It is just bazaar - May 2017 Newsletter

Sometimes it is just bazaar...

This month Juliana and Jonathan's school had its annual fundraising bazaar. As I walked through the colorfully decorated school I thought, "sometimes cross-cultural living is like that; it is just bazaar. Its not wrong, its not right, its just a little different." For example, it is bazaar that kids are only half-way through the school year while their friends and cousins in the USA are getting ready for summer break. I find it bazaar to just happen upon guacamaya birds on Saturday afternoon walks but the kid's, on the other hand, found this rooster that we passed a bit bazaar. I also think it is kind of bazaar to eat fried ants, but Ricardo likes them and says they taste like peanuts. (Obviously, I haven't tried this Colombian delicasy yet.)

I also found it bazaar to find a two-page article in the newspaper this month about how to celebrate a safe and happy Mother's day. Evidentally, it is a holiday that results in many altercations and homicides in this city because it is a time when families come together and drink and fight. One suggestion was to avoid controversial topics, such as religion, politics, money and...soccer.

bazaar and blessed...

Sometimes ministry can be bazaar too. Ricardo was blessed with the opportunity to teach Wesleyan theology in Costa Rica. He had a wonderful time and there was a great turnout of people from both the coastal "surfer" churches as well as the interior churches. The bazaar part was showing up for church overdressed. He was the only one in the church with long pants on...a mistake he won't make again thanks to the heat and humidity.

Likewise, Beth and Sebastian, the local website designer she's working with, have experienced some bazaar formatting issues as they've worked together to create a new website for the Latin America area. It is however a blessing to work together with Sebastian and a great team to share the story of God in Latin America through FMWM. Thankfully, we've overcome most of the hurdles and hope to have the website up and running later this week. As soon as it is ready, we'll send you the link.

This month, we've also been blessed with the opportunity to write an article about the church planting movement taking place in Medellín. Ricardo will be representing Latin America when he presents the paper at the Global Church Planting Summit in Manchester, England at the end of June. It is truly a blessing to walk alongside the pastors and leaders that we are working with here. Perhaps some of the methods used would be considered bazaar in your church...but it works in this culture! We hope to share some of their stories with you in future newsletters

For the past three weeks Ricardo has been visiting churches and individuals who partner with us to reach Latin Americans for Christ. Thank you to everyone who has received him! In case you don't live in those areas, we thought you might like to see the short video report that he is presenting.

We would appreciate your prayers for his safe travel as he completes that tour, for all of the pastors we work with in Colombia and Latin America and for our family's travel and health as we spend special family time in the coming month.

We have found that the most helpful part of dealing with the things we find bazaar in our cross-cultural living has been having other people walk alongside us and help us along when things aren't quite what we're used to. While Ricardo was in Costa Rica, he saw an excellent illustration of this. Since the tide had gone out overnight, an early morning fisherman was struggling to get his boat in the water...until someone else came along and helped him push the boat into the water. We are so thankful for the Colombians who sometimes help us get our boat in the water when things seem too bazaar. In fact, in most cases we find the bazaar to be a blessing!

We're also thankful for that extra push that your prayers and support give this ministry!

May God bless you and keep you, may He make His face to shine upon you and give you peace (and perhaps even a little bazaar),

Ricardo, Beth, Juliana and Jonathan