arrival thoughts

arrival thoughts
tired & jet-lagged
great group of friends to welcome us back to our 2nd home
glad I don't drive here anymore
Spanish flowing off the tongue
still can't believe it
kinda weird, kinda nice
caldo de bolas - yum
seems like we never left

Lent

Decided what to give you for lent...NZ :-)

How bout you?

For cool lenten reflections see Lenten Reflections  put together by World Vision NZ where you can sign up for a daily email or simply follow the website for daily reflections through the Lenten season.

For some more jokes, see below :-)

 

faith not fear

Guayaquil de mis amores. (of my loves)
 Guayaquil calliente. (hot!)
Guayaquil vive por ti  (I live for you)

Guayaquileños sing awesome songs about their city. And we were very much at home for 8 years there. 

Yet Guayaquil is not the safest city in the world.   As in most majority world cities, most people who live there, including ourselves,  have lived through some scary experiences. 

This summer I  was concerned about having to keep the family safe upon our return and it was stressing me out a bit.  Then my good mate Frank preached at cession last month and told the story of how when he arrives in a new country he likes to be picked up at the airport then he can relax and enjoy the ride to where he is going because someone else is in control.  It was one of those moments when God really spoke to me, telling me I didn't need to be hyper-vigilant about it all but that He was good and He was powerful and He was for me so I can rest in His vigilance as He would be the driver.   Today I  have  been reading the blog-release of  The Undefended Life by Simon P Walker.  It is a must read in understanding living openly in this world.   Simon shared the similar thoughts  at the last SIM Global Leaders Gathering, in Kenya.  In fact his thoughts on The God who is undefended has been very influential in my missional musings over the last few years.   Guayaquil is the place where I was most open as we learnt Spanish by talking to randoms on the street, but them most closed after a couple of assaults.   So now we get to trust God again and seek to experience Guayaquil with openness and faith, not mistrust and fear.   Jesus take the wheel...

grace

Lots of thought has gone into how I am going to experience this trip back "home".  My epiphany of today was a reminder that God wants me to be a giver of grace to those I meet back in Ecuador - both new friends and old - to keep that openness to the other. 

Reading Gutierrez

I recently got a copy of the classic: 'a theology of liberation' by Gustavo Gutierrez. I last read it before we 1st went to Latin America. Now having been there and heading back for a visit, it seems good to read it again.

Here's a great quote on the community nature of working out both salvation and calling:
"people are called to meet the Lord insofar as they constitute a community, a people. It is a question not so much of vocation to salvation as a convocation. " p71 SCM trans.

I will keep musing on that one for sometime.

El Retorno (the return)

In 12 days we fly to Guayaquil, Ecuador via Santiago, Chile to visit.  It has been 5 1/2 years since we left.  Excited. Nervous. Follow the journey with me here.