Think the thoughts, feel the feels...write it down

At STINT Briefing we had what was called AOA, Area of Affairs (I think), and in those meetings we learned about the culture we would be STINTing in.  I, of course, was in Latin America.  During one of the times we met, we talked about the differences in the values of US culture and Latin American culture.  Of course not everyone in the USA or in Latin America are the same, but these are generalizations that somewhat outline values of each of these cultures.  So below are the list of comparable values of the USA and Latin America (USA on top and Latin America in bold) : 1)Task Oriented: productivity 1) People Oriented: relationships 2) Time Oriented: scheduled 2) Event Orientation: here and now has full attention 3) American Dream: corporate ladder 3) Limited Resources: social status stays 4) Consumerism: trading for bigger and better 4) Conservation: use until can't use anymore 5) Efficiency and Convenience: save time and get more done 5) Tradition: done how they're...

Hi all!  So I just did some math (strange right?) and I am 18%!  This is such a pleasant surprise considering the last time I calculated I was around 5% percent.  Praise God, the Provider.  I need $540 to reach my deadline of 20% ($6600) by September 1st and I am trusting in God to get me there. Please continue to pray for me to trust in the Lord for support raisin as well as other things; and also pray for the Argentina STINT teams who will be reporting to La Plata and Buenos Aires on September 6th (Labor Day).   Some of them still are not at 100% and must be before they get on that plane.

Hi all! So I am back from STINT Briefing in St. Charles, Illinois and boy was it an exhausting blast!  We had different sessions and services that prepared us for our jobs as STINTers to the world.  The main objectives given to us for effective ministry are what are called the 4-L's, they are: Love the Lord, Love My Team, Launch Movements, and Learn a New World.  Some of the main sessions were how to go about doing each of those. Love the Lord What an amazing job I have to be paid and 'required' to love the Lord!  I, myself, cannot change the world for the betterment of His Kingdom; I, myself, cannot glorify Him as I was created to do.  But if I am always coming to the Lord, seeking to be guided by Him and be obedient to Him, then I can love Him the way I am supposed to.  To try to help build a stable, Christ-centered movement without doing so for with love for the Lord, is foolish and dangerous.  It's dangerous because it becomes about ourselves wh...

Well folks! Tomorrow two of my friends and I fly up to Chicago, IL (we'll be in St. Charles for the week) for STINT briefing.  We'll be amongst all the STINTers from the USA who'll be reporting to their assignments (in August, September, October, and January), some of them will even be reporting to their assignments directly from the briefing.  This is another reality check for me: this means that I am one HUGE step closer to actually being in Buenos Aires, Argentina, hooray.  At briefing, there'll be sessions that will help prepare us for our internship this year.  We'll be worshiping with people who are being sent to the corners of the Earth to help fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) and will be meeting most, if not all, of our teammates that we'll be serving with in our assignments.  I am very excited about having (almost all) of the Buenos Aires team together before we report there. Here's how you can pray: > that all those who need 10...

Hello! This is part of an email a future team member of mine sent to us future Buenos Aires, Argentina.  It was so encouraging to me on a tough today like today.  I desire to have faith like that, there's no reason that I cannot. I recently got word that some of you may be feeling slightly discouraged in the area of raising finances. We’ve all been there and understand you completely. I wanted to include a few paragraphs from a book that I recently finished reading,  It’s Not Death to Die  – the biography of Hudson Taylor – because they immensely expanded my concept of faith and understanding of God’s faithfulness. Below is a memory he recalled of inspiration he received from another famous missionary – George Muller:  “A story that encouraged Hudson was of the time when there was no food on the breakfast table for the orphan children being cared for by Muller. The tables were set, but the plates were empty and there was no money to buy food. With the childr...

This Summer I have been thinking about generocity a lot more than I usually do.  Mostly, I have been thinking about it in terms of people being generous when giving to this ministry which in turn is being generous to God's Kingdom.  But this note isn't about the generocity of others, it's about my being generous with money that's not mine.  Everything that I have, and ever have had belongs to the Lord; I haven't fully realized that until this Summer. Haggai 2:7-9 says:  And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts.   The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts.   The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.'" I've always thought I was exempt from giving tithes, offerings, or helping in general because I was a child, or bec...