A Family in Missions

I think one of the most popular questions that come up when someone is asking about our life with YWAM is how we fit being a young family into our work with YWAM.

Its a good question.

I have spent a lot of time thinking about our involvement as a married couple, as an expecting married couple, and as a family with a young baby, and on and on.  I don't take it lightly, and I don't merely say "We trust God."  I am a practical person.  I think about things, weigh the costs, love to plan, and I refuse to sacrifice certain things just because of some 'missionary calling'.

First off, I tell people that 'we do what we have to do in order to make it work'.  What I mean by that is we have made choices that allow us to be a family and still be fully involved as missionaries.  For example, we have lived in unusual living situations after having a baby, we have packed her up and taken her overseas, used travel sized pop-up tents for her to sleep in and nap in.  We do what we have to.  Brandon and I rotate our schedules or one of us sits out if it benefits Shiloh to be at home, napping, or not involved in a certain thing.  We take Shiloh with us... she has experienced loud worship sessions, prayer times, lectures, sermons, work days, ministry outreaches, etc... and Brandon and I have learned to parent her in those moments, but also allow her to experience what it means to participate some also.   We do what we have to.

Also, I should mention that we fully believe that children are of upmost value, and are no less important to ANY mission that we are as adults.  This view has actually spurred us to want Shiloh and other children to be a part of our missionary work.  Yes, in many situations, children open more doors for relationships with people.   Said another way... our YWAM organization has values that it affirms and uses to guide many choices, and value #15 is:

15. VALUE FAMILIES
YWAM affirms the importance of families serving God together in missions, not just the father and/or mother. We encourage the development of strong and healthy family units, with each member sharing the call to missions and contributing their gifts in unique and complementary ways.

Therefore, Brandon and I believe that Shiloh can contribute.  And more so, we believe that it is important for us to serve together as a family.  Its valuable our ministry that we work as a family, stay together as a family, and/or make decisions that best represent a healthy family unit.  We believe that families are something that so many cultures understand, but yet so many people have hurts or bad examples of families.

But what about safety??   This is usually a follow-up question I get.  Safety is very important to us.  We are very careful about protecting our family.  Just like any other parent we have child-locks on cabinets, we keep a close eye on Shiloh when the oven is on, and we are the same parents whether we are in America or in a foreign country.  We probably are actually more precautions when we are traveling on outreach.  Some of our traveling might seem 'careless and adventurous' to some... but trust us, we don't throw caution to the wind and knowingly put our family at risk.  We take the necessary steps to make sure we know any dangers in the location, and even avoid it if there is a risk, we are careful regarding health risks, and so many others.

Every day of our lives, we make a decision thinking, "what is best for our family?" and "is this best for Shiloh".

I used to think that after being in YWAM with a baby, and traveling overseas with her, I would actually realize that I was more limited.... and that eventually we wouldn't even want to take our whole family on outreaches.  Boy was I wrong!  The reality is that I was able to do more than I expected.  It has been easier than expected.  And I actually look forward to involving my entire family.

As we are awaiting our 2nd baby, we are once again looking at taking a small baby overseas.  We are going through all our questions, our thoughts, our decision making factors.  We are weighing the costs, the facts.  And yes, we are 'trusting God' also.  But we are excited in that we know that it is possible.  It isn't too difficult.  And it is more important for our family to 'go' together, rather than be split apart.  We are looking forward to taking #2 with us, and when the timing is right, we will be going all together as a family of 4.

Our Summer Travels

So if you're wondering where we were in August.... since we didn't post a single entry for the month... its because we were not in the same place for more than a week.  Given how long we've been a part of YWAM Pismo Beach, we knew how important it was to visit with the people who generously and faithfully give to us.  So we took a road trip.  (Yes, we're crazy like that.)

Shiloh is a great traveler... as long as we're well stocked with her favorite yummies.

Leaving at midnight, we drove straight down the 101, and then over into Arizona.  Where we met up with a lovely friend, Riana.  We grabbed a hearty lunch with her, while catching up.  Then it was off to El Paso, or at least we were suppose to make it that far.  However, at 8pm, and still in New Mexico, Shiloh informed us that she HAD ENOUGH!  So we found a local, and charming AAA approved motel.  It was actually really nice.  Too bad we were just crashing for the night.  The next day we made it into Texas, where we got to stay with one of my oldest friends, Amanda.  Catching up with friends, family, and even this awesome lady.... was great, but what was even greater, was the fact that another one of my best and oldest friends, Kim was getting MARRIED!  She had a tender and really fun wedding where we all put on our dancing shoes (even Brandon), and danced the night away... well, again, until Shiloh HAD ENOUGH.

Isn't she a beautiful bride?!  Lucky Scott!

Shiloh experienced her first nap without being in her crib, or peapod.  How does she end up so twisted and positioned like that?  What if we all did that in our sleep?  Ha!

After that, we hit the road again, and drove through Louisiana (staying at a sketchy motel with crawly things in the bed... ick!), and then finally rode into my old stomping grounds in Boca Raton, Florida.  I was estatic to be back in the sunshine state.  If any of you know me really well, there is nothing like my passion for warm beaches and warm blue waters.  We stayed in 3 different houses in 1 week... thank you, husband, for being so popular!  (Seriously?  He didn't even live in Florida and he was so popular with some of the guys there!)  It was awesome.  We were received with warm hospitality.

Each day I was able to connect with someone lovely from my life there.... catch up... it was food for my soul.  My friends there got to meet Shiloh, which was really good for my heart.  She got to have a couple play dates with some of my friends who have little ones of their own now. (Sarah who has 2 sweet girls, is a photographer, check out her work here.)

Smack in the middle of our time in Florida, we headed off to Nicaragua for a week long surf/missions trip there.  Remember those guys I mentioned who Brandon was so popular with... well 4 of them are really REALLY good surfers, and they accompanied us down to the Popoyo area of Nicaragua to work on a community building project, share Jesus with local, and yes, of course, catch some awesome waves.   We were joined by one of the other YWAM Pismo staff, Paula, who kept up the energetic 18yr. olds better than we did, she is amazing.

Here's a photo of part of the building project we got to work on.
We got to be a part of 5 people getting baptized.

Nica waves.... watch out.

It was really nice to be back in Nicaragua.  We had the privilege of staying in the same house that we did during our last surf DTS.  It made Brandon and I miss all of the folks from that school.  We also got to visit with Priscilla and her children... here's a photo of them when we were there with the DTS a year ago.

And this was from our visit this past August.

She was even more crazy about Jesus than when we met her.  Her house had truly become a home... and she was happily working a good job.  Her kids were doing great, going to school, and it was a blessing to see them.  Look at how much they've grown!

Brandon and I both have August birthdays, so we celebrated them while in Nicaragua.  Mine cumulated with a bat sighting inside the house.  Brandon got to spend his birthday on a boat, surfing and fishing.  I'd say Brandon won.

Brandon's birthday.... all day on a boat.  They surfed, caught a ton of fish, and were exhausted.  Haha.


So yes, from Arizona, to Texas, to Florida, to Nicaragua, back to Florida, then back to Texas, and home... August was a busy month.  But it oh boy was it fabulous!  If you were one of the people we got to see, were blessed by, or maybe stayed with... WE LOVE YOU!  WE THANK YOU!

Much to be thankful for {Thoughts for Thanksgiving}

As the turkey bakes, the pies are cooling, the stuffing getting ready to be served... Priscila will be cooking rice and beans for her 4 children on this:

We have so much to be thankful for.  So much.  And if you ask Priscila, she'd tell you she has much to be thankful for also.  She is surrounded by her 4 beautiful children.  They share life in their tiny tin home.

But they are happy.  It might be a very hard life, but they are thankful for what they do have.  They know that God loves them.  He has taken care of Priscila during hard nights, hungry days, and tough TOUGH times. God is good, and she is thankful for that.  She can teach me more about being thankful than I could teach her.

:)  And guess what?  This year she has something else to be thankful for...

She is finally getting a real home.  Its not yet finished.  We are working as fast as we can, shoveling, hammering, mixing, pouring, and building.  She is helping us build it too.  Priscila and her children are all helping.  Priscila is what I am thankful for today.

May you soak in all the things that you have to be thankful for.  May you realize just how much God loves you.  May your Thanksgiving be absolutely wonderful!

How it was intended to be...

As I sit here in Nicaragua, reflecting on a day spent in a small community of 15 homes, I have to wonder if God intended us to live like they live.  15 homes, 1 family.  A man named Segundo had 8 children, and they have all grown up, married, had children themselves, and moved out around him.  Some even brought their new in-law families to live nearby.  15 homes.  1 family.  All the little boys played baseball while we spent a day with them.  The little girls held hands and played together.  Families raising families together, helping one another.   Sharing life together.  It was beautiful.  They didn't have much.  They slept in one or two family beds in each home.  They had dirt floors.  They shared a handful of out-house bathrooms.  They showered at one single community well.  They had chickens, pigs, and dogs running around everywhere.  But they were happy.  Joyful.  Loved.

It.  Was.  Beautiful.

The Man and His New Bible

We partnered with YWAM Nicaragua in their vision to see a bible in every home.  Strategically we visited neighborhood after neighborhood, meeting every family in every house, and if they didn't have a bible, we would give them one for free.  

Then one day, we can upon this guy.  (No worries, he is alive.)  But he was presumably passed out, maybe even homeless. 

So, in the fashion of the day, we put a bible next to his head.  

Woke him up, told him the bible was for him.  He grabbed it, looked at it, then placed it under his head as a pillow.  Funny.

Then, he fell back asleep.  Nice.

I wonder if he'll remember how he was given his new bible when he wakes up?  Maybe God's word will fill the hole the alcohol had been filling...

Simple Joy

"If you are cheerful, you feel good" ~Proverbs 17:22a

     Here at the YWAM base in Diriamba, we are working most mornings with their school.  The other day I got to help out with P.E. and the 1st grade girls decided to stand in a biiiiig circle and throw the ball to each other.  A simple game.  But I heard nothing but giggles and giggles and more giggles.  So.  Much.  Fun.

Agua! Agua! Agua!

At almost every major intersection in the capital city of Managua you'll here it being yelled.  Small kids, young men, even 30 something year old women, all yelling out, "Agua!  Agua!  Agua!".  They walk up  and down the streets, strolling between the lanes of traffic, and jumping on any opportunity to make small change for selling bags of water.  Yes, I said BAGS.  


I decided one day to go and buy shoe polish, then wrote on a sign "Lustrado de Zapatos", and set out to the streets of Managua to see if I could polish peoples shoes.  My buddy Zach came along with me.  It was an extremely successful idea, and drew a lot of attention.  I saw an older woman sitting beneath a tree, with a whole gang of street men, women, and children.  I asked her if I could polish her shoes, and we got to talking.  She and the rest of the people there sold water, and other services such as window washing amongst the traffic.  I asked if I could come back and work for her.  She laughed, probably not sure if I was being serious.  But I was.  And we were hired!


Two days later we reported for our first day of work.  1-3 this afternoon was our shift.  Zach washed windows, and I sold water.  In all, there must have been 20 people working out in the traffic, some selling water, some food, some random other things, even one guy was selling plastic picnic chairs.   I was handed a large bag, with about 30 or so smaller bags of ice cold water, and I began walking up and down the street.  As cars would stop for the red light, I would yell out "Agua!  Agua!  Agua!".  Now, I was an amateur to say the least... but the 6 or 7 young boys working alongside me were pros.  They helped show me the ropes, pointed out the cars or buses to run and sell to, so on and so on.  Professional street venders, at age 11.  Amazing.  They shocked me with how ambitious they were, how smart, how energetic, and how excited to work there.  I kept thinking, if only they were in school, got an education of some kind, they would make the best CEOs or businessmen.


In the end Zach and I made about 40 cordoba each (thats about $2 American), and we decided to keep our earnings.  While we wanted to be charitable and give them everything we had made, it felt like we would offend them to work alongside them and yet not keep our wages.  The last thing we wanted to do was seem prideful.  So we took home our earnings, and thanked them for the opportunity to make some money and spend the day working with them.  I would do it again if I am able.  It was, for lack of a better word, a COOL experience.  I don't ever want to travel to another country and put off the impression that I am some how superior to them.  I want to do what the locals do.  And so I yelled, "Agua!  Agua!  Agua!"

the workplace

the stock.

Zach working hard

Agua

working hard

reporting back to the boss...

hard earned wages

My wonderful Nicaraguan boss.

Thank you!

-Brandon.