Serving at Principe de Paz

Since I arrived in Costa Rica, I have been attending church at Principe de Paz. Woody and Su Roland go to this church, as well as my friend David Obando whom I met at the IT conference in Ecuador.

During this time that I am taking Spanish classes, I am living quite close to the church and God has given me the opportunity to serve with the youth at Principe de Paz.

Each week I go along to the planning meeting with the leaders in formation and help out David (the youth pastor). On Saturday afternoons we have the youth group meeting and I have been able to help out being a part of the group, chatting with the young people and helping out with some of the activities and teaching. David has asked me to share with the youth in one of the bible teaching sessions in the next few weeks which is a real privilege. I have also been helping out with the music where I can... good times!

My heart is to see Latin American young people encounter Jesus and enter into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. I pray that in my time serving with Principe de Paz I can be a blessing and be used by God to help some young people take the next step in their journey of faith in Jesus.

Here are some photos of the crew taken last Saturday night...

Phil and Chris (a.k.a. negro... meaning black in Spanish, not insulting black people)
Da boyz
Jose Luis and Phil

Growth, Equipping and Service in Costa Rica

Hey all, I'm going to take the time over the next few days to get up to date with some blogging and communications. I'm currently staying with Woody and Su Roland (International Teams Regional Directors) in Costa Rica! Why, you say?

I'm here in Costa Rica for a period of around three months to spend some time serving the regional team here in terms of crisis and security plans (which was my job for 5-6 years prior to joining International Teams), spending some time taking my Spanish to the next level and also getting trained and equipped with the SonLife team with a focus on being and making disciples of Jesus Christ.

I am particularly excited about the opportunity to grow in my personal relationship with Jesus as I study the life of Jesus as a basis for making disciples. We have a massive need for deep, intense, biblical discipleship amongst young people in the ministry in Queretaro, so I'm very privileged to have the opportunity to be here for this time of training so that I can put it into practice in Mexico.

Here is a quick video about the SonLife ministry here in Costa Rica...



I have a growing album of photos of my experience here in Costa Rica. Click here to see them!

International Teams Latin America Conference

Wow! It was great to travel again and see new sights, meet new people and be refreshed in the word of God and in community. Last week I had the privilege of going to Quito, Ecuador to participate in the International Teams Latin America Conference. It was a huge encouragement to see what God is doing around the world through teams and individuals committed to sharing the love of Jesus in innovative and transforming ways.

We had some great bible studies shared with us by Mark that were both challenging and encouraging. I personally had a real time of growth in my relationship with God as I was in a different context for a week and had time to reflect and catch up.

The location was excellent, both getting to know the city of Quito and the Youth World ministries there, and the San Luis Hosteria where we stayed.

Here are some photos of the experience.

Can't wait for my parents to get here, they arrive next Monday!

Thank God it's Friday

Phew – thank God it’s Friday! Last Friday I finished up full-time Spanish school (going to class every day) and this week has been my first week with a schedule consistent with the rest of the team. A few updates on activities… last Saturday I went to a water park in Tarimoro, Guanajuato for our first catch up with our single guys community group. It was a lot of fun and I got to play with my camera’s waterproofness a bit which was cool!

Phil, Lalo, Charlio, Pepe and Olmo

We are planning to start running a drama production every few weeks at our church for kids and I happen to be one of the actors (also in Spanish!). One of the ladies at our church works as a drama teacher and met Arturo who is an actor and drama student through her work. Arturo is helping us out with the drama production by acting and providing drama coaching for all of us. On Sunday night several of us went along to a production of Mamma Mia (in Spanish!) in which Arturo was acting. It was a lot of fun seeing the production prepared by students doing a drama intensive. They prepared the whole thing in only 8 days, but it was very professional! I was a little confused as first because the main character changed actresses a couple of times (to allow everyone to be involved and to accommodate different voice ranges I found out later!) but apart from that I understood what was going on. The songs are quite funny when they are sung in Spanish because they are a bit of a mix between English and Spanish e.g. money, money, money, un poco mas dinero…

Then to an update on my work here… This week has been great! We have been working as a team in the church office during the day and have spent a lot of time this week seeking God for the way forward, planning and dreaming. It’s been so fantastic to have all the team together going through this process and seeing the opportunities for the future.

Our conversations this week have centred around our vision and mission for the team here and indeed those of the church. Our church’s vision is “to guide people to a growing relationship with Jesus Christ”. Our team’s goal in our interaction with the uni students group is to make disciples and train and equip leaders. I love it when I have the opportunity to share my life with others, to support and serve them and to see them grow and develop their God-given potential. We are looking at how we can best equip the young people to have an intimate relationship with God, to have close relationships with their own community and to have a fantastic influence outside their community.

This week I’ve also been able to wrestle with some of my doubts and reservations about our approach to mission and ministry and have spent some time chatting with Martin, our pastor and team leader, which has been super-helpful. We ARE on the same page, and are both dreaming of a missional church that is distinctively Mexican and introduces people to Jesus in a way that is relevant to the culture around us. It’s been a time of growth for me as I’ve had to work through the issues of contextualisation (putting the message in terms that make sense in a different culture – same message, different presentation), being missional (and for me that means crossing multiple cultural boundaries (Australia/Australian Christian/Mexican Christian/Mexican/Mexican young people) because we are seeing in this post-Christendom era that presenting the good news of Jesus means being missional and crossing cultural boundaries even in your “own” culture), receiving and sharing vision and much more. All that training, Perspectives and reading I've been doing is coming in handy.

So yes, watch this space… lots is happening and I can’t wait to see what lies ahead! God is definitely working and with God, life’s an adventure!

I've sent my application!!

Wow - God has been continuing to take me on an exciting journey as I have been seeking his will for my life. He has been guiding me specifically around missions over the next couple of years. Thanks for praying for me over the past couple of months as I have been seeking God for direction. I feel that God is leading me to go to Mexico with International Teams to do a two-year mission placement. I have really valued those who have given me encouraging words on my journey and have listened and prayed with me. It's really good to have others who can encourage me when things are confusing and tough decisions have to be made.

So, what's been happening? I'm almost half-way through doing Advanced Perspectives and I'm continuing to learn lots and be challenged about communicating the gospel cross-culturally. I have been learning some great principals and tools about understanding culture, understanding God's word and contextualising the message for effective communication. I've also been having some great conversations with people about where I'm at and my ideas and plans about going back to Mexico and through these things doors are opening for me to return there. I sent off my application to International Teams last week to be accepted as a first-term, 2 year team missionary. That was a big step in my journey and I heard from Janice at IT that they were really excited to get my application!

In a couple of weeks, I'm heading off to Sydney for my first training module with International Teams from 15-28 April. This course introduces International Teams in a bit more depth, talks about aspects of serving as a missionary and equips me for the next step of going longer-term. I'm excited to join with other people who will be going out with IT to serve also - it's going to be great! There are three more training modules that I am required to complete before I leave for the field:

• Maximum Impact Language Learning (June);
• Partnership Development (July); and
  
• Transition Training for living and working in another culture (January 08).

In terms of timeframes, I am currently looking at completing these training courses this year whilst continuing to work at KPMG until close to the end of the year, then completing my final training and heading out around February or March next year as God enables and provides. I'm open to God's leading and guiding on this, but that's what currently seems best. A particular challenge in the short-term will be getting the time off work in June and July (13 working days) for training as I won't have enough annual leave left after taking 2 weeks off for the first training module. This will mean that I have to request unpaid leave from work. I am really praying about this process because I want to make my transition from KPMG work to mission work a really effective witness to those in my workplace.

Specific prayer points:

• Discipleship and growth - I want to be close to God, growing and walking in His way
• Finalising the International Teams application process - I've got to do a couple of other things and tests to complete my application process
• Logistics and training - that God would open doors for me to complete the required training and that this training would really prepare me in the ways God wants for me. Also for getting the time off that I need to do the training
  
• Time management - I'm a really busy person and need to take the time to prepare, communicate with IT and missionaries on the field, prepare things and balance work and life etc.
• Continued peace and guidance - Just to be really listening to God and obediently following

Thanks for taking the time to catch up on where I'm at with my journey of stepping out where I believe God is leading me. I'd love to catch up with you and chat further as there's lots more detail than I can put into an email. I have made a blog to capture some of these things and I hope to try and update it from time to time so if you're interested, check out http://philonajourney.blogspot.com.

Finally, I was just reading from 1 John chapter 4 in my bible tonight and wanted to encourage you with these words (I've put in The Message version):

(verses 7-10) My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn't know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can't know him if you don't love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they've done to our relationship with God.

Que Dios te bendiga!

Phil

A year on from Mexico...

It's now almost a year since I left to spend six weeks in Mexico on a short-term mission trip. The cool thing is that my trip didn't end when I got home - God has been working in my life long before this trip and he continues to work in my life and impact me.

Going to Mexico changed my life. I discovered so much more of God's heart for reaching the people of the world with the good news of Jesus Christ. I was humbled to see God use me to bring people just a little bit closer to knowing him in whatever way that I could. I continue to be humbled as I see God work and remember that God changes peoples lives and we just have the privilege of doing our part in loving, sharing and living out our faith as part of that process.

Since I have returned, I have done a course called Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (www.perspectives.org.au). I plan on continuing to do the Advanced Perspectives course this year. I have had the opportunity to share about my time in Mexico with a number of churches and gatherings of young people (and also with anyone that would listen!!). Every time I start to talk about life in Queretaro and my time in Mexico, my passion is renewed and I get super-excited! Just last week I was able to go up to Sydney and assist with the International Teams Summer Teams Training where we equipped three teams of young people to head overseas to Uganda, Greece and Thailand for 3 weeks of mission experience.

I feel God is challenging me to take the next step and to seriously consider stepping out into full-time cross-cultural mission for him. I would invite you as friends and those who have been with me on the journey so far to pray with me for God's guidance as I consider how and where I best serve God.

I do feel that God may be pointing me back to Mexico as I have a strong passion for Mexico and integrated into the culture well during my time there. I also have continued speaking and writing Spanish since I have returned and I am looking at continuing study in Spanish. I am considering the potential of doing a two-year term in Queretaro with International Teams, but I'm open to God's leading for where, when and who he would have me go with.

There are a few specific areas that I would value your prayers for:

• First and foremost that I draw even closer to God and that I have a strong and consistent relationship with Him;
• For guidance and confirmation as to whether Mexico is where God would have me return to;
• For guidance around the training and equipping I should complete before heading out and that training and equipping that I may be able to do on the field; and
• For guidance around timeframes and how that interacts with my current job.

I thank you for your friendship, prayers and support as I continue on my journey. I would value your input into my journey as you pray, so if you have any encouragement, please feel free to share.

I'm excited about God's plan for young people and have been inspired to see friends and aquaintences stepping out to engage in short and long term mission work. I'm excited that God has a plan for each of you and that we are all on a journey, so I'd like to challenge you also - what's your next step in your journey with God?

With God's richest blessing,

Phil