is greater emphasis quality of life. Making an impact. Third world there is a greater focus on death, and how to survive. Quality of life is still an issue, but death gets the front burner.
  In order to know this environment better, and better serve them it is important to notice the differences. Here the fear of death drives many of the decisions people make. Where you go, what you do, who you talk too. This aspect of the culture is very strong, it affects not only the people of Colombia, but visitors as well. One of the main concerns for coming to Colombia is safety, we answer questions about it all the time. A new visitor's first fear in coming to Colombia is death. Death from sickness or violence are the things that occupy their minds. Part of this culture is death can be very close.

 "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." Hebrews 2:14,15

Thank the Lord He has released us and we are free to not fear death. We are liberated.

There are other subheadings under the theme of death, for instance, a greater emphasis on healing and miracles. I think this still relates to death because it reverses the affects of death that seems so close. This is countered in the 1st world environment with the strong emphasis and quick response of the medical professions. There generally isn't a need for a miracle. Rapid medicine isn't available in the environment of the 3rd world.

 The modern world has death under control, as long as it is under man's supposed control they are happy. Perfect example is the recent Ebola scare, why was it a scare when the likelihood to die from it was lower than the flu? It was unknown and uncontrolled. Every day can be an Ebola scare to some in a third world culture, there is no control over death. The fear isn't overcome, after a while you just live with it always being possible.
 In Bocachica, a couple of months back, a man was murdered by three young men over something stupid that happened one night. The normal course of events isn't to wait for justice from the government, that will never happen. The family that is wronged looks for justice in a revenge killing of the other family. It can take years for it to happen. After the initial murder, the other family tried to fight instantly. As of yet they haven't won their "blood for blood". The other family, this means even cousins, aunts, uncles, are afraid of being killed by the offended family. The fear is so great that for the first month many of the offending family wouldn't leave their houses. Even today there is still fear by many of them and they rarely go out. The whole family suffers not just the perpetrator. That is a radically different lifestyle then the first world.
 A surprising thing happens in the church though, the songs about resurrection and victory are not only sung at Easter. Generally the only time the first world focus' on victory over death is at Easter. In a culture of fear of death for Christians the resurrection becomes much more significant. Christ is alive. It becomes celebrated more than once a year in the local church.
 It is interesting that the response of the church has grown to appreciate the resurrection of Christ more. To fight the fear the focus on Christ's power is amplified, His victory over death.
 It is a blessing to live in a place where death isn't the main problem. It is a blessing that the Bible can guide which ever culture we live in. It is a blessing to be able to know and experience another world being redeemed. A great promise is that one day death will be gone for good. Revelation 21:3-5

 "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.' And he who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.'"

 As a Christian working in this culture in three years we have not succumbed to the fear. Thank the Lord. In the meantime we continue to work towards "making all things new".

One example of a song from Church (it sounds better with a Caribbean beat):
A Spanish version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=153AwMoKb98

English Version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9EMTTLfQTw