God has a plan for you too Valerie and Victor...

We are moving from the current church we have been attending since 2004 to participate in a new church plant in our neighborhood, it's a daughter church called CCI El Hatillo (which is the name of the town we live in, by the way: CCI stands for Christian Center International not Christian Camping International!)

This week, after Alfredo preached his last sermon at CCI Fellowship, our Pastor John, brought the children and me up to the front with Alfredo.

He had the elders surround us and pray for us but first he spoke a word to each of us. He thanked me for the years of service as a Sunday School teacher and he seemed to be quite surprised that tears filled my eyes. But how could they not when we have experienced an amazing sense of community, made friends for us as a couple and also for our children, and loved serving together.

Pastor John thanked Alfredo for his leadership as an elder and preacher and perhaps what blessed me the most was his words for Victor and Valerie:

"Victor and Valerie, you also have God’s call on your lives and need to know that it’s not just your parents who are called but also you as well. So, be asking the Lord: What plans do you have for me there?

V&V have been struggling greatly with this move. It is perhaps the most difficult thing Valerie has had to face in her young life, trusting God that this is for the best even though she leaves her best friends back at the other church. So, I know that the Holy Spirit will use that question to cause her to reflect. Please pray with Alfredo and I for her to learn to trust in God's direction and seek His will in the face of uncertainty.

Prayer for a family grieving the loss of their little boy...

We ask your prayer for a family that lives just a few houses down from us in Tegucigalpa. Their son of just 3 years old died a few days ago of smoke inhalation when their home caught on fire.
A friend of mine, who knew I lived close by, called me and asked me to go see what was happening since her fire was on fire. Tragically, this woman's little boy was caught inside the home and they couldn't get him out until it was too late, so when the firemen came, they could not revive him.
As I sat in the ambulance praying for this mother and her family, I watched her embrace her little boy to her chest cry out to the Lord. It seemed her son had only fallen asleep. With several of her friends we interceded, asked God for a miracle, and agonized with her pain. I shared with her husband how we were praying since he was out of town and returning as quickly as possible.
Everyone present, friends and family, neighbors and others were in a state of shock but at the same time prayers were on all our lips. We prayed against the onslaught of guilt and fear of recrimination. We prayed that through this first wave of anguish and pain their family would be strengthened, that their other two children (2 years and 8 years--in the same grade/school as my son) would be comforted, that the spouses would support one another unconditionally and that this incomprehensible tragedy would be used by God to unite them all.
The entire neighborhood and school has been impacted by this tragedy and so we ask that you would accompany us in prayer, that they would sense God's presence and that their thoughts would be aligned with His truths:
…We are here on this earth for a short time (John 14:1-4)
… This world where sin and death rule is not our final destiny, we are en route to a New Heaven and New Earth (Rev. 21)
… That God is good and He loves children (Luke 18:16) and will care for them (Matthew 18:10)
…That God's sons and daughters will spend eternity together in His presence and that it is right and good to look forward to this gran reunion (I Thess. 2:19-20; 4:13-14, 17-18)
…That our children are on loan to us, they are gifts from God (Ps. 127:3)

Pray for this family, but let not our prayers be: Oh Lord, may this never happen to me, but rather, Lord, please manifest Yourself in the life of this family.

PS: We were fortunate enough to have a friend of mine, Eduardo Mena, from Costa Rica, who also lost his daughter, Rebeca, in a car accident, email me a Spanish copy of David Wiersbe's book: Gone but not lost: Grieving the death of a child.

Lord willing, I will be meeting with this family this Sunday morning to share this book and a little booklet called, Heaven, by Randy Alcorn.


Look Inside This Book

Where two or three are gathered…..

In Honduras, right now, where two or three are gathered, we are discussing the political situation!

At first, one would send out feelers to determine which way they may be leaning, towards Mel Zelaya or towards the current government. Then a conversation of the “latest” tidbit of information would be discussed. The flurry of news channels, blogs, youtube clips and emails has provided more than enough fodder for whichever side you might be leaning toward. Of late, I have noted a shift amongst a growing number of churches. Several are establishing a 24 hour, 7 day a week prayer chain, others are gathering on a frequent basis to pray. Our church, Centro Cristiano Internacional, has not chosen a political posture to side with but rather is encouraging the Body of Christ to pray along the items listed below in the chart. I invite you to accompany us at 1:00pm every day to pray with Alfredo and I, which is the hour we signed up for.

We give thanks:
* For His great love and presence in Honduras.
*For the plans and purposes He has for this Nation.
* For having saved us from greater damage during the earthquake.
* For having guarded us from the propagation of the H1N1 virus.
* For giving us a land full of natural resources.

We proclaim:
* Christ’s sovereignty over Honduras.
* God’s healing over our land.
* God’s provision of daily bread and healthy relationships in each home.
* God’s mantel of protection and safety over Honduras.
* Opening new sources for jobs
* Justice operating throughout the land.
* The heart of the Honduran people turning to God and His ways.

We ask:
* For divine intervention upon this nation, that nothing outside of His will would prosper.
* That all evil purposes for this Nation would be defeated.
* That the enemies of this nation would be silenced and broken.
* That the eyes of the Honduran people would be opened and able to discern between good and evil.
* That men and women who fear God would defend the freedom of this nation.
* That Honduras would cease being used as a channel for nacrotraffic.

We rebuke and bind:
* The spirit of violence
* The spirit of death
* The spirit of poverty
* The spirit of promiscuity (sexual sin)
* The spirit of addiction to alcohol and drugs
* The spirit of lying and deceit
* The spirit of witchcraft
* The spirit of greed and corruption
* The spirit of indifference and passivity

From the ground, I can tell you that many of the news reports are downright alarmist and paint a picture of all the country being in upheaval, up in arms. There’s no denial of the growing tension between the Pro-Zelaya and Pro-Current Government groups. There are pro-marches for both groups, which for the most part are peaceful. Although there have been a number of deaths amongst the Pro-Zelaya supporters. The military police is actively taking note of who marches in support of Mel Zelaya.
What is often not mentioned in the reporting is how the lines are being drawn between socioeconomic classes. The tremendous historical and current division of classes is one of the major variables in the current crisis. The problem is much deeper than just the incidents since the June 28th removal of President Mel Zelaya. The real fodder for this crisis are issues like corruption, the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, abuse of power, institutionalized injustice, leadership who grant themselves immunity from the law, poverty, the deplorable state of public education, hard line right winged military and yes outside influences like, narcotraffic, organized crime, Hugo Chavez, and even the United States.

What you don’t hear on the news is that many Short Term Missions teams have canceled their trips, causing financial hardship for a number of ministries. Tourism has decreased, causing economic repercussions in areas heavily dependent on tourism like the Bay Islands (Roatan is offering a “two for one” on room and flights and food because of it). Many people who work for Non-Governmental Agencies (NGO) are losing their jobs due to the European and American Governments withholding their funds for development until such time as Mel Zelaya is reinstated as president.

The more I listen to the various points of view on the radio and TV and read the emails, the more convinced I am that no one person or source can tell the whole story. This I do know, it is a pivotal time in the history of Honduras and of Central America for the believers to rise up and be counted. Those believers with whom we gather each Tuesday evening to pray say:
“Our one desire is to see the nations worship you Lord.
Yes we want justice.
Yes we want peace.
Yes want education for our children.
Yes we want just and honest leaders.
But we want more than that.
Our one desire is to see the nation of Honduras worship you.
We want God’s Word preached as never before.
We want the Christians to be known by their works and godly actions.
We want this crisis to be a wake-up call for Christ’s Bride, the Church, to be a clear sign of God’s Kingdom on earth.”

Amen.

Faith Goals for our CCI/Latin America's Teacher Training Event in Costa Rica

My dear prayer warrior:

Our “prayer compass”

I have provided you with a guide to help direct your prayers this month since I am currently in Costa Rica co-leading with Bob Sabean and our teaching team the Institute for Forming Instructors Feb. 1-14, 2009 (teacher training). This event is much anticipated and is attended by a dozen students coming from eight different countries of Latin America.

Pray with us for its purpose to be filled:

Lord, may each graduating instructor return home and when someone asks him how his trip went he may heartfully respond:

“I am convinced, equipped and ready to train camp directors to create their own Bible Study curriculum for their campers to delve into the Bible and learn how to apply God’s Word to their daily lives.”

To further guide your prayers, we have arranged our faith goals around the four cardinal points, they are the desired outcomes or results to pray for. Please pray with us for the next two weeks on the basis of what we have written, knowing that we are making our best efforts but it’s the Lord who gives the growth.

Faith Goals for the IFI-3 (Feb. 1-15)

For the instructor:

• We see in faith, that the instructors are living Christi-centered lives, evidenced in all areas of their lives, product of their interaction with God’s Word on a personal level and in community with others (they study the Word in groups of four.)
• In James 1:22-25 God compares His Word with a mirror. The study of God’s Word shows you your virtues and faults. The instructor who presents him or herself as a proud “know-it-all” or superior to others it like a man who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

South: The camp counselors and campers

• We see, in faith, the instructors inspiring the camp counselors to learn how to use Bible Encounters in Community (BEC) with the goal that the Bible changes the future decisions and actions of the campers.

• We see, in faith, campers who open God’s word with confidence, studying it as a part of their daily living, reading it like a love letter that comforts and teaches as well as an authority that confronts.

North: Those in authority over them

• We see, in faith, instructors promoting a counterculture involving indepth study of the Bible as fruit of their ample use of BEC in camps, Sunday School, at home, etc.
• We see, in faith, instructors overcoming any and all obstacles in order to teach this course back home in their respective countries, numerous times, and as they do so following the guidelines CCI Latin America has established.

East: Co-workers, peers

• We see, in faith, instructors returning to their Nacional CCI Associations, refreshed, rejuvenated and energized, seeking to influence others with what they learned, raising the standard of excelence in their teaching and surrounding themselves with others in order to form a team to strengthen their Association.

Thank you for supporting us in prayer, we know that God moves in response to the prayers of His people,

Lisa

Our teaching team: Bob Sabean, Gloria Garcia (Mexico), Carlos Baca (Honduras), Norma Canales (Honduras), Xenia Sanchez (El Salvador), Bessy Macotto (Argentina) and Robert Bruneau (Panama)

Umana-Anderson Family Prayer requests - April 2008

I welcome you to post your comments below!

Lisa
Pray for the team of CCI co-laborers in Tegucigalpa, who after having started the year off with great enthusiasm are now beginning to falter on commitment and consistency.
Pray for me as I seek to strengthen and encourage the core team of leaders, Blanca, Carlos, Cesar (and wife Kenia).

April 18-May 3—I travel to Trinity Evangelical Divinity School for my second class this year, Cross-cultural leadership development, taught by my dear mentor and friend Jim Plueddemann (who happened to be my most influential professor at Wheaton in 1992-1993!)
Am I a happy camper with him and that class, or what?!
Pray for God to expand my understanding of leadership development in another culture.

Praise God for my mother-in-law’s help with the children while I’m gone.

Alfredo:
After focusing fully on starting a new business the last two years, he finally has the breathing room to return in the role of elder in the local church we attend. He’s thrilled to be back in active ministry and to serve with an outstanding team of brothers and sisters.

Valerie:
Pray for determination and resolve.
I’m not an Obama fan, but I often sing her the Yes we can song as she tends to give up in the face of hardship (i.e. learning to jog in track class, learning to solve math problems…)
Pray she’ll resolve to say: I can’t do it yet, but if I work hard, with God’s help, I’ll learn!

Victor:
Pray for humility.
We’re working to help him unlearn the “one-upmanship” game, you can only imagine the negative chemistry that ignites when he plays it with his sister!

Pray as well that God would protect him from some negative influence at school, unfortunately, he's being exposed to some very bad language on the playground.

Some updated family pictures:

Umana-Anderson Family Prayer requests - March 2008

Teaching the Bible to young children in a creative and non-traditional manner:

Workshop to be held this Friday and Saturday, March 14-15

We anticipate a gathering of some 150 Sunday School teachers and Elementary ed. Teachers representing some 30 institutions to participate in 12 hours of teaching and hands-on practice.

Through learning the theory and having the opportunity to have hands on practice, those who attend will be able to guide the children under their care to experience God’s Stories through hearing, seeing, and touching it.

Key notes:

* The research and design for this workshop is the final project for the class I just attended in Feb. on Models of Nonformal Education at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

* I will be teaching a modified version of Young children and worship by Sonja Stewart, enriched by the past 4 years of experience in coaching the Pre-kinder and Kindergarden teachers on how to teach the Bible at the school Valerie and Victor attend. You might say, I have a vested interest there!

* This past Saturday morning I was interviewed for an hour on the radio to discuss Christian Camping International’s aims and promote the workshop. As I spoke I found myself thrilled with the opportunity to be an advocate for joining children on their spiritual journey. (The book by the same title, by Catherine Stonehouse has greatly broadened and solidified my understanding of how lasting and foundational children’s’ first images of God are.)


* Joining me as trainers are 4 CCI-certified instructors from San Pedro Sula who have used Patricia Garza’s material we are featuring in this workshop (Patricia Garza has adapted Young children and worship material for use in Latin America). Each team of participants will make full use of the workshop material that contains a textbook, packet of reproducible visual aids, a CD with original music, a DVD which contains the songs/ choreography, and demonstrations of the Bible lessons.

I ask you to join me in prayer with these faith goals. If the Lord were to richly bless this workshop, I picture:

* Teachers (and parents) guiding the young children under their care to experience God’s Stories through hearing, seeing, and touching it.

* Schools and churches shifting from entertaining 3-4-5 year olds with coloring pictures to engaging their hands and imaginations in God’s stories (holy play as Stewart calls it).