By Mayra Duran

What kind of movies or tv shows do you like the most? Drama, comedy, science fiction…What’s your favorite? I have to admit that medieval fantasy is one of my favorite genres. My mind is transported to another place thinking about these stories with swords, castles, armor, and battles. This year, one of my favorite shows aired one of the best episodes in television history. To film 60 of the most intense minutes of the season the producers had a $30 million budget, 25 days to film with a crew of 600 people. As well, besides the regular actors in the show, they needed 500 extras, 80 horses, 25 stunt doubles, and 4 camera crews. Yes, all of this was used to create a fictional, final epic battle on TV.

However, the bible tells us of TRUE stories about battles with huge armies that took place centuries ago. Without a doubt that battle that always surprises me is that of Gideon’s army against the Midianites (You can find the entire story in Judges chapters 6-8).

After reading about Gideon and being reminded about the tv show that I shared about above, I couldn’t stop thinking about how Gideon was able to defeat an army of 135,000 people with only 300 men. How!? It seems impossible but we find the answer in Judges 6:16 where God spoke with Gideon and said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”

Today we don’t really encounter real armies like Gideon. The battles that we fight in our lives are different ones. But just like Gideon, who are you trusting to win your battles? I don’t know the battles that you are fighting, or how big the armies are that you are encountering, but I know who is in charge of your army and that God is the one who is with you. It doesn’t matter if you encounter an army the same size as the Midianites. If you trust in God, just as Gideon did, God will fight the battle for you and His strategy is 1,000 times better than yours.

“Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s.”                                                                             -2 Chronicles 20:15b

By Karlita Gomez

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”- Philippians 1:6 (ESV)

Have you ever made something using legos or K’nex? If you’ve never had the pleasure of doing this, I strongly encourage you to go to the nearest store and find one of these kits. If you are a child in an adult’s body, like me, you could enjoy hours with this diversion and disconnect from the day to day pressures. With my husband Sammy, we love to make things with Legos. Those that know me know that my cell phone case is a lego case. Those that have visited our house know that we own several lego cars and roller coasters, among other similar items. Every time that we sit down to start a new lego project the first step is to separate all of the pieces and put them in different piles. The second step is to have the instructions ready, which you can find on the internet if you don’t have them. The third step is to put on some good music and begin your adventure. You should definitely have patience because this can take you days to finish, but at the end it’s worth the effort and time that you put into it.

One time I had the opportunity to watch Sammy put a car back together that had already been put together once, but for some reason he had take it apart. While watching this, I feel like God was teaching me something. We are able to see in the photo on the box the finished product, but inside there are only pieces. We know that all of these pieces will go together to make the finished product that you bought. IN the same way, God, who knows our future, has the knowledge of the finished product that we are. He is the one that is taking us apart and putting us back together with all that is happening around us…Every situation, event, opportunity. Nothing happens by accident. God has the control of every thing. He has never lost it, though at times it may feel like things don’t make sense. He is still in control and he know that finsihed product.

You may run into different pieces of different sizes, colors, and textures. Some are beautiful, others not so much. Many times you have no idea where it goes or really why it’s necessary, but in the process you are surprised at how every piece has its place. In the same way every situation in our lives fits perfectly with God’s design. Sometimes the situation is happy, other times it’s painful, but it’s always necessary for the final design that God has in mind for us. It’s not about the pieces, rather it’s about the designer. Us with our human minds can’t understand nor imagine the finished product that we will be when we meet Jesus, but we are able to have confidence and constantly remember that it’s Him who has control and knows our future. It’s Him who is working in our lives. We won’t always be an unfinished product, imperfect and weak. The design that God has had in mind for us since the beginning will come to be. He will continue until His work is completely finished. It’s not about us…It’s about HIM!

By Katey Erickson

The past three weeks we have had a “summer” camp for the kids in the village as they are on vacation from school. The purpose of each activity that we planned for them during camp has been to encourage critical and creative thinking. Some of the activities also encourage teamwork. It’s been amazing to watch the kids think and learn as they are playing, cooking, or creating art.

I wanted to use camp to encourage critical and creative thinking for two reasons.

Number 1 – because these are not things that are normally taught in the public school in the village. Most of the work they do is rote memorization, copying and pasting basically, and some of the kids really struggle with thinking for themselves.

Number 2 – because when someone learns to think critically and creatively they can begin to do so in all areas of their life, including their spiritual life. If I want to encourage kids to truly interact on a deep level with God and His word but they don’t know how to think critically or creatively then it’s going to be a struggle. I don’t want their interaction with the Bible and God to be rote memorization and repetition of what their pastor says. I want them to truly think through their faith and have conversations with God and His word.

As I’ve been interacting with the kids as they learn to think more critically and creatively I’ve been challenged to think more critically and creatively myself. Not just in the camp activities but in all areas of my life. I’ve been more motivated to create art, read, analyze, etc. And it’s impacted my spiritual life too. I’ve had more of a desire to creatively connect with God, to draw my prayers, and to use photography to capture what He is teaching me. I’ve also had more of a desire to study God’s word and to really go deep and struggle through the questions I have about certain texts.

Do you think creatively and critically throughout the day? Do you have creative and critical thinking outlets in your life? Do you creatively and critically interact with God and His word?

If not, how could you start?

By Jon Keehn

Late last week I had the opportunity to go with a short term missions group that we were hosting on their travel/tourist day. These types of days are usually pretty relaxing and full of fun, as was this one. However as we were getting onto one of our boats our driver asked me if I would stand at the front of the boat and help watch out for trash and debris that might be in our path and direct him to turn if we needed to maneuver away from debris. I gladly said yes as this was something that he has asked me to do several other times when we are going on longer boat trips.

As we were about and hour or so into the trip I had the thought that it was funny that we needed someone to look out for debris because most of the things we encountered were small pieces of trash that were of no significance. But then I thought that it was rather interesting that it was the larger pieces of debris that we had to be on the lookout for and how the larger debris would sometimes “hide” itself among the small and insignificant pieces of trash. This means that no matter the size of the trash/debris it was all significant.

At this point I couldn’t help but think about my life as a follower of Jesus and how this was a portrait of how I should look at the sin in my life. There may be some little or small stuff here and there that doesn’t seem important but when I let those small things go unchecked for any amount of time it’s almost a sure thing that some larger piece of debris is going to hide itself among the “insignificant” junk in my life. Even more, as I was standing at the front of the boat diligently on the lookout for debris, I couldn’t just ignore the small stuff because there could have been something bigger hiding amongst it.

You may not be responsible for being on the lookout for other people, but you most definitely are responsible for looking for the junk and sin in your own life. How do you guard yourself from letting the small “stuff” become large pieces of debris that can wreck you? The amazing part is that when it comes the finding the sin in our lives we aren’t alone. Just as I was helping our boat driver watch for debris, we have been promised that the Holy Spirit will help us see our sin so that we may repent and turn away from it back to Jesus. How are you asking the Holy Spirit to help you see and convict you of the sin in your life?

By Karlita Gomez

Ever since I was a girl I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up: a teacher. My poor parents found so many papers and books of theirs marked and graded by me. I remember when I was finishing high school I was very confused because if I started my studies in teaching then I wouldn’t be able to study with my friends, but after a lot of thinking I made one of the best decisions of my life, studying to be a teacher where I made new friends and met some exemplary teachers.

My first job was in a preschool where I only had 4 students and it was quite the adventure. I learned and enjoyed so much while there. With only 4 students one can work miracles. I remember during their graduation that one of my students played the Hymn of Happiness on the flute. Now believe me when I say that it wasn’t me, it was the fact that I only had 4 students.

After this I had the the opportunity to teach in different places, with different grades, teaching different subjects, and having different experiences that formed me as a teacher. Howard Hendricks teaches us that the “Law of the Teacher” is this: If I stop growing today, I will stop teaching tomorrow. This has made me reflect a lot because as a teacher I can’t simply depend on the experiences, knowledge, and information I have, but I must continue learning and I must continue growing.

Here in El Faro I have had the opportunity to continue growing (spiritually and personally that is…I’m still a shorty on the outside). During the 7 years that I have lived at El Faro I have had the opportunity to teach in many different areas, and last year God gave me the opportunity to start and direct the El Faro Teaching Center, which is a distance learning extension of the America Latina Evangelical Institute for adults(A renowned private school in Guatemala). We offer classes to finish up elementary school, junior high, high school and even some college career tracks. This has been another new experience that has made me grow as a teacher, as a daughter of God, as a person, as a Christian, as a woman, as a wife, as a daughter, and as a student.

It’s a challenge teaching adults. All my teaching experience has been with kids and the majority of my students now are older than me, some have families, there is no culture of studying here in this area, many haven’t had schooling in years and because of all of this many want to throw in the towel every Sunday when they come for classes. So, I’m not only their teacher, but the cheerleader that has to encourage them to continue despite the obstacles.

I am definitely not the same person I was when I graduated (I’m not gonna say what year that was so you can’t figure out how old I am), and I’m not the same person I was even a year ago. I know that I am not a finished product and that I am not perfect. Nor do I want to have a conformist attitude. I want to continue growing. I want to be warm clay, soft in God’s hands, easily moldable to his will. I want to live by learning and learn by living. I dream of a changed Punta de Palma and other communities surrounding El Faro but I must remind myself that to be able to be an agent of change, I must be constantly changing and growing. I want to continue teaching but will not be able to if I don’t remember that it is about God and not me, that He is working in me and that all that I am learning today, He is using to form me to be able to teach tomorrow.

If you are reading this I want to ask you a question. What areas of growth in your life from the last year are most notable to those who you are teaching today? Remember that even if you aren’t a teacher by profession, you are always teaching, always influencing those that are around you.

By Katie Matthews

A friend of mine recently told me about the idea of Global Citizenship or World Citizenship. This term is usually defined as, “a person who
places their identity with a ‘global community’ above their identity as a citizen of a particular nation or place.The idea is that one’s identity transcends geography or political borders…” Though the terminology was new, the basis of the idea was not.

In Luke 10:25-37 Jesus is asked by a lawyer, “Teacher what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responds with a question, “What is
written in the Law? How do you read it?” (verse 26). The lawyer responds, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus affirms his answer but is
quickly met with another question. Verse 29, “But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’”

Using two completely different and opposing people groups to demonstrate the idea of love and mercy was something unheard of to the
Jews at this time . Throughout the Old Testament we see God instructing the Jews to stay pure because they were His chosen people,
to not intermarry or become influenced by different nations or cultures. They did not listen and their acting out against God further
revealed our need for a savior.

Jesus begins…

The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was extremely dangerous, also referred to as the “Way of Blood”, due to all the blood that was shed
at the hands of robbers. Jesus uses a pertinent setting to begin the parable. Jesus tells us this man, “fell among robbers, who stripped
him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.” Who does Jesus describe are the first two men to pass by this wounded man? A priest and then a Levite. Both of whom, “…passed by on the other side,” as to not be bothered with such an inconvenience.

Then comes the Samaritan.
“He had compassion.” Luke 10:33

Jesus tells us that the Samaritan goes on to clean and cares for this man’s wounds, puts him on his own animal and takes him to an inn where he can rest and recover. The following day the Samaritan gives his ONLY money to the owner of the inn, asking the owner to take care of the wounded man for however long it takes until he is well and says he will pay the owner of the inn whatever other costs are aquired.

Jesus finishes the parable by asking, “Which of these three do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” Luke 10:36.

The lawyer responds, “The one who showed him mercy.”

And Jesus says to him, “You go, and do likewise,” Luke 10:37.

A Samaritan and a Jew. Two sects of people that, at this time, hated each other. Jesus used these polarizing characters to get His point
across: Love everyone.

If I am honest, I am guilty of being a priest or levite, walking to the other side of the road as to not become inconvenienced by someone
else’s “wounds”. I use the excuse of having a baby to withdraw from getting involved in other people’s lives. I am guilty.

Last week however, I was was gently reminded of the importance of this unrestricted love.  Long story short there was an altercation between two brothers in the village, and their kids and wives were left scared and shaken. This altercation did not just end with these two families but the hurt and fear permeated into their extended families. Because of our sin things get messy, they get ugly, and many times they hurt the ones we love most.

There is so much heartache in this world, yes we have joy that Christ overcame death and conquered the grave and left us with the Holy
Spirit, but this world is hard. Relationships are hard. And they hurt.

In spite of this heartache we are still called to love and show mercy. We are to walk with people and let the Gospel be the foundation of our relationships, every relationship. We are to view everyone with compassion, because we were first loved, even in the midst of our sin.

I challenge you, who are the people that you do not want to be inconvenienced by? Who are the people you walk to the other side of the street to avoid? How can you better love them? How can you better serve them?

God has reminded me the importance of getting in the battle and staying obedient to two words: make disciples. My prayer is that we
(I) would not become lazy or insensitive to people, that we (I) would take time to invest and nurture relationships, even more so if they
make us uncomfortable.