We have more than 10,000 reasons to praise the Lord!

At our church Comunidad Cristiana, El Hatillo (Tegucigalpa, Honduras) Valerie Umana-Anderson and Susie McCabe (from North Way Christian Community, Pittsburgh, PA) sang Matt Redman's song, 10,000 Reasons. Susie and her husband Mac McCabe are visiting us and are our long-time friends. We have known one another for more than 30 years. Both Mac and Susie knew my parents, Bobbie & George Anderson and I was able to have their two daughters, Shannon first and then Cami, in my Bible studies during two different furloughs home in Pittsburgh. After my father passed away in 2003, we have often stayed in their home when we are back in Pittsburgh, so Valerie and Victor feel so endeared to them, they call them: Uncle Mac and Aunt Susie. So, needless to say, we share plenty of history.

So you can imagine the joy we felt watching Valerie and Susie sing for God's glory at church. We do indeed have far more than 10,000 reasons to praise HIS NAME!

Enjoy this video of their worship to the Lord (4.35 min.)

Overnight Camp-out with the Sunday School class of 8-10 yrs

In our church, Christian Community, El Hatillo, during the first 6 months of the year, celebrate one Over-night camp-out per Sunday School class (4 classes of around 15-25 students each, ages 8-13 yrs. boys and girls separate).

We invite the entire class to come to our house Saturday morning and spend the night in tents camped out on our lawn. The teachers serve as camp counselors and I serve as the speaker and camp director, and Alfredo is in charge of Quiet Time and the final reflection on Sunday morning before we walk to our church, just in time for Sunday morning worship. I prepare the video clip (which you can see below) to show the church family what God (and their kids) did over the weekend. This will be our third year doing this and the kids look forward to this season with excitement. We take the older students, 14-18 years old on their own retreat to a nearby camp. 

They enjoy the activities like:

• Swimming in our little pond
• Playing games with the parachute
• Getting closer as a SS class
• Being taught in depth on one particular subject, this year the theme is: Friendship with Jesus and  others.
• Taking a night hike all by yourself in the dark
• Watching the stars
• Sleeping in tents with their friends
• Getting up at 5am to swim and become a member of the "Polar Bear Club"

These next blogs will show you some more images and details about what we teach and hope to accomplish. For now, I invite you to enjoy the 3:45min. video from our first Camp-Out with girls 8-10 years. 

Overnight Camp-outs with our church's Sunday School classes: Feb. class of 8-10 yr. girls

The theme of this year's series of Overnight Camp-outs is "Your friendship with Jesus and with others." We had in attendance 12 of the 15 girls in that age bracket (8-10 years old) so we were very pleased with the turn-out.

As you will see from the video clip below (3:45 min.), the highlights are swimming in our little pond, playing with our German Shepherd dog, Fofer, sleeping in a tent, playing games with the parachute, cooking your meals over the campfire, taking a night hike (alone in the dark woods!), and several said they enjoyed the Bible teaching on friendships.

Contrast between 8-10 year old girls in Honduras and USA

Overnight Camp-out with our church's Sunday School class of 8-10 girls

Listen in to this conversation as Alfredo and I ask the girls gathered around our ping pong table:
Jesus is your BBF but what is your friendship really like? 

"Jesus protects me from getting robbed like what happened to my cousin. The other day she was on a bus and some guy held a knife to her and took her cellphone."
"I prayed to Jesus for Him to save my friend who had been kidnapped. He answered my prayers and really the whole school's since we were all praying for her. (another chips in and says, oh so-and-so, yeah, we heard about it in our school and prayed for her too.) Yeah, after a couple of weeks, she was returned to her parents."
"I know Jesus is with me because when the robbers came into our home, we were gone and they didn't take much."
"One time I felt like Jesus hugged me, but it was so real that I thought for sure that it was my dad. So the next morning I asked him if he had come in during the night to hug me. But, no, he said it wasn't him, so it had to be Jesus." (she hugs herself to show us how He hugged her.)

Several more shared, interspersing stories about Jesus as their BFF, robbery, kidnapping and other security issues.

Alfredo leaned over and whispered in my ear: "Can you imagine hearing stories like this with a group of 8-10 year olds where you grew up in Pittsburgh?"

I said that at their age, that world was unknown to me. But, his observation got us all thinking, together with the two other Sunday School teachers who were present. The gest of our discussion was:
"The dangers in Honduras are so obvious that an 8-year old can figure it out. They depend on God to protect them from robbers, kidnappers and the like. But, in contrast with children from the USA, the dangers are not as obvious but no less dangerous. Sure, depending on where they live, most kids are not worried about robbers and kidnappers, but are their parents aware of the need to protect them from the dangers of materialism (thinking that the more you have the better off you are), consumerism (thinking happiness comes from what you consume like technology, entertainment, stuff), and moral decay where God is less and less part of the picture and "what's in your heart" is trusted more than "In God we trust?"

So many Hondurans, even several families from our church, have immigrated to the USA for security reasons. No doubt it's a relief to be able to drive your car with the windows down, to walk without looking over your shoulder, to let your kids play outside, to not have to hide your purse under the driver's seat, etc. 

But, what new dangers do they need to be on the look-out for?

I would love to hear your thoughts, you may have a new perspective to add, please take the time to share it by clicking below on "observations."

(This conversation formed part of our first "Over-night Camp-out" for each Sunday School class. I will share with you in my next blog some images from the camp.)

Don't panic. The perspective of Rixy, a Salvadorian serving in Christian camping in Niger

Rixy Leiva serving in Niger, Africa

I have known Rixy Leiva since I arrived in El Salvador in 1993. God used her to open my eyes to post-civil war El Salvador. We built
a strong friendship during the two years I lived there and since then have continued to walk together. Today, Rixy serves as a short-term missionary in Niger, Africa. 

She has been helping another fellow CCI/LA instructor (Juanita Rivas) teach our camping courses. (CCI/LA= Christian Camping International, Latin America). Last week, Rixy wrote this letter to her supporters due to their concern about the civil war in the neighboring country of Mali. (She has given me permission to share.)

Rixy describes how the gospel of Christ contrasts with the Muslims religion. I found Rixy's perspective to be particularly insightful, filled with confidence in Him who called her to serve in missions. 

I encourage you to take your time in reading this and discovering God's great world. 

From: Rixy Leiva, Feb. 1, 2013

To: "My beloved co-pilgrims"

The regional situation: 

Indeed, the news of the civil war in Mali is not encouraging. This week the government here in Niger have stationed groups of 6-8 soldiers to stand guard in the Christian churches in the capital, especially where foreigners attend. The official word is that it's a precautionary measure. But the soldiers presence at church generates insecurity in all of the community. There's a noticiable increase of military vehicles in the streets and more military check-points on the highways. The homes of the public figures are also heavily guarded. You can also hear more sirens as important officials are escorted by the police to and from and the war planes can be seen criss crossing the skies. 
The mosques which normally announce with loud speakers prayer 5 times a day, now are announcing prayer more frequently. The tone of the discourse on the news (which I can't understand) has gotten more tense and bellicose. I asked a former Muslim who is now a Christian what they were saying in Arabic and he told me that the Niger government is upset with how foreigners have intervened to foment the war in Mali. There's a general sense of anger towards foreigners. 
The NGOs (Non-governmental org), one of which I serve under, LINK, have asked its members to respect a 6pm to 6am curfew. They fear attacks against foreigners and the French Embassy is asking its people to "go on vacations, visit some family member back home," etc. They are not evacuating anyone but are encouraging their people to leave until things calm down. 
Yesterday some of the soldiers were heard to say that the rebel groups from Mali have crossed over the blind spots along the border into Niger, as they flee from the Mali armed forces. The government armed forces have re-taken the capital of Mali. The government of Niger is allowing weapons and arms to be transported through it in support of the Mali government. The response of the rebel groups in Mali has been to threaten Niger with attacks, saying: "Niger is no longer neutral. Niger is now part of this war." 
We were given a list of instructions which indicated the basic things we needed to have packed in our bags in case we needed to be evacuated quickly to a nearby country. They recommended keeping a bag  packed and ready with your personal documents, cash, water, names and phone numbers, a phone, and keeping your tank filled and ready. That means I have to have my moped bike filled and ready to go! hahahahaha
That being said, I ask you not to worry. In spite of all the warnings, on one hand everything continues as normal and in peace. This type of news really is heard and paid attention to only by the NGOs, Embassies, and foreigners, for us to take precautions. 
Churches are scheduling days of prayer and fasting. All the missionary community here are praying for this situation and we all came to the same conclusion: What should be do? Leave the country? Stay tucked in safely in our homes? No.
We need to redeem the time since the days are evil. We have the opportunity each day to be in Niger, we need to take full advantage of this time. Sure, we'll take the precautions that have been indicated, for example, not to travel alone. But the work of God must continue as always. 

The work:

Today, Sunday, I met with several co-workers Beatriz, Roberta, Wallace (Brazilians) and Midge (a North American). We traveled 30 min. outside of the Capital Niamey, to a very poor village where we had a beautiful worship service with 15 adults and 50 children. We sang. Prayed. Preached the gospel!

When the teacher asked: "What's the most important book in the world?" A very enthusiastic Nigerien (native of Niger) quickly stood to his feet, raised his hand, and shouted with all his strength: The Koran! Everyone shouted in agreement, "yes, yes." 

But you  know what? All of us (and I mean you as well since you are there with me since I would not be there but for you my supporters) would say: "The most important book in the world is the Word of God, the Bible." 
We explained that this Book, the Bible, speaks about Jesus Christ, the Son of God who loves us and gave His life to save us from the wrath of God for our sin, so that we might live eternally with Him, in heaven. The Bible speaks of the love of God through Jesus Christ.
The love of God is the strongest attraction for a Muslim, because their religion does not speak of love, but rather of condemnation and punishment. But we are here (you and I) to tell them: The God of the Bible loves you and gave His Son to save you; He is a personal God, He is your friend."
The god of the Koran is not just mad, but also far. 
But God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ loves you and is near, He wants to be in your life, through the Holy Spirit....

In conclusion:

Sure, war is in the air here, but it's a spiritual war, and maybe in the future, the door that is open right now, in the heart of Africa, might close. But today, the door is open and therefore we must do our work (the work is all of ours). Please, pray with me that the gospel would take over Niger, be heard, and many would come to repentance and give their lives to Christ. 

With deep joy in my heart, your ministry companion,

Rixy

Psalm 118:6-7: The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear.  What can mere people do to me? Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me.

  

Rixy has had lots of new experiences in Niger

These are the women of Niger with whom Rixy lives and works.

What to do…

...when I needed an unusual piece of furniture built?

...when I needed to convert a set of shelves into a chest of drawers?

...when I needed someone to build ropes course elements?

...when I needed someone to supervise the construction of a house? 

...when I needed someone to fix something at camp, or at our house, or in one of the Sunday School classrooms?

...when I needed someone to watch the house while our family was traveling?

...when I needed someone to teach Short-term missions teams to make cement?

The answer is the same for all the above questions: I would call Don Carlos Romero. (see pictures on the blog)

Carlos Romero passed away into the presence of the Lord tonight.

Alfredo’s aunt, MariaElena, introduced me to him in November, 1998 and he has been working with us intermittently since then. Every time we received a work team, Don Carlos would gladly participate with us, often traveling the week before to the campsite to advance on the project, then once we arrived he would supervise the workers and teach the North Americans to make cement! The last team Don Carlos accompanied us with was this past July in El Salvador when we built low ropes course elements. His specialty was building 12-foot climbing walls.  

He was 88 years old and still very spry for his age. 

I can’t tell you the number of projects he would be recruited to build, everything from wooden guns for Victor, to a reading nook/loft, closet, and desk for Valerie, shelves for my office, and furniture to hold all my Creative Memory photo albums (which he equipped with light bulbs to dissipate the humidity), office closet and desk for Alfredo, …. He even built a gazebo for us from a huge pine tree that fell down in our front yard. 

Don Carlos was a very humble man, a Nicaraguan, who had lived in Honduras for the last 30 years, serving with us off and on for the last 18 years. He had a servant heart and our family, plus those who would visit our home, and all the short-term missions teams developed a special affection for him. 

He often reminded me of my father, both were very handy, and could fix just about anything. When my father passed away, I brought back a number of his tools to give to Don Carlos for him to use is his carpentry  workshop.

We will miss him greatly. There's not a room in the house where his hand-prints can't be found. We have many memories of special  moments shared together.  During one of the many long drives we would take to Fountain of Life Camp outside of San Pedro Sula, he told me his life story and I was able to present the gospel to him and he assured me that he spoke to God frequently and believed that Jesus was his Savior. I look forward to seeing him in heaven. 

Remembering how I got started in missions...

So what do you want to be when you grow up Lisa? My answer from High School on was that I wanted to be a gym teacher, just like Mrs. Bryant at North Allegheny High School has been for so many years. So, I attended Penn State University, main campus, and during my practicum, right before I graduated in 1982, I found myself seated in a locker room asking myself the question: Do I see myself doing this five years from now?  I was quite dismayed to hear myself say: NO.

Up until this point, I had a strong relationship with the Lord, having been brought to Christ through my mother, Bobbie Anderson and having grown up nurtured in the Lord by my parents (George & Bobbie) and Memorial Park Presbyterian Church under the leadership of the youth pastor, Jay Passavant.  However, I had never really considered becoming a missionary. I do distinctly remember loving the stories Pastor Black (affectionately known as Blackie) used to tell us about their missionary service in Africa. Missions simply was not on my radar. That was quickly about to change!

 

After that shocking discovery that I didn’t feel fulfilled being a gym teacher, I was encouraged to attend Urbana 1981-1982, a huge gathering at University of Illinois campus, to join in with 14,000 other college students to ask: What would you have us do with our lives, Lord?  I signed up for a SHORT TERM missionary experience which I figured would get whatever was bothering me out of my system, after which I would return to the USA to get a job in the field of education. God, however, had other plans. Exactly, almost to the day, one year after signing up with Latin America Mission I was in Costa Rica learning Spanish. In the intervening year I had graduated from PSU, fallen in love with the ministry of Christian Camping while serving as a VIM (Volunteer in Mission) at Bingle Memorial Presbyterian Camp in Fairbanks Alaska, and raised support to serve as a missionary at a Christian camp outside of Mexico City, Camp Kikotén.

1 Lisa Anderson is leading a team of young people to discover what it means to be “The Body of Christ working together” as they prepare to climb over the 14 foot wall a work team from Pittsburgh has just built.

The first hump God had to overcome was getting me to commit to a THREE year service contract when I had anticipated only ONE year (and that felt pretty generous to me!). God wooed me by providing me with a job description that was my dream job—it required of me elements that I already possessed like my PE background, love for nature and building outdoor recreational facilities, a strong desire to disciple and reach young people for Christ plus other elements I had little or no experience in like developing promotional materials for camp, and training camp counselors. Drawn by such an attractive job description, I said: Alright God, I’ll give you three years, and not a day more! What a sanctified attitude I had! God is so patient with me.

2 There's no better way to learn about "letting go and letting God" than experiencing the trust fall and reflecting on its implications for your life.

As my time of service neared its end, my Mexican boss, Juan Isaias, prodded me to reconsider and stay on another two years. At first resistant, shortly after our conversation the big Mexico City earthquake hit (8.2 Richter scale Sept. 19, 1985), I found myself deeply moved by the suffering and anguish all around me. God used this and other experiences to woo me into continuing to serve Him as a missionary. So, “my call” had no bells and whistles, no bright lights or voice from heaven. It was progressive in nature and at the end of those first five years, I returned home to Pittsburgh for a year’s furlough and felt like there was nothing else I’d rather be doing than being a missionary.

At that point, I was invited to serve with the Association of Christian Camping International in Latin America (CCI/LA) as the director of leadership development. I was to live in Honduras and develop a curriculum to train camp counselors and program directors. That is exactly what I did, working together with a team of Hondurans we wrote a number of training manuals which are currently in their 5^th edition and are being used throughout 12 different countries of Latin America.

The Umana-Anderson family

Almost thirty years have passed since those initial years of wondering what I would do with my life. I have found that following God’s promptings no matter where they lead you provides the most adventurous, exhilarating journey one could ever ask for. While in Honduras one of my students was Alfredo Umana, who is now my husband of 16 years and with whom we have formed a family with Valerie (born 199) and Victor (birth 2001). We live in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and serve at our local church, Christian Community El Hatillo, in charge of the Sunday School for ages 0-18 years and we regularly use camp outs and nature activities to create a strong bond of friendship within each Sunday School class and to discover those invisible attributes of God which are visible in His creation (Rom. 1:20).

4 CCI/Latin America's multicultural team of professors, receiving on the job training during the IFI held in El Salvador Aug. 2012