Posted in Musings

It is really hard to put into words all the things we learned and experienced in Antioch. I think that we will be processing much of it for a long time to come. Guy expressed many things very succinctly on his blog here and here. There were a few things though, that really made an impression on me personally and those are the things I will share here.

The first thing that seemed to emerge was a confirmation of what many of us have been feeling for some time now. That would be the sense of urgency in our task to bring the gospel to ALL the nations. I personally believe that we have already entered into the last phase of humanity. I really believe that within the lifespan of my children Jesus will return. I really do think it will be that soon. There just isn't time to waste. This has colored how I see life almost more than anything else. It has propelled me to "clean house" in a way that has been and is very freeing and refreshing.

Another thing that "hit me between the eyes" and brought me under conviction is the truth I learned about prophetic words from God. I'm not talking about an Elijah-type prophet standing in front of a bunch of christians pointing his finger and thundering out condeming words, but rather that Word of God that comes to us leading us to do things His way rather than ours. What was new to me was the idea that when God speaks through a prophetic person, the Word spoken is for the church, not for the prophet.  "The prophet belongs to God, his prophecy belongs to the people"  was how it was shared. What brought me to conviction was realizing that all the knowledge that God has given me I have hoarded and not shared because I didn't think I was a worthy vessel. That is selfishness in it's purest form. It's not about me, but about God and His Kingdom.

That brings me to another Word that God revealed during the week that made an impression on me. "The only good apostle is a dead apostle."  We must put aside all that we are in order to be a vessel that God can use for his kingdom. There are many things in my life that need to be put aside so that God can work through me. And this has not been an easy thing to do (still working on it!).

Recently I read or heard somewhere that American Christians carry the Bible in one hand and the flag in the other. This image has been with me for several months now and had been bothering me more and more. During our time there I realized that I didn't just have the flag in my hand, but I was immersed in it- I wore it, I decorate my house with it, I saw the world through it. It was as important to me as the Bible I carry in my other hand. For goodness sake, I got my letter to The O'Reilly Factor read by Bill O'Reilly himself! I'm a true patriot! If I learned anything at all this week, it was that I am first, and foremost, a citizen of God's Kingdom. I needed to put down my flag and take up the Banner of the Kingdom. I could no longer allow the flag to compete with the kingdom. This I did. It doesn't mean that I'm no longer patriotic (I am). It just means that God's Kingdom is more important than my American citizenship.  The people at this meeting were from all over the world, from all different walks of life, from widely differing pay scales. What brought us together was that we are all citizens of God's Kingdom, working with God to further His Kingdom.

Posted in Musings

Antioch. Where do I even begin to express what all went on here?

When Guy first told me about his invitation to a meeting in Antioch my heart immediately jumped- I wanted to go with him. I love to travel, but have been fine with staying home while Guy went to other places. But this was different. Never had I wanted to go with him so badly. I spent a lot of time on my knees, crying, begging God to work things out so that I could go. He did. However, because the invitation was for Guy I felt pretty much like I was just tagging along, allowed because I was his wife and wives were okay to come along. At times I felt like the Canaanite woman happy for a few crumbs that fell off the table. I mean, this was a meeting of people I considered to be great people, people to revere for their contributions to the kingdom and who are known around the WORLD. Who am I to even be a part of this? But the desire to be there was stronger than my feelings of insecurity. Maybe I didn't belong, but I was there and I was going to take something away no matter what.

One evening, one of the men there felt led to pray all night and invited others to join him. I decided I would. Several people stayed on walking around, sitting around, but all praying fervently. I didn't want to bother anyone so I went to the very back corner of the room to pray. After praying for awhile I felt a hand on my shoulder and a brother told me that the only problem with me there was that I wasn't with the group and he gently led me down to the front with the others. He even helped me to lift my hands in prayer (ok, that was a bit uncomfortable for me, but I want to be free of such inhibitions so I did it). I felt for the first time like maybe I was there because God wanted me there, not because I wanted to be there. I began to believe that while I may not be contributing much, God was going to do a work in me and that there was a purpose for me to be there.

By the end of the week I knew that God intended for me to be there. I have a purpose to fulfill in Ecuador and I needed to be there to learn what that was.

Posted in Musings

I have never ever been to a meeting like the one I went to in Antioch. For several weeks before going to Antioch I spent a great deal of time thinking about it and imagining in my mind what it would be like. I imagined being in a big conference room with thick, quiet carpets, chandeliers, comfortable seats, a good speaker system, and all these great people I'd read about and heard about for years in small groups quietly conversing, wearing their nice suits. I would have a chance to meet with many of them, shake their hand, get a picture taken with them. I expected great earth shattering revelations, tongues of fire over our heads kind of things.  Wow, that is so laughable now!

The hotel we stayed in was adequate but not what I expected. We were in a suite type room with a bedroom, living room/kitchen area, an upstairs loft, and one bathroom with no shower curtain or hot water, or even towels. We were the first to arrive and immediately went to the downstairs bedroom with the one double bed and view of the sea. Then we find out that we are to share the room with another couple. Yikes! Miss privacy-is-sacrosanct was going to have to share a room and bathroom with complete strangers? We spent the longest time trying to decide which bedroom to take. The downstairs bedroom was the one we wanted, but to be nice we decided to take the upstairs one you had to climb a very steep staircase to. Besides, what if they were an older couple who had trouble with the stairs? Well, when Bryon and Misty arrived we realized that WE were the older couple who had trouble with the stairs! But we were already unpacked so we just stayed there. Bryon and Misty are a really sweet couple from McKinney, TX of all places, and we enjoyed their company very much.

On the second day we found out that we were getting another roommate. Some people were arriving late and they were clearing out a room for them and needed a place for one of the guys being booted out of his room. Did we mind....? Of course not. Our new roommate was Neil Cole. This surprised me a great deal. If any of you have ever read Guy's blog you will have read many quotes from Neil Cole. His book "Organic Church" is probably the book that has influenced Guy more than any other book. And that's not the only one we have. Neil was one of those "great people" that was going to be at this conference. I mean, he's ...well... famous! And he was going to be sleeping on the couch in our room? That just didn't mesh with my expectations of famous people. But I learned something very quickly about this meeting. No one, except maybe me, came with their ego. It was amazing to me that someone I considered famous was going to be sleeping on the couch. That's a far cry from some of the famous people I saw at our Baptist convention a year or so back who wouldn't deign to accept the missions brochure I was passing out before the service because it would make the pockets on his expensive silk suit bulge (it was a brochure, for goodness sake, not a book!). Anyway, I was so impressed with Neil. Not just for sleeping on the couch, but also for his willingness to talk and share with anyone who wanted to pick his brain.

In our first meeting together as a group, our leader, Wolfgang Simson, came in. He was barefoot, wearing shorts and a tee shirt. He announced several things including the fact that there would be no sound system as it was more costly and they never work anyways, or something like that (oh my, how many times have I wanted to do just that in Ecuador  at some of our meetings there with the brothers!) and that we wouldn't be doing anything the next day because not everyone had arrived yet. I thought that was the kind of thing only Ecuadorians did!  When everyone did get there he announced that there was no agenda. We would pray and ask God what He wanted on the agenda. I was blown away (that happened to me a lot there.). We actually sat there, IN SILENCE, mind you, for nearly an hour waiting on God to reveal what He wanted done there. Well, they did anyway. I had a hard time focusing because I'd never done that before. I mean, we always had an agenda to pray over asking for God's blessing and help. That is so much easier to do!

When we came back together (many people left to pray elsewhere) people shared what they felt God wanted to do. As they shared the group would affirm or discuss what was said. Many times we would stop and pray about a matter. Most of the people there were gifted with prophecy or apostleship (not sure if that's a word and so hope you understand what I'm saying here). Everyone was respected for what they felt God was saying, even if no one else in the group concurred. It was a meeting truly led by the Holy Spirit. Wolfgang helped to keep things on track but never took over, if you know what I mean.

This went on all week. Everyone was expected seek God and bring to the group what God was saying. It was amazing to me. There was true dialogue. No one went away and talked behind anyone's back or got upset or anything. Everyone shared (well, except for me) and was respected. As different people shared it became clear the things God was wanting to say to us.

Posted in Musings

Barcelona, on the northeastern coast of Spain was our third destination to visit. I first saw Barcelona watching the 1992 Olympics. The memory of the archer loosing an arrow to light the Olympic torch is one of my all time favorite Olympic memories.

Last spring we went to see a movie called "Vicki Christina Barcelona" which inspired us to visit Barcelona. It featured a lot of sites in the city. We have a good friend from Ecuador, Alexandra, who now lives there so it was a given that we would visit if we ever had the chance to go to Spain.

We flew to Barcelona from Granada where Alexandra's daughter, Andrea, fixed us a great lunch, then took us to a still working monastery built high up on a mountain over 1000 years ago. The views there were spectacular. It makes you wonder how in the world the monastery was built all those years ago. The church building itself was beautiful as are most of the cathedrals and churches built "way back then." In spite of the fact that many of these church buildings have no real spiritual life in them, they are a testament to the creativity God instilled in mankind. I personally find it easy to lift my eyes toward heaven and worship God surrounded by so much beauty. But at the same time I am saddened to think that so many of the people who build monuments like these to God totally miss what God wants most- a personal relationship.

Once we got back to Manresa (just outside of Barcelona), where Alexandra lives, she took us downtown where we could walk around and see some of the city. It's so enjoyable to do that- the weather was perfect (for me, which meant it was nice and cool) and we were able to visit as we walked.

One of the main attractions in Barcelona is the work of the Spanish artist, Antoni Gaudi. Gaudi was an architect who built some really interesting buildings. He's one of those artists that you either really like or really don't like. For me, his work has really grown on me and I like it. My main "thing" to do in Barcelona was to visit some of the buildings he built.

On the way into town we bought tickets for a tour bus that goes all over the city where you can get off then get back on as they come by every 10 minutes or so. We arrived downtown only to find out that the bus line we purchased our tickets for was on strike that day and only one or two buses were running. It was quite disappointing but we managed okay. We took the one bus running and did the entire tour. We couldn't get off because there weren't any other buses coming by til that one came round again whenever it came around several hours later. That meant that we would be seeing these buildings from the bus and not from close up. But, I DID get to see them and I'm satisfied with that. We also got to see the whole city on the tour bus which I enjoyed.

By late afternoon the strike was over and we did get off to look at the Sagrada Familia Cathedral, (Sacred Family) Gaudi's most famous work. We didn't have the time to go inside and look, but just walking around seeing the outside was incredible. The only word I can think of to describe this building is massive. It is SO big! He died before finishing it and the plans for it were destroyed in the Spanish Civil War. So the end result will be somewhat different than Gaudi originally intended. You either love it or hate it, but you can't ignore it!

The other place we got off to see was Gaudi's "Guell Park" (Guell was his patron). This is a very whimsical place that I just loved.

When we got back to Manresa we had a fun time with Alexandra, Manel (her husband), and daughter Andrea. Manel has a restaurant and we had a delicious spread of Tapas, typical Spanish appetizers (which form a meal when you have several of them, as we did). Manel is a native Catalan, which is the region in which you find Barcelona. Catalonia has it's own distinct language and culture and it was interesting to learn about it and experience it. As with Madrid and Granada, our time there was way too short.

For pictures click here.

Posted in Musings

We left Madrid and headed towards Granada in southern Spain via the bus. On the way we passed grove after grove of olive trees- for four hours! I didn't realize that olives were a major industry here. One mostly thinks of Greece and Italy when one thinks of olives. At least, I did. Not anymore. The trip was a bit uncomfortable because I was still feeling pretty bad. However, it was so good to get there and see the Irwins again! We miss them so much here in Guayaquil (For those who don't know, the Irwins were miss'ys  in G'quil for 15 years. We homeschooled our kids together a couple of years ago).

That evening Chris and Nicia surprised us with a visit from another G'quil miss'y friend now working in Granada- Paul Kaufmann. We had such a nice visit together. I missed seeing his wife Debbie who was out of town but we so enjoyed the time spent together sitting outside in the backyard visiting. Spending time with good friends, even though that time was way too short, was one of the best parts of being in Spain.

In the morning we experienced socialized medicine. I only had antibiotics for a couple of days and needed them for a week. We weren't sure how things would work out, so after taking Kaylea to school we went to a local clinic around the corner. We stood in line for about 1/2 hour with everyone else to get to the desk for help. We explained our situation (sick tourist willing to pay to see a doctor) and were well taken care of. I don't know if it was because we were tourists, or if it was because we had money to pay for the visit (it really wasn't very expensive compared to the States), or if it was a God thing (we had tickets for Alhambra in the afternoon and wanted/needed to see a doctor in the morning), but we were shown into the doctor's office right away and were seen to ahead of everyone else! Within about 1 1/2 hours I had my needed antibiotics.

By the time we got to Alhambra the antibiotics had kicked in and I was feeling really good. Good enough to spend 4 hours there! I could have stayed longer but we needed to get back.

Alhambra was amazing. I have wanted to go there for years. It was the second of the top three things I really wanted to do in Spain. It's a big place and you can go around at your own pace. It was just so beautiful. I love the Arabic style of architecture. It meets my obsessive compulsive need for symmetry. Everything is lined up so mathematically. All the doors are lined up perfectly giving these perfect views of things. The gardens are laid out very symmetrically. There is so much detail in all the decorations on the walls. It was fun to let your imagination go and wonder what it would have been like to have lived there as a princess or something. I have decided that my dream home will have lots of arches. They are such a nice frame for pretty views. The views there were spectacular and it was all very inspiring. I just loved being there and seeing it all.

God made man such a creative being. Even though man creates for himself he doesn't realize that the beauty he creates reflects God's glory, because his creativity comes from God. I find it so easy to praise God whenever I am in a beautiful place or surrounded by beautiful things- even though those things were made by men, for men. God's glory shines through because whether man realizes it or not, God is the author of that beauty. Am I making any sense to anyone but myself? I love beauty and was surrounded by it much of my time on this trip.

I'm having trouble putting my photos here so you can see them here on my facebook page.

Posted in Musings

After a long flight over the Atlantic we arrived in Madrid during the late afternoon. We were able to sleep some (as much and as well as you can in crowded seats) during the overnight flight and, although tired, did not have much problem with jet lag. We had a very joyful reunion with our friends, David and Susie Dixon,  whom we had not seen since seminary days. After settling in for a while we went out to see the town they actually live in, Alcala de Henares. Alcala is a small town that has been "swallowed up" by the larger metropolitan area of Madrid. It is also the birthplace of Cervantes. We went downtown to Cervantes Plaza which was full of students as it sits right in front of the University which was founded about the time Columbus discovered America. Leading out from the Plaza is a street called "Calle Mayor" which is a long columned street that was converted into a pedestrian walkway. Lots of cafes line the sidewalks. While walking down we passed two groups of "tunas." These are groups of men dressed in medieval outfits who stand out in the street and sing (kind of like mariachis) to people on the street or up on the balconies. They were playing and singing medieval songs and were quite fun to watch. At about 10 pm we stopped at a sidewalk cafe and had "tapas" for supper. Tapas are like appetizers. We had fried calamar (squid), fried potatoes, potato/egg torta, and something else that I can't remember. The weather was lovely and it was so much fun to sit outside and catch up with our friends amongst the beauty of 16th century Spain.

The following day was spent in museums. We started out at the Reina Sofia Museum of Modern Art to see one painting in particular- "Guernica" by Pablo Picasso. Personally, modern art isn't my favorite thing. When I first saw "Guernica" in a book I didn't much like it (I prefer Picasso's earlier work before he got all cubistic). However, once I read the story behind the painting it helped me to appreciate it a lot more. It truly does express the outrage of war. You can read more about it here and here.

I also enjoyed seeing some pieces by Piet Mondrian. I always did like this dress when I was a young girl which was inspired by Mondrian so it was fun to see what had inspired Yves Saint Laurent.

Following the Reina Sofia we walked over to the Prado- THE museum to see in Madrid. All the great painters are represented there. It was very inspiring to me to see the originals of so many paintings I've seen and learned about during my school years and my homeschooling years. I began to feel bad while walking through this huge museum and after a couple of hours had to stop. Thinking it was just jet lag I pushed myself to walk around some more, eat lunch, then head over to the Thyssen-Bornemisza museum. Didn't know I had fever. I only saw part of this museum as I just couldn't walk much more. I remember standing in front of paintings by Gaugin, Monet, Renoir, Winslow, and many others I liked but weren't too familiar with telling myself to look closely, that I would be happy to have seen them in person. I am, but it would have been much more enjoyable had I not been sick.

The next morning was Sunday and we worshipped with our friends David and Susie. David pastors the International church there and it was a wonderful worship time. There were over 22 countries represented, as well as all classes, rich and poor. I thought that it must be a little like what heaven will be.

Susie had given me some antibiotics she had and I talked with a doctor who attends church there. He confirmed pretty much what I thought I had (urinary tract infection). We decided to leave immediately after church for Granada instead of doing more sightseeing.

On our way home a week and a half later we had a 12 hour layover in Madrid. Instead of spending it at the airport we stored our luggage and caught the metro into town. There we did what we had skipped the previous Sunday. We went to the Royal Palace, another cathedral, ate a late lunch, and then just enjoyed walking around the city.

There were several notable things about our time in Spain. One, the bathrooms were really clean, Two, everything seems smaller here- lots of people, little space. Cars were smaller, homes/apartments are smaller with a good use of space, smaller portions at restaurants, etc. People were very willing to help out when asked, but they are reserved as a people. I can see why missionary work here is hard.

We saw many Ecuadorians here as we got around. So many have come here to work. They were easy to spot. Most of them have a hard time with the cultural changes and there is a quite a bit of racism against them. We have seen so many families torn apart and destroyed when one of the parents leaves to work elsewhere. It is all so very sad.

All in all, I loved Madrid and could easily spend a lot more time here! I am having trouble getting my photos on here, so if you want to see pictures you can go to my facebook page here. Enjoy!

Posted in Musings

I am so excited today! In a few hours I will be getting on a plane to Spain! This trip that I am taking with my husband is the answer to some very fervent prayer.

Last May my husband received an email from a man named Wolfgang Simson. Wolfgang Simson is the author of the book "Houses That Change the World." It's a book that has influenced our ministry here more than any other. Like so many others, God used this book to help us see what it was He wanted us to do here in Ecuador. It is but one of many books on the subject of house churches that have come into our lives, but has the distinction of being the first to point us in that direction.

I confess that I have not read as widely as my husband on the subject. However, recently, I read the latest book by Mr. Simson called "The Starfish Vision." It's a free book that can be found online. And it's one of the most exciting books I've read in a long time. I'm not sure how to explain what it is about so I will post a few quotes from the introduction.

It "explains a global vision and the resulting mission that is probably bigger than anything you have heard before."

"It is not a new vision some individual person has or owns; it is, in a very real sense, a historical and thoroughly biblical vision of which no one can claim authorship... it cannot be owned or copyrighted; it is rather, something that can and might very well invade us...."

"Many followers of Jesus are gripped today by a historic call, being mobilized into a new run. As more and more people join God in this present day endeavor to finish the apostolic task Jesus has given us, we watch the emergence of a global phenomenon, and we might quickly discover ourselves to be part of the biggest, most audacious, dangerous and daring enterprise mankind has ever had."

This book excites me! It tells of what God is doing in His empire, His kingdom, His work. The author feels, as do I, that we are entering into the final stage of human history. And this book is about completing the mission that God has given us to take His good news of salvation to the whole world. I am no prophet but the eyes of my heart have been opened to God's working in the world. I'm thrilled at the prospect of what He is doing and I don't want to be a spectator. I want to be a participant! I want to be a part of it!

The email from Wolfgang Simson was an invitation to a meeting to be held beginning next week. The meeting will serve three purposes: 1) to listen corporately to what the King has to say, 2) to respond individually to what the King says, and 3) to prayerfully consider corporate implementation of what the King reveals. My heart literally jumped when Guy told me about this invitation. He was the one invited, but oh, I really wanted to go. I mean I REALLY REALLY wanted to go.

Wives were included in the invitation and then began the prayers for God to provide for both of us to go. Many tears were shed as I begged God to provide for me to go with Guy. We really didn't have the money for Guy, much less for me to come along as well.  We aren't really allowed to solicit funds for things like this so we didn't. We just prayed to God. As we shared with people about the opportunity, God laid it on the hearts of some to help us out so we did not have to ask right out for funds. God provided not only the funds, but permission from our Board as well to take the time to go. God is so good!

We set out making our plans for the trip. Our flight was to pass through Madrid, Spain where we have some good friends from seminary days. Our missionary friends that we homeschooled with two years ago recently transferred to Granada, Spain. And we have a long time Ecuadorian friend who now lives in Barcelona, Spain. So, we decided to take a few days to visit our friends on the way to our meeting. It will be a short visit in each place (one or two days) but it will be so nice to see them.

God has provided in every way for our trip and I am humbled at how He has done so. I am so excited to be going- but more thrilled at what awaits us in this coming meeting. I expect God will be doing "God things" and I hope to be a part of what He does!