When I was a child I was afraid of the deep water. When someone said, “we’re going to the deep end” of the pool, I was immediately full of fear. These days, I live in the deep water. Sometimes it’s fun. Sometimes it’s scary. I’ve finally learned that no matter the circumstance (scary, fun or otherwise!) … Read more About
This is a Chrismon tree that is full of Christian symbols. It is traditionally placed in the narthex of our Historic Sanctuary each year; provided by a family of many generations.Coming home is always bittersweet. Leaving a place and people you love; returning to the reunions of a place and people you love. It is rich and wonderful.
Last night I sat in the pews of our historic sanctuary as the Advent Vespers service provided a space for reflection, prayer and worship. All around me were people I love. A church family is what we call it. People who have known me for many years and people who I am just coming to know. There is history here and there is new life here. I am so grateful for this gift. To have been a disciple seeking when I arrived through those old doors a long time ago…and today to be a pastor who shepherds and serves in the midst. God planted me here and I have grown here.
We are all on a journey and we are taking it together. Not perfect; simply committed to one another and to God. A community of faith. The body of Christ. I am forever grateful for this gift. Where is God planting you?
Frosty December morning in TennesseeFrosty mornings, holly bearing
Red and green
creation preparing
as you and I make lists
or plans and food.
Sorrow has come here
while I was away
Joy presses forward
determined to stay ahead
of any distraction.
I am home for now
with a deeper heart; a wider view
and ready for this time.
A frosty morn,
sanctuary of praise
quiet peace
Love being born
this Advent.
Let it be.
I learned to appreciate even more the law enforcement professional of the USA yesterday. In Franklin, Tennessee the guys that took the camera would have been in jail by 9pm that same night. As it is, they are probably in Costa Rica or Honduras by now. There is a reason why crimes are left unresolved in some countries. The process itself is not worth the effort. I have my first “Guatemalan police report” in my hands.
I want to tell a different story. I met friends for breakfast at Santa Clara after worship on Sunday. It’s an awesome place..panaderia and resturant. Typical food and cheap! In my joy of the moment, I forgot my Guatemalan phone on the table when I left and it was several hours later when I realized I didn’t have it. I walked back to the place but they were closed. Ugh….
A few hours later I was talking to some local people and asked them about Santa Clara. As it turns out, they eat breakfast there every day and they felt certain my phone would still be there the next morning. Later that night I had an email from Lucia, a local friend, and she had received a call from Santa Clara with the news that they were holding my phone.
So I returned Monday morning early and they were waiting for me. I enjoyed another awesome breakfast at half the cost of most restaurants. And I was thankful! Thankful for being shown so clearly that just as there are people ready to steal, there are many more ready to help.
I have three stories of amazing moments in Guatemala when someone went out of their way to help me in a time of need. I’ve written about all of them, like I am writing today about Santa Clara. One was the staff at Hotel Bambu when I lost my blackberry. Another was a service truck from the phone company, Claro, when I was broken down in a vehicle on the road to Champarico, and now…when I left my phone at Santa Clara.
What can we say? The joy and the hospitality of this country far outweighs the challenges I face here. I can only be thankful! And so…I am just that.
I found myself at the 10am Mass in San Francisco Church today. It is well known for its connection with San Pedro, who was known as the “St. Francis of Assisi of the Americas”. The church was packed today and beautifully prepared for Advent. Purple adorns the altar, robes and sacred spaces. As the incense filled the air and the chants of the liturgy began I simply soaked it all in. Although I cannot understand the language, the liturgy is familiar to me and it feels a bit like home. San Pedro at the San Francisco Church
My best friend in my earliest years of school was Catholic. I was mesmerized by the nuns who taught in the school where I attended kindergarten: St. Paul’s, in my small town in Kentucky. I thought the nuns were the most wonderful of wonders. They were teaching the grades of the elementary school there so I could observe as we all shared space each day. “Muffins” I called them, for a very long time until my mother realized the snafu and let me know they were “Nuns”, NOT “Muffins”! Mom was embarrassed, I was surprised. They seemed like muffins to me and I loved them.
Three years later Kathy walked into my 3rd grade classroom in the public school. Sharing the “W” of our last names, we were placed in the row together where we remained until November of our sophomore year of high school. When they introduced Kathy that morning in 3rd grade, they said she was from St. Paul’s and I immediately said to her, “you know the nuns!” She became my best friend on the spot. Hers was the classical Catholic family and I spent every Friday night in their home that life would allow. In and out of weddings, funerals and services with Kathy, I became comfortable at being an awkward Protestant in the liturgy of Catholic mass. I loved it. And it is probably all of these same reasons that the United Methodist Church seemed perfectly matched for me when I arrived to it many years later. I grew up Southern Baptist and I have encountered Christ in all of these expressions of Christianity.
This morning I missed my church family at home but I welcomed the liturgy as it began:
“El Senor este con usetedes. Y con tu espiritu. Levantemos el corazon. Lo tenemos levantado hacia el Senor. Demos gracias al Senor, nuestro Dios.” Es justo y necesario….” I soaked in the prayers and choirs and rituals we have come to know as we worship across the world. I let the incense surround me. It is the second Sunday of Advent. The celebration of Messiah is coming soon. Wherever we are, however we are, God finds a way to reach deep into our hearts and speak: “prepare the way for the Lord….” Let it be.
A different reality of life interrupted our time in the “God-space” of reflection and listening. Several of our rooms were broken into yesterday and there was a theft. The items taken remain missing. We are safe; we are thankful. Credit cards were cancelled, of course, so they were not valuable for very long and most purchase attempts were declined. It was a planned effort to take the items and the police have been helpful.
The words we spoke as we drove across the beauty of Guatemala are poignant now. I can still hear Rachel saying, “I have taken so many pictures in my mind; there is no way to capture all that is here.” We spoke of how excited we are to share the story with the church. We have ideas! We have plans! It makes me smile even to write about the passion. Nevertheless, at this moment, there are no longer any pictures. The artist who came with her heart inside the camera, goes home with those photos lodged in her spirit. I hurt for her loss and yet, I know that the camera cannot hold a candle to what the expression of God inside her holds. She is so beautiful; her spirit so incredibly beautiful. I am thankful that the images of Guatemala lodge in her heart, not only in the camera. The stories will still be told. Women of Chichicastenango
We had the opportunity to pray many times. We let the police know that we are a prayerful people. The team was fabulous…again each person adding their voice and gift to the experience. Steve, his strength, stature and attention to detail; Rachel (Mammagoose), her tears for the children she came to represent to our church family; Rachel (Rock), her insight and putting things into perspective; Chester, his gifted translation of our voice and our heart; and me, a discernment and wisdom with eyes to see. We navigated through it together. All important.
I am reminded of a poem I wrote many years ago as I was sharing some photos with some family members. It was a simple poem; possibly even a bad poem! I am surprised it is still in my head after all this time. Only a few fragments are in my head but they sound pretty loud right now:
Inside you’ll find a photograph
Of a memory you helped create
A snapshot of a place in time
You made from good to great
…… (many lines I can’t recall)
Should circumstance change or
the pages fade, don’t worry
or add a care.
A memory is more than a photograph;
Look in your heart and find it there.
Ironically, today is an interesting day of tradition in Guatemala. It is called, “La Quema del Diablo” or, “The Burning of the Devil”. At 6pm tonight a grand gathering will happen as the town “burns the devil” as a way of sending satan away and burning off the bad of the year in order to start the new year from the ashes that remain. This is part of the tradition of preparing for the birth of Christ. December 7th is La Quema del Diablo and tomorrow, December 8th, is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. We had several conversations about this December 7th event…before and after our experience.
We have gained a tiny bit of experience in the process of crime and police reporting and will gain a bit more cultural experience as the festival unfolds. Some experiences you welcome; some you humbly accept. I need all of this. Theft happens everywhere in the world. What is most important is that we are safe and that the story God is writing on our hearts this week continues to be shared.
I end with this Scripture from my reading this morning in Colossians 3:15
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” May the week we have shared be used in whatever way God will choose. We have already received blessing beyond measure. Let it be. Tres Amigos de Mi
The meetings have concluded and we begin the slow process of sharing insights as they come. This time is important. It is the space where our minds move from “packed to full” to clarity. It is making time for the Spirit to add wisdom to our information. It is the time for the Spirit to bring discernment into the ideas, plans, hopes, fears, dreams, visions and realities. It has taken me a long time to appreciate the importance of this space. It is God’s space. It is the place that requires humility and acceptance that our role is to seek and follow our Creator. Period. We don’t determine where, when, or how. We simply choose to listen, seek God, and then follow whatever the Spirit leads. And it’s on God’s time, not ours.
The confessional part of the journey as a disciple requires me to say, “and it is so easy for me to feel led in directions I already want to go!” Of course! That is why sharing helps us to hear what God is speaking. That is why allowing time and space for God to guide is the way of a disciple. Themes begin to rise. Directions begin to align. Our minds, hearts and spirits come together and peace sets into the soil that God is planting. There have been many places I did not want to go, but when I realized God was nudging me I knew saying “yes” was the only response. Those particular “yes” responses have given me a life that is beyond anything I ever imagined. My faith is so weak, and yet, God is so faithful! Fruit truck on the road to Xela
Having the Rachels and Steve here is wonderful. They are each gifted in a different way so they offer insight that is helpful and sharpening. That is the community of faith at work. This little “unexpected Guatemala Team” was assembled by stirrings in each person’s spirit. As we walk through each experience (they have had a LOT to take in!) they have all been open to listen and engage completely. I am so grateful. It reminds me this morning of Proverbs 27:17 which says, “iron sharpens iron, so one friend sharpens another.”
Team at work
<As Steve was preparing for the meeting with the Executive Committee he was reminded of a Scripture. It is a teaching of Christ: "Where two or more are gathered in my name, there I am with them." (Matthew 18:20). Rachel W. also had a Scripture that kept rising up in her mind. It is a teaching of the prophet Isaiah: "Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." (Isaiah 1:17) And so…we welcome this holy space of now. May God grow our hearts to be humble and teachable in this place.
Let it be.
…rising up to take their place, with selfless faith…
The words of that song have been echoing in my head the past two days. It’s a song I love to sing in worship at Franklin First UMC. It’s a song that expresses what I have been seeing and continue to see in our world. God is stirring so many people and it is global. Every generation is being invited to follow that stirring…but there is an obvious rising up of the current generation to literally “take their place” in making this world a different place. It’s beautiful. Listen closely… do not miss what God is speaking through them. It is new.
We began early and ended late today. We had reunions, visits and meetings. We walked the dusty, rocky road of La Toma and if there was anything hard in our hearts it melted away. It is near impossible to be in this community with a stone in your heart. Sometimes people come with a hammer here, a bit like Jesus being a carpenter. There is always more to the story…carpenter to Messiah. Builder to sponsor. Stone to water.
It is late and we had a long day so I will just share this great joy. We visited Beatriz late this afternoon. She was surprised to see us and she had an even bigger surprise to share! A new baby! Elanny is 3 months old and her mother is VERY HAPPY! Beatriz with Elanny It was so fun so see Beatriz so full of joy and life. Earlier this year when I visited her, the front part of the home was set as an altar for her mother who had just died. Tonight when we arrived that same space is decorated for Christmas and the altar is being prepared for the nativity. A home ready for Christmas Joy was bursting out of every corner of the house and every person’s spirit. So wonderful!
Rachel presented Beatriz with a big stack of coloring books and supplies for the children she helps to teach. Howard’s gift of coloring books for the children Beatriz teaches was like delivering Christmas…We were all awed with little Elanny and rejuvenated a bit from the long day. There is great joy in this house; not sorrow. And while she is overjoyed being a new mom, she is also talking about the children she is teaching, their needs and all she dreams for them. We shared greetings from all those who are so close to her and she spoke with much gratefulness for the education she had as a child. You never know the full impact of building a school to give local children a place to learn and grow.
Mamma Goose (also known as Rachel Williamson) offered a prayer as we were leaving the home of Beatriz. It was the prayer of a mother’s heart. In those words I heard a vision for Elanny..of having a future and a hope that will be even more than her mom as ever dreamed. Let us all be still enough to listen…to the stirring of the Spirit…to the coming of Messiah that we anticipate in Advent. God is rising up the young, the wise, the old and the new. I just wonder…what is God rising up in you?
Ezekiel in the van with us as we drove from La Toma to Halo Guatemala today.
My heart is full this morning and the internet (or my computer battery dying..take your pick) limits my writing. We leave Chichicastanengo this morning and travel to the camp at Lemoa where we will have a little fiesta with the students we sponsor. As I poured over their names this morning my heart filled up with love. I am eager for the team to meet the families. I am eager to reunite with them and tell them once again, “we believe in you!” Please pray for us today. Simply that we will be channels of love. Pray that we will carry with us the same intention and grace Christ carried when he stopped to look into the eyes of each person because each one of them is a child of God and worthy of our attention. I am happy!
After this meeting we travel more until we reach Mazatenango and the site where our teams have been staying and serving for many years. It will be a little like going home. Our prayers and love are being sent daily to our friends, families and church. We are so grateful for all of your prayers.
There is nothing quite as comforting as being in a “foreign country” and connecting with people from your home country. That happened with us tonight. One of the Project Transformation Tennessee interns that I met this summer, Allison Bedford, is here in Guatemala. Our bond was set this summer when we shared stories of Guatemala. Allison read our facebook post yesterday and gave us a call. Tonight she is my roommate and the team spent some time listening to her experiences over the past 2 months. Allison has been volunteering with a church community and village called, Chontala. She has been building relationships, practicing her Spanish and getting to know the Guatemalan people. She learned of this village by participating in missions with the Wesley Foundation at the Wesley Foundation at Florida State University. Allison’s heart was stirred over the 4 years her college friends came here on mission and she returned here to serve as long as she could. She leaves in 3 weeks. From Project Transformation Tennessee to Guatemala…
I am happy to see Allison. I am overwhelmed by the connections that God gives us when we have no idea why. Or it is embarrassing to realize that I may be unaware of how strong a scattered people called “disciples” can be when each person is listening and following the path God has set before them. It’s funny, I don’t think of Gautemala as a “foreign country” anymore. I didn’t realize that until I just typed it. I simply think of it as a southern neighbor with a very different culture.
Steve Fulton had a similar experience as he reunited with Pastor Tomas today. Just 3 months ago Pastor Tomas and Doris were guests in his home in Frankin, TN. He had no idea that he would be in a meeting with them in Guatemala before the year ended! It makes me laugh…seriously…the Spirit will do whatever the Spirit will do. Our role is to follow. Doris, Steve, Pastor Tomas, Rachel L and Rachel W
The sanctuary here is 6 years old. It is beautiful!
I was amused (and I appreciated) the order and organization of our meeting today. Pastor Tomas is definitely a “Methodist”! He had an agenda and followed it! The Guatemalan people are particularly intentional about greetings, thanksgivings and blessings. During greetings there is an introduction of each person in the room. Over 10 leaders came to be a part of the meeting today and each one introduced themselves. Meeting at the church of Pastor Tomas
I loved having Steve and the Rachels in this meeting. It tells me the Lord is stirring hearts to help and lead. This relationship and the mission of Guatemala is a mutually beneficial friendship that allows all of us to be transformed for the glory of God. If we are to be the kingdom of God, if people are going to believe the stories they hear of Christ’s presence on earth…if this is who we are then we must live that life expressing love with one another in whatever way God leads us. It doesn’t always mean going across countries, it simply always means: “follow me” when the Spirit speaks. I pray our church – and the WHOLE church across the world – will keep listening and following. Let it be.
Church where Pastor Tomas serves. It is the largest of the National Metodista churches with 600 members
Dinner after a long day of travel…we were all so ready!The “Unexpected Guatemala Team” that is on the ground right now is a visible act of people taking steps of faith. Steve Fulton called several weeks ago with a strong nudge to help by coming to assess the numerous projects Pastor Tomas and Doris shared with our church when they visited in August. Chester and Steve are a mess together. Their reunion was sweet; it’s been too long!Steve has a mind for detail and assessment. He knows construction. He knows project management. He and his wife, Sherry, have served as host for many of our Guatemalan guests over the past 2.5 years so he is open to learning about the culture.
The Rachels and Doris. Doris is the VIM Coordinator of Guatemala for the National Metodista Iglesia
Rachel Williamson (Mammagoose) took a step of faith with a call that came about 3-4 weeks after Steve’s. She was having a strong nudge too. Her gift is art and a gigantic heart. She expresses some of that through photography and wanted to come help by taking pictures. A large church needs several people who are willing to share their gifts to help tell the stories God is writing in our church family. Rachel is taking photos so we can share the larger story. An artist at workShe brings wonderful ideas and most importantly, a respect and love for God’s children here in Guatemala.
Rachel at Pollo CamperoRock, (or Rachel Luna, as her parents named her) is learning by experience (the good, bad and ugly) what goes into planning an international mission. She was with me when we took the youth to Nicaragua in 2008. But she is not here as a high school student today; she is here as an incredibly talented young adult that is making a difference with her life. We were blessed to find her between her college graduation and the “next step” of her professional life as a social worker with a long life already of mission and service. Rachel is a “rock” and I wonder sometimes if the disciple Peter, may have been her brother…
In the 90’s some other people took a step of faith. A Methodist pastor in Guatemala had women coming to him in need of food and shelter. Their husbands and/or fathers had died in the Civil War and they were in great despair. He knew that helping had to be more than giving something to eat. His step of faith and the faithfulness of others to support him, established a mission called Ruth and Nohemi. Here the women learned to sew and make an income to support their families. We did learn from Pastor Deigo, who currently leads this mission, that the original women are passing their trade along by training the youth. And as it ha The storeWe visit this mission often to hear the story, support their business and to be reminded that one step of faith when we’re following Christ, can change the world one life at a time. Primarily…it changes those who need it most: each one of us. Lord, may our hearts always be open enough to hear your nudge and simply follow one step of faith at a time. Let it be. We are bringing a few items home for your Christmas shopping:)
Life in the Deep End 