What did you do on your 10th Anniversary?

We can say we spent our 10th Wedding Anniversary serving the Lord in Guatemala.  But, more specifically Justin spent his day put porches on 5 houses and stuccoing those same 5 homes.  Vicki spent her day caring for 5 kiddos, painting the laundry room and making homemade bread sticks for this group of 50 people.  We honestly believe this is a one of a kind Celebration.

Today I, Vicki, was asked what I do all day by one of the teen team members.  I smiled, while she responded, "do you play with the kids all day?"  Again I smiled and said yip and make food.  I left my comment at that, but in my mind I was thinking, oh honey, you have no idea the things we do in one day as a mom and servant to you teenagers.  But, without much more she walked away content with that answer.  yet, I was left pondering, do I play with my kid enough and not get caught up in the daily to dos?  I have learned over the last 3 weeks in Guatemala to sit and take in the world around me instead of constantly going.  Now don't get me wrong, my busy hands are a genetic down fall and blessing.  I am letting the Lord teach me to find a happy medium between getting the work done and being lazy. 
I have a devotion for you to read through by Oswald Chambers from his book, "My utmost for His highest."  (I am a bit jealous cause Justin can write his own inspirations to you and I have to copy mine from a book, but this book is an amazing devotional, so read on, you will be glad you did!.)

Keep Recognizing Jesus.

"Peter . . .walked on the water to go to Jesus. 

But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid. . . " Matthew 14:29-30

the wind really was boisterous and the waves really were high, but Peter didn't see them at first.  He didn't consider them at all; he simply recognized his Lord, stepped out in recognition of Him, and "walked on the water."  Then he began to take those things around him into account, and instantly, down he went, Why couldn't our Lord heave enabled him to walk at the bottom of the waves, as well as on top of them: He could have, yet neither could be done without Peter's continuing recognition of the Lord Jesus.
We step right out with recognition of God in some things, the self-consideration enters our lives and down we go.  If you are truly recognizing your Lord, you have no business being concerned about how and where he engineers your circumstances.  the things surrounding you are real, but when you look at them you are immediately overwhelmed, and even unable to recognize Jesus.  then comes His rebuke, ". . . why did you doubt?"  Let your actual circumstances be what they may, but keep recognizing Jesus, maintaining complete reliance upon Him.
If you debate for even one second when God has spoken, it is all over for you.  never start to say, "Well, I wonder if He really did speak to me?"  Be reckless immediately- totally unrestrained and willing to risk everything - by casting your all upon Him.  You do not know when His voice will come to you, but whenever the realization of God comes, even in the faintest way imaginable, be determined to recklessly abandon your self, surrendering everything to Him.  you will only recognize His voice more clearly through recklessness -being willing to risk your all.
Now, aren't you glad your read through that.  This is my prayer over the next 7 weeks and continually, "To always listen to Him, even when I am in the middle of what He called me to do"
God bless
vicki

***A Hard day at the office***

So we are  on Team #2 (Team IvanRest), from Grandville, MI.  This youth group has been down here before and has brought with them a lot of energy.  We literally had 24 hours to say goodbye from Team 1 and get ready for Team 2.  Wow, can you say crazy?  PLUS, we have been under a small attack in the vehicle department.  Right now we have two vehicles in the shop and one waiting to go in!  It makes things very interesting to say the least.  Just keep praying for the drivers and the vehicles.  Today was day one of building 5 homes.  Today was also the coolest temperature day yet.....which should have been a warning sign.  Right at noon, it rained, and rained and rained.  So with trying to keep kids on task and grabbing for more bandaids for me (long story short:  I was grabbing the tin to put on the roof to save the dry wall and someone was trying to help but just as I had both my hands on the tin, they pulled it without saying anything, and well, I have some REALLY nice cuts on both hands).  Well, we got to where we needed to be for the day and only lost 2 sheets of drywall to the rain.  And you know what, when we were walking back to the vans, it was sunshine and heat. 
What I noticed though.  In the morning, it started to rain and we snagged a few kids to get in the corner and pray, and it stopped.  RIGHT AWAY.  Yet, at noon when we were trying to eat, it rained and in our rush to get things taking care of, no one stopped to pray the rain away.  I mean, sure there were some that said, "it sure would be nice if it stopped".  But none or us really stopped what we were doing, and said, "In the name of the LORD, stop raining".  There is power in HIS name and YET, we fail to go to that day in and day out with the "little things".   A few things that Vicki and I have realized is that prayer is essential down here.  We need prayer to stay on roads, for peoples hearts to be opened to the Gospel, for protection from the enemy.  Yet, we need prayer at home too!  Oh how we fail to stay in His presence sometimes.  Matthew 8:18-22 has a great point.  Two people say they want to follow Jesus and His response both times is with a wild statement.  The first has to deal with home:  which equals our comfort.  The second with our plans or agenda....can I get a "Control".  Comfort and control.  Two things that we cling to in life, YET two things that Christ says we MUST give to Him before we are to follow Him.  Sit with this passage as we have and see what God says to you.  HOWEVER, if you listen and hear, you are left with a choice.  To follow Him, or disobey Him.  We are ready for day 2.  It is stucco day tomorrow as well as putting on the porches to the houses.  We build the house, and our prayer is that the LORD will make it a home.

I'm leaving you with a quote that I read (yes, I do have some time for reading).  It is from Edmund Burke, an English scholar from the 16th century.  "To define justice, we need to first define evil.  Evil is when good men and women see injustice in the world, and do nothing!"  Powerful. 

May you go out and do the something that you can do through the Someone who enables you to do it! 

(Read that senstence again, slow and sit with it for a minute.)

Blessings for now.  Justin <><

HE >ME

No more NORMALIZATION

No more NORMALIZATION
So I realize that the above word might not be an actual word, but by the end of this blog, hopefully it will make sense for you. The last few days have been busy. On Friday, Vicki and Emilee went with the team to the first medical clinic. They both had a blast. Vicki was able to get out of the base and use her nursing skills. Emilee was a big hit with her red hair, and of course, her smile. She also made a friend really quick, and it was not long before they were going everywhere hand in hand.

Emilee also was a big helper with the passing out candy too.
Saturday saw Justin and AJ going out to the second village. Even though it was a small one, it was a village that God choose this team to go to. A big connection was formed and again, many people came to know Christ as their LORD and Savior.

Did you know that 2/3 rds of the world is poor? That same group, contains many who have never heard of the LORD. Every second, someone who does not know Jesus dies. Yet, we as Americans, can get so comfortable in our lives, and in our normalization of our lives. For me, this is something that I have been fighting. I do not want to simply go through the motions of life. I am tired of “playing church”. I am not wanting to look back on my life when I stand before Jesus face to face and see that I lived the safest life possible and was not radical for HIS name. I want to “BE the Church”. I want to be that down here this summer, back in Iowa this Fall, every moment. This week has been a great one for us already. This team has been great. It has been a team that has not been what it originally perceived to be. God has used this team to bless many. They fixed the pump, built four houses, ministered to the staff, and sang praises to God in Spanish at the villages, and much more. I shared with Vicki today, that I am curious to see why God brought our family to Guatemala for a summer. I had always looked at what it will do in my life, but it really hit me…what if God brought us all here to impact one if not all of our kids for Christ! It might be something that will grow in their hearts and lives and something that Vicki and I will never see this side of Heaven. It has been worth it so far. Yet again, what if the reason is for us to share Christ with just one person in a village who would not have know Christ otherwise. More than likely that person will never be famous. You may never even know their name. Would it still be worth it, being down here. Please look at Acts 16 and you tell me. We thank you for your prayers everyday. They were felt Saturday night when my van ( a 4 X4 Ford) got stuck! We slid off the road partially because of the slick dirt roads. The passenger front tire was buried in mud and water…buried! By the power of the LORD and answering the prayers of the passengers, we were able to get unstuck. No luck or chance, simple grace. Keep the prayers coming, and keep the focus that the Schrock family can remain in the center of God’s Will. Blessings ~ Justin