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Uncommon Stories
Take Emilio for example. When he received a scholarship to attend Shalom several years ago, he was a severely undernourished child and unmotivated to learn. His father had been working in the United States for many years, and Emilio and his brothers suffered from the absence of a father figure. Emilio’s older brother joined a gang, and for while, it looked like Emilio would follow in his footsteps. If you could see Emilio now, you wouldn’t recognize him compared to the above description. He’s a healthy, happy teenager and excelling as one of Shalom’s model students. He’s involved in our church, youth ministry, and in most of our after-school programs and workshops. His brother has left his former gang, and the family attends church together each week. Emilio’s father, who he hasn’t seen in over eight years, will be coming home in a few months. Emilio’s life and family have literally been transformed over the years.
At the beginning of the 2008 school year, our counseling team followed up with Angelica, and during her three-month summer break (October through December), her depression and family problems had gotten worse. After a month of counseling with Angelica, we were finally able to begin counseling with her parents, who are the source of most of conflicts within their home. Her parents have agreed to marital counseling and have made church attendance a priority, but they’ve missed most of their appointments, and home life for Angelica and her sisters hasn’t improved very much. So we pray, we talk, we visit their home, and we wait for God’s transformation. In March, most of the Christian world celebrated Easter, which
is a great symbol of transformation and life change. At Shalom Baptist School,
we not only believe in God’s power to change lives, but we absolutely
depend on it. For cases like Emilio, it is the evidence of the hope we have.
For dark situations like Angelica’s, we work and wait for the light to
come. Like the first believers who visited the tomb on that early Easter morning,
we come to Shalom each day, expecting to see God’s transformation in the
lives of our students and families.
After an exhausting school year in 2006 (the school year is January through October), our staff came up with a major recommendation for 2007: grow larger by growing smaller. Our prayer was to somehow decrease our class sizes to help with creative teaching and classroom management, but at the same time, grow larger by adding new sections at different grade levels. The main challenge was how to create 5-7 new teaching spaces before January 2007, but in the hands of God and with the help of our architect/pastor, Alavaro Perdomo, anything is possible.
For those who have visited Shalom in the past, you honestly wouldn’t recognize the place anymore. Here’s a quick recap of all the changes for the 2007 school year: -Completion of 4 new classrooms (one more will be finished in
February) Currently, our 2007 enrollment is 715 and climbing, and last year, we recorded nearly 300 decisions for Christ through Shalom School students, family members and events. While the face of Shalom has changed drastically, our passion for Christ and education has remained the same. Also, while we may look different, the obstacles of poverty, mal-nutrition and violence still threaten us every day. Our only prayer is that God would continue to transform the lives of our students and families as He has transformed our facilities.
Our adventure began 4 weeks ago with car problems, major car problems. Within a week, both cars had died in the streets needing significant repairs. We were able to repair our gold one right away, while the red one stayed in the shop (it’s still there by the way). Surviving on one car between Andrea’s and my responsibilities has been tough: for many days it meant getting up at 5:00 am and leaving with Andrea and Reuben for Shalom. Reuben went a few times to a preschool class, but most of the time he stayed with Andrea in her classroom or with me in my meetings. There’s nothing like trying to teach or lead a meeting with an active 3-year-old who wants all of your attention. Then three weeks ago, we found out we were pregnant! While this wasn’t planned, we thanked God for the blessing and were preparing for the coming changes in our lives. Reuben was very excited as well, and insisted on asking for two baby sisters. We told him it was up to God and not us, but that only encouraged him to pray every day for his two “hermanitas.” Next, we learned there could be a problem with the pregnancy. In the ultrasound, it didn’t look like the egg was sticking to the uterine wall like it should be. The doctor put Andrea on hormones and limited her activities, and we waited. I don’t know if it was the hormones or the stress of the pregnancy, but Andrea had a wreck in our only working car. Then I was an emotion wreck: worrying about Andrea, thinking about the new baby, trying to care for Reuben, driving Andrea and Reuben everywhere, attempting to work, worrying about finances, and on the list goes. The only thing we could do was to put everything in God’s hands and wait. Last Wednesday, October 4, 2006, we had an afternoon doctor appointment where Andrea found out that she lost the pregnancy. We also found out she needed surgery to avoid any complications, which they had scheduled for that same night. So in tears, we rushed home, packed Andrea’s bags, and drove across town to get Andrea registered and prepared for the procedure. While it was a good hospital, Andrea was upset with the nurses who tried 4 times before finally getting the IV in her arm. Whether it was the pain, emotions or frustrations, they wheeled her away crying only to leave me with Reuben crying and yelling, “They’re taking my Mommy away!” After Andrea was out of sight and Reuben had calmed down, we prayed together and left to find Reuben something to eat. About an hour later, the doctor and Andrea called to let us know everything was fine with operation. The next day we brought Andrea home from the hospital, and slowly she’s been returning to normal activities.
At first, I was a little angry with this verse because at the time, Reuben was waking us up every night. I wondered why God would promise to give sleep to those He loves, and then withhold it from us. Was He trying to tell us something? Did he really love us? If so, does that mean Psalm 127 is a lie? A while ago, God changed my prayers and my opinion about these verses. Instead of being frustrated about not getting what I wanted, I began to trust in the promises of these verses. I claimed them every night. I prayed with them and believed in them even if my circumstances seemed to the contrary. No, I’m not advocating the power of positive thinking, or some kind of name it-claim it theology. What I am saying is that we need to believe what the Bible says and pray with persistence, even when we don’t see immediate results. As an introduction to the parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18, it says, “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should pray and not give up.” (Luke 18:1) How many times have I been guilty of the sin of giving up? My family and I have lost a lot in the last month, and the only
thing I know for sure is that we are not giving up. I will continue to pray
that God will construct our lives according to his desire. We will pray for
his protection even when we feel under attack. I will pray for peaceful rest
through the storm. Over the last several weeks, it seems the only thing prayer
has changed is me, and maybe that’s the purpose to begin with. God wants
our total dependence, and if we will pray and not lose heart, he will draw us
into his arms. Dazed and Confused in Guatemala Our school day began at 7 am as our teaching staff loaded the buses and corralled about 90 8th graders for a one-day spiritual retreat. As usual, we were gathering last-minute items, and Roberto, our teacher in charge of in-school suspension, was driving the bus. We arrived at the camp and began our first worship service as Iván and some of the other teachers prepped our games for team competitions later that day. That’s when all the fun began. As the service ended, Iván approached me to tell me that Roberto had apparently fallen on a concrete ramp while trying to set up a game station. I say “apparently” because he was alone at the time, and he couldn’t remember what happened. He also seemed confused about where he was and what he was doing at the camp. Since most of my responsibilities were taken care of and I was the only one with a car, I volunteered to take Roberto to the hospital.
Pastor Alvaro was waiting for us at the door of Manos de Amor, and he jumped in the car with us with paperwork ready to give to the emergency room. While waiting to see the doctor, we prayed again. Trying to remain calm, I continued to answer Roberto’s repeated questions as well as asking a few of my own. He basically remembered everything about his life until the last 24 hours or so. He couldn’t tell you what day it was, if he had eaten breakfast, nothing. I had to answer questions for the doctor since Roberto couldn’t remember what happened. At one point in the hospital, I lost Roberto for about 15 minutes because he went to the bathroom and didn’t come back. I finally found him waiting in a completely different room in another part of the hospital. After a few hours of waiting, x-rays and waiting some more, Alvaro found someone else to sit with Roberto while I drove another driver back to the camp for the 90+ that would be waiting to go home. My worry over Roberto quickly changed to hope when I realized who I would be taking back to camp. You see, two weeks ago, we had a problem with a student at Shalom, and at the root of her problems was her feelings of abandonment from her Dad. I had been praying since for the opportunity to speak directly with the father, and when that same father showed up to help drive the bus, I knew God was working in the middle of this crisis. For the next 45 minutes, I had private, uninterrupted time to share what God had put in my heart with this parent. We had a great conversation, and I could feel God’s presence as we traveled to the camp. I arrived at camp in time to help finish out the worship time and pray with 6 students who accepted Christ. I know I’ve told you other stories about kids accepting Christ at Shalom, but this one is a little different. Without a doubt, this year’s 8th graders have been our most problematic group of youth in the school. For several reasons, I felt we didn’t plan or prepare enough for this retreat. There were several distractions that day including Roberto’s accident. Finally, some of the youth who accepted Christ are key leaders and influencers with this group. Even with my concern about Roberto, I was praising God for what He was doing and what He would continue to do. We arrived back at Shalom to find out that Roberto had been sent to another hospital across town to see some specialists. The x-rays had shown the impact to his skull was deep, explaining the memory problems. Ivan and I drove across town to the other hospital only to have to wait longer to talk with the doctors about his condition. In the meantime, they told us that Roberto was in the shower. Forty-five minutes later, we were informed that he was still in the shower, and that’s when it dawned on us that he couldn’t remember how long he was in there! Well, we finally convinced the nurses to check on him, and a few minutes later we were able to visit with a very water-logged Roberto. We talked with him, prayed with him and even joking asked if he could remember that he was getting married. Though he still didn’t have his memory, his sense of humor and faith in God was still in tact. Before leaving, I heard him mention the name of the camp for the first time, which gave me even more hope that he would come out of this thing OK. To make a long story longer, Roberto regained his memory about 24 hours later. He even showed up at church on Sunday. He’s been recuperating at home all week, and he’ll be returning to work and ministry soon. Driving home from the hospital that night and reflecting on the extremely long, eventful day, I thought about how precious my life, family and faith are. I wondered what it would be like to never remember another moment in my son’s life. How I would feel if I couldn’t remember another conversation I had with Andrea or if I couldn’t memorize another verse from the Bible...ever. If you lost your short-term memory today, would you be satisfied with your relationship with God, family and friends? Just something to think (and pray) about. Thanks for all your prayers for Roberto and his family. Twelve to Change the World That number has taken on a special significance to me these days because in the last two weeks, we have had twelve children and youth receive Christ in our school devotionals. Some are students we’ve been working with for a few years and others just heard about Jesus for the first time. Over the course of this year, Shalom School will see hundreds (yes, I said hundreds) come to know Jesus as their Savior. These will be youth who were one step away from ending their lives because of gangs, drugs or abuse in their homes. These will be children who came to Shalom for the first time heard about the love of Jesus. These will be parents who we visited in their homes or who came for our weekly prayer times. The statistics by the end of the year will be overwhelming, as well as the challenge to disciple them.
Please pray for these 12 and the ones who will follow in their footsteps this year at Shalom. Pray for our faculty as they juggle their jobs and families, and try to minister to our students on a daily basis. Finally, we officially said farewell this month to Dilia de Mauricio. For those who have been to Shalom, you’ll recognize the name and face. Not only has she been with Shalom School since the beginning, but she’s been involved in Christian education and evangelism for 26 years. Because of health problems, she had to step down at the beginning of the school year. It was a tough decision for her, and it left us with some big shoes to fill as well. God only knows how many youth she led to Christ, counseled with and loved over the years. If only one of these 12 has the same kind of impact that Dilia did, we’ve got a lot to look forward to. To God be the glory!
A Less-than-miraculous Wedding My saga begins on Tuesday night at 10:37 pm, when Edgar, one of our high school teachers, calls me to ask if I can come to his wedding...THAT SATURDAY. Though I had family in town and a mission team coming in that weekend, I thought I might be able to squeeze it in. When I told Edgar I would have to call him the next day to confirm, he told me that he needed a quick response since I was the “padrino” for the wedding. “Oh really,” I replied, wondering whether or not to feel honored to be asked or offended that he was asking me four days prior. Let me also regress to say that I thought Edgar was already married because he originally told me he was getting married in May, when my family and I were in the States. Then the revelation hits that they postponed the nuptials to wait on my return as the “padrino.”
So with my new title as padrino, I spent my time hosting family and a mission team, not thinking too much about the Saturday night affair. On Saturday afternoon, during the mission team’s performance at a mall, I decided to ask my buddy Ivan about what it means to be a padrino. At first, we talked about the sponsor/Godfather role, but the more we talked, the more I realized that I was going to be the best man that night. The wedding took place at Edgar’s home, just a stone’s throw from Shalom, and I arrived about 15 minutes early to make sure I knew what to do. Of course, I was the first one there, and Edgar greeted me half dressed at the door. AN HOUR LATER, most of the guests finally arrived and the only thing we needed was the bride. About 5 minutes before she walked in, I got to wondering if there was still something about my role in all of this that I could be missing. After asking some other friends at the wedding, I finally figured out that was expected to preach during the ceremony as well. So with only five minutes of prep, and we took our places and began. Now I’m told there are many kinds of weddings here in GT, including the traditional church ones we are familiar with in the States. This one, however, was brand new to me. They basically had a secular, official part of the ceremony led by lawyer, whose presentation reminded me of a mediocre comic on amateur night. He basically took them through the vows and gave them advice about love and marriage (which really irritated me). The only thing that was missing was a spotlight and hecklers. Now remember that Guatemalans don’t trust anyone, and they are obsessed with documents, signatures and stamps. So can you guess what the highlight of the ceremony was? You guessed it: The signing of the marriage license! Yes, the one part of American weddings that is usually done in private with no fanfare was the main attraction: Camera flashes, parents’ signatures, applause, and the pronouncement of husband and wife. Then it was my turn for the spiritual stuff. After listening to the bad comic, I decided to preach about the biblical definition of love and what God expected from their marriage. Everyone listed and seemed to enjoy, and the happy couple appreciated my presence there. Well, by this time, it was after 9 pm, I had had a full day, and my ride was leaving. I tried to leave gracefully, but Edgar insisted that I stay and eat, promising to get me home afterwards. How could I say no to the newlyweds? That’s when the adventure really began. The meal portion of the night was unusual for me because bride and groom served everyone. Yes, Edgar in his suit and Monica in her bridal gown served all 50 people crammed into their home. Also, the bride and groom didn’t even sit together during the meal. Edgar sat with me and talked the whole time. By this time it was raining and nearly 10 pm, so I let Edgar know he needed to find a family member to take me home. About 30 minutes later, I realized that Edgar and his bride would be taking me home, in addition to their Aunt and 4 cousins. So in typical Guatemalan style, we squeezed into Edgar’s compact and headed for home. He asked if we could take his Aunt home first, and I said that would be no problem. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Seems his extended family lives in a place called “Los Canelitos,” which translates to “middle of nowhere.” We were driving 45 minutes in the rain, with fogged windows, through some of the most tumultuous dirt roads and mountains. Edgar and I are up front wiping off the windshield with toilet paper every 5 minutes just to dodge the road craters and pedestrians. At one point, I thought they were taking me to sacrifice a Gringo at a volcano. Maybe this was another GT wedding tradition. After being on the road an hour, Edgar asks how we usually “unfog” our windows in America. I explained about the defrost section on the air unit, and of course, Edgar tries it and it clears up in about 3 minutes. The funny thing is that for the first hour of our journey, Edgar’s
poor pregnant wife (still in her wedding gown) is the back seat dealing with
cold wind and rain because the groom has his window down trying to defog the
windshield. At one point, I even asked if she would be OK, not wanting her to
get sick or anything. Edgar just replied, “Oh, she’ll be just fine.”
I finally arrived at my house about midnight, exhausted, but with an experience
to remember. I got to talk and share a lot with Edgar and Monica during our
lengthy trip home, and I was reminded how special it is for some people here
to see the faith of these crazy American missionaries who would take the time
and effort to show up at their wedding. I may not have turned water into wine,
but the evening was funny, unexpected and miraculous in its own way.
Through the Cracks and Back Again Then on an especially long, hot day, full of meetings, screaming kids and general disorder, Sam and I returned to our car in the afternoon to find our front windshield smashed in. Actually, I had walked by the car a few times that afternoon, but I was in such a blur, I didn’t notice a thing. Our best guess is that one of our neighbors (drunken neighbors, that is) decided to send a friendly message that he didn’t like all the cars parked in his street and all the activity and noise coming from the school. Message received, thank you very much. And thank You, God, for helping make an already bad day worse (Feel the sarcasm). Would it really have been that hard to provide a little protection when I needed it the most? Did you really call me to Guatemala to write attendance policies and be the discipline enforcer at the school? Wasn’t it enough to sell most of our stuff, leave our job security, and take our family to a dangerous place? Isn’t it sufficient that every day I’m reminded that I’m a stranger in a strange land? Like Jim Carrey’s character in Bruce Almighty, it felt like God was just a mean kid with an ant hill and a magnifying glass. Maybe it was time to pack up and search for higher ground…oh, wait a minute…we’re already living at a high elevation. So where do we go from here? One thing that came none too soon was our vacation to the US. Home sweet home…sort of. (Check out my article in the Batcave to hear about some incredible things that God did while we were there.) It was nice to be in the States, but it was strange being there without our own home to go to. The hospitality was great everywhere we went, but between Reuben’s sleep schedule getting messed up from the time changes and all of us getting sick every other week because we’re not used to air-conditioning anymore, we were actually looking forward to getting back to Guatemala and our own beds. The things we continue to miss the most are family, friends, Chinese food and any combination of chocolate-peanut butter (in that order). Special thanks goes out to fam and friends in FL, TN and LEX for everything…we had a wonderful time. So we found ourselves back in Guatemala (without our luggage, mind you…for all those who heard my message in Lexington, you can chuckle with irony now), and right back into the thick of school, ministry and life all over again. I say all over again, but it’s really a new beginning in a lot of ways. Here’s a rundown of a few of God’s little changes….
Here in Guatemala, they use the term “Holy Week” like Americans use the phrase “Spring Break.” Christians and pagans alike say, “Happy Holy Week,” or “Have a great Holy Week,” but they really mean, “Have a great time at the beach,” or “Enjoy your time off from work.” The gym where I work out even had a “Holy Week Countdown” to remind participants to get in shape for their bikinis. The more I heard it over the week, the more it got under my skin. Also, most evangelical churches do NOTHING during Holy Week. Most are lucky to have services on Easter Sunday. While most evangelical Christians are soaking in the rays at the beach, our Catholic brothers and sisters are busy profiting financially from the week. The tourism department publishes schedules for all the parades and prayer vigils for the week. Parade participants are charged money for the honor of carrying religious symbols during the week. High-tourist towns like Antigua charge by the car just to get into the city during Holy Week. Holy Week in Guatemala did make me stop and think about what is important about that week and about my life in general. As I struggled with the culture here, it did make me devote more time to personal prayer and appreciating Jesus’ sacrifice and love. I also got the opportunity to preach on Easter Sunday, and for the first time, I preached in Spanish. I was mostly reading from my notes the whole time, but I could feel not only the presence of the Holy Spirit but also from the people supporting me as I spoke in their language. As I think more and more about it, maybe my experience here forced me to take more personally the significance of Jesus life and death. In years past, maybe I have relied more on the church to cause me to appreciate the week, rather than being led by God’s presence. As mentioned on the home page, I am also rejoicing over the 100+ children and youth who accepted Christ into their hearts during the March. This is both a blessing and a burden as we now attempt to follow-up, counsel and disciple all these new Christians. Who knows…maybe this will be a new generation of Christ followers who take the life, death and resurrection of Jesus to heart both privately and publicly on Holy Week and every other week. 14For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:14-17
Like the other day at school, I was teaching my regular Thursday music workshop for middle and high schoolers. We have divided them up into different instrument groups to teach them praise and worship, and I’m in charge of vocals. So here I am playing and singing outside with 6 youth who are trying as hard as they can to learn how to sing and praise the Lord. What are the odds of an American from Tennessee working weekly with 6 teens from one of the poorest neighborhoods in the world? What plans does He have to use these youth to encourage others or just glorify God? Does God want to use Sergio to be a pastor and shepherd others some day? Will God spark something in Sandra to make her smile once again? What will God do in my heart as I teach and sing and lead each week? The answer the these questions are as certain in my mind as my afternoon drive home, but one thing is for sure: I’m waiting and watching to see the progress and witness what God will do next. "Oh, say can you see, By the dawn’s
early luz?"
Two things struck me in that moment. One, in all my years of singing in churches, schools, universities, etc., I had never been asked to sing the national anthem before. It took me moving to Guatemala of all places for someone to ask me to sing our homeland’s song. Also, have you ever wondered how people mess up the National Anthem at public events? I’ve heard people butcher this song before at NBA games or totally blank out on the words on national TV. Now in defense, it’s not the easiest song in the world, and for me, my mind has been immersed in Spanish for five months. With a two minute head start, I racked my brain to remember (in English) all the words to the song. I even had to ask the visiting American preacher next to me a few phrases just before it was my time. As I sang this familiar song, it had new meaning for me performing before this audience of Guatemalans. I felt a different sense of pride as I sang those words from Francis Scott Key. I’ll never serve in the military overseas or be a gold-medal Olympian on foreign soil, but for that moment, my appreciation for God and country surged in my veins like never before. And I remembered all the words. About six hours after all spectacle and excitement, after all the families
and graduates had left, a 16-year-old girl showed up to the church in the
middle of the night. She couldn’t go home because her father said he
was going to kill her. The church took her in, found a family for her to
stay with, and we’ve been working almost daily to help reconcile her
with her father. It’s back to reality for everyone here, but it sure
was good for the moment…
His Grace is Sufficient Two weeks ago, we had our dogs flown in from the states so our entire family could be together. I was told to get to the cargo offices early to get their paperwork started. I got to the airport by 4:00 pm which I thought was plenty of time before their 7:30 pm flight arrival. Some of the paperwork began to be processed, but by the time the dogs arrived in Guatemala, the fun had just begun. After giving the airline people at least 8 documents, I was told by the cargo office that I wouldn’t be able to get the dogs that evening. I went to another office that told me it was possible, but I needed to get more documentation from a third office. The third office would accept my paper work only if it had a stamp from the first office I visited. Then I went to that office only to find out that it needed to be stamped by someone in the second office. This kind of fun went on for the next six hours…I finally arrived home with our dogs at 1:00 am. We’re learning that there is a true culture of mistrust here, and that we feel we have very little control over anything: modern conveniences, the traffic, the weather. Everything takes time here, there’s nothing instant. A quick errand to the supermarket can easily take 2-3 hours. I think God has begun to teach us the true nature of patience and dependence on God. In Lexington, I used to tell my students all the time that God rarely calls us to do something that doesn’t first require risk and waiting. Now we seem to be living metaphors for this as we work out our new lives in Guatemala. Isaiah 40:31 says “those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” We’ve been waiting, but we feel weaker, not stronger. Maybe that’s
what dependence is all about. I think God is preparing and strengthening
us by letting us know that nothing can be done with out depending on Him.
In America, we had so much at our disposal…so much that we could do
instantly. I think it lulled us into believing that God is just a friendly
helper when we need Him, like a mall cop or ATM. But He is so much more.
He is in control, whether I choose to believe it or not, and his power is
ready to fuel my life, if I will just give it to Him. I think that’s
why Paul wrote the following in 2 Corinthians 12:9: |
Take
the Traffic for Instance
The long delays have also made me more observant of the daily progress of
the roadway construction company. I never thought I would say this, but I
almost cried with tears of joy when the first part of construction was paved
and completed. In the days preceding its opening, we would all comment on
the little signs of progress, when we thought it would be completed, and
what the implications would be when the project was finished. There are still
two more sections to be completed, and everyday it seems to be a topic of
conversation in our house or in the car.
Why am I telling you this? Because it’s a great
metaphor for what God is doing to me spiritually right now. When we lived
in the states, I
was usually too busy and too success-oriented to be able to see the small
miracles and transformations that were happening right under my nose. My
life was too hectic trying to get results with big programming that I think
I missed the bigger picture of what God was doing around me. While it is
true that something as simple as driving to work or going to the bank is
a major ordeal here, it has deepened my well of patience and caused me to
take a closer look at things. 
As the new pastor of the school, it was my honor to sit with the teachers
and directors on stage as the ceremony processed. I didn’t anticipate
being honored in this way since I’ve only been here a few months, but
I’ve learned to expect the unexpected working here. Then it happened.
In the middle of the ceremony, after they sang the national anthem of Guatemala,
their CD player broke. Then in the middle of the school song, they sent word
to me that I would be singing the American national anthem in about two minutes…a
cappella. (If you’re wondering, they sing our national anthem in respect
to so many American churches and individuals who have supported the church
and school over the years.)
For more information, contact the Smiths at GT4Christ@gmail.com.