Engrafted...

So, what have the Schrocks been up too?  Let me see….This past month we just finished up two weekends with the Timothy Lay Leadership Training.  It takes 30 men and women (each weekend) who are pastors and lay leaders and trains them to be the most effective pastors they can be. 

            Needless to say, for this guy who loves discipleship, it was awesome to see and witness.  I was even asked to lead some of the devotions (first week had a translator and second week had the help of the Spirit!).

            SCHOOL SCHOOL SCHOOL!

The kids have been real troopers as they are plugging away with school each day AND Spanish classes for an hour each day.   Vicki and I each have separate times of 2 hours each (each day) of Spanish classes.  WOWzers!

            Having Vicki’s aunt Cheryl here to help with the schooling for the kids has been a true blessing.  It allows Vicki to be in the clinic and myself to connect with Pastors.

            We have decided that we want to take our Saturdays to go exploring a little of this incredibly beautiful country.  Having a little more Spanish under our belts, we are getting brave enough to venture out further.  We have visited, Iximche, Lake Atitlan, and recently went to one of the oldest operational coffee plantations in Guatemala near Antigua.  THAT was awesome.  SO beautiful as well.

            Did you know that there are various kinds of coffee and it takes 1 and half years before the plant is ready for transplanting?  It takes one complete coffee plant (full grown) to produce one pound of ground coffee.  This plantation, only women do the engrafting process…because of the PH in their hands.  They take the root of the Robusta coffee (a strong plant) and graft it with the Arabica coffee (a better flavor and more beans) to create a “super” coffee plant.  They use a razor blade to cut it and then splice the two together and then tape then together and allow time to connect to the two to make one. 

            As I pondered this, isn’t the same so very true with Christ.  When we are broken and cut and fused together.  Part of Him and part of us are then wrapped together.  We reach our best potential when we live not just on our own but when we are   I am His and He is mine. 

Frisbees, laundry baskets, and homemade flags....and you have Disc Golf!

The Restuarant at Finca De La Filadelfia

coffee plants under the shade of bigger trees

baby coffee plants

John Deere even is in the coffee business....

wonder what year this machine is from?

we live in the orange region on this map

wedding day photos for a couple.  They were taking photos at the plantation

guess who LOVES coffee NOW!!!!!!

do you have your crossing the street buddy?

watch out for the cactus Caleb (or is it an act? :) )

crazy kids......

grass + hill + boy = fun for 25 minutes straight!

The Schrock Kids.....

"Bird of Paradise"

Did you know Coffee is a fruit?  Want a second cup of fruit juice?...or three or four or...

We did not buy a zoo, just caught a lizard

Vicki and the big three went to Leslie's church.  They want our entire family to come next time and Justin to preach

Girls grilling for the Staff meeting.....

Learning about "A" in kindergarten...SO, we make applesauce!

having a blast peeling apples

Kira wanted to make supper.....so Chicken Enchiladas it was

Emilee helping in the Kitchen with her authentic Mayan dress that she LOVES

connected to Him.

            We are plugging away at two more weeks of Spanish class then preparing for the Construction Team to come down and work on some much needed remodeling of the clinic and offices (anybody want to come to Guatemala for a week in October?  Let me know!!!!) and then followed by that is the Paradise Bound Board Retreat.  Then on November 4 we will be flying back to Iowa for 8 weeks.  We are looking forward to visiting family, eating Chinese food, chatting with people, churches, schools, and companies about Guatemala, visiting the chiropractor, and beginning the work for the Tim Hawkins fundraiser at Dordt College on April 9….in no particular order (yes, we have our chiropractor appointments scheduled with Dr. Daron De Jong the day after we get back!!!!!.....)

            OH, we also took Emilee to the eye doctor here to have her eyes checked.  She is doing GREAT…the bill?.....only $10 US dollars for the visit!  Yet, to visit the chiropractor here it would cost around $75.  If anyone has ever been here and seen how people carry things on their heads and with their backs, it is to no surprise! 

If you are ever on Facebook, make sure you go to the Paradise Bound Ministries page and like it to receive even more info about the ministry.

Many blessings and love!

~Justin

Song of the season....

I have always loved movies and music.  They can thrust you to a world away, or allow you to re-examine your own world.

I used to post a song of the week....a song that spoke to my soul for that time.

A friend of mine (thanks MIKE!) led me to this song.  It is exactly what I needed to hear and echos the longing of my heart.  It helped put words into mi mente y alma.  It allowed me to express, for a second, a hollowed Amen.

It is a great reminder that we need not simply trust Jesus for our future, but for our day to day.
Lord, today's schedule will not allows turn out the way I envision it to go: I will trust you.

Lord, learning a new language, and wanting to learn it well, is hard!: I will trust you.

Lord, after 14 years of youth ministry, a master's degree, and this being the third place...and making the least amount ever with the largest our family has been (#s, not pounds as we have lost a few): I will trust you.

Lord, with everything today and everything tomorrow: I will trust you.

Today, my favorite words in the song were not the ones sung, but the ones that rested within the framework of the bridge: The words of my heart......

May you find yourself LONGING to trust in the one who holds tomorrow in the palm of His hand.  May you be blessed...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00hVZ86OpGI

Thank you Aaron Keyes for allowing God to speak in and through you...

Thank-YOU

Thank you God for an amazing sunrise outside of our window.

Thank you Jill for sending us this word from Above!

“Look at the nations and watch—
    and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
    that you would not believe,
    even if you were told.

Habakuk 1:5

just for the fun of it........

Over the years of living in ministry as a family, there is one thing that both Vicki and I have learned:  We have to find fun to keep sanity close by!

So what do we do when it is Guatemala's Independence Day and it is raining buckets?

We have fun.

What do you do when the kids say that they miss their school mates?

We have fun.

What do you do when the internet is not working because of the rain?

We have fun.

Theology: The study of God.  Sometimes we take Theology too seriously.  I mean, we all desire to know God more.  Yet, if we solely take "knowing" as a mental state, we miss something major with God....heart and soul.  There is Theology in service.  There is Theology in ministry.  There is Theology in rest.  There is Theology in play.


So, with that...we let the fun continue.  We still take Spanish classes, hold meetings, clean, organize, plan retreats, e-mail potential partners, help the kiddos with their school, planning events like TIM HAWKINS in IOWA APRIL 9!!!!, gearing up for a construction team, and planning for the board to come....and more......

Eating fish given to us from a Pastor Friend (fish was in the ocean four days earlier)
Playing Just Dance 4 with Debora and Noemy and the family
Emilee playing piano
Making up a game in the rain (pine needles were confusion bombs, red leaves were healing, and green    leaves were poison).
Naomi looking good!

"Hey guys I look like a cowboy" said the great Pastor Jesus (of course he said that in Spanish)

The locals call it BELA fish.....it was THICK and amazing....

Fish Tacos made from the fresh fish!

Princess Naomi

Emilee having fun

silly fun out in the rain

The work must be done!

The work must be done.

Naomi, Yohana, Lesly~Working

We can take this statement many ways.  I need to do the work now OR the work is complete.  Or is there even more?  My writing has been silent for a bit.  I am being worked on.  Sometimes this work is enjoyable and other times it is strenuous.  I would say that the work for me as of late has been difficult, maybe even listed as a trial.  I have stayed true to our Heavenly Father and as I have I’ve felt HIS presence and reassurance.

On Aug 8 I was reading my devotion out of “Jesus Calling”  and the LORD spoke.  I need to find Joy in the little things.  “The best response is a heart overflowing with gratitude.  I am training you to cultivate a thankful mind-set. “  I think I’m a thankful person, but am I really thank-ful for all things the Lord has given me. . . even my trials?  UMmmmm  much thought and contemplation went into this simple lesson on thankfulness. 

1.     I’m thankful for a loving God who will never abandon me . . .”Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love HIM.” James 1:12

2.     I’m thankful for my husband who is supportive through thick and thin. (In our life sometime it feels more thick than thin J)

3.     I’m thankful for my kids.  Sometimes this is my biggest trial and I need to turn that into abounding joy and thanksgiving.

4.     I’m thankful for the small place we call home in Guatemala.  It keeps us warm, dry, and a family.

So as I walk this journey of life I am reminded of the need for Joy.

Got it God now let’s move on.

The beautiful volcano Agua, off of the patio!

OH no, another lesson? 

This one has been one that I have worked on for a long time and still have much to learn.  I tend to be task oriented or maybe a different and stronger word is a work-ahalic.  I enjoy making a list and then at the end of the day seeing how much I’ve accomplished.  It brings me much joy to cross it off!  I know that accomplishment is not always what God wants for me in a day.  Sometimes HE wants me to sit and enjoy all that HE has created!  Again, “Jesus Calling” was my tool to hear HIM speak.  “REST IN ME, MY CHILD.  This time devoted to Me is meant to be peaceful, not stressful.  You don’t have to perform in order to receive My Love.  Be careful that your devotion to me does not become another form of works.  I want you to come into My Presence joyfully and confidently.”  Oh man I need to rest and do the resting peacefully!  Okay Lord.  I will rest in your grace and peace, joyfully.

Watching the fog roll in!

The tale of 3 trees~sometimes we need to
rest a while to realize our full potential!

The work must be done, sometimes the work is different than I thought it would be.  

Thank you Father for continuing to work on me!

vicki

The arm bone is connected to the ......

     Some of you may or may not have known that this past Memorial Day (exactly one week before we were to move to Guatemala) I tore my right bicep.  First off, let me say that doing this is something that I do NOT recommend for anyone.  Also, being right handed, this proved to be a MAJOR inconvenience.  I went to three different doctors in three different states in one week (ER on the day it happened in Worthington, MN...Wednesday to my local doc in Sioux Center, IA....and then Thursday to the specialist in Dakota Dunes, SD).  They said that the bicep was torn and recommended surgery.  Surgery was not mandatory, but said that I was young enough that I would want that.  If I opted out of surgery, it would be 6 to 12 weeks of recovery, probably would not be able to use my arm in a "using a screwdriver" motion well again, and be about 30 to 40 percent weaker in the arm.
     If I proceed with the surgery it would be 6 weeks of not being able to lift anything heavier than a pencil with the arm and then another 6 to 8 weeks of rehab.  The kicker was that if I went to the surgery route, Guatemala would have to wait.
   After praying together, both Vicki and I felt that the greater need was for us to go this summer.  We would trust that God would heal my arm to the point of His power.  I had to ice it quite a bit....wear an elbow brace....and the biggest hurdle, ask someone to help me lift things that I normally could lift by myself.
    My daily habits had to change a little bit.   Yet, the biggest thing I had going for me was many people praying.

Those prayers helped GREATLY.  Considering I had an MRI done in March for my knee that I dislocated, I did not want to have an MRI done before we left.  I did not want too much radiation, and the cost would not able to be absorbed in our budget.  As the summer went on, I began to shift my prayers that the tendon would only be partially torn and not completely.  You know what, I firmly believe that the prayer was answered!
   As the summer went on, the pain decreased greatly.  I still wore the brace, but gradually attempted more things (even was able to move a sheet of cement board by myself by the end of the summer.  Now, I can flex my muscle, lift about the same amount of weight with each arm, and even use a screwdriver!  I think that with some simple physical therapy, I can get my arm back to where it was before the accident.  I will never be a professional weight lifter, I am still a little cautious with various heavy objects, but am grateful to God for healing.  I am not 100% what happened in my arm, but "I am Still Confident of this, I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the land of the living. Wait for the Lord, be strong and wait for the Lord!"  (Psalm 27:13-14)

Thank you for your prayers.....

~Justin

School update

Hi everybody!

How are you all doing?

For the past couple weeks we have been taking Spanish class from Requel, who is a wife of one of the people on staff, and she happens to know a little bit of English. So us Schrocks have been enjoying Spanish. Justin goes to class first thing in the morning while us kids go to school. Then Miya, Kira, and Naomi go at ten. After that is Caleb, Emilee and me(AJ) Then Vicki goes in the afternoon. We are very blessed to have a great Spanish teacher.

School for us kids has been a little different (In a good way) since our Aunt Cheryl has come to teach us. We would love big prayers for her as she has to prepare everyday for us to learn. We have been having a lot of fun with her.

Our days have gotten longer and harder at school, 

but we are having fun and missing you all.

Always praying for you guys in Iowa.

-AJ

Justin and our spanish teacher Raquel

AJ working on Math

Caleb and Aunt Cheryl (our teacher) 

Emilee practicing Spanish

 "A Child's life has no dates; it is free, silent, dateless.  A child's life ought to be a child's life, full of simplicity" ~ Oswald Chambers