Been away awhile!

It's been a while since I posted last, but not because of lack of activity! I am amazed at the changes that are coming fast in our lives. Because of our ministry reorganization earlier this year, we are making a move to Costa Rica where we will establish our new office of Campus Crusade for Christ, Latin America.

Picking up from one place and moving to another country is a challenge. We have really put down roots here, including owning a house and a couple of dogs. Knowing that selling a house can take time under the best of circumstances, we decided to list the house with a real estate agent at the end of November.

Have you ever listed a house for sale in the U.S.? If so, you know that there is a listing agreement that you sign with the real estate person, guaranteeing their performance and your payment of 6% more or less when they sell your house. No such thing here. It is all a handshake, a smile and 3% when all is said and done. We listed the house for the agent's recommended price and hunkered down for a many-month process. To our great surprise, the house sold in two weeks. A little less than we were asking, but more than we paid for it.

We signed the papers at an attorney's office and plan to close on or before Feb. 15. Great. The buyer gave us $5000 down - in US $100's and into my pocket. There is no escrow account, because the buyer can't get out of it. No inspection contingency, no house sale contingency, no financing contingency. Just do it or lose the $5000. Very simple.

Very frequently in Bolivia, the new owners purchase a house furnished, so we made a list of items we would not be moving. They came out yesterday to the house with the whole extended family for another tour and to look at the items on the list. They bought it all, with the exception of the piano. We have already lined up an apartment from February through August in downtown Santa Cruz.

There have been times in our life when God has really confirmed His will for us through circumstances. This is DEFINITELY one of those times. We are so thankful for how He is moving to make this move happen.

Now we need to think and pray about the dogs. Stay in Bolivia? Move them to Costa Rica? Lord?

Ron

The story of Mario

Mario Rios is a dynamic, joyful university student who attends the UAGRM (Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno) state university in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. His major is modern languages. When we met last March, he shared how his father had recently passed away, leaving his mother in the small village Mario still calls home. The village is called Malca Mayu in the highland state of Potosi in Bolivia. The people of Malca Mayu speak Quechua and live a rural, agrarian life, though many have gone to the big cities of Bolivia and Argentina to earn a living.

His father was well-loved in his home village and the three neighboring villages. He was always smiling, and always willing to lend a hand. The people of the village see a lot of his father in Mario. His dad was a farmer and rose every day at 4 a.m. to provide for his family. Mario had nine brothers and sisters that lived to adulthood of whom seven are still living. Besides the nine, however, there were eight others who died young. He remembered his favorite little sister who died when she was four, of unknown causes. “She was already reading and the joy of our lives”, he explained. Hardship has always been part of their lives.

Soon after his father died, I gave Mario copy of the JESUS Film in Quechua. He kept hoping for a chance to take it home to the village, but finally sent it to his sister who still lives there. Last week he got the news that they had watched the film. His mother, sister, two aunts and two uncles all saw the film. The only word he has gotten back is that they “liked” the film, and really appreciated that they could see it in their own language. You have to know Mario to understand that “liking” the film isn’t good enough for him.

Mario received Christ as his Savior in 2005 and is excited about his faith. He shared how he preached on the bus when he went home for the funeral of his father. He is very bold with the Good News and wants to see his Quechua people reached with the Gospel. He tells of a certain coldness that the people have toward the Gospel. He says many are enmeshed in the traditions of the Catholic Church and the traditional indigenous worship of the Pachamama, the earth goddess.

In Bolivia funerals always take place on the morning following the death. If someone dies very early in the day, the funeral might take place later that same day. There is no embalming, and the thought of waiting several days, even for distant relatives to arrive, is abhorrent. They have another tradition that Mario shared with me. His eyes lit up as he told me that very often people will gather to spend an afternoon and evening together on the first anniversary of the death of a loved one. Someone as well-loved as Mario’s father, and with as many children, will have a big gathering of remembrance. People bring flowers and lay out the favorite foods of their loved one.

Mario is already thinking strategically (He actually said, “I have a strategic plan”) about this one year anniversary gathering in February, 2011. “If six people ‘liked’ the film, imagine a gathering of 70! With me there to share and encourage them to trust Christ as their Savior!” He is planning to make the trip in February with several more DVD’s of the JESUS Film to give away. He is trusting God that the remembrance of his father’s life will give him an opportunity to share about real life in JESUS!

Friskie the tree climber

This morning I was in the kitchen when I heard a ruckus in the yard and saw a cloud of dust as both dogs took off after some alien intruder. I went outside and spotted the culprit up a tree:

Friskie decided that she should not remain earthbound and started up the tree:

About 10 seconds later, the kitty departed our yard and out under the gate.

Jeanie is pointing on the tree how far Friskie climbed (Friskie is still prowling for the cat):

New life in the backyard

A couple of steps out our backdoor there is an arbor that for many months of the year is awash in flowers. This is the driest time of year and there are no flowers and the leaves are sparse. Through the twigs, though, you can see a mother and father bird guarding a nest. They hold stock-still as you approach. Here's a photo from a few feet away. Spring rains are coming.

Changes

Change is a good thing! (I think)

This year is a time of change for us in Campus Crusade Latin America as we restructure to serve the staff in our continent better. The biggest change at all levels is a change to team leadership. Now, instead of having a continental director who makes the final decisions, we have a leadership team who works together to determine direction and strategy. We hope to multiply the model out to our national ministries as well.

The major implication of the change for us this month is the reduction in size of our former continental office in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. We have reduced down to just four of us as Jeanie and I plan a move to our new central office, probably in San Jose, Costa Rica sometime in late 2011, after Andrew graduates from High School.

While the move is definitely in the works, it is not imminent. During the year or so we have left in Bolivia, we are excited to see what God has in store. I met last week with Tito Ramos, our Bolivian National Director. I am very encouraged by his vision and plans. We will be working very closely with him and his team as we bring several teams from the U.S. to Bolivia in the coming year.

Jeanie is in her second week teaching 10th grade U.S. History and English at the mission school. She is excited about this group of kids. She was their social studies teacher back when they were in 8th grade. Please pray for her!

Andrew is due back on Thursday night from Oregon. He has stayed an extra couple of weeks for a final check by the surgeon. We praise God for a successful surgery for Andrew!

Tomorrow I will head out for Mexico to join with our staff in their national conference and then meet with our Latin America leadership team.

Thanks again for your support and prayer!

Finishing the trip.

Hi from Coeur D'Alene. The last few days have been a whirl of cross-country activity. We have gone to the Eisenhower Presidential Museum, Mt. Rushmore,Badlands National Park, Yellowstone, and a couple of minor league, but fascinating museums and hikes. Tomorrow it is home to Portland! Meanwhile, here are a few pictures:

This is the house Eisenhower grew up in. They built the Library and Museum around it.


We did the loop drive through the Badlands National Park in South Dakota. It is amazing. Really BAD.


Need I say more?


This is a yellow-bellied marmot that we saw in the Bighorn National Forest in Wyoming on the way to Yellowstone.


Old Faithful was so amazing we stayed to watch it erupt twice! We packed a lot into our two days in Yellowstone including a hike to the top of Mt. Washburn.

The buck stops here.

Greetings from Independence, MO. We spent the morning at the Truman Library and Museum, then on the way to Abilene, KS and the Eisenhower museum we stopped at the US Cavalry Museum at Ft. Riley, Kansas.

Here are Jeanie and Andy in front of the Eisenhower Museum.

This is a replica of the Truman oval office.

Out in the courtyard, Jeanie found the flag from the most beautiful state in the Union.

In front of the Truman home.

All you ever need to know.

At the Ft. Riley U.S. Cavalry Museum

In front of General Custer's house. (He didn't make it home from his last business trip).

Herbert Hoover - not as bad as you think

Today we saw the Herbert Hoover Presidential Museum in West Branch, Iowa. We learned a lot about a president we had only thought of in relation to "causing" the Great Depression. First, he didn't do that, and second he was a great humanitarian. We're all learning a lot and enjoying the trip. The picture is in front of his birthplace.

Tomorrow it's on to Independence, MO and Harry Truman.

Land of Lincoln

We arrived in Springfield, IL on Sunday night and spent all day yesterday learning about Abraham Lincoln.

In the morning we went to the Lincoln home. The National Park Service has restored four city blocks to their 1860 appearance. We toured the Lincoln home and took lots of pictures.

In the afternoon we went to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. They had a couple of great multimedia presentations and some self-guided "journeys" through the life of Lincoln. Again, really worth the trip. I can't believe we have never done this before (sorry, older kids:).

Here we are with the Lincolns at the White House (that's John Wilkes Booth over Andrew's right shoulder):

Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village

In our cross-country American History tour, Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan have been the highlight. This complex is worth a trip from anywhere in the USA. There is too much to describe, but I will say Andrew was fascinated!

I wish the rental car company had had a newer model for us :)

Washington, D.C.

We're in the nation's capital with Sarah, Dustin, Wesley Paul and Cooper Andrew. Sarah is big on FAMILY TIME, not MUSEUM time. So we have walked in the arboretum and had a picnic at the park. Yesterday, though, Andy and I went to the new Marine Corps Museum at Quantico. Really worth the trip. Here are some pictures:


The USMC Museum


This is the main hall of the museum. They have amazing galleries for each era and war.


But we're really here to see the kids, Wesley and Cooper:

Three boys. One turtle.



Wesley Paul enjoying Time Out too much.


Cooper Andrew is a happy guy.


Jeanie and Cooper Andrew


Sarah (because she'll ask, "why isn't there a picture of me?")

Columns from the old East Front of the Capitol at the National Arboretum.

South Carolina

We're a little late blogging, but we had a great time in Camden, South Carolina with our daughter and son-in-law, Patty and Luke and baby Anna Kate. We arrived on Saturday, the day they moved in from Wake Forest. Luke is an assistant pastor at Malvern Hills Baptist Church in Camden. About 40 people showed up to help them move in to their new house.


We all love Anna Kate.



Especially Grandpa.

Here's Anna in her poodle towel.

We're on our way!

We've been in the US for a week. While I've been in Orlando at our meeting of the new Global Leadership of Campus Crusade, Jeanie has been in Gainesville with Stephen, Rachael and Leah Rose. This morning we'll take off for Camden, South Carolina to the new home of our daughter and son-in-law, Patty and Luke Tolbert and baby Anna Kate.


Here we are with Leah Rose.


The rental car company upgraded us from a small car to a mini-van- no charge! What a blessing!

Great group of learners

This is a group of great administrative people who have come to Santa Cruz for two weeks of training in managing the resources God provides through effective accounting systems. We want to make sure the funds that our donors give are used properly! They come from Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala, Haiti, Venezuela and Brazil.

This weekend we took the whole group to the Guembe Butterfly park. It has a huge aviary and an enclosed butterfly area. In this photo we are at the top of the observation tower above the aviary.

They have hundreds of species of butterflies at the park. The guide showed us the entire life cycle of the butterfly.

Butterflies usually land at the sweetest spot.

Lunch at Old Key West

I have been in Orlando for a couple days of meetings. We've been talking about our new organization/culture change that will carry us forward in the next few years. Part of that change is combining all of Latin America and the Caribbean into a single area under a new leadership team. Exciting times ahead!

Whenever I come to Orlando, I try to see our son and daughter-in-law. I had lunch today at Disney's Old Key West resort. One of the best free secrets of Disney is that you can go to Downtown Disney and enjoy a free ferry ride to a couple of different resorts. It was a beautiful ride and a great day.

Leah Rose is just blossoming these last couple of months. She will be one year old on April 20. Hard to believe!

Hanging out in Medellin

This week I have been in Medellin, Colombia to spend time with our ministry leaders and get to know what God is doing there. The ministry has exploded there with 23 ministry centers in the city/state and thousands of people involved. The commitment to evangelism and discipleship is very strong with lots of new people in every meeting. People are coming to know the Lord!

This week Medellin hosted the South American Games. Saturday morning at 7 am I met with 100 students from one region of the city who gatherered to pray before heading over to the games to share Christ with the students. Although sharing Christ was officially banned on the site of the games, the students led 130 athletes to Christ - all off site, in the streets and restaurant areas surrounding the games.

This is the view from my hotel room. Medellin is a large, very modern city. What a contrast with the small community we live in in Bolivia!

Ministries around the world struggle to win adult men to Christ and see them mature in their faith. In this photo I am with a group of guys who are involved with our ministry. There are groups of men like this that meet all over the city at all hours of the day, starting at 6am. They are involved in a very intentional discipleship process. I have really never seen anything like it. The curriculum they use requires four years to complete.

God is doing great things here and we are learning how we can apply the lessons learned here to ministries in other countries.

Blessings,

Ron

Now that's what I'm talking about!

At lunch today a young man named Mario came for perhaps the third time to our pizza lunch/bible study. I had to ask his name again, as I had forgotten it. There were around 20 who came today, perhaps 30-35 will join us tomorrow.

Since it had been a while since I had seen Mario, I asked him to come with me over to the pizza place in the food court and help me order the pizza. As we were talking, he shared that his father had died two weeks ago. I told him how sorry I was and then we re-joined the group. We studied Matthew 5:10-16, the passage where Jesus encourages His followers to be salt and light. Mario had some great comments that really added to the conversation, comments that came from personal experience. He shared that his parents spoke Quechua and that he did not begin to learn Spanish until first grade.

After the study I learned that Mario had received Christ about three years ago, and that as a result of prayer, his father trusted Christ as Savior a mere hour before his death. His mother still lives in a small village outside of Potosi, Bolivia. She is struggling with the loss of her husband and is not yet a follower of Christ.

I invited Mario to come to my office so I could give him a copy of the Bolivian version of JESUS Film. The DVD includes eight languages, including Quechua. I put the DVD into my laptop to show Mario how the menu worked. As he listened to the Quechua version with Spanish subtitles, his eyes welled up with gratitude, "My mother will understand about Jesus!".

I gave him three copies of the DVD and a charge: Share it with your mom and others back home in the village. I asked him if they had a DVD player up there in her highland village. He assured me that they did and that in only three weeks, he will be going back home to visit his mom. "I want to be a missionary of God's love". Will you pray with me for Mario and his mom?

Church Led Movements in Bolivia

On Friday and Saturday I met with our Church Led Movements team with Campus Crusade in Bolivia. They were joined by a pastor from Venezuela who is implementing similar strategies there. We spent the time reviewing our philosophy of ministry, vision, mission and plan for 2010. In the photo at left, I am sharing a devotional on the life of Paul.

These guys are great theoreticians and even better practitioners. They have a heart to see a viral movement of church planting in South America.

The Grandchildren

Just a quick post to say we're back in Bolivia after a great time in the US. Here's a photo of Jeanie and me with 75% of our grandchildren: Anna Kate Tolbert, Wesley Paul Hanks and Cooper Andrew Hanks. (Leah Rose Burgin visited Grandma Jeanie in NC the weekend before)

Dad's proud

Yesterday I went to Andrew's varsity basketball game. Andrew is a junior at the mission high school, and has played for the last couple of years. Yesterday he was the leading scorer as his team demolished the opponent. He scored 18 points! The score was 58-6.

Here is a link to the news article.

The story is good, they just got Andrew's first name wrong.

Ron

"Lucky's" luck ran out

A couple of months ago I wrote about our dog, Jazz. He was a solid and steady German shepherd who had guarded our house for eight years. He died this week.

Monday morning I got an urgent call from our cleaning lady at home. She told me that Jazz had been staggering around and moaning. Then he went into the laundry room and crawled behind the washer where he lay foaming at the mouth. I headed for home and stopped at the veterinary office on the way. Two of their young vets came with me to the house. When we got there, Jazz had already died. It was very sudden.

As the young women veterinarians looked him over, they determined that he did not have rabies (death would have taken several days) and that he was not poisoned, like with rat poison. They said the most likely cause of his intoxication and death was ingestion of a poisonous toad. I had the sad task of digging a very large grave for Jazz. My only experience with dying animals has been a slow decline and then a joint decision with family and the vet to put the animal down when nothing else can be done for them. And of course the vet handles disposal of the body. The sudden finality of this kind of an accidental death is hard to deal with. While the vets were at the house, they caught up our other two dogs on their rabies vaccines.

We'll miss Jazz.

Just abiding

You know what's cool? Talking with six Bolivian guys about abiding in Christ. The Spanish word for abiding is Permanecer. That's kind of a cool word that you can figure out even if you don't speak Spanish. Permanecer: to stay, remain, make yourself a permanent fixture. That really describes what I want to be with Jesus. As they talked they had some great insights that helped me to consider the concepts.

Take some time and read John 15: 1-10.

Ron

Feeling some pressure

My Christian friends in Bolivia warned that the passage of the new constitution and the re-election of the socialist president would bring near certain persecution of the church. I am afraid they were right and we are seeing just the beginning. Let me give you three concrete examples:

1. The government is ramping up the official registration requirements for all churches. Our church has complied, but at considerable legal expense. Small national churches don't have the resources or savvy to comply. The estimated cost is upwards of US $1000 from start to finish. Enter the official MAS party which is offering "assistance" to local indigenous churches to "handle" this issue for them at no cost. My Christian friends fear this is the beginning of an officially sanctioned church, similar to the church in China.

2. The official government TV station is running a dramatic piece showing a heavily accented North American preaching the Gospel with a heavy dose of "learn to tithe, or else". The Gringo tells the listeners that failure to give will result in God's wrath. The poor Bolivian, Silverio, just can't give enough and the result is that his house burns down. Enter the friends from the MAS government political party to help. They tell Silverio that they are his friends, they are from his own culture. They will freely give him the help he needs: food, clothing and so forth. You can draw your conclusions about the message they are sending about Christ's church.

3. The socialist government, now officially secular, has scheduled elections for Easter Sunday, April 4. On election day in Bolivia no meetings or assemblies are allowed. No vehicular traffic is allowed. All church services must be cancelled. Is it a coincidence that the holiest day on the Christian calendar is targeted?

Please pray for Bolivia, and treasure the freedom that you have to assemble and worship.

Ron

Back to work after Christmas Break

I am enjoying the first couple of days back in the office after a nice break over the holidays. Jeanie, Andrew and I enjoyed relaxing at home. We had guests over for Christmas and New Year's Eve, ate lots of cookies and fudge and saw Avatar together. It was a great time!

Over the New Year holiday our oldest kids, Stephen and Sarah and their spouses Rachael and Dustin got together with our three grandchildren, Wesley, Leah Rose and Cooper. I can't resist borrowing a photo from their blogs: