Wisdom comes...

As the rain falls down tonight, creating a symphony all around us I am reminded of what this day was and is: a unique gift from God.

How did you spend your day today? 

I wanted to take a minute to say thank you to the many people that sent e-mails and provided prayers and insight with my call for wisdom in my decision to go to Chiapas, Mexico for the next Timothy Leadership Training.

In response to the plans for tomorrow….

Hermano Jesus, Pablo, Darvin, Guillermo, Miguel, Dan, and myself will leave PBM around 3pm and head to Huehuetenango.  There we will spend the night and then leave early Monday morning for the border.

Once we get across the border (PRAY for smooth paperwork for the Guatemalans…Dan and I should have no problems)….then we will meet Pastor Miguel from Chiapas who will travel with us to Las Margaritas. 

TLT will start around 4pm on Monday and last until Thursday noon.  After the conference we will head back to Huehuetenango for the night and then return to the base around noon.

*We ask for prayers for safety with the travel

*A hedge of protection for the 25 pastors that will be gathering (6 different denominations!)

*For God to give the right words to those teaching

*For the Lord to cover us (the team traveling) with cloud by day and in the night glow of a burning flame!!!...let the traditionalists that have brought problems for Christians in the past, be blinded and blocked from encountering what we feel God leading us to do....

Join us in prayer for what God will continue to do in the Chiapas area…..

Some GREAT missionaries (The Kempers) used to say “Chiapas para Cristo” which means: Chiapas for Christ……

We go with the same heart, but with the motto…”Chiapas con Cristo”…..Chiapas with Christ.

Update on Wendi and a hunger for Wisdom....

UPDATE on Wendi’s last meeting:

We just got word that things did not go well again with the Passport office for Wendi.  Since Wendi’s father’s name is on the birth certificate and since she is only 15, the office is saying that they have to have both parents’ signatures.  We are now onto the next step, we are not 100% sure what that is.  We do know that her first surgery is scheduled in August…..but she needs a passport and then a visa….pray with us for all things to clear and to clear QUICKLY!

~Vicki

Wisdom. 

It is a true mystery.  It is often something that we do not see within ourselves.  It can escape us if we are not looking for it and it can show up when we least expect.  It is not knowledge, and it is not information.   Wisdom is something deeper.

I have longed for wisdom.  Not the wisdom that comes from books and schooling only.  I long for the wisdom that is richer than that: The wisdom from the Lord.  It is this covering that can come and go.  If you tell someone you are wise, they think you are arrogant.    If you show someone you are wise, they sometimes will marvel.

Wisdom.  Let it not escape us.  I went looking for wisdom many years ago.  When I was 21 years old, I was determined to seek after wisdom.  I knew that I could not grab onto it alone.  I knew God spoke in and through others, and so I went chasing it. 

I carried with me a red book whose pages were blank.  When I read or heard a quote that spoke to the depth of my soul, I wrote it down.  Sometimes it was scripture, other times it came from within.  I wanted to grow from the wisdom….and then pass it on to my son and daughters.  May they fall in love with the wisdom of the Lord the way that I have.  I still have that book today.  I still add to it today at different times as well.  I go back through it from time to time to scroll through the pages and let it marinate my soul once again. 

It is with this same passion that I request your help in my quest for continued wisdom.  I have a decision to make and I need to make it by Sunday at 3pm (4pm Central Time).  Sunday through Thursday in Las Margaritas, Chiapas is the next Timothy Leadership Training seminar for 25 pastors.  There would be 8 of us going up to teach, lead devotions, and assist these pastors and to train them in the Biblical Truth.  This part of Chiapas is one of the most persecuted parts of Mexico and Central America.  The traditionalists are those who have a mix of Catholicism and Mayan beliefs.  They have been hurting Christians, kidnapping them, and even killing them.  Yet, in and through this, the Christians are crying out for help and hope from the Lord….they want more.  The Church is still living there! 

I am faced with the decision: to go or not.

To go: to be an encourager and help with the seminar.  I would lead two devos and help host and assist.

To Not go:  Would my presence as a “gringo” make the group more of target (which is a serious concern that we all are talking it through).

This decision has been given to me to make.  I long to make the wise choice.  Maybe not the choice best in the sight of mankind, but the choice in the sight of the Lord is what I want to do.

Pray with me BUT more importantly, pray for the pastors in the Chiapas area that WANT more of Christ and want to share Him with those in the area.  There is Hope in the name of the Lord.

~Justin

Prayers Needed

Today there is a very important meeting happening in a small little office with a mom and her daughter and government agent. Wendy is needing a passport and Visa to be able to travel to Ohio for some very needed surgery that she is not able to receive here in Guatemala.  Wendy was born with some intestinal mal-normalicies, and a hospital and team of doctors is willing to donate their time and resources to help Wendy, 15 years old.

Here is where you come in!  Wendy's birth certificate lists her dad, but he left the home soon after Wendy was born.  Now when the passport papers need to be signed the government wants Wendy's dad to sign them too.  So, we need prayers that in todays meeting there can be alternative paperwork filled out, or that the person listed on Wendy's birth Certificate can be located.

This is literally life and death for Wendy!  We need a million dollar prayer answered TODAY!  Will you please join in storming the gates of Heaven in Wendy's name!

With anticipation,

Vicki

We are at WAR!

Well, only kind of.  You see, we have a deck outside of our apartment and we absolutely love sitting out there to eat.  In fact, more times than not, we have our meals outside.  The view is amazing, the breeze is not too overpowering, the fellowship is just more "alive" when we can eat outside.  YET....yet, at night, we become under attack once the suns sets. We have a light on the outside as well.  Which brings in the June Bugs.  The kids simply cannot understand why they would come, given that it is still May.  However, come they do.  And then come the screams.  These dive bombing fools seem to have a death wish as the dive right towards us.  Hearing girlish screams from ALL of the kids, seeing hands swirling around forcefully to get them out of our hair, and having to double and triple check our food before we eat.

This adventure has not slowed us down from eating outside: we make adjustments.  We eat a little earlier.  We have a fly swatter ready.  We laugh it off when we can.

Isn't this true of life sometimes.  We really want something, but there is one small annoyance.  We need to make adjustments, plan and prepare, and laugh at ourselves.

                                                               How.bad.do.we.want.it?


Last week was Mother's Day and we celebrated the one and only Vicki.  A truly wonderful mother who can seem to do so much in so little of time.  So we went out to eat and with it being Sunday (which means insanity in terms of busyness) we went to the Pradera (fancy word for the mall food court).


Good times!!!!


Want to know what it is like to eat at Chimaltenango in the Pradera on Mother's Day?  Music and all at this link...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9K1DLM5sG8&feature=youtu.be

Sums our family up well now...two languages....LIVE MORE!

Emilee

AJ and Kira

Naomi

Beautiful Flowers and.....corn growing together!

Panoramic pic of Lake Atitlan near Panajachel, Guatemala

National Geographic says: 3rd most beautiful lake in the world.....yep!

17 people from the Chuaquenum church were baptized

beautiful colors

Day One...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq2Tp3asLU8

This new song by Matthew West sums it for us.  SO…

Before you continue on reading….go ahead and click on the above link and watch/listen to Day One by Matthew West.

We are down to less than 8 weeks left here in Guatemala.  We have had a lot of questions cycle through our heads in this journey that our family has embarked on.

Besides questions, we have taken note of various truths as well.

*We were called to come to Guatemala (for an actual season!)

*We always said that we would remain in youth ministry at our home church until we were called away (even though we never really gave much thought of what THAT would feel and look like when it was time to move on).

*We are truly called back to the States.  If there is any sort of running, it is into the arms of our LORD.  That same path that led us here to Guatemala is the same path that leads us back.

*Moving our family to a third world country that we have visited before was a leap of faith, BUT heading back to the States, yet not fully knowing what the “next step” looks like….now THAT is the leap of faith that this past year has been preparing us for.

*What is next?

As we proceed to finish well here in Guate, we continue to work on:

                        **The on site clinic organization and implementation

                        **Profiles for each pastor/church that is under the discipleship care

                        **Hosting various people that come to stay, visit, work, serve

                        **Update the painting (switching from flat that needs to be re-painted                                                                 each year, to semi-brilliant that can now be wiped down

Yet, the most important part is that we are doing what we can to live into the mercies of the Lord each day.  Each day is a gift.   We let the kids experience life in a third world country.  This means when we hear the words “I have it so tough” or “ I miss my friends” or “I have nothing to do”, we can easily share with them the world around us and then words seem to change to “God really does love everyone” or “how come they do not have……and how can I help” or “yeah…..pretty amazing”. 

We let imaginations go wild.  Like letting all of the kids make forts in the big room with chairs and blankets and then let them “sleep” downstairs, if you could midnight to 4:30 in the morning sleeping?

Each new day brings us closer to the next phase, whatever that will look like besides being in the States.  Each new day brings us His mercies and new ways of learning more of His heart.  Each day, can be and really is….Day One.

How are you living your day today?

~Justin

Cooling off on a hot day

capturing a rare moment....calm togetherness! 

Lesli and Emilee

first meal out on the deck with the "new" table...straight from a pallet

normal day

Happy Birthday Emilee

There are 6 kids in this photo...can you spot them?

Forts and kids and big spaces go well together...

Thoughts from the Last Timothy Leadership Training

As I type, Pablo is finishing up the last lesson for this first session of the Timothy Leadership Training for the 2017.  Man, can that guy TEACH!  The worship has been great, watching these pastors soak in the teaching has been incredible, seeing their faces and hearing their stories has been amazing.


If you have not done so, I HIGHLY recommend that you head to Facebook and check out the Paradise Bound Ministries page to view videos and photos from the weekend.

PBM has been in Guatemala for 18 years and desires to reach the beautiful people of Guatemala.  This has been done up until 2013 through house builds and medical clinics.  NOW, we enter into the era of including the pastor's training: TLT.

The first class was 19.  The second class was 21.  This third class is 23, and we have around 115 pastors on the waiting list!  The end of May finds myself (Justin), Dan, Hermano Jesus, Pablo, and Darvin heading to Chiapas, Mexico to help out with the first class of TLT there with another 25 pastors!

What we are seeing is when these pastors, who previously had no training and only the CALL of God, receive encouragement, theology, counseling training, and a deeper well of the Bible and the Spirit of God: They become alive! These men and women go from here to their home villages and share Christ deeper and more passionately.  We are seeing more people come to know Christ than through when teams come down here for the house builds and medical clinics.  Now, we are still called to the house builds and clinics, but it is clear that the pastor training is equally as important to who we are at PBM.

The thing that gets me is this: This is not in our budget.  Yet, PBM continues to go forth with TLT because we see the Fruit of it.  It costs us about $600 for each Pastor to take the TLT program for the 2 1/2 years.  We are able to handle two groups a year (class of 2016 and class of 2017 this year)...will lead us to about $12,000 a year that shifts into TLT.

Dream with me.  What would it look like if $12,000 came in each year for Pastor Training.  Do you know someone or some group that has that passion?  Do you know someone who knows someone?  I also go with the idea of this: What is the worst they could say...no?  I don't know if I do not ask.

I ask not personally, as it is true that my family will be leaving PBM's staff the first of July.  Yet, I have seen and felt and experienced first hand this ministry to and with the pastors.  It IS bringing people (MANY people) to a life in Christ.  You want to change Guatemala for the Gospel?  Get behind this.....what is stirring in your heart?  Prayer changes everyone....always, first and foremost, the one on their knees first.

Dios te bendiga y hasta pronto y con mucho amor!

Justin

Hola, como estas?

Hello, how are you?

The title is an often-familiar greeting that we give to one another.  This is no different here in Guatemala.  Hola, buenas dias?  Como estas?  You hear that just about everywhere you go.

So it is with great joy and sincerity that I share that expression with all of you:  Hello, how are you?

It has been a long while since our last post.  We have traveled back to the States to help with a fundraiser/awareness event for the ministry, connect with friends and family, putz around on the acreage, and share our hearts with various churches and groups, and individuals.  Alas, we (the Schrocktribe) are now back in Guatemala.

We are in the small break between the two Timothy Leadership Training seminars here at the base.  Each week about 25 pastors come here to worship, study, train, grow, and develop.  Exciting is hardly the word to use.  Our family simple acts as host at the base, I (Justin) led one devotion, and then chat with the presenters in between their teaching….oh…and we eat ALL GUATEMALAN FOOD.  It is amazing!

As we reflect on our family’s experiences this past year, we are amazed.  We had felt the call to come here a few years ago, but it was not entirely clear.  We were content and felt like we still had a role at our home church in youth ministry.  We always said that we would stay there until God would call us out.  We had a hunch that the next calling would be in Guatemala.

In September of 2013, our Church went through The Story together and on the last Sunday in September the message was on Abraham and his following the Lord.   We, Vicki and I, were mulling over, “is it time to move on”.  We had chatted with only 3 other people…..yet on that Sunday we heard: So they left.  Only 3 other people knew what was in our heads….not the pastor, not the youth group, only three close friends.  Yet we heard it: The Call.

This passage is taken from Genesis 12:4 when Abram responded to the Lord’s calling.  He, and his wife and nephew Lot (hence the they) went to a place that they did not know, only to follow the Lord. 

We heard those words that day: So they left.  So we began the journey that we find ourselves in….Guatemala.

Yet, in the journey of following God, which I pray that all of you desire to do, we need to be aware of two types of callings:  A Life-Long Calling and a Calling to a Task.  I had to learn this in my years of ministry.  My vocation is my life long calling.  My job is my calling to a task.

Acts 16 sets this up beautifully.  Paul (called to be a Missionary to the Gentiles) heads out to share God with a man from Macedonia.  After spending at least four weeks in Philippi and was beaten and flogged and thrown in the inner cell, THEN he gets to share the Gospel with the jailer and converts him and his entire family to Christ.  Then in verse 40 we see these words: Then they left . 

Their task was done……

For us a  Schrocktribe, let us be the same…..in September we heard and answered: So they left.  Yet again, we hear that same mysterious calling:  Then they left.  We will answer that call.  We share this with you, to let you know…..we are moving back to the States July 1, 2015. 

After much prayer and soul searching and listening, we see and sense (having confirmation that we were to come AND confirmation that we are to return) we will be faithful yet again and return to the States.  Vicki has a job/ministry in the field of nursing and serving the under served.  This opportunity will be within her gifts and passion and a benefit to our family.

I remain open to the Lord’s leading.  I still enjoy youth ministry, discipleship ministry and helping men and women called into ministry to further explore their vocational calling. 

As a family, we see the overall need and direction is to move back.  This has been a difficult process because we hold much love (still) for the ministry and people here.  We still HIGHLY recommend people to come to Guatemala with Paradise Bound Ministry.  We believe in what God is doing in and through the ministry here.

Yet, for the Schrocks, let it be said of us: So they left and then they left , ALL in God’s plan and timing.  We thank you for your prayers (oh how we thank you!!!!).  We plan to continue this blog to share God’s movements and devotions and our hearts.  We are not done yet.  We still have a few more months here.  Join us in the great unknown WITH the Great I AM! 

~Justin

Tuesday Fun

So it has been a while since we last posted.  We are now back in Guatemala as a family.  We are even in between the two Timothy Leadership Seminars.

School Work is done.  The Clean up is done.  There are no teams here.  So what do the kids do to keep themselves entertained?  Aj writes, directs, and produces a short video with Caleb and Emilee.

The joys of self-entertainment bring entertainment to us all.


ENJOY



https://youtu.be/UoOxpL8hQX8

Copy this above link in your web browser and have fun!

We welcome the next group (the 2017 class) of pastors in the Timothy Leadership Training tomorrow.  We will keep you posted when new adventures occur.  Thank you for your continued prayers!!!

~Justin