Haglers in Honduras

Learning to "sit"

2011-06-05T08:34:00.000-07:00

^{Nobody likes to wait....

I remember counting the days until Christmas or the agony of knowing that there were still 200 more days until the next birthday.

Hannah and I were talking about waiting this past week. There are a lot of her college details that are still up in the air. She's waiting. We're waiting. We finally couldn't stand it any longer and managed to write a little nervous e-mail. We were told to "not be nervous" and wait...

During the "waiting" conversation, I was also having a good time playing with our new 10 weeks-old puppy, Schnazzy. She is a bright little schnauzer who has become super-motivated by a handful of premium puppy chow. She loves to eat almost as much as I do. So....it was really simple to teach her to sit for a small sample. However, it was not as easy to teach her to wait. She can see the little kibble in my hand and it drives her nuts. She cannot stand the couple of seconds that she has to wait.

So, Hannah and I coined a new spiritual term: Learning to sit.

You know that the good and wonderful thing that God has for you is right around the corner. He has it in His hand. It is perfect in every way, including its timing. But, waiting is driving you nuts. Hang in there, God has a beautiful goal in mind.

James wrote in Chapter One,
² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be
mature and complete, not lacking anything.}

God is working on your character, my character. His goal is our maturity, our arrival at spiritual adulthood. He is conforming us to the image of His Son.

Sooooo.....SIT!

Another advocate to help you and be with you forever...

2011-05-23T19:11:00.000-07:00

I am overwhelmingly convinced that I cannot live in obedience to Jesus. Although He calls me to obey Him as a sign of my love and devotion, I must confess that I have fallen short so many times that I have concluded that what He requires is humanly impossible. Even more emphatic is the reality of Jesus´s own statement in John 14...

¹⁵ “If you love me, keep my commands. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—

Jesus knew that what He was asking would be impossible without supernatural help. In fact, He knew that He would have to send a perfect replacement, one who was divine and perfectly in tune with the will of the Father. The Holy Spirit must completely take control of our lives in order to direct, correct and empower the special abundant life that Jesus has promised.

Are you frustrated with your level of spiritual life, angry at your own lack of discipline and daily victory? Good....perhaps your frustration and disappointment will make you humble and point you to the ever-present reality of the Holy Spirit!

Who would have believed it?

2011-04-28T17:30:00.000-07:00

I noticed something interesting this last week as I was studying for the resurrection sermon. I had never paid any attention to the time delay between Mary's encounter with the risen Christ and His appearance before the cowering group of disciples.

The first verse of John chapter 20 reads, “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance”. That certainly fits with our ideas of a sunrise resurrection. However, here is where I made my small discovery. In verse 19 we skip to a much later hour, “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”

Very early in the morning, Mary has a wonderful encounter with Jesus and goes back to tell the disciples. Ten to twelve hours later they are sitting together in a locked room fearing for their lives. Did anyone believe her story? Did anyone actually believe that she had seen the risen Lord or did they discount her story as the result of severe and prolonged grief-ridden trauma on an already over-emotional lady? After all, she was the same lady who poured out a whole year’s salary on Jesus’ feet.

I wonder what the disciples talked about all day. Did they debate the scriptures? Did someone create a biblical defense for a crucified and resurrected messiah? Or did they simply contemplate the different methods of possibly leaving town without suffering the same fate as Jesus?

I wonder why Jesus chose to make them wait. More importantly, I wonder why He makes me wait. How do the uncomfortable moments of waiting and wondering, worried and distressed, contribute to my growth and my ability to continue to trust the Savior?

I am sure that we have all felt this type of intensely agonizing doubt. We all must learn to embrace the reality that the rewards of His revelation (in His time) bring great joy.

“After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord”. John 20:20

New lessons learned...

2011-04-26T07:28:00.000-07:00

CELebracion is the name of our new church plant. We knew that beginning something new would be a lot of fun...and from the pic you can see that we were right. However, there have been a few lessons that maybe we didn't see coming.

1) Preaching can be a lot more fun and fulfilling when there is more participation. It can get uncomfortable, but have you ever wondered what would happen if the congregation actually responded to the questions that we place throughout our sermons? What if they actually ask a few questions of their own? Wouldn't it encourage our people to be more engaged with God and His word? Wouldn't it make us have to respond in authentic and relevant ways? We would have to scratch where it itches. We might also get the privilege of simply saying, "Wow! Great question! I don't know. We'll have to study that one together".

2) Also, New christians challenge our religion. Just like week, we were praying for a couple from a new rural congregation. The husband was involved in a hit-and-run accident. He was hit by a motorcycle as he travelled home on his bicycle. His face caught the worst of the damage as he landed on the pavement. The family spent 4 days in Tegucigalpa trying to get the one plastic surgeon at the public hospital to work him in. Eventually, they gave up and came back to Siguatepeque. As the principal bread winner in his home, the family has suffered from his lost wages.

After praying for this family, one of our newest believers stands up and admonishes the congregation, "Is that it? I thought that we were going to be a church of action?" Needless to say, we had to respond. I grabbed a young man's hat and placed it where everyone could give. Our giving was more generous than the usual weekly offering and probably got the family through a week or so of groceries.

Another lesson learned, true Christianity is actually putting the compassion of Christ into action. Praise His name!

Notes on a page...

2011-04-13T12:01:00.000-07:00

Last night, I was looking through an old Theology Proper textbook that we used long ago in our Mobile Bible Institute. I noticed that most of the pages had been filled with underlined passages and scribbled notes. About half of them I easily recognized as my handwriting, but the other notes were even more obvious. My dear friend, Jorge Espinal, had written the other notes in his distinctive cursive style.

At different times, both Jorge Espinal and I used the same book to teach different groups of rural pastors. The Mobile Bible Institute was really a fulfillment of his dream (along with Paul Talley) to make theological education available to the poor, bi-vocational pastors of Honduras and Nicaragua. It began in 1994 and continues today in many different countries.

You see, I was on a bus travelling to teach an MBI group last week when I received a text message about Jorge's death. His long battle with cancer was finally over. A large group of us had spent a few hours with the family and friends the night before and we knew that it was only a matter of a very short time. I had been given the privilege a week earlier to actually share a few words with Jorge. It felt like we were saying goodbye and I will always cherish the gift of that moment.

Last night, as I flipped through the pages, I sat in silence, praising God for my friend, his life and his legacy. His notes were not simply written on these pages but also on the reality of my heart....knowing that his kindness and generosity have helped to shape so many of us. Thank you, Jesus....Praise be to your name!

Have you ever seen a miracle?

2011-03-19T05:53:00.000-07:00

As a new church here in Honduras, we have been studying through the Gospel of John. For me, it has been refreshing to see the wonder of Jesus, His words and His miracles. We see Jesus' miracles, we are amazed at His glory and we receive the grace that we need to worship Him. It is a wonderful pattern.

This week, I have been studying the resurrection of Lazareth in chapter 11. The story has all the makings of a classic novel or an award-winning movie: great friendships, tragic sickness, misunderstandings, compassion and grief. All of this culminates in an over-the-top display of power and glory as Jesus calls Lazareth away from his 4-day taste of eternity. I can only begin to imagine the emotions that were displayed as Mary and Martha welcome back their dear brother and Jesus enjoys the fellowship of His dear friends.

However, here's the rub, not everyone appreciated the miracle. Some of the witnesses were not able to see the goodness of Jesus and were frightened by His power and the inevitable change that He would have on their lives. Some of the little tattletales ran back to the religious authorities and stirred up their commitment to doing away with the radical teacher. They knew that their power was being threatened. Their way of life could not continue with a miracle worker in their midst.

How about you? Do you realize what a radical change He is planning in your life? Just a chapter earlier Jesus promises the wonderful proposition of "life in abundance" as the new norm for those who are living in His kingdom. See His glory. Be convinced. Receive grace to follow Him through your life of worship!

Put it in the ground....

2011-03-09T06:10:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, while I was running, (Yes, actual excercise) I noticed something strange about our avocado trees. You see, we planted those trees about four or five years ago and although they had grown to about 6 feet tall, we had never seen any kind of flower and we wondered if they would ever produce anything. Well, yesterday, I noticed that one side of the tree was full of the cutest little avocados you have ever seen. Some are about the size of a nickle. Wow, this certainly is a lesson in planting and harvesting.

Way back, when we were about to plant these trees, some friends warned us to have some realistic expectations. "Avocado trees take a long time to produce" was their warning. To be honest, that was a little disheartening to me. I questioned whether or not I was willing to wait that long. Should I even bother?

Do you ever feel that way about your ministry or your church? It's going to take forever for this new group to get off the ground. It will be years before we ever see any fruit or growth. Is it worth the wait? It will be years before these people change and are willing to make real changes in the lives?

Well, here's my thought. Start it! Plant it! Make the long-term investment. If it's going to take a few years to actually see some fruit, then you had better hurry up and get it in the ground!

Your Dad?

2010-01-11T07:24:00.000-08:00

Dear Billy,

Thanks so much for your note. I understand now why it has been so long since we last spoke. Please know that I understand what you are going through. Everybody has doubts. Please do not feel pressure from us....or from anybody else for that matter. From your email I can tell that you have been getting a lot of advice. That's okay. But, be careful to evaluate the nature of their advice. Heartfelt, concerned counsel from mature believers who really love you and the Lord is what you desperately need. But remember, you, as a family, must make these hard decisions about the course your life is taking!

I sensed a great deal of anger when you wrote about the conversation with your Dad. You need to cut him a little slack. I don't agree with everything that he said, but please understand that this is very difficult for him. He feels like he is losing his son. He feels like you have rejected the path that he has offered you and he takes it personally. He also may be thinking that your decision to become a missionary is somehow a criticism of what he has done with his life. I really hope that this is not the case. You will have to do some self-examination on that one. We all must be very careful not to judge others because of the career decisions they have made. I don't need that....you don't either....and I really don't think that your Dad deserves it either.

By the way, there is nothing wrong with being a successful businessman. Serving God is not exclusive to foreign missionaries....or even "full-time" ministry positions. God is glorified by business men who put Him first in the way that they run their business, their treatment of employees, their integrity towards laws and taxes and their generous use of the profits as investments in the kingdom of God. God's plan is huge and intricate and involves a wide variety of gifts and personalities. Try to understand that your father is trying to follow Christ in his own way. Has he made mistakes? Of course. Does he have regrets? Certainly. But he loves Jesus and he loves you. For right now, that should be enough and you should strive to resolve your conflict as soon as possible. You need to be as spiritually healthy as possible in order to clearly evaluate the decisions that lay before you.

Go see you Dad....have lunch....calm down....listen and try to hear his heart. It doesn't mean that you have to agree with him, but you can love him right where he is.

Maybe then your heavenly Father can speak more clearly to your concerns!

I'll write later this week....your Dad said some things about money that got me thinking...

Praying for you...th

Dear Billy: Furlough

2009-08-03T13:57:00.000-07:00

Dear Billy,

Sorry for the delay. The front end of our trip back to the states for furlough was more eventful than we had foreseen. Who knew that we would experience what the world is calling a coup d’état? There had been some roads blocked by protesters during the first few days of the week, so we began to wonder if we were going to be able to make our flights. The airport in San Pedro Sula is about two hours from our home and some of our friends missed their flights because of the protesting tactics. It’s never a good idea to drive through an angry tire-burning mob. Literally, those are words to live by!

To make a really long story somewhat shorter, we jumped the gun a little and hitched a ride with some friends who had a large bus only half-full of short-termers. We arrived in San Pedro without incident and waited at our friend’s house. They were great hosts and good sports, especially when our one-night stay became two nights because of the flight delays caused by the military curfew. On a side note, it was really strange to watch all of the violence that CNN was reporting and then go downtown and see everyone working and playing like normal. The mall was full of people, laughing and spending like crazy. It made us wonder about all the news that we had seen in the past. We were already cynical about the media, but now, we are convinced that there’s not an ounce of truth in it.

Well, here we are in North Carolina, beginning a 3 ½ month furlough. It is great to be here. Our church experience here is enriching. We have some great friends here and the kids have begun to catch up with their buddies from before. It’s hard to be away from family for years at a time, but it seems like we can get up to date in a hurry. In the long run, I probably get to spend more time with my parents than my other siblings. I just have to wait a few years to cram it all in.
Even though you have a while to think this through, it would be a good idea to begin contemplating the “big five” of furlough. There are other furlough concerns, but nothing happens without these.

First, you must consider location. Where are we going to spend furlough? Should you be near your family? Where are the majority of your supporting churches located? How about a church family who can be encouraging during your stay? Is there some kind of house that you can borrow? For us, with four children, living with family was not an option. Somehow, in God’s wisdom and providence, He has always provided a place for us to stay, a house for us to borrow. Some have required some work and others have been nearly maintenance-free. For a long time we stored furniture and mattresses, but the mold began to take over, as well as the challenge of setting up house each time. God has amazed us by His provision through His people.

Second, there is the question of transportation. Should you purchase a furlough vehicle and then try and sell it a few months later? It’s not a bad option if you have the funds and can find a great deal on a vehicle that would be easy to sell. We tried that several times and the last time was about 5 years ago. Things got pretty scary leading up to our flight out. We sold it on the evening of the last possible day. I believe that the buyer felt sorry for us. It was too tense for me. We have also had the experience of having a car loaned to us during furlough. That’s really great, but it is not without its share of tension. There is a constant fear of what could possibly happen, even if the insurance coverage is good. Let me share with you what happened to me two nights ago with our borrowed car.

This coming Friday is Lizzy’s birthday so Kathee and I, along with Abi went on Monday night to the brand-new Walmart to look for presents for Lizzy, as well as to purchase all the food-stuff for the party that we are planning at the lake.
It was raining a bunch when we came out of the store and we noticed the new parking lot and how the water seemed to really flow out of the way. We came to a part in the long drive-way that was not well-lit and we could not see that the water was backing up. We drove into about a foot of water and the car stalled. About an hour later, at about midnight, I finally called my Dad to come and pull us out of the dark Walmart driveway. The mechanic told me today that the motor was completely ruined and that we would have to spend about $1000 if we can find a used motor and about $2500 if we try and repair the old one. We aren’t really sure about what we are going to do, but this is a great time for all of us to remember the sovereignty of God and the reality of His constant provision.

Third, you must find a reliable person on the mission field to take care of your home while you are away. You have to think about leaving enough cash to handle all of your expenses. Since, setting up house can initially be such an involved endeavor, you will most likely maintain your rental home and try to find someone in whom you can really trust who can make sure that everything is functioning well when you return. We received a message a few days ago from our friends that are staying in our house in Honduras. They said that the door locks look like someone had tried to break into our home last week. It doesn’t take long for neighbors to realize that there is less movement and that there are moments when no one is home. You have to find someone who is really responsible and honest.
It is also helpful if you can find a friend who needs the place to stay while you are gone. Later this month, a couple of new missionaries are going to move into our house for about 3 months. This gives them time to find a place of their own and they can drive our car while they are planning out their own purchases. It’s definitely a win-win situation.

Fourth, try to create a travel schedule that works for the whole family. As much as you will need to visit churches (The ones that support you, as well as new, possible supporting churches), please make time for a relatively normal family life. Try and contact churches as soon as possible and try to fit them in, but realize that it may not be possible to spend a weekend with everybody. In some cases, you might simply have to have lunch with the pastor and try to meet with the mission’s committee (If they have one). Also, you will need to schedule vacation time or it will never happen.

Also, be careful to talk with pastors about their expectations. I was able to preach last week at the morning and evening services at my home church. In two weeks, I will be travelling to a large Baptist church where I will preach twice in the morning services. This week, Kathee and I were with a great supporting church that wants me to keep it to 5 minutes in the two morning services, share 15 minutes with the children’s group and share another 20 minutes in an adult Sunday School class. It can be a challenge, but we must be prepared and flexible. We all need a clear biblical understanding of the importance of the local body of believers and realize that our job is to try and stimulate interest in the spread of the gospel throughout the world. In short, ask questions and find out what they need. Even ask about attire. Some expect ties and jackets while others are super-casual. Also, don’t be boring or long-winded. You need to create and cultivate long-term relationships with churches and individuals who are excited about what God is doing through you in His world. Don’t ever forget the big picture.

Fifth, you need to be careful about furlough money. Everything will be more expensive back in the states than you remember. Many of the tricks that you have learned on the field that allow you to stretch the missionary income will not be available for several months. Fruits and vegetables will no longer be cheap and health care will scare you to death. If you are like me, you won’t buy any clothes for the two or three years in between furloughs and it will be nearly impossible for you to avoid all of the great “deals”. Go slow. Be careful.

Some organizations allow furloughing missionaries to raise their salary during furlough. We have never had the donations to allow us to do that, but if your case is different, do not hesitate to take good and prudent advantage of God’s provision. Remember, if you are not careful about your purchases, you will accrue significant debt during the furlough months that will complicate your finances during your next term. If that sounds more like a confession than a warning, then you have heard me well.

Thanks for praying for us.

In Him, Tim

2009-04-07T21:57:00.000-07:00

Matthew 22: 36 – 38

³⁶"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"

³⁷Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

^{³⁸This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.}

Dear Billy,

Hey, let me share with you a truth that I am still in the process of learning and that I believe has not only freed me from man’s humanistic expectations of me but has freed me from my humanistic expectations of myself. I believe that the motivation for being on the mission field (the motivation for any Christian in this world actually) must come from a genuine love relationship with God.

Many times missionaries are motivated by their desire to love and rescue the people in the field where they are serving. This, at first glance, looks like a very worthy motivation. But it’s not. God doesn’t want us to try to love these people with our own version of love. God is love. It’s only through His love, God Himself, that He wants us to love others. In this way, He gets all the glory and praise, not us. In fact, He needs to be the One who is doing the loving…we are just supposed to be the vehicles. If we do not have a grasp on this truth…and it’s a grasp that gets tighter and tighter as one falls more and more in love with Him… then our missionary service will be self-motivated, self-centered, and even self-destructive. God wants to show His love for people…through us.

I have found that when we love people with a human love (to even call it love seems wrong, but for lack of another word, I’ll use it. Let me know if you can think of a better term)… anyway, when we love people with a human “love”, there are conditions, expectations, even manipulations that we, knowingly or unknowingly, press on others because we are looking and hoping for certain results. When the outcome is their inevitable failure, we may become discouraged, angry, disgusted, bitter and even downright judgmental.

In our efforts to try to teach them to obey our Lifegiver, and rightly so, we jump right over teaching them how to fall in love with Him. Could it be because a list of rules is easier than a relationship? Could it be because we ourselves have chosen the easy-rules path? Could it be we have not taken the time to fall in love with our Maker either, and that’s why we don’t display His love…we don’t know how…we haven’t even gotten a grasp on it yet? What is that old saying, “Don’t put the cart before the horse.”?

So as a result of our “work for the Lord”, we have people trying to please us, to satisfy us, to copy us…instead of God. What happens when we fall short or they fall short? Both are inevitable…humanistic “love” isn’t suppose to work. As I said before, some of us become discouraged. Some of us become angry. Some of us become disgusted. Some of us become bitter. Some of us become judgmental (as if we are not at all to blame). And some of us just decide to get a divorce and leave the field altogether. To “&^%$#” with it. But if we are loving people with His love, then there will be mercy, compassion, forgiveness, patience, understanding ….a life full of grace. Isn’t that how we want God and other people to treat us?

We tell people to love God with all their hearts, soul, body, mind, and spirit, yet we aren’t even willing to do it ourselves. Wouldn’t our crucified lives be better teachers? Eventually, people are going to disappoint us. And we are going to disappoint them. The truth is we may have only duplicated in them our own screwed up understanding of what it means to love God. Instead of surrendering to God so he can make us lovers, we are surrendering to ourselves and making ourselves liars. God knows we need to be crucified…our distorted ideas of love need to be crucified…so that it’s not us who live but Christ lives in us. Didn’t God already explain us that? It’s not about doing. It’s about being (crucified) in Him and letting Him do the doing. No wonder so many missionaries and pastors get tired and tired of. And that’s a good thing…because only then may we stop long enough and question our motives.

Why are we doing? Why are we loving? To please ourselves, others, or God Himself?

letters to billy, wrong motivaion #1

2009-04-04T08:08:00.000-07:00

April 2, 2008

Dear Billy,

Sorry for the delay. The last few days have been crazy busy. We have had several visitors this past week from the states. We had a whole lot of fun, but not much time to write. However, I have been thinking a lot about it. In fact, I had an experience that creates an interesting setting for your question about missionary motivation.

Early into our first dinner together, over a big stack of pupusas, I was asked the question, “How did God call you into missions?” It’s a question that always scares me more than a little. Over the years, I have grown more skeptical of this inquiry because of the possible expectations of the listener. Do people desire to hear a mystical answer, something Pauline that involves bright lights and audible voices? Some might prefer to hear an analytical response about spiritual gifts and past experiences. Both answers are valid and most of us end up with some kind of combination, but either way, I feel that my response may sometimes disappoint them. It’s probably not going to be what they are looking for. I am sure that I will not be able to put it all in a nice neat package that they can take home with them and apply to somebody else’s life.

Why does a person become a missionary? What is the proper motivation for making this kind of radical life decision? Messy questions can make for messy answers.

First, let’s deal with the negative side. There are certain reasons for becoming a missionary that are certainly inadequate and maybe even downright dangerous. No one should become a missionary just because they are floundering in their current way of life or profession. The struggles of modern and post-modern life can sometimes cause someone to consider the ramifications of their life and its apparent emptiness. This can be a positive experience that God uses in our spiritual formation. Difficulties can force all of us to evaluate our priorities and our investment of time and resources, but packing our bags and heading to Africa will not solve our issues.

I remember someone telling me, “Wherever you go, there you are”. Whatever character issue problems a person is encountering will only be magnified on the mission field. It’s a lot like a clay pot that has yet to be put in the kiln. It may look okay to the naked eye, but the real test comes when the necessary heat is applied. That miniscule seemingly insignificant crack will explode into a serious crisis and the results could de disastrous. In essence, no one should begin missionary life running away from something else. We all need to deal with our issues as soon as we recognize that they are issues. There are sufficient complications on the field without bringing a whole bunch of unsettled baggage.

There was a guy that I met several years ago here in Honduras. He had experienced a great deal of trouble in the states. His business was not doing well, his marriage was rocky and his two teenage girls were just hitting the really difficult years. In his local church, where he was a leader, a visiting missionary shared the need for administrative personnel in his super-successful ministry. This frustrated guy thought that this was the solution to his problems. He thought that he had heard from God. He decided to close his business and move to Honduras. The extra time together with his wife away from his in-laws would improve their marriage and the move would miraculously rescue his teenagers by separating them from their dangerous friends. You can only imagine the results. After about a year of constant struggles, this well-intentioned brother and his shell-shocked family disappeared and we have never heard from them again. I can only imagine that they are somewhere out there disillusioned, trying to figure out what went wrong. I feel sorry for them. They wanted to serve God on the mission field, but their twisted motives proved to be a recipe for disaster. Somewhere along the way they should have received very loving and caring counsel. Someone should have stopped them.

I’ll try and write tomorrow. th

2009-04-04T08:07:00.001-07:00

March 27, 2008

Dear Billy,

I cannot fully express how thankful I felt to receive your letter. It has been too long since we last talked. I am sorry that we all did not do a better job of following-up.

Your letter has been a great source of encouragement. I was thrilled to hear of your decision. Certainly, it is the answer that you have been seeking. You expressed that Shannon is also onboard with the commitment as well. I really need to hear the whole story of how that came about. Somehow, I had always believed that she might be reluctant to commit to the missionary life. She has such strong ties to her family, I guess it just seemed like she would not be able to loosen her grip. Don’t get me wrong, she will do a wonderful job! God has gifted her in so many ways. The real problem will be deciding which opportunities to take and which to refuse. Nothing personal, but you really married up! I know that I did!

Has it really been three years? For me it seems hard to see you guys as married adults. I can still see you two as love-struck teenagers sitting around your parents’ dining room table when we came to visit. You both sure did put up with a lot of grief from us. Seriously, I am really happy for you both. Please communicate with Shannon how happy I am with the idea of one day having you both form part of our team here in Honduras. We cannot wait to have you here with us. Kathee and I, and the whole team, we are overjoyed at the possibilities. Please know that we consider your decision to be a real answer to our prayers. God is meeting our needs.

Hey – you wrote with some fairly serious questions in your letter. First, let me say that, Yes, I am more than willing to correspond with you over the next year as you prepare to make the move. I consider it a privilege. I’ll try to answer your questions as best I can – but some of them are going to take some real thought. Maybe God thinks that I need a little stretching, maybe a lot! Your first question about the proper missionary motivation is challenging and certainly worthy of the investment (time and effort). Give me a couple of days and we’ll see what happens.

In Him, Tim

2009-04-04T08:03:00.000-07:00

Over the next year, I will be posting an imaginary series of letter to a prospective missionary named Billy. Billy and his wife Shannon have just made the decision to become career missionaries. He has asked me to correspond with him in order to help them walk through the ins and outs of missionary service. Please let me hear your opinions, insights and possible additions....thanks, th

13 Paradigm Shifts

2007-11-02T10:35:00.000-07:00

The following was adapted from a website from the author Donald Miller. It is thoughtful and challenging. th

Thirteen Paradigm Shifts we encountered doing Christian ministry in a pagan environment…

1. Other People Exist: Simply coming to the understanding that the world does not revolve around "me" but that everybody is having an experience, created by God, loved by God, and that we needed to repent of showing partiality…

2. Nobody will listen to you unless they know you like them: We began to understand that people, subconsciously, merit a religious or philosophical idea not on logical conclusions, but on whether or not the idea creates a "good person"…the definition of a good person being whether or not a person is kind to them, tolerant and understanding, able to listen without arguing and so on.

3. Nobody will listen to God unless they know God loves them: We came to believe there was usually a hidden pain behind hostility, that many people have been hurt by the church, or people or perspectives they believed to represent God. Many times its as simple as an interview they saw on CNN, but an apology and kindness went a long way in helping people understand God was loving.

4. Other people have morality and values: We came to understand that Christians do not own morality, that everybody lives by a moral code, not always informed by an ancient text, and yet it is there. Calling people or even thinking of them as immoral was, then, inappropriate. In fact, we often found that people who did not know Christ lived a morality close to his heart in many areas we had ignored, ie; community, tolerance, social justice, fairness and equality, freedom, beauty and so on and so on.

5. Find common ground: Often the morality of others overlapped Christian morality, and we came to understand that in these cases, we would focus on the overlapping issues. We came to see this as kindness, just as though we were on a date or making friends, we did not focus on what we didn’t have in common, but rather on mutual feelings about life. We would not say or do anything to combat people unless they knew we loved them, and this takes a great deal of time.

6. Define terms in their language: We were careful about Christian sayings and phrases that might be offensive: Crusade, sin, immorality….we came to understand that concepts were more sacred than terms…

7. Telling somebody about the gospel is about them, not us: We were careful not to try to "build our organization" and respected peoples freedom and space. Sharing the gospel became an exercise in friendship, rather than an attempt to grow a machine. Often, people feel used if they feel they are being recruited. The gospel, we learned, is really about them, their feelings about God and truth, about sin, about life

8. Don’t let spreading the gospel feel any different than telling somebody about a love in your life, about your children or a great memory: We realized that in telling somebody about Jesus, we were telling them about somebody we have come to love and need, and about something that had happened to us, an encounter. This keeps us from sounding preachy, and allows us to share part of ourselves in a friendship.

9. Include lost People in Your Community: Our organization was not exclusive. We invited non-believers into the community if they wanted to be invited. We were careful not to not be ourselves with them, but they were certainly invited and enjoyed being a part of the group. We explained terms that we used, what we believed, but other than that, continued as normal.

10. Apologize for what you represent: We discovered that many people have been offended or hurt by what they perceive Christianity to be. We allowed ourselves to stand in the place of "Christianity" and apologize whenever necessary.

11. Be authentic: We discovered the need to be as honest about our lives as possible. We did not feel the need to sale Jesus, as much as share what He has done in our broken lives. We had no problem sharing our doubts and fears about faith, along with our commitment and appreciation for what God had done.

12. Pray for the Salvation of others: We discovered the need to pray for others. This would insure God was working in peoples lives, as we asked Him to. We discovered the work of evangelism is something God lets us watch, but very little of it is what we manipulate. We repented of not believing evangelism was a spiritual exchange between a lost person and God, rather than believing it was a series of ideas we were supposed to convince others of.

13. Ask people if they would like to know Christ: We decided to initiate, whenever the relationship called for it. We were not afraid to ask people if they would like to know God.

Dear Heavenly Father -
What changes (shifts) must happen in my christian life for me to be used for your glory? th

Challenges from the world's reality

2007-11-01T16:38:00.000-07:00

The following is an excerpt from a John Piper sermon….what do these truths stir up in you?

Satan's great lie in the past generation has been that the Great Commission is completed, and so the church can forget her wartime mentality. People confused the "nations" of Matthew 28:19 ("Make disciples of all nations") with political nations of our day and concluded that disciples have been made in every nation, so the end can come. But they forget the song of heaven in Revelation 5:9 where Christ is praised: "Worthy art thou to take the scroll and to open its seals, for thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation."

When Jesus commissioned his church to disciple the peoples, he did not have in mind merely political boundaries. He had in mind the distant, distinct groups including tribes and tongues and peoples. And today there are over 16,000 such groups undiscipled.

If every Christian in the world won all his neighbors to Christ, half the world would be unevangelized; because two billion people make up culturally distant people groups who do not have an indigenous witness. They are the "hidden peoples," the "frontier missions" of our day. The only way they can be reached is by cross-cultural missionaries. The day of foreign missions is not over. On the contrary, we stand on the brink of a new movement in the western and third-world churches to penetrate the last frontier.

One-hundred-fifty Protestant missionaries from North America serve among 733 million Muslims in 4,000 Muslim people groups; 100 missionaries among 537 million Hindus in 3,000 Hindu people groups; 200 missionaries among 405 million Han Chinese, and 200 missionaries among 255 million Buddhists, for a total of 650 Protestant North American missionaries among a little less than half the world's population who are basically unreached (1,930,000,000). And then we look at America.

There are more churches in the Twin Cities than there are missionaries to almost two billion Muslim, Hindu, Chinese, and Buddhist people. Is that obedience? Americans give $700 million dollars a year to mission agencies—the same amount they spend on chewing gum. Every 52 days Americans spend as much on pet food as they do annually on foreign missions. And the reason for these things is not that we are living for pleasure, but that we do not believe Jesus when he says that a hundred times more pleasure can be had by forsaking everything for his sake and for the gospel.

Missionary Movers - Prayer letter Oct 2007

2007-11-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are, back in Honduras. Our last few of weeks have been really busy, emptying the house, shipping boxes, packing bags and saying goodbyes.

At the airport, only one piece of luggage was overweight by a couple of pounds, which we quickly remedied and we actually had two bags that hit 50 pounds right on the nose. I think we should get some kind of prize for those “professionally” packed bags. Perhaps, the missionary community should begin some sort of monitoring of that sort of thing in order to recognize those otherwise unnoticed and completely unmarketable skills.

I joke about it only because goodbyes are tough and always have been. However, it seems like they are becoming exponentially more serious as we grow older. Maybe, we have a greater appreciation of time as we get older. It’s kind of like our experience with little kids.

If you have been a parent for some time then you know what I mean. When children are toddlers, it is hard to explain 2 or 3 years. Shoot, they have a tough time comprehending the half-hour drive across town. A thirty-minute “Barney” program was what we compared it to and the kids seemed to be somewhat satisfied with that explanation. You can only imagine how difficult it has been to explain not being able to see family and friends for a couple of years.

Well, that’s what I mean. As we get older, I believe we all begin to be able to get our minds around this concept of time, how precious it is and the reality of spending it apart from people that you love.

This time was no different. We had a wonderful time with family and friends this summer. Saying “goodbye” was hard! There were lots of hugs and too many tears for our comfort. It is great to love and be loved, but it is certainly not painless and we realize that this is part of the price and privilege of serving as missionaries.
You cannot be in two places at the same time (at least in this life you can’t). You must choose where you invest your life and that means that someone and something gets left out. That is a huge part of the missionary cost. There is no way to avoid making those payments.

However, one of the great benefits is a currently heightened and ever-growing appreciation for heaven. I will not say “goodbye” to you, or anyone else for that matter, in heaven. We will have a level of life far beyond the limits of time. I can hear all of your stories and you can hear all of mine. We can fish along the banks of the crystal sea and perhaps share our fish with Jesus Himself. There will be lots of food, fun and laughter in heaven. We will enjoy God together in an intimate and perfect community. No pain or suffering, no regrets, no misunderstandings or blatant sin will contaminate our fellowship. We will enjoy God and each other forever! And we will not do it alone.

I was reminded last night as we enjoyed being with our church family that you will also be able to meet our brothers and sisters in Christ from Siguatepeque. You will experience the welcoming hugs that have been so precious and necessary for us. My friends will be your friends and that will be beautiful! We will enjoy God together!

Thanks for loving us in so many tangible ways. Please know that you are loved. Come see us!

In Him,

Tim, Kathee, Hannah, Daniel, Abigail & Elizabeth