Recent Blogs

This Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday and we are part of a culture that associates certain rituals with that day -- notably eating! Chicken wings and pizza are consumed in heavy quantities by individuals and at gatherings -- in fact, Super Bowl Sunday is now second only to Thanksgiving in the amount of food consumed in one day.

Happy New Year!

We hope 2015 is off to a good start for you!

For us, 2014 was a whirl of productivity - and fun. Here's a quick review of what the mission, with support from donors and volunteers, did last year:

• Provided first aid training for local church and community leaders, and gave free, stocked first aid kits;
• Painted the interiors and exteriors of two churches and the interior of a third;
• Provided leadership training for church leaders;
• Seven greenhouses in production - four annual harvests help improve nutrition for poor, rural students who also work in the greenhouses. Schools sell produce to help cover operating costs.
• The cuy (guinea pig) farm sold about 200 cuys, generating about 10.000 Bolivianos, or about $1,500 USD, to help sustain the Sub District. In this area that's a LOT of money. Even more importantly, it teaches and reinforces the notion that INVESTMENT + WORK = INCOME;
• To help make high-protein quinoa accessible again for poor families (price has tripled due to developed nations' demand for the super food), in 2013 the mission gave a kilo of certified quinoa seeds to 120 families who pledged to save 10% of their new seed heads for replanting in 2014, and give 10% to their local churches to help cover the cost of human services they provide for the poor. Families could eat or sell the remaining 80%. Some families sold their new seed heads for planting, meaning that beyond boosting their own protein intake, they also shared the wealth with their extended family, friends and neighbors.
• With donor support, the mission built a church kitchen and community latrine in the village of Chani. By sharing a common wall and water and drainage system, the mission, the congregation, and the community conserved costs.
• A team of adult volunteers from the Northern Illinois Conference brought well over 1,000 pairs of used prescription glasses and new or used readers. In July an NIC youth team distributed the lenses at four community fairs. We matched glasses to an estimated 300 people. Ahhh: the joy of watching someone see the world clearly for the first time in years, maybe decades! We came to call it the Hallelujah Moment.
• The mission and a lot of volunteer workers installed new windows in Iglesia Nueva Esperanza (New Hope Church) in Huacuyo Valley.
• In August, we opened Pan America, a bakery and pizzeria, whose proceeds help support the mission's projects. Our 60- to 70-hour work weeks are tiring but rewarding and delightful. We meet people from all over the world, and continue to marvel at how kind, generous, and good-hearted most people are. Volunteers from the U.S., Uruguay, France and Germany are working with us both at the shop and various construction sites. We'd originally hoped they'd cover for us while we visited the U.S. for Christmas through the end of January. Alas, document problems and money problems obviated our international travel plans. (The recent election of a new Bolivian bishop meant the outgoing one could no longer release our funds to us; the incoming bishop couldn't do so until the second week of January.) Though again postponing a trip home was a big disappointment to us, it seemed impractical to travel to the States for just two or three weeks. In May and June we will attend a stateside training program, and will have some time to see friends and family then. Meanwhile, our January volunteer coverage allows us a chance to enjoy a little free time.
• We and a crowd of volunteers recently trenched for and began pouring concrete for the foundation of a new church in Santa Ana.

Our weather hasn't been too difficult yet this December, but I'm still looking forward to "the promise" - our weather forecasters promise that by Sunday we will be having temperatures in the high 40's. We'll see if they are right!

Whatever the weather, I am looking forward to another kind of "promise" - the promise of "God with Us" that we celebrate this season and that we will receive in special ways this Sunday, December 14.

This Sunday marks the second week in Advent, when we lift up the gift of Peace for which we long, and which is given to the world through the birth of Jesus.

The scriptures read at the Advent Candle lighting time at the start of Sunday's worship services, and those read later in the service, may make you want to sing! You will probably recognize the verses from Isaiah 40 as lyrics in Handel's famous Messiah. "Every valley will be lifted up..." and "He shall feed his flock like a Shepherd," are among the lines from this great scripture passage of hope and peace.

As we walk into Advent with Celebrate the Gift as our theme for this season, I want to walk through some verses from
Isaiah 11. This chapter invites us to watch for newness outside our constricted, frightened logic.

It begins: Out of the stump of Jesse..., Jesse being David’s father. David’s family and dynasty had run out in failure; no king, no future, no royal possibility, only a stump. But, says the poet, the stump will produce a shoot of new life that was not expected.

Have you ever noticed that moment when the lights dim and the stage lighting wakes up, that moment when even the whisperers stop whispering, that moment when the violins have their bows raised as the conductor raises her arms? Sometimes in a moment like that, the only sound is the sound of silence itself. You hold your breath to listen.

You're walking toward the front door, to bring in mail. For a second, you catch a whiff of fragrance from a scented something. It reminds you of a place you have never been and a time you have no words for.

Day of (Doubled) Giving

On Dec. 2, the United Methodist Church's General Board of Global Ministries will sponsor its second annual Day of Giving and will match the first $1 million donated to missions.

In the first few minutes of Tuesday, Dec. 2, Eastern time (Monday, Dec. 1, 11pm Central), gifts made to Mision Fronteras, Advance Site #3021288, are pretty likely to be doubled. You may recall that last year donors to Mision Fronteras gave a staggering $26,000, but only one $500 gift was doubled by GBGM. This year, GBGM is trying to ensure a more equitable distribution of matching funds.

If you are thinking of making an end-of-year gift to help support the valuable work of this home-grown mission, please try to do so as soon as possible after 11pm on Monday.

Making a donation involves three easy steps:

1. Go to our mission's Advance page at this link 
   (or click the button on the right).
2. Click on the big red "GIVE NOW" button.
3. Complete and submit the form.

Please read their latest newsletter by clicking on the "Read More" link.

Jim and I are especially looking forward to this Sunday's worship services - because both of us will get to really listen to, and ponder, the message that is given by our Lay Leaders, Ray and Ina Osborn.

The Laity Sunday worship services and sermon are based on Jesus' teaching in Luke 13:18-21, about the significance in something as small as a mustard seed, or a bit of yeast. Like many of Jesus' teachings, the seemingly simple words challenge us to see things in new ways, and to keep asking questions of ourselves.

You may have noticed that at the end of this month our congregation will be a part of two opportunities to join together in Thanksgiving observances.

A heart filled with love always has something to give.

I have a little cross-stitch of this quote in my house - and like being reminded of it now and then. Whether I feel short on time, or short on funds, or short on energy, those words encourage to me to see beyond what I think I'm lacking, and imagine what could be possible with what I have.