Interview of me on the on-line Tech-ology Show

I'd love to hear your thoughts about the interview! Tony Casey, the man who interviewed me, and I attend Trinity Evangelical Divinity School together. He is very funny and the show has a fun, frolicking feel to it; one can imagine being at Starbucks together, sitting around a table and chatting.

The interview (http://youtu.be/fzClMVgmoFs) with me starts at minute 3:20 and ends minute 1:09, I speak of Christian Camping International, Latin America, what it's about, what my role is, how I became involved in missions, a story of how a camper's life was impacted for Christ and I close by sharing the story of how our Valerie and Victor were born as miracles.

I invite you to download the audio podcast or view it on line at (episode 112): http://www.thetechologyshow.com/

I'd love to hear your thoughts about the interview! Tony Casey, the man who interviewed me and we attend Trinity Evangelical Divinity School together, is very funny and the show has a fun, frolicking feel to it; one can imagine being at Starbucks together, sitting around a table and chatting.

Share your observations with me!

"Overnight Camp-Out" with the Sunday School classes of 7-12 years

You can view it directly on Youtube (7:20) http://youtu.be/OnKwS3XINsA

There are camp programs that you really work hard on preparing and packing full of details. But during this brief camp of 24 hours (Saturday from 10am to Sunday 10am) we created a space on Saturday night and the Holy Spirit took control of the program!

Alfredo gave a short message on "Key decisions" using the life of Elijah as an example and then Victor gave his testimony about his decision to not say bad words. It was like his confession set off a round of confessions from his peers and the Holy Spirit prompted them to confess their sins and make public their repentance to:

• Not say bad words.
• Not listen to songs with inappropriate lyrics.
• Not talk back to their parents, teachers and grandparents.
• Not disobey their parents.

Kids even went up front to share Bible stories and to exhort one another to take God seriously. All us leaders took a bad seat to God and to the campers themselves! It felt like a revival! After a while Alfredo made an altar call for those who hadn't made a decision to follow Jesus and nine young boys literally rushed to the front to pray! There was a party in heaven to celebrate those 9 lives dedicated to Jesus!

What did we do before this little revival?

• We played in the pool
• We had "An epic battle" with our homemade blow guns, in the pouring down rain!
• Every single camper learned to make their own fire
• We cooked "S'mores" and roasted marshmallows, each on his own campfire

What did we do after this little revival?

• We slept in tents... for a few hours!
• We (well, not everyone!) joined the Polar Bear club-- they were in the pool at 5:40AM!
  
• We each learned to have our own Quiet Times!

Finally, we celebrated what God did and will continue to do in these young boys lives!

Victor's Music Recital

Victor participated together with Valerie a couple of weeks ago singing a funny song that had many of us giggling. Both of them participated in a music recital given by a number of students from his school, Academia Los Pinares in Tegucigalpa, Honduras on May 19, 2011. He's 9 years old.

"On top of spaghetti"

You can view it directly on Youtube: http://youtu.be/SPX-UF4C_wQ

The other song that had us laughing was: "Don't worry, Be happy!" His sister and another classmate, sang and danced back-up for him! :)

You can see it directly on Youtube: http://youtu.be/UCEY86yO6fo

Indeed, we didn't worry and we were quite happy!

Valerie Music Recital

There's nothing like a talent show of sorts to get parents involved and enthused and so this past Friday, Alfredo and I joined several dozen other parents in attending our children's music recital.

Enjoy the video clips of Valerie's performance of the songs "Tomorrow" from Annie and "Part of your world" from the movie, Little Mermaid.

"Tomorrow" sung by Valerie Umana-Anderson (2:06)

You can view it directy on Youtube: http://youtu.be/IVwlO_xeL_k


"Part of your world" (from Little Mermaid) sung by Valerie Umana-Anderson (2:49)
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You can view it directly on youtube: http://youtu.be/WdIHAzhB9F0

"May God bless you with discomfort"

This is from a newsletter from a fellow, LAM Mexico missionary, Sally Isaias, and I find it to be very relevant since this Easter season, I have found myself avoiding pain and discomfort:

"This last Wednesday, (the beginning of Lent) I met with a young man whom I have known since he was a child. I knew he was not doing well and wanted to ask him upfront what was going on. What an intense meeting! He shared his life and convictions with me and listened intently as I shared with him what I believe the Lord says in his Word regarding his situation, giving him hope in Jesus Christ. He has chosen to believe a lie and deep down admits that he is wrong but isn´t willing to pay the price to be healed. He kept repeating: “I don´t want to suffer, I don´t want to sacrifice, I don´t want to do anything uncomfortable. I don´t want to.” In the midst of it all, we prayed and he thanked me for confronting him in love. “No one has ever done that, they just look at me and talk behind my back. Thanks for coming directly to me. I don´t agree with you, but feel that you truly care for me and are not judging me. I want to be healed, just don´t know if I am ready to pay the price” he said. It made me think of how we all shy away from suffering, sacrificing and being uncomfortable So, I have taken to heart a Franciscan prayer sent to me:

May God bless you with discomfort. Discomfort at easy answers, half truths and superficial relationships,

so that you may live deep within your heart. Amen.

May God bless you with anger. Anger at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people,

so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace. Amen.

May God bless you with tears. Tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war,

so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and turn their pain into joy. Amen.

May God bless you with foolishness. Enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world,

so that you can do what others claim cannot be done. Amen.

And the blessing of God who creates, redeems, and sanctifies,

be upon you and all you love and pray for this day and forever more. Amen.

What discomfort are you experiencing today that God can use for His glory?

I pray the Lord greatly enriched you this Easter season as you reflected on what Christ for you and for me on the cross.

15 years of marital bliss!

This April 13 we celebrated 15 years of marriage! What an adventure that has been. I love doing life with Alfredo and anticipate many more years of adventure together!



The slideshow starts with photos from when we were "just friends", then when we became "boyfriend-girlfriend", then when we got engaged, and finally ends with photos from our wedding!

We love the companions God has given us to accompany us on this journey!

How do you know if an IFI has been successful?

One day, during a meal we shared together, my boss Robert Bruneau was asked: How do you know if an IFI has been successful?

I was close by so I took notes.

• Success is measured by the depth of the lived community we experience. God Himself blesses us with His presence as we begin to intentionally walk together and share life.

• Success is visible through the discoveries we listen to and see people make: Ah! Now I understand! I just realized… I never knew…Wow, this is new to me.

• Success is apparent by the progression we observe of the guided-supervised practices. After watching you teach several times, we get a handle on how well you are grasping the concepts and able to teach them to others.
• But we recognize, that we can only see the outward signs, God knows what's going on in the hearts of us all and He defines success by His means and standards!