Learn a Language

Many times since we left Casper at the end of 2011 to head to language school, I've thought to myself: 'Why didn't I start learning this language sooner?'

I had the chances.  In Jr. High school and High school, I decided to take Latin instead of Spanish (not that I regret that decision, since it led to me meeting my wife and learning a language that has been a huge foundation for me in several things, including learning Spanish).  In 2004, I took a team of youth to Ecuador to do our first international mission trip.  While there, I realized how terrible my language skills were (like when a doctor asked me, 'Como está?' and I replied, 'Nick'.)  When we came back from there, I didn't learn Spanish.  In 2008, we went to Chile, and I started to realize how the Lord was calling us to a Spanish speaking country.  I came back, and learned a little bit of simple vocabulary, but it still seemed so far away, so I didn't learn much.  It really took until the date was set for us to go to language school when I realized: I needed to learn this language.  A new language!

Obviously, Spanish is an important part of my life now.  But, as I've thought about it, as I've talked to other people about it, as we've traveled back to the United States once (and we're getting ready to do it again in a week), I've realized something: You need to learn this language, too.

Ok, maybe not this language (though I do think that most of you should choose Spanish, which I'll explain in a minute).  But you need to learn a language.  Something.  Anything.  We're not good at it.  We learn a few words.  A few of us can remember a few phrases from high school Spanish, or a big or French pronunciation from that one college class you needed for the credit.  But overall, as Americans, we just don't learn another language (and I'm generalizing, so if this doesn't apply to you, ignore the following sentences).

In fact, we're usually proud that we don't learn another language.  We boast about how 'this is America!' so we only speak English, because we all know that the English language is one of the fruits of the Spirit listed in the Bible.  We post pictures on Facebook about our encounters on the phone when they ask us to press 1 for English or 2 for Spanish, and we ask what's happened to our nation.  We put posts on fb and send out emails that say that if someone wants to live in our country, they need to speak our language.  Sadly, a high percentage of these posts are from my fellow conservative, evangelical friends.  We're proud of our monolingualism, and we often wear it as a badge of honor.  But, I want you to consider that, if you're someone who wants to help someone, if you're someone who cares about people, and especially if you want to make an eternal impact on someone with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you should do everything you can to learn another language.

Here's the facts: the world comes to America.  It always has.  We're a well-known nation of immigrants.  Right now, a lot of that world coming to America is from the south: Mexico.  Honduras.  Nicaragua.  Ecuador.  And they all speak Spanish.  And yes, if they're going to live in the United States, they should probably learn English.  But the fact is, they want to learn!  They're working on it, they're trying.  And most of us who say, 'They should learn our language,' have never experienced what it's like to live in another country and learn the language and the culture and the customs.  It's still hard for us living here in Mexico, and we paid to go to a great language school in Costa Rica first to help us out.  The immigrants to the United States don't have that luxury.  They come and right away need to live, and it will take them a long time to learn the language.

Spanish distribution in the United States... TEN years ago!  How much do you think this map has changed in the past 10 years?

But the fact is, while they learn slowly learn English, increasingly, you won't be as good at your job if you can't speak their language.  Teachers: how many of you have already had times where you needed to know Spanish to speak to a student?  Or to his family?  Doctors and nurses: how often do people come for help, with little or no English?  Police officers:  How often do you need to know Spanish in order to help someone, or in order to know if a situation is safe or not?  Pastors: how many people in your communities can you not help at all personally simply because you can't even communicate with them to see what their needs are?  I told someone recently that I needed Spanish to be a missionary, but more and more, I wasn't sure I could be the best pastor possible without at least some Spanish.  And I (along with a lot of you reading this) am from Wyoming, which isn't nearly as influenced by immigration right now as other states.  If I needed it in Wyoming, you know it's needed in Colorado, and Arizona, and Texas, and all across the country.

If this gets your national pride riled up, I simply have this to say: stop it.  I'm not asking you to be less American.  I'm not asking you to exchange the red, white, and blue for the green, white, and red of Mexico's flag.  I'm not asking you to commit any kind of treason at all.  I'm asking you to love people more than you love this idea of a one-language nation.

When people move into your community, they need help.  They need to know how to find a good doctor.  Or a mechanic.  Or they need help moving a sofa.  Or they need directions.  Sometimes, they hit hard times (like we all do), and they need help with food.  Or with changing a tire.  Or they just need a friend, neighbors they can talk to.  In a thousand different ways, people need help.  And if you choose to wait for them to learn the language before you're willing to help them, you are saying that your English language is more important to you than the needs and lives of the people around you.

Secondly, if you learn Spanish, you can go and serve and help in so many places.  You can help rebuild homes in flood-soaked Mexico.  You can share the Gospel high in the mountains of Ecuador.  You can help to pull women out of sex-trafficking in Nicaragua.  You can reach inner-city youth in Chile.  When there's a disaster, you can go, and help, and serve.  You can be ready to go as the Lord calls you.

Look at all the places you can go and speak Spanish!

Finally, I've never heard someone say that they regretted knowing more languages.  In Europe, they learn two, three, four at a time, because they know that it's that important.  Even many of the kids in Latin America can speak English far better than most people that I know can speak Spanish.  When you learn another language, you think differently.  Your mind begins to do strange things, and you absorb things in different ways.  It's not easy; in some ways, it'll be one of the harder things you've ever done.  But it's worth it.

By the way, maybe Spanish really isn't your thing.  Like, at all.  That's fine.  What about French?  That's fine!  You can go so many places and share the Gospel using French!

Hey!  Wanna share about Jesus and help people here?

Or what about Chinese?  Almost 20% of the world's people live in China.  Or you could learn Hindi, and share Jesus with only about 17% of the world's population.

Somehow, in some way... learn a language.  Adults, it's harder for us, but try.  Learn a few phrases.  Learn some words.  Know how to ask someone if they need help.  Learn how to say Jesus loves you.  Learn left, right, straight, blocks, and miles, so that you can give people directions.  Learn numbers, so that you can help people with phone numbers, or count money.  Just start learning.  If you have kids, make them learn something.  Not just a few words in a class that they'll forget once the final is done.  Let them really learn.  They'll never regret it when they're looking for jobs, when they're meeting people and making friends, when they have chances to help people, and when they have chances to share the Gospel.

If you're younger, and you're reading this, you're so lucky.  God has made your brain so that it learns languages easier and faster and more naturally than an older brain.  Take advantage of it, and learn as much as you can.  If you know someone who speaks another language fluently and naturally, ask to spend time with them and listen to them so you can learn about flow and pitch and accents.  Do everything you can so you can learn.  You'll never regret it.

Don't let a stubbornness against learning a new language be the stumbling block that slows someone down on their way to the cross.  Instead, look around your city, look at your world, and tell God that you want to be equipped to reach anyone that you can, in any way that you can, with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

There's nothing sweeter than praying, worshiping, and studying the Bible in another language with native speakers.

How You Can Help Us: Give

Today, I wanted to continue with the series that I started a few weeks ago, about the different ways that you can support the ministry here in Mexico (and, not to just make this about us, but ways that you can support ANY missionary that you know).  However, before I begin with today's theme, I want to say this: I do NOT write these things to make anyone feel guilty!  We know that we have amazing supporters (in many different ways) who love us and lift us up.  So when we write about communication (like last time) we don't do it because we feel neglected in that area.  We talk about these themes because we know our supporters love us, and that they want to know how to lift us up, encourage us, and support the ministry.  So, as you read these, be encouraged!

That said, today we want to talk about giving.  For me, growing up in a Southern Baptist church as a kid, giving to support a missionary, a specific missionary, wasn't really something I ever thought about.  We gave to the offering plate, and that was all, and we'd hear about missions sometimes (especially at Christmas time, thanks to Ms. Lottie Moon), but when we gave, we gave knowing that it would go... somewhere. Eventually it would make it to some missionaries.  We didn't know who, and we didn't know where, so I never had many chances to put a face and a name with the money that was given.  So, when the Lord led us to be a part of Global Outreach, I was surprised and a little scared, to be honest.  I didn't really know what it meant, what it looked like, to have to raise support.  Plus, we had some people telling us that the churches in Wyoming were too small, too Southern Baptist, and not plentiful enough to support a missionary like us.  But, we felt called in this direction, so we prayed, and went out in faith.  And, as God usually does, He used a situation that didn't look possible in order to do what only He can do, and here we are a few years later, having done our time at language school, and now our first year in Ciudad Guzmán, Mexico!

So, for missionaries like us, and like our friends that are serving in Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and other countries, financial giving is like the physical rope that holds up our mission here (last time, we talked about communication, the emotional support).  But, what does the money actually DO?

1. It Lets Us Live:  This is one of the most obvious uses, but also a very important one.  What you give to us allows us to live.  It buys groceries, it pays for the rent, and the utilities.  It helps us pay the incredible cost of our insurance (yeah, we know, NO one wants to get started on the cost of insurance right now!).  It allows us to have what we need so that we don't have to worry about those things while we focus on sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ here in Mexico.  And we can't tell you what a blessing it is every time we're able to pay a bill, or buy a loaf of bread.  When I shop, I constantly try to remember, with every can and package of food that we buy, that you, one of you, gave generously from what the Lord has given you so that we can support our family like this.  And I can't tell you what a humbling and blessed reminder that is every time.  THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for blessing us and supporting us in this way as you give to the Lord.
2. It Provides for Emergencies: This may seem like part of #1, but for a missionary, it's in it's own separate category.  Daily living is often complicated enough in a foreign country, especially when you're still figuring out the system, where things are, and how to take care of everything.  But, when things happen, like when Zoe broke her leg in January, or when the front brakes went out on the van in August, it's such a huge blessing to not have to worry about a way to pay for those problems on top of everything else.
3. It Allows Us To Travel: Right now, we have to leave Mexico every 6 months to renew our visas.  This means a drive to the border (15 hours away) with all of the gas, food stops, hotel stays, and tolls (Mexico loves their toll roads) that you'd expect, twice a year.  It adds up.  But, there's also in-country travel.  Travel to Bernal in April for a pastor's conference.  Travel to Manzanillo for a different conference in June.  Travel to Colima for a youth camp in July.  Travel to Sayula, or Tamazula, or Guadalajara, or other places to preach and share the Gospel.  Travel this coming Saturday to El Grullo this Saturday with a van full of students for a youth retreat.  Every time, we're able to go where we're needed and do what we're called to do because of your giving.
4. It Allows Us to Share: Being able to live here means we're able to share.  We're able to get Bibles.  We're able (in a few months) to start English classes, and get the materials we need to offer these classes.  We're able to host meals for college students, and for families that we're getting to know.  We're able to purchase Christian marriage books to counsel families and marriages that are struggling.  We're able to meet needs of people as God leads us.  We're able to get materials for Bible studies. We're able to be the light that Christ has called us to be here.  And THAT is everything!
5. It Lets us Dream:  Even as we serve here and do these things, we have larger dreams in our hearts and in our prayers.  Dreams of starting Bible studies and churches in nearby towns. Dreams of reaching more and more students with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Dreams of starting a Christian camp here in this area that can host children's camps, youth camps, pastor's retreats, Men's retreats, women's retreats, seminary classes, and can be used as a staging area for missions teams.  Big dreams... dreams bigger than we are, and bigger than our current budget (by far).  But, much smaller than our great God.  Every time you give, every time we see God's provision and support through YOU, we see the possibility of these dreams coming true, as the Lord allows.  And this lifts us up and encourages us so much!

There are many more things that I could probably say about what happens when you give, but this is a good start.  For those of you who financially support us and the ministry here, thank you so much!  You'll never know, this side of heaven, the impact that it has on us and on the Kingdom.  And as the Lord allows, please continue to give faithfully.  If you haven't given, and would like to, or would like to help spread the word of our ministry here so that we can share it with more believers and churches, you can contact us directly, or you can give at our organization's website, here.  Or, you can mail it directly, to:

Global Outreach International

P.O. Box 1 

Tupelo, MS 38802

 If you have any questions, or would like to be a financial part of what the Lord is doing here, let us know, and thank you again for all of the continued faithfulness and support that we see from you in so many ways!

Schedule additions

So, the past week has brought up an interesting and unexpected chance to serve here in Guzmán, and to get to know more people in our community:  I (Nick) am teaching English!

A few weeks ago, as Zoe started school at the nearby private school, the administration expressed some interest in me teaching English there, but we couldn't make it work because we were planning on being in the States in November and December this year, and they needed a teacher that wasn't going to need to miss 6-8 weeks of classes this semester.  I was a little bummed out that I didn't get to teach, but I knew that God had the plan, and apparently there were more important things for us to be focusing on right now in Guzmán.  So we worked on getting Zoe settled into her school schedule, focused on our Bible studies with the college students and some visits with pastors in Guadalajara, and looked for other opportunities to serve the Lord.

Then, last week, we got the call: one of the teachers had a family emergency, and they needed someone to cover for her for anywhere from 2 weeks to a month.  So, since last Wednesday, I've been teaching a 3rd grade class and a secondary (Jr. High) class every day.  It's been a challenge for several reasons: first of all, I'm definitely being challenged to use my Spanish in a very different environment than I've ever used it before.  All of the normal classroom words and phrases that we use to communicate, to demand attention, and to control the class... all are ones that I haven't used much in my everyday living there in Guzmán.  Second, normal classroom behavior here is slightly more chaotic than it is in the States... kids get up, walk around, talk more, listen less.  And, with the gringo in charge, they KNOW that I can't command a room quite as well as their normal teacher, so they're definitely pushing their boundaries.  The first few days were very rough, and I've been praying for patience.  Today was much better and more encouraging, and I'm hoping that, as the students get used to me, they'll continue to respond well to my teaching.  I have some freedom in my lessons with what I teach and how I teach it, so I've been able to talk some in class about my past as a pastor and what we're doing in Guzmán now, as well as topics such as prayer and God.  I'm hoping for more opportunities to share, especially one on one with some of the secondary students as I usually have the chance to talk with them more personally after class is over.

Please pray that, for however long it lasts, I'll be able to be a light to these students, and bless them, not just with the teaching, but with opportunities to share the Gospel!  Also, pray that we'll develop stronger connections to the community and to new families through this opportunities.  Already, it's been exciting to have children come up to me saying, 'Hola, profe!' (Hi, professor!) at the school and occasionally in the streets of Guzmán, and we're praying for more and more chances to get to know these wonderful children and their families through this chance that the Lord has given us to serve them and the school during this time.  Thanks for your prayers!

How You Can Help Us: Communication

This is going to be the first in a series of blog posts over the next few months about different ways you can support us on our mission here in Mexico.  They won't be long, but hopefully they'll be helpful for you as you prayerfully serve us while we serve here!

Today's topic is one that we bring up from time to time, but one that is probably more important than you realize:  Communication!  Growing up in the Southern Baptist Convention, I heard frequently about giving monetarily to support missionaries, I heard often about going on mission, and I heard rarely about praying for missionaries (specific missionaries, not just ones in general).  However, I'm not sure I can remember ever being encouraged to reach out and contact a specific missionary, probably because I didn't really know any missionaries.  However, now that we've been gone for 18 months, I can say this: I never realized how important contact is for a missionary!

Our letter wall, just some of the letters and cards we've received here in the past year.

Sara and I were talking a while back, and she said, "You know, now that I've been a missionary, if we ever returned to live in the States, I think I would have to find missionaries to write to, now that I know how much it means." This pretty well sums up how much it means to us when we get letters, packages, emails, phone calls, skype calls, and even Facebook messages.  They're visible, tangible reminders for us that there are people back home that are holding the rope for us, that are supporting us.  They are weapons against discouragement on days when we feel lonely and homesick, that we are far away, but not forgotten.  They are encouragements on days when we are discouraged, that we are not in the fight for souls alone.  They opportunities to talk to our kids about how blessed we are to have the family and friends that we do.  They mean the world to us!

And, we're blessed to live in the day that we do!  Not that long ago, communicating with a missionary would mean writing a letter that may or may not make it to the missionary within a few months.  Today, we have computer communication with Skype, Facebook, and email that is instantaneous.  We have a VOIP (Vonage) phone that sits in our house, but uses a Wyoming phone number, that can be called at any time, and doesn't cost us extra.  And even physical mail like letters and packages are much more reliable than they used to be.  It's pretty incredible how much smaller the world is these days, and we can't describe what a blessing that is to missionaries!

Yellowstone Baptist Church in Cody, WY recently had EVERYone at the church write us a postcard and send them in a large envelope... SO COOL!

So, that's all to say, we'd love to hear from you!  Many of you already follow us on Facebook, and we'd always love to hear from you there.  Or, if you would like our Skype name, phone number, or physical address here in Mexico, write us on Facebook, or email me at missionguzman@gmail.com, and I'd love to send you the rest of our information.  Thank you to all of you who support us with your communication.  You'll never know what a blessing it is to us!

What are we doing?

So, what have we been up to the past few months here in Guzman? Quite a few things:

Hanging out in Chapala

• Learning: We still have so much to learn here!  There's been more things here, culturally and language-wise, that we've had to learn, and it's quite the time-consuming process.  Things like:
• Where do I get new tires when I hit a broken curb too hard and blow one out?
• How do we enroll our daughter in a school in Mexico, especially when we just don't seem to have all the documents that they think we should have? (More on this in the next few blog-posts)
• Spanish: in addition to normal language learning, Sara is meeting every week with Laura, a lady from our church, for hours at a time to practice talking.  This has been a blessing, not only because of the language study, but because we've been blessed to start to get to know Laura and her husband, Gonzalo, better in the past months.

Gabe helping daddy play the guitar

First day of school!  She's doing great with it!

• Preaching and teaching: I've had lots of chances to preach here lately, which is a huge blessing.  I've filled the pulpit here in Ciudad Guzman a few times when pastor Julian had to be away (twice on a Sunday night, ones on a Friday evening during a special service, and ones recently on a Sunday morning), I helped fill the pulpit once in Tamazula (about 45 minutes south of us) when their pastor was sick, and our friend pastor Ariel has let me preach a few times in their churches Rey de Reyes and La Nueva Aurora in Guadalajara.  It's still a challenge sometimes to preach, but it's getting easier to preach in Spanish, and with so many opportunities to preach, I feel like I'm getting into more of my rhythm lately.  I've also started teaching the college Sunday School class at the church, which is a huge blessing.  They have a lot of questions, and have a lot of things they need to learn, so starting this Sunday, we'll be going through a mix of lessons about the basics of our faith, plus some Sundays focusing on their questions that they have.  Many of the students here seem to know a lot of answers, but not why... meaning they have heard things we believe, or ought to believe, but don't know what the Bible actually says.  So, we're praying for deeper, more grounded study of the Word, with lots of focus on Bible reading and Bible memorization on their own.

Leading the worship at PIB Guzman with Daniel Delgado

Getting the opportunity to preach this past Sunday morning at PIB Guzmán

Some of the students at the camp praying.

• Helping:  Nick also had a chance to go help at a youth camp for a week in July.  The camp was at the La Laguna La María (Mary Lake), in Colima, about an hour and a half south of Guzmán.  Working with pastors and missionaries from Guadalajara, Puerta Vallarta, Queretero, Colima, and Puebla, I got to help with the recreation and activities of the camp, making runs to the store (an hour away) when we needed more supplies, and help in any other way that was needed.  The camp was a great success, with 150 people total at the camp (youth and adults), and at least 5 students accepting Christ during the week.

This was actually the kitchen all week at camp... 3 times a day, they fed 150 people out of here! (we did get walls up on 2 sides, and a fridge, but you get the idea!)

Activities!

Mega-Mexican-Relay!

More Mega-Mexican-Relay... in the rain!

I didn't do much to help us win, but I didn't help us lose!  Soccer champs!

There are other things going on here as well, but this is a good overview of what we've been up to lately.  It's been a busy few months, and we're excited to see how the opportunities for ministry will continue to grow here.  Be in prayer for more chances in the future, and pray specifically for an opportunity in the next few weeks to work with Pastor Julian to start a weekly Bible study in nearby Usmajac.  We'll post more in the upcoming weeks about what we've been doing, what our plans are for the end of the year, and how you can be a part of the ministry here next year!

The Long Silence

It seems like every time I begin a blog on here, I start by pointing out how long it has been since I last posted a blog, and how I really need to do better.  THIS time, though, it really has been a long time: the last blog post before this one is from DECEMBER!  There are a few reasons for this.

First, we've been getting settled in here and getting started.  While this may not sound like much, it's exhausting.  Sometimes, it takes forever just to go to the store.  Or to figure out how to fix a roof that is leaking (which has happened 3 times recently).  Or to get a pain of glass replaced (we've been waiting 2 months now to get one fixed).  Or a thousand other things that seem to slow us down to a crawl.  Pair that up with different customs, cultures, and a still slowly-growing grasp of the language, and sometimes it feels like not much gets done... I mean, how often can you write a blog about the joys of getting a tire replaced and finding a good mechanic?  So, often times, I sit down to write, and I end up not writing at all.

Second, when we're getting started, sometimes, it feels like we're not doing much.  It's hard to explain when a good day of ministry is finally getting to meet some neighbors, or to invite a parking-lot attendant to church with us, or to spend a few hours in a shop talking with a shopkeeper about life.  While these are all hugely important building blocks for long-term, successful ministry, sometimes, in my mind, they just feel so... small.  When I worked in the church in Casper, I always had lots to do, and knew exactly what needed to be done, and when I finished that, there was never a shortage of more things to do.  There were always people to visit, events to plan, Bible studies and sermons to prepare, hospital visits to make, students to have lunch with, or coffee with.  But here, so much of our time seems to be moving from one small (but important thing) to the next small (but equally important thing).  So, when I sit down to write, I often think, "gosh, this is going to sound so small, so insignificant.  I have friends back home who aren't in the ministry who have probably had more chances to share the Gospel this week than I have!"  So, because I'm waiting for 'bigger' things to happen, I usually end up skipping writing about all of the countless smaller things that have been going on.  Sometimes, I feel like I need to wait until I have the 'fire-fell-from-heaven-and-for-40-minutes-I spoke-flawless-Spanish-and-2,000-people-got-saved-and-we-planted-5-new-churches' moment before I write.  Sometimes, I forget that these little things that God is doing here and using us in here is part of his current plan, and you deserve to hear about those, too.

Finally, it's been hard to write lately, too, because it's hard to write about struggles.  The past few months have been difficult for us.  We hit that missionary 'wall', the one where we realize that we're not coming home soon, that this is more than just a missions 'trip,' that it's a missions life.  There have been hard times of homesickness (parents visiting in April and June help on the one hand, but also made things harder when they left).  There have been frustrations when we have days where the Spanish just isn't working.  It's been very hard for me (Nick), as I'm a huge extrovert (I'm sure those of you that know me are extremely shocked to hear this :)  ), and I'm suddenly in a place with very few friends, definitely no close friends yet, and very little contact with friends back in the States.  So there's been lots of loneliness, homesickness, some days (if we're being honest) of struggles and depression, and definitely times of spiritual attacks as well, on the whole family.  It's been some of the harder times we've ever experienced.  There have been days where we feel like God is using us here and we're excited to be here, followed by days where we just want to pack up and come home.  We know we're not the only ones, because we talk to and hear of missionaries all the time who are experiencing or have experienced similar things.  But it's hard, and it's discouraging, and when it comes time to write a blog, it's not the sort of thing that's easy to put into words.  More specifically, I think, 'they don't want to hear about our struggles, and they don't want to hear this is hard.  I want them to know how excited and thankful and blessed we are to be doing this, not all of these other thoughts and feelings!' And so, I wouldn't write.

And all of that added up leads to a long absence from the blog.  But, that's not ok!  We have wonderful prayer warriors and wonderful supporters and you all deserve to hear how we are (good and bad), and what God's doing in us here (big or small).  More importantly, beCAUSE you are such great supporters, we need you to know what's going on and how we're doing, because that will help you know how to support us better and pray for us more specifically!

So, first, I'm sorry!  I'm sorry we haven't communicated better the things that God is doing in us, and the ways that we need you!  And second, we're going to do a better job!  Over the next few weeks, we're going to try to have several new blogs so you can know better what's going on, and know more specifically how to pray for us.  Thank you for loving and supporting us, and thank you for all you do to enable us to be here serving in Ciudad Guzmán, Mexico!