Love your enemies

When Michael and I returned from Guatemala in 2010, we did not know what direction God was leading us. However, we did have a strong feeling that we needed to stay flexible in our employment in order to be available for whatever God had for the future. In that vain, we found ourselves working in the Italian restaurant in downtown Indianapolis. Delicious.  


It has proven to be a good job for us. The schedule is indeed flexible and the money is sufficient to meet our needs.  We understood that becoming servers would not be glorious. "What do you do?" someone asks innocently at a gathering. My response, "I make $2.50 an hour delivering eggs and bacon every morning at 6 am to people that have not had their first cup of coffee". I repeat, not glorious.  


The real difficult part of the job is being managed by inexperienced youngsters that have no regard for you as a person. Whomever is managing you on a given day gets to decide your fate for the day. Will you be standing around for an extra two hours when there are no guests in the restaurant? Maybe, depends on the mood of your manager. Will you be put in the worst possible section where no guests ever come to sit? Maybe, depends on the manager. 


Yesterday, Michael and I had a difficult day because we were stuck in one of those situations where you are helpless and only the manager can make a difference. In yesterday's case, the manager chose to disregard our needs. It was very difficult. We were being clearly mistreated. I was so very angry. It was a simple fix. The manager only had to make a simple logical change and she chose not to do it. At the end of the day, Michael had only earned $11 when everyone else had made over $100. So frustrating. I will tell you, I did not handle the situation like a christian should. I was angry. I was mad that she cared so little about Michael. When Michael tried to make his case, she stared blankly at him and then walked away. How could she treat someone this way? Why would she not make the necessary changes to help Michael increase his earnings? It would have been simple, but she chose not to. So, I did the thing I should not have done. I went to my coworkers and complained about what a jerk our manager is. I only instigated the situation for the entire staff. 


So, this is a lesson about how to NOT respond when being mistreated. I failed. I did not even ask God for help in the situation. After leaving work, I was talking to God about how he should smite our supervisor. I decided to read my bible. It "ironically" fell open to Luke 6: 27. 


"But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 


No, God, I do not want to hear this. I want you to smite her, SMITE her. The Lord began to talk to me. The situation was more than what it appeared in the natural. It was a supernatural attack by the enemy to upset us. And unfortunately, I walked right into his trap. At our job, everyone knows that we are going to be going to the missions field next year. During this situation, we were not giving God glory. The Lord spoke to me about how we will face many more of the types of attacks. The purpose will be to discredit our christian name. We cannot fall prey into these simple attacks. We need to be ready for the battle and with the mindset that the enemy will attack again. 


Prayer partners, please include this when you pray for us. We need help when we encounter the tricks of the enemy. Pray that we are standing strong. We will not only be attacked at our job. The enemy will not limit himself. He will attack every area in an attempt to keep us off the field. Our enemy is sneaky. 
But Jesus has already overcome. 


And dont forget to pray for our supervisor. I know I will be. 


Has there ever been a time that you were clearly mistreated? How did you handle it?

Our missionaries, David & Debbie Amsler

I want to introduce you to our missionaries, David and Debbie Amsler. We met David and Debbie in 2010 when we first went to Guatemala. On our first trip to Guate, we were not looking to become missionaries. Our primary purpose on that trip was just to increase our Spanish language skills. God had other plans. While we were working on Spanish, we thought we would simply see if there were any AG missionaries close to us. We figured it would be cool to see how God was moving, in Spanish. So, before we left I sent David an email and told him that we were two kids from Indiana who wanted to see what God was up to in Guatemala. David received our request with open arms. In fact, he and Debbie went the extra mile and invited us to come stay at their house for the weekend and see what they do first hand. Which is pretty crazy. We could have been ax murderers! Nevertheless, the showed up at our doorstep in Guatemala took us to their place. We spent that first weekend with them soaking it all in. We had never seen real missionaries in action. We got the opportunity to go to church with them, do children's church on a Sunday morning and do a kids outreach with them. From the first weekend, we knew that we had a unique connection with both David and Debbie. The four of us felt like God was up to something but we did not know exactly what it was.
After we felt God tugging on our heart to return to Guatemala, the first thing we did was call David and Debbie and ask them to pray with us. Immediately, we all started seeking the Lord for our futures. What we did not know was that David and Debbie had been praying for helpers. See, the Lord opened many ministry doors for David and Debbie while they were in Guatemala. So much so, that the two of them could not do it all themselves. They needed assistants. Here enters Michael and Shannon.
So, while we are in Guatemala, we will be working directly with David and Debbie in their ministry, One Way Guatemala. David and Debbie were District Youth Directors for 14 years in Kentucky before God called them to the missions field. After being called, they spent one year in Costa Rica in language school and then began their term in Guatemala. During their first term, they launched One Way Guatemala which has affected thousands of children and families. They have participated in construction projects and disaster relief. They have partnered with their local church, Vida Cristiana and become leaders in their children and youth ministries. David and Debbie have vision to start a youth camp in Guatemala similar to the camps we have here in the states. They need many resources to make that possible but God is opening doors and providing greatly. We hope to be a major help in getting the camp off the ground.
Currently, David and Debbie are home doing fundraising just like us. The will be returning for another four year assignment in January of 2013.
We are grateful for David and Debbie and are looking forward to serving under these wonderful people. We are honored to be invited to work in their ministry.  They have so much to pour into us. We look to them as a great example of a couple in ministry.
Do you have any examples of great people in the faith that you admire?

God will meet your needs

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:19
You know this verse, right? If you have been in church very much, it's one we like to quote a lot. It's a good staple verse to keep in our christian pocket to keep us encouraged. Today, I was going to share this verse with you and tell you about how God is faithful and he is supplying our needs. But, I wanted to make sure I was getting it all right, so I started reading the context of this verse. I was really surprised and encouraged by what I found. In this verse, Paul is writing to the church about their giving to his missions work. He is applauding them for being the only ones who gave to him when no one else would. He says in verse 16, "for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need." Then, he says in verse 18, "I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent." Because his supporters were faithful, Paul had all he needed. But here comes our verse in 19. " And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." Paul is telling them, because they have given, God will meet all THEIR needs. The supporters will have all their needs met. How exciting is that? So, I thought this verse was for me today, but it's not. Its for you. I am excited to share with you, like Paul shared with his supporters, My God will meet all your needs. Thank you so much to those of you who continue to encourage us through prayer and support. This journey truly is a team effort. Together, we are going to impact children and their families in Guatemala for Christ. Changing the nations for Generations

Getting Back to Blogging

Many of you have followed along with Michael and I as we have have followed after God concerning Guatemala. Last year, this blog was all about our adventures in learning Spanish and living with a family that spoke no English...at all. After we returned home, we realized that we had done more than pick up the local language, we had fallen in love with Guatemala. Now, I know Guatemala is not the place you think of falling in love, that is until you see this little girl. Now, you are falling in love too, huh? God beckoned us back to Guatemala with the opportunity to serve in children's ministry with David and Debbie Amsler. In Jan/Feb of 2013, we will, once more, get on a plane to go to a land, no so foreign anymore. While we are there we will be participating primarily in children's outreach. Our hope is to impact Guatemala for generations through the hearts of these young people. Join us as we follow God's sense of adventure, sense of humor and most of all, his sense of urgency.