Travels with Hope

Last Post

2011-02-12T13:47:00.000-08:00

Hi -

As my Convoy of Hope chapter in my life has closed I have decided to stop posting on this blog and have created a new one. The new address is http://www.clairebarmby.blogspot.com/. There are no postings on it yet because it took me all morning to think of name and to set it up =)

Moments

2011-01-28T22:24:00.000-08:00

It has been months. You can call it adjusting back to so called "normal living", call it planning a wedding, for at least a couple months call it training for a half marathon (though for the latter half exercise also went by the wayside), call it commuting, call it adjusting to married life, back to working full time or another million of things that seem to keep life busy and full, though maybe it is really because it is no longer part of my job description. However, Derek has started his second semester of graduate school and I find that I have a few nights and a Saturday morning were it is just me. This seems to be the perfect time to begin blogging again.

The truth is I always enjoyed the couple hours a week I was able to hide in a coffee shop, close my office door or find somewhere else to sneak off and read my Bible or think about an experience I had and turn it into a blog entry. It was as much for informing my supporters about life with Convoy as it was a way for me to process my thoughts, reading and events in my life. For most of my life I have kept a journal. A blog was just an extension of this habit. I have found I miss blogging. So, I decided that I must begin again whether anyone ever reads it or not.

However, I did not start blogging tonight to go on and on about my deep love and devotion for blogging. I read a verse in Psalm 103 that I do not remember reading before this evening. I loved the way it was expressed in the message version:

"He forgives your sins -every one
He heals your diseases - every one
He redeems you from hell - saves your life!
He crowns you with love and mercy - a paradise crown
He wraps you in goodness - beauty eternal
He renews your youth - you're always young in his presence"

What promises our Lord makes to us! He forgives us, loves us, offers us mercy, He wraps up in His goodness, heals us and renews us. The joy of the Lord brings such renewal to the mind and spirit. Those moments with God can bring strength when we need it most. So, many times in my moments with God I will fill such a joy in my heart and soul that I feel childlike in His presence. I remember snowboarding in Colorado and just sitting there by myself in complete awe of the mountains, snow and trees. At the end of my time sitting there and taking it all in I would be smiling probably looking like a fool, but who cared. I was snowboarding in God's beautiful creation. I was soaking it in, living it up and letting God renew my spirit. I was being young in His presence!

Life is not always easy and many of us will experience great sorrow and sadness, but in the midst of it or despite of it we can find moments with the Lord. We can experience moments of joy, strength and renewal. The promises in these verses are blessings from our Heavenly Father. They are blessings to mediate on and think upon. I encourage you (whoever that might be) to remember these promises of the Lord. I encourage to take some time from the craziness of your life and to be crowned with God's mercy and love, wrapped in His goodness and to be young in His presence!

*Photos from google image search for coffee, Colorado and renewal respectively

The End...Sort Of

2010-07-27T08:28:00.000-07:00

I flew back to the States on Thursday. It was a long day of flying - I woke up at four in the morning and did not arrive in Springfield until ten o'clock that evening. Thankfully I am use to delayed flights and they hardly bother me anymore...though a delayed flight tomorrow might get under my skin a bit - I am quite eager to be in California again, even if we do have a fly on our endangered species list and 21 of the counties have an unemployment rate of 15%....Just hope Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties aren't one of those counties!

My term comes to a close today. The last couple months in Nicaragua were a great way to finish it off. I ended my last week there presenting and training on entering and analysing nutrition data. Since, I was only there for a few months it was really important to me that all the work I did was taught and learned by people that live and work there every day. During my last few days there, work began on the Convoy of Hope warehouse. The very base was built when I got there, but the funds came through, while I was there to continue the building. This will allow for the expansion and growth of the program. Currently, the food is stored in the first floor of the LACC Building, which really isn't meant for the storage of goods. Also, Nicaragua like other Latin countries is prone to earthquakes and flooding. The warehouse will allow for more food to be on hand when a natural disaster strikes. It was cool to see the first stages of this warehouse and see it come to life.

As for my future plans, some is unknown and some is known. Derek and I are getting married in December and he will begin grad school in the fall at Western Seminary. He will be studying Marriage and Family Therapy as well as Addiction Studies. I will be looking for a job and trying to figure out what direction to go in that area. I am waiting tell I get home to do any serious job searching. This is an exciting time, but a time of many changes for me. I am stepping into a lot of unknowns, which can be a bit intimidating, but I serve a God who knows all. As I end my time you can pray for guidance and direction, and for safety on my travels home.

Thank you for your prayers and supports over the last couple years! They are and were much appreciated. There is no way to properly thank you for the sacrifice you have made in terms of time in prayer and financial support given! I pray that God blesses you and your families abundantly.

Also, the blog is not going away. It was one of my favorite parts of these two years. Writing my thoughts, adventures and sharing about God have been a great pleasure, so it will continue. It might start to look more ecletic with having more freedom to delve into a few more topics, and I have this idea to try and review every flavor at Marianne's Ice Cream, as well as continue to write my musings on life and God. Hope you continue to check in once in awhile!

"And that's about it, friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure. Greet one another with a holy embrace. All the brothers and sisters here say hello. The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you." 2nd Corinthians 13:11-14

State of the Heart #1

2010-07-05T09:30:00.000-07:00

For the last few months I've been contemplating on this word we like to use in church called "calling". I think often this word is translated into our lives as "doing". Calling becomes this thing that some Christians become obessed with - saying "I'm looking for my calling", "I'm not sure I'm called to do that"or asking "What is your calling?". Christians fret and worry, so much about this word "calling". I too have gotten caught up in this at times.

There are even Christian kids in college who will change universities three times or change majors five times all saying that God called them to change everytime (now I know God does ask us to make life changes and only that person can ultimately stand responsible to God, but also I don't think God is not a God of disorder and 5 majors in 4 years is a bit disorderly....). The Church (at least the United States church) gets hung up on this word "calling". It becomes about what you "do". Not that God doesn't give us certain passions or doesn't ask us to make certain career choices, ultimately though I believe that God cares more about how you live than what you do.

Christ would rather have a hard working, honest, God listening, kind, business man than a pastor who uses his position to empower himself, and is mean and angry (and in the meantime turns people off to God). God wants us to live in a way that represents him. He wants his followers to first love HIM and then love their neighbor. I think it time for the church to take the pressure of this word "calling" and instead encourage the members to live lifes that represent Christ. As Christians we shouldn't fret and worry, but instead have faith, trust and hope. In saying this I am not saying that we should ignore God in our career choices, God should always be the first in our decision making. I am saying that maybe God cares more about the state of your heart than your career choice.

My first try ever at homemade tortillas. Masa, water and a little salt. They don't look too pretty, but they taste good, though not quite the same. I think a tortilla press might make the job a little easier, I don't know how they make tortillas perfectly round just using their hands! Lots of practice I suppose =). One thing I have done alot here is practice making foods from region. I made beans from the grain, cooked yuca, fried a ripe plantain (my next project is cooking a green plantain) and so forth.

Mud and Shoelessness

2010-06-29T15:29:00.000-07:00

My alarm this morning went off nice and early at 5:20 am. I rolled out of bed a few minutes earlier and got myself ready for the day. About an hour later my ride came and I was off to visit a community. We eventually turned off onto a dirt road and this is when I asked where we were going. Sometimes, I lose some information in translation. So, I thought we were going to a city called Leon and I knew this dirt road wasn't heading towards Leon (either that or some sort of short-cut I had never been on). We were headed towards a city called San Francisco and later I would learn that the actual community was called Santa Maria.

I was with two other Convoy of Hope staff here in Nicaragua. We drove about an hour or so before we met up with the pastor of the community. We then proceeded to drive another thirty or forty minutes down another dirt road and we took it until the road was impassable. We drove through mud, holes and very, very, big puddles! On the way the Pastor told us that during the rainy season life is very complicated in this community. The road is often covered with water. This water contaminates their wells and makes their water dirty. It also makes their roads impassable; meaning the trucks they sell wood to cannot get through. Selling wood is their main source of income.

We finally arrived and I wished I had tennis shoes on instead of sandals. The area was a mud bowl. The truth is I was lucky to have sandals. I saw several women and children who were barefoot, standing in mud. We eventually were able to share with the people about Christ and distribute the bags of food. It is just a small little bit of food in the scheme of the things, but I hope it serves as an encouragement to the people of this village.

Many people here in Nicaragua live in homes that really don't offer much protection from the elements, so the rainy season means a constant drenching. Maybe next time you invest in a new pair of shoes think instead of investing in a not for profit that donates shoes or maybe investing in a pair of Toms. Today pray for those who are missing the basic needs - food, water, shoes, and clothes. Remember them in the way you spend your money and in the way you give. Don't take for granted your shoes, your closet, your home and the food you eat. Love God and then love your neighbor.

New Day!

2010-06-21T10:09:00.000-07:00

Before I get started - I have put in pictures from a couple of the schools. The picture of the scale is mine from a school called Lirios de los Valles. We took measurment here. The other pictures are from a school in a city called El Sauce. They were taken by Joel, who works for Convoy of Hope in Nicaragua.

It rained all day yesterday. Well, most of the day from morning to evening the sky was gray and overcast. The rain came down hard. Creating rivers in roads, and ponds in parking lots. Rain covered the city. It was the first time that during the day I actually felt a little cold and last night I used two sheets instead of one. I kept pushing my fan farther and farther from my bed and then decided to just pull out my extra sheet. It did the trick.

Then this morning the sun was out and the sky was blue. The birds were chirping and the dirt parking lot where I live was drying out. Traffic was bustling as a new day began. The rain came down hard, but the next day was new day. The air was fresh and cooler after the rain. The same thing goes for our lives. Sometimes we need a good rain or a good sweep of our heart and mind. 1 Peter 2:1 says " So, clean house! Make a clean sweep of malice and pretense, envy and hurtful talk. You've had a taste of God. Now, like infants at the breast, drink deep of God's pure kindness. Then you'll grow up mature and whole in God." Maturity is a characteristic to be sought after.

I truly believe that if more adults allowed themselves to mature and grow we would have less social issues in society. Imagine if more adults actually practiced getting rid of malice, pretense, envy and hurtful talk. Imagine what that would do for marriages. If people actually practiced 1 Corinthians 13, especially verses 4-7 : "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. " What if these attributes of love where not only practiced at home, but practied in the workplace, in government, and in the streets?

We are all human and we all fall short. However, I also believe that humans have the ability to grow, change and adapt (it may be a long road with lots of obstacles at times). When that person has Jesus Christ in their life I believe people have even a greater ability to grow and change and when rough patches happen they have a friend in Christ and the support of their church family. I encourage you today to clean house, to start a fresh new day, to turn over a new leaf and keep it turned over! Strive to become mature in faith and to be a person who practices 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 in all areas of your life. Don't let your own insecurity guide your behavior - don't let your insecurity make you into someone who feels the need to cut others down. Find confidence in Christ who made you, build others up, encourage others, don't be self-seeking, but be selfless, and lastly, take personal responsibilty in all that you do. Go out and live in love =).

Fingerprints

2010-06-14T08:27:00.000-07:00

"The one true mark of a saint of God is the inner creativity that flows from being totally surrendered to Jesus Christ. In the life of a saint there is this amazing Well, which is a continual Source of original life. The Spirit of God is a Well of water springing up perpetually fresh. A saint realizes that it is God who engineers his circumstances; consequently there are no complaints, only unrestrained surrender to Jesus. Never try to make your experience a principle for others, but allow God to be as creative and original with others as He is you" (Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers, June 13th). I read this section in Utmost for His Highest yesterday morning before church and it clung with my thoughts all day yesterday. The words that stuck into my mind were "original life", "perpetually fresh" and "creative and original". God created us as original and unique human beings. He made each one of us distinct. I think sometimes as we live life we lose or forget that God designed us and that we are creatively and uniquely made by Him (and others are uniquely created as well!). Through the Holy Spirit and through entering into relationship with Christ we once again are reminded that God not only created us, but is continually creating something new in us. We can live with a freshness that comes from knowing God and His grace and His love.

Each one of our experiences with God is unique. How God may interact with me, may be different than he interacts with you. God called me to Him differently than He may have or will call you. My experience is uniquely my own. It is important that we don't push our experience or our "callings" (what we believe God has asked us to do) onto other people. We have to allow God to work without getting in the way. It doesn't mean that our lives aren't examples, it doesn't mean we don't speak when we should speak; it means that we let God work without getting in the way.

We also should be careful to judge. My experiences with God have almost always been in nature while, snowboarding in the mountains or running down West Cliff. However, the two most significant God experiences in my life occurred in my bedroom and the kitchen. They almost never occur inside a church building. For someone else they might have their moments in a worship service or in fellowship with friends. This doesn't negate the fact that Christ has called us to live lives that represent him well, but it might take some of us longer to get there or it might be a different experience that gets us to that point of realizing Jesus is the Son of God and that God is the only God and in him we find ourselves new, fresh, and bubbling with an "inner creativity". Yes, he call us to a different way of life and yes, that life may not always be easy or without hardship, but in that life you find a freedom that you never knew when you lived without Him.

Time is Short

2010-06-07T08:21:00.000-07:00

Monday Morning. Good thing I brought my Starbucks Travel Mug and plenty of Tazo Awake Tea with me to Nicaragua. I feel a bit sluggish this morning, but I also feel a sense of urgency. In fact I almost vetoed the blog this morning to get straight to work. When the sun sets today I enter into my last fifty days as a Missionary Associate. The time is short, but the work is much.

Nicaragua is the second poorest nation in Latin America and the Caribbeans. According to the World Food Program Website, http://www.wfp.org/content/country-programme-nicaragua-2008-2012, 48% of the population in Nicaragua is below the poverty line and 17% live in extreme poverty. The statistics says that 1.5 million people here are undernourished. They believe that 20% of the children under the age of 5 have chronic malnutrition and it may be as high as 50% in some of the most food scarce regions. It is said that the median income of the poor covers only 24% of the cost of the basic foods needed to live ( http://www.wfp.org/countries/nicaragua ). As is with most third world nations the richest 20% own 60% of the wealth and the poorest 20% only own 3% of the wealth. That is only the economic side of poverty. The stats on these pages don't show those who are poor in spirit. Those who are in need of a kind word or smile, those who are in need of a Savior, those who need to hear the word of God - the Love of God!

The time is short and the work is much. This is what pushes me as I enter into my last days here in Nicaragua. To work hard to support the work that the missionaries are doing here, to work hard to help create a way to assess and evaluate compassion projects here in Nicaragua. This morning I feel urgency for the work ahead. I encourage you to feel the same urgency where you live and work and play. For the time is short, the work is much and the harvest is here.

I leave you with this verse: "Let me give you a new command: Love on another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples - when they see the love you have for each other". John 13:34

Ant Lessons

2010-05-31T08:58:00.000-07:00

I moved this weekend. I basically moved up one floor and over a hallway. The place is bigger, with a kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. It was quite filthy when I went to take a look at it, but with the help of two ladies who work where I live we got it cleaned up pretty quick. However, they discovered a bat family that lived in the ceiling above my closest and I think there is still something up there because every morning I find dirt from the ceiling space in my closet. Also, my refigerator has become over run with ants and I don't think it is really working as none of my food was cold. Oh well =). I'm sure I will figure something out to take care of them. I have used bleach, hairspray, water, instant death by smashing them, and yet they still persist. I had to throw away cheese and butter yesterday. It may be silly, but please pray the ants will leave me alone! It wouldn't be so bad, but since they are in my refigerator I don't know how to protect my food. Really, in a lot of ways the place is nice with a sitting area and stove. The bathroom sink is larger for washing my dishes, since I am still without a kitchen sink. There are plans for redoing the apartment, but that won't happen until the end of my time here in Nicaragua. I have two fans, lots of space, more utensils, plates and bowls. The ants and bats are just adventures along the journey. Frankly, it could be a lot worse. I don't have any pictures yet of the new apartment, but I will try to post some soon.

Ants are interesting creatures. I think we have some lessons to learn from them. They are incredibly persistent. They just won't quit. No matter how many I kill, they always return. Their job is to find food and that is what they will do. In many ways this is how we should live and work for God. In persistence - without giving up. We should be in constant prayer and lifting up our requests to God. After all didn't the persistent widow finally get the judge to give her justice? Jesus's intended purpose for the parable was to show the importance of persistent, constant prayer and faith (Luke 1-6).

Ants work as a team. Ants scout for food and once food is found they form a trail from the food to the nest. They work together to get the job done. They cooperate to support the whole. Wikipedia, the oh so trusted internet source, says this: "The colonies are sometimes described as superorganisms because the ants appear to operate as a unified entity, collectively working together to support the colony" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ants). I believe as Christians we should to operate as an unified entity. Not that we will always agree with each other, but that in the in the midst of the disagreement or difference in opinion that we still support each other and love each other as Christ loves us. As 1 Thessalonians 5:13 says "Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part" (The Message Version).

One thing that ants don't seem to do very well is to learn from their mistakes. While, persistence is a good thing, to never learn that maybe their is another more effective way to do something is not a positive trait. You would think after realizing that so many of their ants friends are dead they would find a new food source. One, which would still feed the colony, but would spare the lives of others in their community. As Christians, we should learn and grow. We shouldn't keep doing the same things that hurt us or hurt others around us. We should even be willing to change our ministry programs or how we minister if the current method keeps failing. We should have confidence in God to be able to say "I messed up" and then begin to fix or change things. This can be a sin or this can be simple a methodolgy or way of doing things. Again in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 when discussing the time and hour of Christ return, "He won't call ahead and make an appointment any more than a burglar would. About the time everybody's walking around complacently, congratulating each other - 'We've sure got it made! Now we can take it easy!' - suiddenly everything will fall apart. It's going to come as suddenly and iescapably as birth pangs to a pregnant woman". So, we should be on our toes, aware, never status qou, constantly learning from our mistakes and mistakes of others.

Enough said on lessons from ants for today. "May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together - spirit, soul and body - and keep you fit for the coming of our Master Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he'll do it! 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24.

(The pictures are all from a google search for ants, mistake and dependable.)

Life in Nicaragua =)

2010-05-24T08:48:00.000-07:00

Goodmorning! After a few days back in the states, I have arrived again in Nicaragua. Actually, I arrived last Tuesday night. The time in the states was fun and I had a good visit. I visited with family, saw my sister and brother in-law graduate from college, took a road trip from Missouri to California and along the way saw both the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas, and most importantly Derek made our engagement official with a ring. My mom threw a wonderful party for us and then I was off again...well almost. I missed my Monday morning flight, so I had to pay a hefty sum and then I left on the same flight, but on Tuesday morning.

Ahorita (Now), I am back in Nicaragua. Since, I have been back, I have been working on spreadsheets that contains the data of the nutritional states of the children in the seven feeding programs they have here in Nicaragua. On Saturday, I was also able to particiapte in two food distributions. On Sundays, I attend a start up church. Currently, we meet in the home of a missionary, but in the next few weeks I believe we will be moving to a different building. I enjoy the church and being part of something new.

I live in a training center owned by Assemblies of God World Missions. It is a school during the day, a place for teams to stay, a place for nationals to have bibical training and spiritual growth, and a place for MAP workers and Missionary Assocates to live, while they are working here. Currently, I live in a dorm converted into a studio, but next weekend I will move into one of the apartments in the facility. Today, mostly I wanted to share with you a little about life here and some pictures. Below, I have pictures of me playing soccer with kids, children eating during a feeding program, pictures of the distribution and some pictures of my living quarters.

This is my kitchen. It consist of a refigerator, water dispenser, toaster, coffee maker and an electric skillet. Last time I cooked on it I cooked in the hall, so my whole room wouldn't smell like egg. I learned my lesson from the first time I cooked on the electric skillet =). The kitchen does the job for a me, since I usually don't need to cook much. It is a nice little set up they created for me!

My kitchen sink is also my bathroom sink. So, here I am last night cleaning my spinach. I also cleaned some apples, lettuce, mangos and so on. For the first time ever I cleaned my vegetables with some bleach water. I usually just use water or dish soap. I guess I like to live on the edge sometimes... =)

The hardest decision I have to make every day - What shower to shower in? I have so many options =).

Here I am playing soccer with some children at a school in Nicaragua. I love the grimace on my face in this picture =).

The following pictures are from the distribution on Saturday.

This picture I just wanted to share - This is right after Derek proposed. It was a little dark, but I played around with the photo a little bit and I think it works.

Lastly, I took this picture of my Dad at the Grand Canyon and I just think it is a cool shot.

Reporting from Nicaragua

2010-04-24T11:27:00.000-07:00

I flew into Managua, Nicaragua Sunday night. I am working with the AG Missionaries Bonnie and Levys Hernandez. I took Monday to hang and get to know Bonnie and their two girls and Tuesday hit the ground running! Seven of the LACC schools have a nutrition program here and the Hernandez's hope to expand the program as well as build latrines and water purification systems in the country.

Latrines and water purification actually go hand in hand because a bad latrine or using a river as a bathroom is one of the causes of unpure water (hence why I got sick after bathing in the river in Panama for a week =) ). So, if we can have a clean latrine situation we can help purify the water, but at the same time, we want to purify the water that is still unclean either for other reasons or because someone else is using the river as a bathroom. This week we focused on the LACC schools. We measured students where the program is currently at and measured students at potential new schools. I also helped with renewing sponsorship photos. These pictures have to be retaken every two years. I am a bit tired because I'm not use to heat, but I am enjoying my time here. I haven't taken any pictures yet, but above is a picture of a volcano, at the end of the blog is a map of Nicaragua and to the side is a flag from a yahoo image search.

Lastly, I want to leave you with a verse I read the other day. "And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him" 2 Corinthians 3:18. I encourage you to become more like Christ today. God takes us as we are and where we are - loving us unconditionally. However, He does desire for us to grow and mature in our faith in him! Let him change your heart and mind - working towards becoming brighter and more beautiful.

On the Road...

2010-04-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

I write you from the Convoy of Hope offices this morning. Once again it has been too long between blog postings. You wouldn't know that one of my favorite things to do is writing these blogs. I really do love sitting down and writing out some verses or some food for thought. I enjoy keeping you updated on my life with Convoy of Hope. In fact I even have an idea for this blog after I return to California, but more on that in a few months =).

This winter was filled with traveling. I was in El Salvador, then Springfield, MO then Panama and then Springfield, MO and then in El Salvador again. When I was in El Salvador I was traveling all over the country. In fact I visited every single school that has a Convoy of Hope Nutrition Progam. That would be 21 schools. Anyhow that equals alot of driving which equals alot of traveling! Once I returned to Springfield after my last El Salvador trip I traveled to California to be with Derek and my family for a little visit. Now, I have finally landed back in Springfield, but only to be taking off again to Nicaragua. I will leave April 18th and will be there for two and a half weeks. Then I will return again in May. Needless to say life has been exciting and a bit crazy. It is hard to keep up with everything and everyone with my traveling schedule, but I enjoy it being able to see so many different places, while at the same time being able to show God's love and compassion for people.

Thank you for your faithful support and prayers! I appreciate you and all your support very much. Missionaries are able to do their work by God using you to support them through prayer and giving! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

"The spacious free life is from God, it's also protected and safe. God-strengthened, we're delivered from evil-when we run to him, he saves us" Psalms 37: 39-40

Best read with coffee or tea...

2010-03-18T09:40:00.000-07:00

I try to read Oswald's Chamber's Utmost for His Highest and the accompanying chapter from the Bible everyday. For those unfamilar with Utmost for His Highest, Chamber's takes a verse from the Bible and expands on it. I like to read the whole chapter that the verse is found in to get more context. Many times when I read the chapter I find other verses or stories that are encouraging or thought provoking. So, I wanted to share a few verses with you today. Some are out of my reading and some are from a daily verse that is emailed to me. It's simple, but will give you something to read and contemplate (all verses are from the Message version unless otherwise noted). So, find ten to fifteen minutes, grab a cup of coffee and tea and read over these verses. Let them sink in and consider how they apply to your day to day life.

"The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what's ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts, so that we'll never settle for less." 2 Corinthians 5: 5-6

"Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing, and that's what we aim to do, regardless of our conditions. Sooner or later we'll all have to face God, regardless of our conditions" 2 Corinthians 5:9-10

"Christ love has moved me to such extremes. His love has the first and last word in everything we do." 2 Corinthians 5:14

"We're Christ's representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them. We're speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you. How? you say. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God. 2 Corinthians 5: 20-21

"So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless." 1 Corinthians 15:58 NLT Version

"Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promises." Hebrews 10:23

*Photos are from a Picassa photo search under cross and love.

Photos, Photos, Photos

2010-03-13T18:11:00.000-08:00

I dropped the Missouri State University team off at the airport this morning along with my friend Megan McFarlane. This was a great team and I had a great time. It was so much fun to have Megan join the team. We hadn't hung out in two years, so it was fun to catch up in El Salvador. The MSU team was lead by Carmen Boyd. She is a Profesor of Dietics at MSU. The team was academic and made up of dietatic students and one student who is getting her masters in Child and Family Development. We did a tour of some of the Latin American Child Care schools as well as other organizations in the country that deal with nutrition. Some of the places we visited were the World Food Program, USAID, Love Link, Libras de Amor and various other organizations. Convoy of Hope's nutritionist in El Salvador, Winny Menendez, set up the majority of the meetings for the team. She did a great job. I really appreciate all that she did to make this team go a smoothly as it did. So, I am tired because the days were long, but I feel good about the week. I had a hard time choosing, which photos I wanted to share, so I have uploaded quite a few. I couldn't get all the captions and pictures to format like I wanted, but you'll get the idea. Enjoy =)

Feed My Starving Children product, dried peaches from Gleanings for the Hungry and a soup mix that we were able to distribute at a very poor public school in a rural area of El Salvador

Megan, Sarah and Krystle distributing food in Convoy of Hope bags

Boy in El Salvador with a toothbrush from the MSU team

Dollie giving a toothbrushing illustration

This is at the LACC school San Jose El Naranjo this is pasta with chicken in it for the students at the school. The pasta is part of the Convoy of Hope Nutrition program.

Krystle weighing one of the students in the Nutrition Program

Measuring for the part of the arm where we measure for the arm circumference

Winny Menendez, Convoy of Hope's Nutritionist in El Salvador, is recording the measurments the MSU students are taking.

A dentist in Springfield donated toothbrushes. In every school the students gave presentations on how and why to brush your teeth and wash your hands.

MSU students with the director of Love Link

At the World Food Program meeting

At the World Food Program. I thought these were were pretty cool.

These little girl was at a home for children whose parents have HIV or AIDs. Most of the children here have HIV or AIDS as well.

Sea Shells in El Salvador

Sunset in El Salvador.

A worker at CENTA, El Salvador's agricultural and nutrition center, demonstrating how grafting works with trees.

Megan and I's feet after walking around CENTA - At least flip flops are cooler than tennis shoes =)

Megan and I at the beach - hangin by the Palm tree =)

An International Camping Trip

2010-03-05T16:27:00.000-08:00

I am on a plane headed to El Salvador. Internet on planes is quite amazing - however sometime after crossing outside the US boundaries I will lose internet access. Hopefully not mid sentence =). My travel schedule these last few months has been unbelievable. Even the three weeks I spent in El Salvador was spent traversing the country visiting schools. The schedule has made my blogging sporadic. I will try to get it back on schedule.

My most recent trip was to Panama. It was a blast. I came back under the weather with a cold, sore throat and most recently a strange stomach. Despite that the trip was a bit refreshing. It was something different and didn’t have the same stresses as other parts of my job. It was a week spent camping with the Guayami Indians. The AG National Church of Panama organizes an annual Family Camp for this indigenous group. Some of the families walk for a week just to be there. One woman gave birth, while at camp. I would imagine for a woman to leave home that near to time of birth that the event must be really important to her.

In the mornings the National Church held devotionals for the Guayami Indians and every evening there was a service. In between there were classes, lunch and swimming in the river. I attended a couple of evening services and the other nights I helped with bagging the food that was going to be distributed at the end of the week. One evening it down poured. I was soaked to the bone after making sure all the food was covered up. It wasn't Missouri winter rain, but Panama dry season rain, so I survived and didn't die of frostbite =). On Friday the Panamanians from the cities, a church from Kansas, Bethany Thompson and I distributed the food and clothes to 1000 plus families. We had to leave for Panama City after the distribution, but after we left people were baptized in the river.

I hope all is well in your lives. I encourage you to be a light in the darkness today. Live free and live well. Live in forgiveness, love, mercy and grace!

LACC, El Salvador and Gangs

2010-02-07T09:11:00.000-08:00

I have been busy ever since I set my feet on El Salvadorian soil. Bethany, Winny (CoH staff in El Sal), and I have been visiting all of the Latin American Child Care Schools (LACC) that have the Nutrition of Hope program. There are eighteen schools in all and we have a few more to visit this week. Last Saturday we visited a ministry and did a distribution of food for the parents and toys for the children. The schools are all over the country, so we have spent our days driving and in meetings. The meetings have been helpful in building relationship with the school directors, seeing the school buildings and the children in the schools where the Nutrition Program operates. We have seen what gang filled communities can do to a school and seen the need for nutrition in the campo (countryside).

Gangs and the violence they bring have a powerful control over people. The children are harder and the schools aren't kept up the same. I believe because if your school is too nice then you risk being robbed or threatened for money. Gangs carry a real evilness. The directors that work in these gang areas have had their lives at risk. They have been threatened by gang leaders asking for money. However, these schools are light into their communities. The teachers and directors have an influence over their students.

Another ministry in El Salvador is called Castillo del Rey. In English it is known as Kings Castle. They work in areas with heavy gang influence. Their goal is to reach the child before they enter the years where they begin to join gangs. At one of the schools we visited the director spoke of a girl who was on the verge of the gang. She had been exposed to more violence than any child should be exposed to. This child went to a Castillo del Rey camp and her heart was softened. She let Christ come in and accepted him as her savior. God is working. God is moving.

I could say a lot more about gangs. I could probably get on a soap box and in my mind sometimes I do get on a soap box. Gangs are rampant throughout Latin America. Some of it has to do with US policy and US drug use. The real War on Drugs happens in the streets of major cities between gangs and the innocent people trying to live their lives. The trafficking of drugs into the US is part of the issue. Frankly, if the US doesn't change their drug policy the violence is going to continue to spill over into our streets. The fact that it is affecting our neighbor’s streets should have already caused us to re-look at our policies. However, the issue goes deeper than that into both spiritual and physical poverty, acceptance, corruption, control, power and so forth. It cannot be simplified. Pray for Latin America. Pray for those whose lives are affected by violence and poverty every day. Pray for LACC and their students and staff members. Pray for ministries like Castillo del Rey.

I was going to share a few verses, but I guess that was what was on my heart this morning. It is easy to get discouraged in this world, but press on because we have a God who overcomes. We have a God who is a light in the darkness and wants us to be people of the day. Let us be dressed in faith, love, and the hope of salvation (1 Thessalonians 5). Let us be people of prayer and people who believe in what our God can do!

Some Quick News

2010-01-24T18:50:00.000-08:00

Quick Update -
Earlier this week I was asked to go to El Salvador to help out with our Nutrition Program. This morning I flew out of Springfield, MO at 6:00am. I landed in El Salvador with very little adventure in between. Although an officer with a drug dog did yell at me a bit. He didn't like that I didn't like his dog running up to me. He definitely needed to go to some sort of social interaction class! I made it and Bethany and Winny picked me up at the airport. I will be working with Bethany and our staff down here helping with the work load for awhile.

I will be back in the states in a few weeks and then turn around to go to Panama. Convoy partners with the National Church and Missionaries in Panama to help with an outreach to the Guaymi Indians. I have heard a lot about this outreach and am looking forward to going! After this I will be going back to El Salvador to lead a team of MSU teams. This team is actually an academic class. So, it will be a little bit different than the other teams I have worked with in the past. I think it will be fun and I was always a bit of geek, so I think it will work out just fine!

I hope all is well. May you feel God's blessing this week and be full of His joy!

Stormy Seas

2010-01-18T07:25:00.000-08:00

Haiti Update:

Convoy of Hope is currently responding to the disaster in Haiti. Currently, there is an urgent need for fuel as well as clean water. We have several staff members who have set up a distribution site and have been able to distribute food and water. Here is the Convoy link for the latest updates and a spot to give (http://www.convoyofhope.org/). Please remember to pray for the people of Haiti and to pray for the Convoy staff as they work in Haiti.

Thoughts to Chew On:

I was reading Mark 4 the other day and came upon a story about Jesus and his disciples that made me chuckle. I found it humourous because of the way it exemplifies human behavior The story is found in Mark 4:35-41. Jesus and the disciples decided to cross the Sea of Galilee when all of a sudden a huge storm came up. The disciples were frightened. They were scared out of their wits. I can imagine the panic they must have been feeling. I am sure they were pacing back and forth, their faces pale, and thinking about their near deaths. However, Jesus was taking a nap. The Message version says his head was on a pillow. In the midst of the disciples’ chaos, Jesus was sleeping! The disciples finally wake Jesus up saying "Teacher, is it nothing to you that we're going down?" Jesus went ahead and did what Jesus does. He calmed the sea. Jesus stopped the storm and then he asked the disciples "Why are you such cowards? Don't you have any faith at all?" The disciples just stood in awe of Christ. Not even noticing they were just called cowards.

I love how Jesus was sleeping in this story. It made me think "Well, if Jesus wasn't worried about the storm, why were the disciples?" How many times in life as we are going through the storm do we fret, worry and panic? Yet is Christ fretting, worrying and panicking? Christ is always there with us as we face the hard things in life. He is there to comfort, to give courage, and to give strength. We need to remember that he is there and to exemplify his behavior as we face our storms and battles. If Christ isn't panicking and worrying, do we need to panic and worry?

Another point that I picked up was that the disciples kind of snapped at Jesus. While, we can't pick up voice intonation and body and facial language, the words themselves seem snappy. The disciples wake Jesus and say "Teacher, is it nothing to you that we're going down?" Their words show doubt in Christ. I am sure they were said out of fear of death and fear of the storm. We too need to be careful of our words when we are under pressure. When we feel stressed, fearful, insecure and so forth we have to be careful not to take that out on those around us. I suppose we need to count to ten or step out of the room until we have better control of our actions and words

I pray that you continually let the Lord change and mold your heart. I pray that you learn to trust him completely. May the Lord guide you through your storms and may you go through the trial with faith in God and being gentle and loving with those around you. Be blessed!

* Pictures are from yahoo image search "Sea of Galilee Storm" and "Calm Sea"

A Quick Explanation and Choices

2010-01-06T20:57:00.000-08:00

Note 1) I know one of the pictures on my Christmas Card may have left you wondering "What is that?". I almost didn't send them out because of the picture. It is a picture of a Convoy of Hope bag. The symbol is two hands. However, the hands were slightly covered by the front picture. So, unless you knew what the bag looked like, you wouldn't know what it was. Mystery solved. =) I guess I live and learn.

Note 2) Pictures are not mine. They are from Yahoo Image Search.

Tonight I was doing my devotions. I have been reading Oswald Chambers's Utmost for His Highest. I like Utmost for His Highest. It always gives me something to chew on. Chambers wrotes about how worship to God needs to be fully inetgrated into our lives. He states that it will take discipline to have this type of worship. He used a verse in Genesis 12 to help prove his point. Genesis 12 starts with this verse "God told Abram: 'Leave your country, your family, and your father's home for a land that I will show you" (this isn't the verse Chambers uses). Abram went. He left his country, family and his father's home. He took only his wife, possessions, his people and his nephew Lot. If Abram hadn't been obedient he never would of received what God promised. His descendants may never had become the nation of Israel.

After reading the mentioned entry in Utmost for His Highest and Genesis 12 I began to mull over something I had been thinking about earlier today. Choices. This life as a Christ Follower is all about choices. Deciding to following Christ, choosing to make Christ like decisions, having the discipline to put practices like prayer, worship, and mercy into our daily lives, and deciding to do what Christ ask of us (even if it seems crazy). Take Joseph for example. He was pledged to be married and his future wife says she is pregant and a virgin. An angel came in a dream and told him it was allright, so he married Mary. Later, after Jesus was born another angel came to Joseph. This angel told him to flee to Egypt because Jesus was in danger. After they had fled, Herod came and killed every male child in the area. Imagine if Joseph had been disobedient.

Throughout the Bible and throughout Christian history God is able to use us to show his glory and miracles. When we are obedient to Christ people are healed, people are saved, and miracles happen. God doesn't need us, but he sure likes it when we are willing to serve and work for him in this world. I want to encourage you not to miss out on all that God has for you. That may mean setting aside an extra ten minutes everyday to worship and praise him. This may mean asking a friend to come to church on Sunday. This may mean praying and fasting for someone who needs a miracle. This may mean letting God heal you of insecurities and finding your confidence in Him.

In my last blog my Dad asked you "What will it cost you?". This blog is along those veins. Making the right decison, making the good choice, may not be the easiest choice. It may cost you something....

Guest Blogger - Tom Balch - Lunch in Santa Cruz

2010-01-03T22:41:00.000-08:00

A Late Lunch In Santa Cruz on the first day of 2010

Turning into a parking lot in downtown Santa Cruz, I noted a man who I assumed to be sleeping, laying halfway across the parking area and the sidewalk. For those of us who live in or visit any major American city, seeing the 'homeless' asleep in a public space is not an unusual sight. Being accustomed to this sight, for a moment I almost parked my car and went off to lunch. I am glad I stopped and took in the following:

The downtown/parking/sidewalk area was busy.

I watched as 'normal' people looked, then moved a 'safe' distance away from the 'sleeping' man.

As I watched, I thought that the man might be dead. How would it look if a dead man was lying on the sidewalk all day?

As I approached the man, a thought ran through my mind. I wish I had a stick, so I could poke the guy, and see if he was ok, without having to get too close. As I was checking out the man, a 'bag lady' approached the man with a good deal more courage than I and she made sure he was just sleeping. Once I was confident that he was just sleeping off a night of exuberance I went off to lunch, telling myself that I would check out the man after lunch.

What I saw reminded me of the story of the Good Samaritan, while this man slept off the exuberance of the night before (again my bias), the good citizens of Santa Cruz crossed the man, keeping a safe distance. I wanted a stick, while the unlikely Good Samaritan "the bag lady" had more courage than the rest of us. Why was that? For one - I believe that the good citizens of Santa Cruz (my self included) were worried about how much it might cost us - while the bag lady had no such fear.

Ok so what is the point? One - To be able to see the world around us we must not have a myopic vision. - Two - To be self aware is the beginning to understand what we are seeing. Three - Understand that anything worth doing will cost us something.

Back to the Good Samaritan -it must have cost him a good deal, time lost on his trip, inconvenienced to say the least, dollars lost paying for the man's board and care, all without any payoff.

So for 2010 what am I willing to pay for?

What cost am I willing pay?

"Christ Sharing" Block - A Little Something for Christ Followers

2009-12-15T15:59:00.000-08:00

I have started this sentence over enough times. I am trying to find that perfect intro to transition into the thoughts that I want to share. I started writing about Tuesday morning prayer. Next, then how Tuesday morning is better than Monday morning and then about my new strange breakfast combo, coffee and popcorn. None of these introductions were particularly relevant and were all slightly lame. Perhaps I can blame it on 9:30am bloggers block. Then as I am writing this equally lame introduction paragraph I had my "ah ha" moment. This lack of coming up with a clever introduction to my blog does relate to what I read in My Utmost for His Highest today. Instead of bloggers block Oswald Chambers does write about working to prevent having a "Sharing Christ" block.

Chambers challenged his readers to work on expressing well our beliefs. He wrote "If you don't, other people may miss out on the blessings that come from knowing the truth"(December 15th entry). In the second paragraph he writes "Your position is not really yours until you make it yours through suffering and study". (Is he trying to say that to study is to suffer? =) ). I like this line because our faith and beliefs in Christ need to belong to us. If we don't understand why we believe what we believe and if we don't own them as our own then when the time comes to share Christ with others we will find that we have "Sharing Christ" block.

I loved my time at Vanguard University for many reasons. One of my favorite parts of Vanguard were my Bible and Mission classes. These classes gave me the perfect opportunity to study God's word and to further my understanding of my beliefs. When you understand what you believe and why you believe it you don't need to feel threatened when someone challenges your faith in Christ. The maturity we find in Christ will allow us to be "a gentle listener and a teacher who keeps cool" because "you never know how or when God might sober them up with a change of heart and a turning to the truth".(2 Timothy 24- 16 The Message Version).

I want to encourage you as Chambers encourages his readers to know how to express your beliefs. Chambers even suggest rehearsing your words. So, not only do we need to know what we believe and why we believe it, but need to know how to express it in words! I pray that you and I will not find ourselves with "Christ Sharing" block, but with the ability to speak truth lovingly and clearly! So, today make sure you know, understand and are able to express the essentials of what you believe. After all you never know what meetings God has ordained for your day. =)

Bread Bowls, Grapes and Oswald Chambers.....

2009-12-05T23:12:00.000-08:00

I am waiting for Lolo to come over. I told her to come over at or after 7:30pm and it is now 10:30pm. Apparently she took "after 7:30pm" to be I didn't want her to come until the world has frozen over. Of course according to some that may be closer than we think =). While waiting for her I decided to bake gluten free bread bowls. This is my first time baking gluten free bread and my first time baking bread bowls. They are currently in the oven. Sarah, Josh, Lolo and I are going to have a bread bowl and soup party after church tomorrow. So, while I am waiting for Lolo and my bread, I am eating the world's largest grapes. I wonder what they used to grow the grapes, steroids perhaps???? I haven't blogged in a while, so I thought it was time for an update. Now you know what I do in my free time - bake bread, wait for Lolo to come over and eat grapes that most defiantly have been given steroid shots.

I also read My Utmost for His Highest today by Oswald Chambers. Chambers discussed being accountable to God for the way we act and behave. Essentially we are responsible for our actions, thoughts, behaviors and so forth. God has given us grace and salvation, but we are accountable to God for how we behave and represent him. We exemplify Christ when we call ourselves Christians.

The verse Chambers used was "...only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you" Genesis 41:40 This was interesting to me because this verse is Pharaoh telling Joseph that he has power over all of Egypt. Only Pharaoh was greater and more powerful than Joseph. It is interesting to me the parallel here. Just as Joseph was accountable and a representative to Pharaoh, so are we to Christ. Just as Pharaoh freed Joseph from prison and gave him freedom, so Christ frees us from sin and death. Just as Pharaoh entrusted Joseph to represent him and to do his work in the land of Egypt, so Christ has asked us to represent him and to do his work in this world.

I am not sure what Chambers original intent was in using this verse. However, I like how this story can be related to our relationship with Christ. Normally, when I read this story or hear preaching on it people focus on Joseph's interperatation or how God took the terrible circumstances of Joseph's life and used them for good. I thought the different slant was refreshing. So, on this note - Go and live as Christ representative. Take your grace and freedom and use it for God's purposes. Remember who you are in Christ and that ultimately you are accountable to him!

Amen y Amen =)

My Gluten Free Bread Bowls -)

El Salvador Floods

2009-11-16T20:28:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from El Salvador. The school is called Achiotal and the beach is called Las Ojas. This is one of the areas that was hit by the floods. We distributed mattresses to the elderly in the village today as well as food and water. On Wednesday we will go back to this area to distribute to the rest of the community and bring food as well as have a medical clinic. We are also buying a water tank, since the public water system isn't working. Tomorrow we are going to visit a place called Vera Paz. Please continue to pray for El Salvador. Another place that was hit with severe flooding was the Phillipines. Please pray for this country as well. I will write more later, but I wanted to share some pictures with you about the current work in El Salvador. I hope all is well. Le vaya bien. Have a good day!

Some of the El Salvadorians we gave mattresses and food too.

Clothes - Hanging to dry

Houses destroyed by the rain - on the other side the road is wiped out.

Cows crossing where there use to be a road

My favorite guest - He sported the glasses

A Sandal on the Beach

From a Neglectful Blogger

2009-11-12T10:22:00.000-08:00

Once again it has been longer than I prefer since my last blog. The schedule in El Salvador was busy and then I flew towards California. I took a few stops along the way, but ended up in Fresno, California for a Convoy of Hope Outreach. It was the first time I had ever attended an outreach. So, I have a lot to say, but I know your attention span is already waning =). I made a video that explained the work we were doing in El Salvador. I can't seem to figure out how to post a video. They took off that option on the top of my blog editer. I don't feel like being the geek squad. So, you will have to wait, with great anticipation for my video =).

I stayed a few days in El Salvador after the team left to visit with a missionary from Enlace and to surf with a friend from Cincel. Enlace, for those that don't know, is a non-profit organization in El Salvador that equips churches to transform their communities. After returning from El Salvador I had a day in Springfield to pack for California. The Outreach in Fresno was fun. It was a nice fall day and lots of people showed up to the outreach. Here are some basic statistics:

10,158 Guests

2,342 Volunteers
76 Participating Churches
65 Participating Organizations
5,100 Guests Prayed With
542 Salvations
160,000 lbs of Groceries & Fresh Produce
505 Haircuts
600 Family Portraits
275 Haircuts

A food bank in Fresno donated fresh produce. I worked in this area most of the day. The guest would get their bagged food and then would go around a fresh produce circle. Volunteers would help them carry all the food. I would get two thirds around the circle and wouldn't be able to hold the box anymore. There would usually be two or three volunteers helping each guest carry all their food and produce to the shuttle. I'm a fan of vegetables and fruit, so I was happy that the attendees could leave with produce. Especially, since produce can be expensive, so most probally buy canned and boxed goods first.

Finally, there has been alot of flooding in El Salvador. Some of the schools where we have our Nutrition Program were damaged and we lost some of our students. Many families lost all their material goods and these were families who probally did not have much before the floods. It may even be difficult for students to return to school. Please remember these families and communities in your prayers! When a volcano exploded in 2000 many people were put into a refugee camp. These people are still living there and have never been able to move away from the camp. When disaster hits no matter your economic status it is difficult, but for those in the developing world and the lower economic strata the struggle is much greater!

These pictures were sent to me from our staff in El Salvador of the damage done from the floods!

El Salvador!

2009-10-21T22:36:00.000-07:00

Hi! It's been a long day, so I will post pictures later. I just wanted to let you all know that I made it to El Salvador in one piece. However my i-pod nano was stolen on the plane! This was quite sad, though I'm more sad about losing my music and earphones. Oh well - this is life sometimes!

I am working with a women's ministries team from the Potomac District. We have painted classrooms, cleaned floors, eaten tortillas, played with children, set up a teachers quarters, visited a refugee camp and so on. Friday, we have an open house for the community and families. The Women's Ministries has poured alot of money and time into this school in a rural community of El Salvador. It will truly be a blessing to the teachers and students!

I have had fun using my spanish, playing with children and eating the food of El Salvador. There are certain foods that are just hard to get in the states like papaya, mangos, pupusas, plantains, certain cookies, and so forth. I've had the opportunity to pray for a couple El Salvadorian ladies dealing with health issues. I can't wait to post some of my pictures to share with you of some of the kids who I have become friends with and the children I visited with at the Refugee Camp here in El Salvador. I even got a loofah from a little girl today! I wonder what customs will think of that - ha!

Anyhow I am going to go - I need to clean my room and go to bed - Its late and it was a long day. I pray all is well with you! Everytime I hug a child, everytime I pray with a little old lady, everytime I paint a school wall it's because of your faithfullness and support. In a way it's you hugging that child, and you praying for the little old lady, and you painting a school. May you be blessed today!

Claire Balch

Ramblings of Claire Balch

2009-10-07T08:57:00.000-07:00

Today we had chapel. I was asked to pray, which was kind of awful. I don't have a problem with public speaking, but public praying has also caused me to sweat a little. Popcorn prayer when everyone prays always leaves me thinking when the best time is to "pop" in, I worry about when it is ending (after all I don't want to sit there with my eyes closed, while everyone else is done!), and I worry about what to say. I always get more nervous praying at Convoy - especially during chapel! I think today I said "Lord" about 100 hundred times, possibly stuttered, switched around my words, used bad grammar and so on. I suppose that is last time I will be asked to pray and at least the Lord knows what I was attempting to say. =) At least the speaker stopped and thanked me for my prayer. I guess I will keep my opinions to myself on what I thought about his facts on Christopher Columbus....

One person the speaker also mentioned was George Washington. He is one of my favorite political American leaders. The fact that I always loved about George Washington is that he was offered to be the President of the United States for a third term and he turned it down. I have always thought that this was a noble action. He knew his limits (he was feeling old and was tired) and in doing so set a precedent for leaders to come. While it is now a law, congress and the following Presidents have honored it. Though I could not find it in any of the articles I briefly reviewed, I wonder if he wasn't well aware that his actions would set a precedent. This is a quote I found about good old Washington "He wrote, 'It should be the highest ambition of every American to extend his views beyond himself and to bear in mind that his conduct will not only affect himself, his country, and his immediate posterity; but that its influence may be co-extensive with the world, and stamp political happiness or misery on ages yet unborn.' This call to his fellow citizens was meant for each of us as well."

Every action has a consequence. The consequence may be immediate or in the far future and good or bad. Every action affects the people around us. Our actions not only represent ourselves, but our families, friends, beliefs and so on. This is a tough pill to swallow at times for the individualistic culture we live in. So, when we make decisions we need to not only think what is the consequence for me now and in the future, but what is the consequence for those around me both now and in the future.

I head to El Salvador on October 16th and will be there until the 29th. The 1st of Novemeber I will head towards Fresno, California for a Convoy Outreach. Please keep me in your prayers as I travel. In El Salvador I am helping with a Women's Ministries team, so you can pray for things to go smooth and that everyone is protected as they travel. Also, life can be tough sometimes for a California girl living in Springfield, Mo. While, I can only speak for myself I have seen the transition be a little rough for my sisters as well. Not that there are not things to like about Missiouri. After all it has Bass Pro Shop, Fireflies, Andy's Frozen Custard, lots of trails and some cool parks, a restaurant where they throw rolls and serve fried Okra, Lolo Balch, Sarah and Josh Young and of course Branson. However, it is far from California, family, the ocean, its much more conservative and the winter is cold, but without very much snow. I have a little less than a year left, so if you can remember me in your prayers I would be grateful.

Live in His Love,

Claire Balch

In the Comfortable Times Don't Forget God!

2009-09-27T12:50:00.000-07:00

Okay - So I confess this might be the longest time I have gone between blog post! Now that I have been filled with Salad and Soup from Panera, checked my facebook, read a few other blogs, and let myself become distracted I am now finally sitting down to write this blog.

It is Sunday today. I woke up and read a bit in a book I have been reading forever now called "Lead Like Jesus" by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges. I may have mentioned this book in some of my other blog post. I have been reading this book for forever. I am not sure why, but it seems books keep taking me longer and longer to read. Despite the time it is taking me to get through this book it is a good read. Lots of good information for leading people. What it really boils down to though is being confident in Christ and who you are in Christ. Which is good for total life living! I just finished the chapter on some healthy habits of good leaders. They are as follows: Solitude, Prayer, Study and Application of Scripture, Accepting and Responding to God's Unconditional Love, and Involvement in Supportive Relationships.

In summary each one of these habits roots you in God. If your confidence and trust is in God you can't be shaken by too much praise or too much critiscm. You will not be afraid to examine your leadership and admit your weaknesses. Solitude, Prayer and Study of the Scripture allow God to refresh you, speak into your life, and prepare you for life circumstances. Accepting and Responding to God's Unconditional Love allows you to be confident in Christ and treat others around you with that love and confidence, and Involvement in Supportive Relationships means you have people in your life who are not just "Yes" men. They will shoot straight with you, let you know how people are feeling, hold you accountable and so on. I liked this quote in regards to the last habit "I learned in the Navy if you don't hear about any problems, watch out, because you are about to go over the side. You have mutiny on your hands, because the people around you have cut you off from the truth" (pg. 181 Ken Blanchard's Father). I think these are habits that we all can continue to add into our lifes.

To drive the point home - In church today they discussed the failings of David. The thing I took from it was that in the good times David let his relationship with God go lax. Instead of fighting with his men he was napping and strolling the palace walls, he let himself lust over Bathesheba and then commit adultery with Bathesheba. In his attempt to rationalize the issue he ended up murdering her husband. In the end David repented thanks to the prophet Nathan. If David had never gone lax in his relationship with God maybe history would have looked different. In all times good and bad we need to be spending time with God through solitude, prayer and the word. We need to apply what we are learning in these times, let God touch us, change us and heal us.

Be Blessed by God today!

I have been editing some of my pictures from Europe, so you may have seen some of this pictures before, but these are with a new twist. These are all from Moldova and I will conquer Armenia and Georgia soon.

Keep a Grip on Hope!

2009-09-07T08:42:00.000-07:00

It is me again! I am sitting here relaxing on a lovely Labor Day weekend. I've been eating oatmeal, drinking coffee and just enjoying silence. It has been quite pleasant. On Tuesday at the weekly International Departments prayer meeting I shared Lamentations 3: 19 - 36 (The Message). I thought I would also share it on my blog.

19-21I'll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness,
the taste of ashes, the poison I've swallowed.
I remember it all—oh, how well I remember—
the feeling of hitting the bottom.
But there's one other thing I remember,
and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:

22-24God's loyal love couldn't have run out,
his merciful love couldn't have dried up.
They're created new every morning.
How great your faithfulness!
I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over).
He's all I've got left.

25-27God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,
to the woman who diligently seeks.
It's a good thing to quietly hope,
quietly hope for help from God.
It's a good thing when you're young
to stick it out through the hard times.

28-30When life is heavy and hard to take,
go off by yourself. Enter the silence.
Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions:
Wait for hope to appear.
Don't run from trouble. Take it full-face.
The "worst" is never the worst.

31-33Why? Because the Master won't ever
walk out and fail to return.
If he works severely, he also works tenderly.
His stockpiles of loyal love are immense.
He takes no pleasure in making life hard,
in throwing roadblocks in the way:

34-36Stomping down hard
on luckless prisoners,
Refusing justice to victims
in the court of High God,
Tampering with evidence—
the Master does not approve of such things.

-Lamentations 3:19-36

Update on Life at Convoy:

I have been asked to work on the Short-Term Teams Program at Convoy of Hope. So, I have been working on this and will continue to work on this program. I have been having meetings, setting up meetings and creating proposals. I appreciate all your prayers and support as I go ahead in this endeavor. I am planning on heading down to El Salvador both in September and October. Then in Novemeber I will be heading to Fresno, CA to attend a Convoy of Hope Outreach. I have never been to one, so I would like to see this part of Convoy.

I have posted some pictures below of the Artwalk. The Artwalk is an event in downtown Springfield. They have it once a month. During this month's Artwalk, the Randy Bacon Studio (a local photographer) featured Convoy of Hope. We had one of our trailers out front and the tralier was turned into a gallery of photos and stories. Inside the studio there were various tables on Convoy of Hope's various programs. I helped work the Nutrition of Hope/Haiti table. I had nothing to compare it to, but it seemed like there was a lot of foot traffic aka successful =).

* For those that are interested - Convoy of Hope is working on creating School Kits for the children in our partner schools in Haiti. If you would like to donate school supplies or would like to make a kit send me an email. I will send you the information for the school kits and/or contact information for Aimee Rose who is working on the School Kit Program.

Enjoy the pictures and Have a Wonderful Day!

Me at the Nutrition of Hope/ Haiti Table.

Mud Cookies (Pies) - These are made and sold in Haiti. They are made of dirt, oil and flour. Apparently the pregant women in Haiti crave them because of the lack of iron in their body.

The table and my friend Aimee Rose. Aimee and her husand Kevin are the Country Coordinators for Haiti.

Here is another view of the table and Aimee again.

A Little Update on My Life =)

2009-08-25T07:21:00.000-07:00

Hello -

It has been a little while since my last blog. I wanted to give a small update to keep you informed on my life out here in Springfield, Missouri. I spent last week in St. Louis, Missouri at a Compassion Forum put on by the International Ministries Department of AGWM (Assemblies of God World Missions). It was a week jammed pack with information on some of the "best practices" in Compassion Ministry. Speakers spoke on some of the issues that older methods of compassion ministry have faced and introduced new ways of looking at things. They talked about the importance of the local church in all ministries. The idea is to empower and to build capacity in individuals. There was a lot of good information.

The emphasis was on international compassion ministries, but the information was relevant for domestic compassion ministry as well. My suggestion (for what it is worth) is that prayer and research need to happen first if any church or individual wants to reach out and make an impact on a need in the community. Some of these steps include: Evaluating the problem, seeing what other groups are doing, to remember that problems are complex and therefore the answer will be complex, work with other groups (why start a different ministry if others are creating effective solutions), and remember the reason for all of it is Christ’s Love and the way it can transform a life!

These are just a few of the things I took away from this week. A little while back I read a book called White Man's Burden by William Easterly. The title itself is a critique of western aid. It is long on economics, but an interesting read once you get past all the numbers. If you couldn't tell by the title there is plenty of sarcasm, which provides a good chuckle now and then. It might make you mad, it might make you think, but if you’re interested in this type of thing I recommend reading it. You can always chew the meat and spit out the bones.

I am back in Springfield working on Convoy of Hope teams and planning on going to El Salvador in October. Hopefully I will be able to go to a domestic Convoy of Hope outreach and another conference on sustainable development in December. I just wanted to share a bit of my experience with you all as well as informing you on future plans.

Thank you for all your prayers and support! They are very much appreciated!

2009-08-06T11:31:00.000-07:00

Hey -

I arrived back in Springfield, MO Tuesday night. I was suppose to fly out Monday, but because the flight was delayed leaving San Jose I was going to miss the connecting flight from Denver to Springfield. I was given the choice of taking a red eye out of San Francisco or flying out the next day. I choose flying out the next day. I have taken the next couple of days easy between El Salvador and Sarah's wedding I was pretty wiped. I am unpacking, grocery shopping, and so on. I plan on going into the office tomorrow to work on reports and newsletters.

I think the question I have been most frequently asked is "Where are you going next?" I wish I had a good, solid answer to give everyone, but at this point I don't. I am in Springfield for the next week or so and then I have a Compassion Ministry Conference that I will attend mid August. This conference is put on by the International Ministries department of the Assemblies of God World Missions (AGWM). I am looking forward to this conference and hope to glean some new information about compassion ministry. During this time in Springfield I will be attending meetings, maybe doing some training and out of this time will come my next field assignment. These times in Springfield are always in preparation of what will come next and are necessary to be successful in the next assignment and project.

Some things to pray for:

In two weeks I will need to move. I need a room or apartment. One difficult thing about not knowing my next assignment is not wanting to sign a lease if I will be in a different country for months at a time. So, please pray for wisdom, discernment and a place to live.

You can pray for Convoy of Hope and the leadership as they assign and cast vision for the continuing projects and projects in the future. (including where my next assignment will be!)

Pray for continued protection, and wisdom and discernment.

Here are some pictures of the wedding:

Operation Wedding Storm

2009-07-30T17:23:00.000-07:00

Hello Hello -

I just wanted to check in - let you know that I am alive and survived my five weeks in El Salvador. The real question is "Will I survive Operation Wedding Storm?" After a brief 1.5 day sickness I think I am ready =). The Balch yard has been in construction for several months now in preparation for Sarah Balch's special day. I look out into my backyard and it is a sea of tables draped in chocolate brown with floral centerpieces twisted up the white umbrellas. In the center of it all is a gazebo made of white wood and lights. On Saturday we will be consuming piles of noodles covered in Italian sauces. Afterwards we will feast on cake and treats from the chocolate fountain. The happy couple will dance, throw a garter and a bouquet, and wave goodbye.

Despite the busyness it is nice to be home. It is good to see my family and Derek. I was able to go to CLC on Sunday and ride the Giant Dipper last night. Derek and I went to San Francisco and to a Giants game. I got sick during the game, but it is one of my favorite things to do when I come home. I have eaten at Erik's Deli (twice) and In and Out Burger. I was able to go surfing and probably should surf again before I leave. So, I have been able to do a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I head back to Missouri August 3rd.

To close off here is quote in honor of the upcoming nuptials:

"Love is the lifespring of our existence. The more love you give, the happier you feel and the more love you will have within you to give".-- Susan L. Taylor

Muchas Bendiciones. Many Blessings.

Intern Adventures

2009-07-19T16:57:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I packed my bags from the lovely Santa Elena Hotel and moved into a hostel with the interns. It was a bit of a change, but included nice walks to the gas station for my morning coffee, a weekend at the beach for rest and relaxation, and ministry in Perulapia.

The interns have been spending one week in different cities in El Salvador. They are going to three cities in total. Each week they do presentation in the same school about physical, emotional and spiritual health and then also have presentations for the parents at the local church. So, myself and my co-worker Bethany have been supporting another co-worker Shannon as she leads the interns.

I made friends with a little boy at the church. I supported his gum habit - I went through my Trident Watermelon flavored gum very quickly this week. It was funny he was always asking me for gum and would ask for gum and then would show me his fingers to show how much he wanted. I also became friends with his aunt, who is 22 and attends the university. I sat down and talked to her for an hour - talk about stretching my Spanish! One of the nice thing about being in a place for a week were the relationships I was able to build.

Then we ended the week off with taking the team of interns to a house on the beach. We weren't quite sure what to expect and when the road turned to dirt and we were in the middle of sugar cane, we really weren't sure what to except. When we arrived at the house it was well worth the adventure of getting there. Beach front property, hammocks, good food, and a swimming pool all for the cost of the hostel! It was great weekend for the morale and health of the team. Now we are ready for the week ahead in San Ramon!

Pray for the interns in San Ramon this week. They have a very full schedule and need lots of energy physically, emotionally and spiritually. Pray for the students in the schools, and the parents at the church. Bethany travels back on Wednesday and I travel back on Thursday. Pray for traveling protection!

Thank you to everyone who is praying for me and for faithful financial support!

Claire

Living by Faith

2009-07-12T09:03:00.000-07:00

This morning I listened to a podcast from Mike Errie at Rock Harbor church. It hit a chord with me, especially after this week.

He spoke about God being our only option. Christ always gives us a choice - he never begs, he never bribes us into his presence. When we have other options he lets us go. He spoke about the cleanliness and tidiness of the churches in the states and how we are missing the desperation for Christ. In the States we so often rely on doctors and finances instead of God. We rely on ourselves, on our government, on the makeup we wear, and so forth. Appearance becomes more important than our faith.

This week the team had the opportunity to visit two homes in an area of El Salvador called Santa Ana. Both of the homes were the size of an average bedroom. One of the houses held ten children plus the parents, and the other, which was smaller, also held the animals. The floors were mud and the water they drank came from the sky and was held in a barrel. There are two seasons in El Salvador, the dry season and the wet season. I can promise you the rain comes right into both of these homes. This is how many people live in these rural communities of El Salvador. We met one woman who had hurt her shoulders and couldn't work. She told my friends that she survived by faith. Day by day God provided for her. They prayed for her and she told us she would be praying for us. I met an old woman and just sat by her and talked to her. She had pain through her body and she lived alone. I prayed for her. She lived by the Faith of God and the goodness of the church. The pastor in that area had a home similar to the ones described above. I can tell you that God provides. I don't believe that God wants anyone of his people to suffer. We might not be rich in the world eyes, but we can be rich in HIM! God will provide.

For those of us in the States - some of us may be hurting financially right now, others of us maybe weathering the financial crisis just fine. Let us Trust in God, to depend on him first and foremost. For those of us who can Let us give with joyful hearts and open hands. For those of us who think we can't, let think of ways we can give or trust God to provide in our sacrifice of giving. Give a hand to your brother and sister in need - whether that person is in California, Missouri, Washington, New York, Nigeria, Kenya, Costa Rica, El Salvador and so forth. Rejoice in God, worship him freely for the blessings he has given you. Let me worship God for the ways he has blessed my life, I thank God for each one of you and your prayers and support, I thank him that no one got sick or hurt on the team this week, I thank him for going with us, before us and behind us!

If you have a chance I encourage you to listen to Rock Harbors pod cast on 6/28/09, "The End of Your Rope" by Mike Errie - I believe it is a challenge to the churches of the United States. To remember to worship God freely and fully. To live lifes full of God - remembering he is our only option - our only God - our savior and our grace!

A Life Giving God!

2009-07-03T14:49:00.000-07:00

The next team I am working with comes in tomorrow. Well, technically two of the team members came today, but the other five come in tomorrow. Then the work begins. We will be visiting communities and schools telling people about Jesus and sending them home with rice, beans and salt. Food to satsify them for a life and food to satisty them for at least a few days, if not the whole week =). What a privilege to be able to serve God through serving his people. This is your privilege too because without your prayers and financial support I wouldn't be in El Salvador and with Convoy of Hope today! Live Blessed! Thank you for your prayers and financial support! As work begins with this team please continue prayers of safety, prayers of health, prayers that all the details will fall into place and prayers that we will be used by God!

I am currently reading through Romans. To be honest Romans is a little harder to get through. I also feel the need to read each chapter a couple of time just to grasp part of what Paul is writing. Romans is just jammed pack. I read Chapter 5 today and part of it just really stood out to me. I even put it on my facebook because I just loved the message version, so much. I have written Romans 5:17-19 below:

"If death got the upper hand through one man's wrongdoing, can you imagine the breathtaking recovery life makes, sovereign life, in those who grasp with both hands this wildly extravagant life-gift, this grand setting-everything-right, that the one man Jesus Christ provides?

Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! One man said no to God and put many people in the wrong; one man said yes to God and put many in the right."

Thank you God for sending your Son - to give us life, for setting things right and for saving us!

Let it be a reminder for us to say "yes" to God and not to say "no". A reminder to follow Christ's example and not deaths!

Live in Christ!

A Little About Last Week

2009-06-28T07:21:00.000-07:00

I have been in El Salvador a week now, it seems to have flown by. Yesterday I had a day of rest and relaxtion before the next team comes in, which is today. Last week we went to schools and communities and shared about Jesus and distributed food. We visited about two places a day. At each location we had the opportunity to pray for people about salvation, healing and the economic crisis. Countries like El Salvador depend very highly on the United States, so when we hurt financially, they hurt too, maybe even more. El Salvador even actually uses the US dollar.

The team that I just worked with came with alot of passion for Jesus and people. I enjoyed hearing how God worked and changed them during the week. For some of these people it was the first time they really saw poverty like the kind that exist in much of the world. Many members of the team left clothes and shoes behind to be distributed. My prayer is that they continue to let what they saw here in El Salvador influence their life. That they don't let the pressures of home get to them, but that they continue to see the importance of telling others about Christ - and the importance of compassion in ministry. Compassion being helping the poor, the orphans, the widowers, the prisoners and so forth.

God is great! He has mercy and compassion for each on of us! Let us let this change our hearts. Let us remember to have mercy and compassion for those around us. Let us live lifes full of humility, confidence in who we are in God, forgivness and grace! I am reading the book "Lead Like Jesus" by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges. I have been reading about the importance of these four traits in our daily lives. So, soak HIM in today!

Claire Balch

Pictures from El Salvador

2009-06-22T20:49:00.001-07:00

Hi - I wanted to share some pictures with you from El Salvador!

Just Checking In...

2009-06-20T21:36:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to check in and give a quick update.

I am in El Salvador. I arrived on Thursday. It gave Bethany (another MA with Convoy) and I a chance to set up everything for the first team. Jack Belin's team (a missionary with Convoy) came in on Friday and we got them working in the warehouse bagging food right away. Today we began the first day of ministry. We went to a school and to a community. In both places we did a presentation and distributed food. It was a long day, but a good day.

El Salvador is a pretty country. It is very green. Flying into San Salvador is pretty cool looking because it looks a little like a green bowl. There are alot of volcanoes here that make the land interesting to look at - you have big volcanoes, some crater lakes, and so forth. You also have the ocean here, which I have only seen from the air.

This morning we went to the warehouse to put the groceries in the truck for distribution. I decided that I needed to "powder my nose". When I returned just a few minutes later the warehouse was empty as I walked closer to the exit I realized the gate was closed and then as I got even closer I realized it was locked! I had been locked in the warehouse. I still needed to buy a sim card for my phone, so I couldn't call anyone, so I sat there for a minute trying to figure out what to do. Then I decided to hop the fence because at least then I would be able to get outside and maybe be able to call someone. So, I jumped the fence (in a skirt) and then waited until someone came along. There is a restaurant called Biggest here that allows Convoy to use part of their warehouse, so they had people working. Finally, an El Salvadoran offered me coffee and a phone. Eventually the group realized I was not in the bus and sent our truck driver to come get me! I made it safe and sound to the school, in time to practice some Spanish and eat lunch =) It was an adventure to say the least. I survived and better me get locked in the warehouse than a team member. =)

If you have a chance please pray that all the details will come together for the teams and things will go smoothly. Pray for strength for Bethany and I and for the nationals working with us. These days are long and there is alot to plan. Pray for protection and that God will work through the teams this summer!

I haven't taken any pictures yet, but they will come =)

Food for Thoughts

2009-06-02T11:07:00.000-07:00

During lunch today I read my bible at Subway. I read Acts 17. There is a passage in Acts 17 that is very important in living missionally. I first studied it at Vanguard, while taking a missions class with Greg Austring. Ever since that class I never saw this passage quite the same way. Paul is in Athens after escaping Berea. While, there he notices that the city is full of idols. He discussed it with "Jews and other like-minded people" and "every day he went out on the streets and talked with anyone who happened along". Then at the request of some of the citizens of Athens he speaks downtown about Christ. He makes his message relevant to them by noting the fact that religion is important to them. In his study of the culture he found a statue of a god that was titled "To The God Nobody Knows". He tells the people of Athens that he is here to tell them about this unknown God. Then later Paul quotes one of their poets who says, "We're the God created". Paul uses this to say, "Hey if we're God created, then why do we need to chisel gods?" At the end of his oratory some people laugh at him, but others believe.

I took three major points from this passage:

1) This is an ideal example of understanding the group/culture you are talking to. If you understand the culture - the religion, the artwork, the literature and so forth you can intelligently and discerningly relate to them. Once you know culture, you know what is important and unimportant. In essence, this not only makes you more effective, but shows the people you work with that you understand and care about them.

2) Paul went where the people went. He engaged people into conversation and relationship. He went downtown Athens and spoke. He didn't hide away in his home and church. His coffee shop of choice was were the people who needed to hear the gospel went. He never expected them to come to him, but he went were they where.

3) Paul was laughed at for speaking about Christ. When he ended with the fact that Christ was raised from the dead, people laughed at him. BUT people were also saved because he spoke the truth! Leading others to Christ might mean ridicule and persecution, but we can take heart that in the process we might gain brothers and sisters.

A Springfield Bike Ride

2009-05-31T16:02:00.001-07:00

I took a bike ride the other day to Rendevous in downtown Springfield. I have included some pictures from the AG mecca for your viewing enjoyment. =) Below the pictures I have Psalms 46 written out. I wanted to remind you through these verses that God is out protector and fights for us. He is a place to hide. He is above politics and culture.

Psalm 46

"God is a safe place to hide,
ready to help when we need him.
We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom,
courageous in seastorm and earthquake,
Before the rush and roar of oceans,
the tremors that shift mountains.

Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
God of the Angel Armies protects us.

River fountains splash joy, cooling God's city,
this sacred haunt of the Most High.
God lives here, the streets are safe,
God at your service from crack of dawn.
Godless nations rant and rave, kings and kingdoms threaten,
but Earth does anything he says.

Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
God of the Angel Armies protects us

Attention, all! See the marvels of God!
He plants flowers and trees all over the earth,
Bans war from pole to pole,
breaks all the weapons across his knee.
'Step out of the traffic! Take a long,
loving look at me, your High God,
above politics, above everything."

Jacon-wrestling God fights for us,
God of the Angel Armies protects us."

Walmart Parking Lot Thoughts

2009-05-24T11:55:00.000-07:00

It is Sunday afternoon. I went to church this morning at New Life. I have been going here for the last three weeks. I was looking for a Spanish church and stumbled upon this one instead. It's not Spanish, but it reminds me a little bit of the Shark Club at Rock Harbor, but with a smaller number of people and less club. The pastor was speaking on James Two. It reminded me of something I was thinking about yesterday, while walking across the Walmart parking lot...

Yesterday, I woke up and decided to do nothing very quickly. I sorted through papers and did dishes, while watching the television. I was watching A&E and this show came on about all the big personalities and history of big time wrestling. Towards the end, the show was talking about these wrestling schools they have for people who want a shot at big time wrestling. People can come, workout, train and hope to make it into the big leagues. They were interviewing the different men who had come to try out for the club. This one man in his perfect eighties attire - complete with mullet (for his credit I believe the film clip was from the eighties) - said he wanted to become a big time wrestler because he wanted to be known. He wanted to walk down the street and for people to know him, to be recognized. After the Andre the Giant special and Mr. T special I decided it was time to get out of the house. As I walking across the Walmart parking lot, I thought "You know that really is it - people just want to be known, to be recognized, to know that their important". Isn't that what Christ was really about? He came to glorify and serve God, but he also came to love people. He wants to set us free, want us to know that who we are is quite enough. With his gentle yet firm Spirit move us into life with him. A life that is polished by him, taking what is good in us and changing what is not so good.

Our job as Christians is to treat people as Christ treats us. This is what they discussed at Church. It is about treating the man in rags the same as the man in the suit. It is about treating people kindly. It about loving others as you love yourself. I know this isn't easy. I am a person who has the ability to get along with most people, but when I feel someone hasn't treated me right or fairly, it takes a long while and a lot of GOD to get that out of my system. There are people in life were I literally had to pray to God to help me love and forgive them. I think these verses in James though go beyond just difficult people. They ask us to live above our bias and stereotypes that dress and makeup form and to see the person underneath. We have to make sure we aren't going over the top to please some and ignoring others in the process. Que dificil! No? But I think with the grace of God, with a life solid in the Spirit, we can become people who are Christ like in our actions and lives. After all Jesus took 12 ordinary men, including a handful of fishermen and a tax collector, and made them the foundation of his church.

Live in HIS Love!

Springfield, Missouri

2009-05-15T17:21:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here on my couch, watching the news and checking emails. I have survived two tornado warnings, so far. These tornadoes are strange things for a California girl. Tomorrow if the rain and thunder do not change anything I am running the Relay for Life 5K. My goal is to not come in last. I am looking forward to this, I think it might be fun.

I have been working in the Convoy office, which is a bit of change from language school. I am learning the other side of Convoy and how things function from behind the scenes. I thought some of you might be curious what work in the office looks like, so here is a mini list of some of the projects I am helping with:

Planning for some of the summer El Salvador teams
Working on translating documents from Spanish to English
Working on finding news information on disasters
Helping put together country summaries
Educating myself on Compassion Ministry and Convoy of Hope
Whatever else I am needed to do

I think this time is good for learning about how the office functions and about how the planning for trips works. I can ask questions and get to know my colleagues. I leave for El Salvador on June 18th.

All the time in the world people are suffering from violence, flooding, starvation and so forth. I want to encourage you to be aware of what is going on in the world. Two countries being wracked by violence are Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Pray for these two countries and the people that live there. Another country that could use prayer is Brazil. They have experienced severe flooding in the normally arid dry northern region as well as flooding in the wetter southern region. Of course there are more countries and people out there, but these are three that I am highlighting. I encourage you to pray for these countries and other countries and situations God puts on your heart.

Words from a Wise Man...

2009-05-07T13:56:00.000-07:00

From Springfield, Missouri...

I just wanted to share some Proverbs with you today:

"The good acquire a taste for helpful conversations; bullies push and shove their way through life."

"Careful words make for a careful life; careless talk may ruin everything."

"The rich can be sued for everything they have, but the poor are free of such threats."

"The lives of good people are brightly lit streets; the lives of the wicked are dark alleys."

"Easy Come, Easy Go, but steady diligence pays off."

"A commonsense person lives good sense; fools litter the country with silliness."

"Souls who follow their heart thrive; fools bent on evil despise matters of soul."

(taken from Proverbs 13)

Have a Great Day!

One Heart, One Mind...

2009-05-03T09:53:00.000-07:00

I am sipping Ginger Green Tea in Springfield, Missouri this morning. I am half moved into Sarah's apartment. My belongings are sitting in her apartment in boxes and bags. Tomorrow I will be back in the Convoy of Hope office. The current plan is that I will head to El Salvador in June and then will leave at the end of July for Santa Cruz, California for my sisters wedding. This will close up my first year with Convoy. That is a few months off and I am excited about what God has is in store for this summer and the work to be done in El Salvador.

I am reading Acts. I started reading it sometime earlier this week. I like reading about the church in those days and weeks after the resurection and ascension. The movement of the Holy Spirit. The open giving and sacrificing. Though even in this "congregation of believers...united as one - one heart, one mind" there was Ananias and Sapphira who thought they could trick God. They sold their land and in an attempt to look "godly and sacrificing" they told Peter that they were giving all their money from the sell to the church. The truth was that they had kept some of the cut of the land to themselves. Ananias and Sapphira were served justice by God.

In our lives let us not live like Ananias and Sapphira. Let us remember the other early church members such as Barnabas. Let us try to live in unity and harmony, let us give when we need to give (both in physical things and politics within the church), and let not a person among us be needy. May our lives be an incredible witness of Christ and his tremendous sacrifice. (drawn from The Message, Acts 4 and 5).

Be Blessed and Live in His Love!

A Little Hello

2009-04-23T19:54:00.000-07:00

Hello Fellow Blogger and Readers =)

Tomorrow I graduate from Cincel - it doesn't matter if we only attended for one, two or three semesters when we are finished we still get to participate in the graduation. Each one of us that graduates says something in Spanish when we accept the "diploma". I believe that it will be a nice little cermony to celebrate what we have learned and usher us out to our countries of service.

My Dad is flying in and we will be going up north into the Guanacaste area of Costa Rica. We will spend a few days relaxing and getting ready for the summer months ahead. On April 30th I will fly back to Springfield, Missouri.

I hope all is well with you. Keep me in your prayers as I travel and get back into the swing of things at Convoy.

Thoughts and Musings on John 12-18

2009-04-18T11:26:00.000-07:00

I have been reading in John this past month. I have just finished reading those final chapters before Jesus is arrested and crucified. It struck me as I was reading it that these were Jesus's last words before he was arrested. These were the thoughts and ideas he wanted to leave with his disciples. It was what he wanted them to remember when things seemed to turn for the worst. Chapter 12 starts six days before passover. This is the begining of Jesus's last teachings (pre-resurrection) to his disciples. He is arrested in Chapter 18.

I want to share a few verses that stood out, but I encourage you to go back and read these chapters. After reading them I encourage you to think and pray over them and what they mean to your life and the way you live.

1. In the begining of Chapter 13 Jesus washes his disciples feet and when he is finished he leaves this command "Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as 'Teacher' and 'Master' and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other's feet. I've laid down a pattern for you. What I've done, you do. I'm only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn't give orders to the employer. If you understand what I'm telling you, act like it - and live a blessed life"(John 13:12-17). So, we must serve others as Christ served us.

2. Christ leaves us a command, which I believe goes largely ignored - "Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recongize that you are my disciples - when they see the love you have for each other"(John 13:34). I believe this is a difficult command to follow because there are so many different types of people and personalities in the church, but if everyone of those people and every type of those personalities made the decision to love one another and to serve one another I think that it would be much easier to follow this command. Whether or not someone who call themselves a Christian acts with love towards us, we need to act with love towards them (this is a characteristic hard to master- thankfully we have a God of grace and a God who gives us the strength to do this when we ask for his help).

More importantly, if every Christian followed this command then the world would be able to recongize us. Too often silly arguments about seats, music, church remodeling and moving, and more causes division in a Church. People leave Churches over music, seats and personality issues. Where is this okay in the Bible???? (though I believe there are appropiate times to change churches) As a side note, we need to remember that as Christians was are here to serve the "Church" (a body of fellow believers), the church does not exist to serve us. Each one of us who is not a "pastor" by career title is a lay pastor. We need to practice love, forgiveness and grace and work towards learning what really matters to God. If there is any doubt to what is important to God, John 15:17 says, "But remember the root command: Love one another".

3. Finally, Jesus left the disciples with the hope and power of prayer. John 14:12-14 says "The person who trust me will not only do what I'm doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do what I've been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I'll do it. That's how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I'll do." and then again in John 16:23-24 "This is what I want you to do: Ask the Father for whatever is in keeping with the things I've revealed to you. Ask in my name, according to my will, and he'll most certaintly give it to you. Your joy will be a river overflowing its banks". Then later on in the same passage Jesus tells his disciples that because they have loved and believed in him soon they will be able to talk directly to God. I think the verses say it all, but because of the cross we have to power to be able to communicate through prayer to God. We are able to continue the work of Christ in this day.

Some more pictures from Guatemala:

This is me introducing myself to a group from Teen Challenge - my first time introducing myself and explaining Convoy of Hope in front of adults in Spanish. I was nervous =).

We prayed for the men in the center and then they prayed for us - it was a really good time of prayer.

This is a picture from Antigua - the processiones were very interesting. A very cool cultural experience.

This is an platform (or an image) of Jesus that was carried in a procession

A man carrying a cross in a procession. The smoke is because they use alot of incense.

The volcano Fuego that overlooks Antigua

An alfombra (rug/carpet) made of sawdust. Only the big platform of Jesus and the following platform of Mary are allowed to walk over the alfombra.

Men working on an alfombra - there are many alfombras made during this week. On every street where there is a procession there are alfombras.

Guatemala and some Reflections...

2009-04-07T18:43:00.000-07:00

I am currently in Guatemala City, Guatemala for Semana Santa. I am here with my friends Krystal and Dawn visiting her parents. I am sipping tea, which is my favorite activity while writing blogs. I believe that blogs and tea or blogs and coffee belong together. Dinner has been made, eaten and cleaned up. I just finished up my after dinner cookie and am still sipping on the tea. Its been a good time just to relax, learn about Guatemala and hang out with my friends. I have also been able to experience bastante (enough) earthquakes and see some lava flowing. It has been eventful to say the least.

Something that I have been thinking about lately is how so many Psalms and other praises of God in the Bible are descriptions of God's character. As I have been reading them I have been thinking "Wow this is what we as Christians should really be striving to live like". As Christ followers we should mimic the characteristics of Jesus Christ. Psalms 146, for instance, "...He always does what he says - he defends the wronged, he feeds the hungry. God frees prisoners - he gives sight to the blind, he lifts up the fallen. God loves good people, protects strangers, takes the side of the orphans and widows, but makes short work of the wicked." The first part of this passage it says, "my soul, praise God!" and that we need to put our life in God's hands. The second part, that I wrote out, explains why and it praises God character. These very characteristics that we worship God for having, we need to reflect in our own lives. As God defends the wronged and he feeds the hungry, so we need to defend the wrong and feed the hungry and so on. The Bible is not just a book to be read and Christianity is not supposed to be lived out on a pew. So, as you praise God and as you read the psalms and other praise passages meditate on God's character and what you as a child of God can do to reflect him.

Krystal, Dawn and I at the top of a Mayan Ruin

Mangos

Maya Indian weaving

Guatemalan children in a market

Krystal, Dawn and I in typical Guatemalan Indian wear

Here Comes the Rain....

2009-03-31T14:59:00.000-07:00

I was sitting in the library at Cincel today reading A Tree Grows In Brooklyn when I began to hear the sound of rain on tin. A few minutes later I began to smell the rain. The smell of musty books and land turned wet. This is the first rain of ten months or so that are filled with rain. This is just the begining as August, September, October and November come the days will be filled with sunny mornings and rainy afternoons. I find it fitting that the first rain comes today. Tomorrow is April 1st and begins my last month of language school. As changes will begin to happen in my life and the lives of my fellow classmates, so does the weather. Slow at first and then as we adapt a little bit faster. Keep me in your prayers and thoughts as I transition from Costa Rica back to Missouri and whatever is in store for me next!

Also there is a family attending language school right now, Tim and Bethany Pike, who have just been hit with several health problems. She just got out of the hospital and last night he was put into the hospital and had surgery this afternoon. Pray for healing for them, pray for peace, pray for perservance and strength, so that they can and will continue the mission set before them.

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-9 (New International Version)

A Time for Everything

1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

9 What does the worker gain from his toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. 13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.

A Paseo

2009-03-20T15:04:00.000-07:00

Today the school had a paseo or in other words a field trip. We went to the village of Cartago. I have posted some pictures below of my adventures. We made several stops, but one of my favorites was ruins left over from a church that was never finished being constructed. Every time they tried to build it or continued to build it there was an earthquake that stopped construction. They eventually made a decision to stop trying to build the church. The story goes that the head priest and his brother both were in love with the same woman. The priest killed his brother over the woman. Because of this, a curse was put on the city. If construction continues on this church, an earthquake will happen that will destroy the whole city. I wouldn't want to be the construction company to test this story =). Anyway they have turned it into a beautiful garden. I really loved it and only wished I was a better photographer to capture it all.

Cafe con leche - in my own personal brewer

Arroz, frijoles, pollo, pescado, tortillas, y platanos - very typical and delicious - don't worry I didn't eat all of it - I needed room for the coffee mocha flavored flan and cafe con leche =)

Me at the restaurante - it overlooked a reservoir

The view minus me

Part of the workshop at a store that sold carvings out of coffee wood

The outside of the store that sold coffee wood carvings

For all those animal lovers...

Me - on top of these ruins - it amazing how climbing on ruins never gets old...

The view of the street from the walls of the ruins

Part of the garden they made inside the ruins

My favorite picture of the day

A Cross

"It's who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That's the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself - Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true-selves, in adoration." 1 John 4:23

The Strangeness of Obedience and a new Freedom...

2009-03-14T13:08:00.000-07:00

I have been reading through Luke and a reading a little more slowly through Exodus. I started my reading yesterday in Exodus 12. This is the chapter where God describes to Moses the process of smearing the blood of the lamb over the door of the house, how to eat it, not to use yeast, and then explains that Passover must be kept from generation to generation.

As I was reading it I was thinking about how absurd it must have sounded to the Israelites. God says " I want you to kill a healthy one year old male lamb, take the blood and smear it on the doorways and on the lintels of the house, the lamb must be roasted that night in fire, you are to eat unleavened bread and bitter herbs with it, burn the leftovers, and eat it fully dressed with your sandals on and your stick in your hand, and oh yeah eat it fast". I am no expert on Israelite culture and maybe these directions weren't as absurd to them as they are to me and of course they did just see water turned to blood, frog and locust taking over the land, darkness, flies, hail and so forth. Still I believe these directions from God probably sounded a little bit strange. I am sure there where thoughts like "Why in the world do we have to do this?", "I don't want blood on my lintels", or "I prefer my bread with yeast in it". If God asked me to do this I am sure I would be like "What? Are you serious? I will look weird painting blood over my blood post." But, if the Israelite hadn't obeyed God the consequence would have been death.

The blood was a sign that the household belonged to God, so that the house would be passed over when God came to strike the firstborn of Egypt. The annual Passover feast was to serve as a reminder to the Israelites of God freeing them from slavery. Unfortunately even thought the Passover continued to happen year to year the Israelites again and again failed to remember God the rest of the year.

If we skip forward several hundred years it brings us to the chapter in Luke I was reading the very same day. Luke 22 is the story of Jesus’ Passover meal with his disciples. This night as Jesus and his disciples were celebrating the freedom of the Israelite from Egypt, Jesus ushered in the idea of a new covenant and a new freedom. Jesus was arrested this night and he died so that we can live in freedom. Let us remember that Jesus freed us, let us remember to serve and obey him between our Sunday services and time of communion. Finally, let us remember that while sometimes obedience may make us feel like fool or sound strange that God knows best and the consequence of disobedience may very well be death. God may not be asking us to smear blood on our door post, but he does ask us to live lives that are very different from the world we live in. Making these life decisions may very well make us stick out like a blonde in Latin America =).

I hope all of you are doing well. Thank you for the continued prayer and financial support. I know things are financially tight in the United States right now and so I appreciate the continued support. I pray that you will be blessed and taken care of in this time of financial uncertainty. Thankfully we believe in a God who can turn a few fish into a meal for thousands. I am here because of your obedience and faith in this God. Thank you!

Live in His Love! Claire Balch

I am back in the blogging game...

2009-03-08T16:19:00.000-07:00

I have neglected my blogging duties for the last week or so, but I am back. I am sitting in the midst of a room that looks like a tornado hit it, so either I'm blogging to procastinate cleaning up or I am not procrastinating blogging by cleaning up... I suppose both have to be done before I go to bed tonight, so either way I am getting something done =). I actually do enjoy blogging. I am sitting here on my bed, drinking green ginger tea and a fresh fruit drink with chunks of watermelon, mango and cantelope in it and thinking about what I will blog about...

I have reached the half way point of my time in Costa Rica. I have learned so much, but I know there is still so much to learn. I discovered today that there are a ton of children parable stories in Spanish on You Tube, so I think I found a new language tool =). Derek visited me this week. This was fun. We went to the Volcano Irazu. We spent two hours standing on a public bus only to find one strange colored crater and lots of cold and wind. We headed pretty quickly to the little store up there and got some lunch and hot chocolate and coffee. I felt accomplished by the fact that I figured out how to get to the volcano via public transportation. I got the same feeling when I could tell the taxi driver where I needed to go without handing him directions =). I also got to go surfing in Jaco this weekend. This was really fun. I haven't had a chance to surf since I left Santa Cruz in August. I dropped Derek off at the airport this morning. This upcoming week is life as normal. School and studying. I also started my tutoring class for my fonetics last week, so I am hoping this will really help with my pronunciation and accent. As much as it can for the next seven or so weeks!

Thanks for your continuing prayer and financial support! I appreciate it, so much! For those of you who leave comments I love getting them and reading them. I will admit that I check my blog for them =).

I will leave you with this...

"On your feet now - applaud God!
Bring a gift of laughter,
sing yourself into his presence.

Know this: God is God, and God, God.
He made us; we didn't make him.
We're his people, his well tended sheep.

Enter with the password: 'Thank You!'
Make yourselves at home, talking praise.
Thank him. Worship him.

For God is sheer beauty,
all-generous in love,
loyal always and ever."

Psalm 100

La Playa Jaco, the surfboards and some guy I don't know...

La Playa Jaco

Derek and I at the Volcano Irazu - I was wearing a hat, mittens, a long sleeve, a sweatshirt and a jacket and I was in Costa Rica =).

The Crater Irazu....

Glimpses of Panama

2009-02-23T16:49:00.000-08:00

Hey All - I posted some photos from the Panama Visa Trip. I wanted to share it all with you. I got a sunburn too, but don't worry I won't share that =) I hope all is well.

The Beach

Crystal, Dawn and I at the beach

Me at the beach...

I guess I can't say I don't like fish anymore... =)

El pescado y yo

David, me, Issac, Krystal, Dawn and Dina

La Playa

It was Karolyn's Birthday - She got the Panama TGIF version of the birthday song

There was a circus in town - so the girafe and all the other animals were given the town tour

I missed the bear, so the tiger will have to do =)

That's all Folks =)

Live In His Love!

An update and some musings....

2009-02-18T13:50:00.000-08:00

Hello -

It has been a crazy last few weeks. The homework has increased. I went out of town, as well last weekend and will be going to Panama this upcoming weekend to renew my visa. All of the students at Cincel are going. We leave tomorrow in a bus. It is a lovely ten hour drive on a curvy road. I bought my motion sickness medicine last week and my ginger ale today. I did a little snack shopping today, as well. It is important to be prepared for these long bus rides =). It will be nice to have a day off from school and to be able to relax at the pool or beach. Last weekend a group of us went to Manuel Antonio for the weekend. This was nice. It makes the week a little more busy, but definetly worth it! I have posted some pictures.

I just want to leave you with these few thoughts that I have gathered from readings and different chapels over the last few weeks:

1. Today in Spanish Chapel the pastor talked about how in crisis there is opportunity. In that opportunity we are allowed to grow in God. He talked about how in crisis we can smile and find peace because God is in control. He used the story of Joseph and the crisises he went through to show how crisis can become opportunity.

2. We have a lot of chapels about perserving and pushing through the toughness of language learning, culture learning and missions work in general. These messages are important because at times it can be hard and difficult. It is good to be reminded to fight the good fight. But, I think that it is important to remember the joy of serving the Lord. The joy of remembering how God provided to get you where he has you, the joy of learning a new word, the joy of being able to minister to so many more people because you now know their heart language, the joy of experiencing a new culture and finding things you like just as much or more as something in your own culture, the joy of being able to go to school and worshipping at chapel in the morning and so on. Where ever you are in life, where ever you are in the world, please don't forget the joy of knowing the Lord, the joy of forgiveness and mercy and the joy of living in His love and freedom.

3. Lastly, I am reading this book The Signature of Jesus by Brennan Manning. The last chapter I read was about the courage to risk and the importance of risk in the Christian life. Their are two quotes I want to leave with you: "Tom Minifie, an associate pastor in Seattle: 'To be at ease is to be unsafe.' The church of the Lord Jesus starts to decay when the members who compromise it forfeit their willingness to risk"(pg. 189). Manning also quotes Winston Churchill, "Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It is courage that counts"(pg. 193). So, have courage and live boldly the life God ask of us!

Here are the promised pictures...

Dawn, Krystal, Aimee, Karolyn and Myself at the national park in Manuel Antonio

Me at the beach a little before sunset. The sky was beautiful!

Some volcanic rocks in the ocean

The sunset - this was one of many pictures I took.

Musings from Luke 6...

2009-02-06T12:41:00.000-08:00

I read Luke 6 the other night. I have typed part of it below because I wanted to share it with you. I encourage you to read the whole thing. This chapter is pretty powerful and pretty counter to how we want to behave. Love your enemies? Pray for those who give you a hard time? Stand there and take it when someone slaps you? Seeking truth and not popularity? Give away your life? Then lastly a reminder to make sure that we are taking God's word and letting it change us and they way we live. That we are burying it deep into us, so that when the storms hits we will stay strong. Christianty, Christ-following, is not about bible-studies, a social club, a cultural belief system, who you know or don't know and what church you may or may not attend. Christianity is about a relationship with our heavenly father. It is about fellowshipping with him, reading his word and then asking him to help us apply his heart into the way we live our lives. Asking Christ to walk this walk with us and to help build a foundation that will not be shaken...

"There's trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contest are not truth contests - look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors! Your task is to be true, not popular.

To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you are hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.

Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initative and do it for them! If you only love the lovable, do you expect a pat on the back? Run of the mill sinners do that. If you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal? Garden variety sinners do that. If you only give for what you hope to get out of it, do you think thats charity? The stingiest of pawnbrokers does that. I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You'll never - I promise - regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we're at our worst. Our Father is kind; you be kind.

Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults - unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don't condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you'll find life a lot easier. Give away your life; you'll find life given back - given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.....

If you work the words into your life, you are like the smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last. But if you just use my words in Bible Studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was total loss."

Luke 6:27-37

Here are some pictures from the Bible Study we have here at the house. Sonia (Mami) leads it.

This is Osqui and Rey. They are our in house worship team =) Osqui is Mami and Papi's son and Rey is a family friend.

This is Andy and Isaac. Andy and his wife Connie are missionaries who will be going to Chile. Isaac is a student who wants to go to the Domincian Republic to finish school and teach.

This is Sonia and I

This is Papi and Mami.

This is Rey and Diani eating the after Bible Study treat. Diani and I go on walks and she puts up with listening to my broken spanish. =)

This is Andy and Connie.

I hope all is well with you. I am enjoying life so far in Costa Rica. I appreciate your continual prayers and support. Thank you so much for the sacrifice, so many of you make so that I can continue this work with Convoy of Hope. I know times are getting tough, but God knows and as I read in Luke last night Christ told disciples and the parents of the little girl who everyone thought was dead " Just trust me and everything will be allright". Luke 8:50 (Message Version).

Live in His Love.

Claire Balch

The Hard Questions... Plus some Fun Pictures =)

2009-01-31T19:15:00.000-08:00

I woke up today with the sun. Every weekend, since I have arrived in Costa Rica, has been this way. I haven't slept past 7:00. I also go to bed early almost every night. The pace of life here is very different. I really enjoy being in bed by 10:00pm and waking up around 7:00am (though this blog plus The Office episode I want to watch will keep me up later tonight =) ). This morning I got up and made myself some green tea. I sat in a rocking chair and finished a chapter in this book I have been reading for awhile for called the Signature of Jesus by Brennan Manning. The point of the book is learning about having faith and passion for Christ. It is an interesting book. I always feel like I have something to chew on afterwards.

The chapter I read this morning was called Discipleship Today. He focused on three areas in "Jesus's life and teaching" and their relevance to us (pg. 89). The three areas were: 1) Jesus lived for God 2) Jesus lived for others and 3) The simplicity of life. In the first area Brennan Manning speaks of the importance of centering yourself in God daily. The second area is how Jesus looked past the surface of sneers, saddness, arrogance and so forth. Jesus read the hearts of people and discerned their pasts. Thirdly Jesus lived simply. We cannot let the complexities and distractions of life get in the way of our relationship with God.

I can't say I agreed with every idea or thought presented in this chapter. I do think that these three main points are good to think upon. Good to ask ourselves the questions such as "Am I living for God?" If I am not who am I living for?" "Am I keeping an attitude of prayer through out my day, so that I can keep focused on who and what is important?" How do I deal with the stresses in my life?" Am I loving (or at least trying) to love and see people the way God does?" "Am I helping the orphans and widows?" "Am I loving that person who is impossible to get along with?" Am I letting the outside clutter get in the way of my quiet time with God?" "Am I letting my job, what I own, what I wear, who I hang out with, what church I go to, and so forth define who I am or do I let God define who I am?" "What's more important to me the things of this world or God?" ..... I believe these are questions we all need to ask of ourselves. Everyone from the new to the old Christian has their moments. We are all human. We are all a work in progress. So, as we ask ourselves the hard questions, we also need to remember that in God grace is found. So, as we repent and confess, we do not have to dwell there. It is also important to remember that faith and change is a journey.

As Manning writes: "The early days of this discipline are awkard, painful, and rewarding. Awkard because it requires vigilance and discipline Painful because the lapses and relapses are frequent. (When we slip and forget God's presence within, it is self defeating to spend time in regrets and self-condemnation. We begin anew right where we are; offer this broken worship to Jesus Christ, and thank him for the grace to center down once again.) Finally, it is rewarding because life lived in the inner sanctuary is the abundant life that Jesus promised" (pg 90-91).

An old Catholic church built by Spain

Papaya from the Feria (fruit market)

The Feria

I learned how to make Ceviche con Platano today. We had it last night with rice and chicken. I thought it tasted like a salsa and would be perfect with corn chips. So, guess what I am bringing to the Super Bowl party tomorrow...

Me...The picture is kind of dark, but here I am learning how cut platanos and make Ceviche con Platanos. I love cooking, so this was fun. Plus, food is an important part of culture and thus a part of the adapting process.

"Do you still not get it?"

2009-01-24T08:03:00.000-08:00

I have been in Costa Rica now for over two weeks. I completed my second week of school yesterday and my first exam. I will find out next week I how I did... My computer is still out of commission. I hope it will be fixed soon. This morning I went to the fruit market and bought a papaya, 2 mangoes and some strawberries. Diani came with me, so I got to practice Spanish. I like the fruit market. I should buy fruit from the market in the United States whenever I am there again... It is a fun experience.

I am reading through Mark right now. In Mark 8 is the story of the feeding of four thousand and also the story of the disciples arguing in the boat about forgetting to bring lunch. The first part of the chapter goes like this:

"At about this same time he again found himself with a hungry crowd on his hands. He called his disciples together and said, ´This crowd is breaking my heart. They have stuck with me for three days, and now they have nothing to eat, If I send them home hungry, they will faint along the way - some of them have come a long distance.´ His disciples responded ´What do you expect us to do about it? Buy food out here in the desert?´ He asked, ´How much bread do you have?´´Seven loaves´they said. So Jesus told the crowd to sit down on the ground. After giving thanks, he took the seven bread loaves, broke them into pieces, and gave them to his disciples so they could hand them out to the crowd..."

In the chapter before is the story of the feeding of the five thousand. The conversation between Jesus and the disciples is very similar. Jesus asked them to feed the crowd and they respond in the exact same way ´Are you serious? You want us to spend a fortune on food for their supper?´.

Then back into Mark 8. The disciples and Jesus are now on a boat and the disciples forgot to bring lunch...

"Meanwhile, the disciples were finding fault with each other because they had forgotten to bring bread. Jesus overheard and said ´Why are you fussing because you forgot to bring bread? Don´t you see the point of all this? Don´t you get it at all? Remember the five loaves I broke for the five thousand? How many baskets of leftovers did you pick up?´
They said ´twelve´.
´And the seven loaves for the four thousand - how many full bags of leftovers did you get?
´Seven´.
He said ´Do you still not get it?´

There are many different lessons that can be drawn from these passages. After reading these scriptures this is what hit me the most: I wondered "How many time do I not get it? How many times do I forget the faithfulness of God?" Time and time again he has proven himself faithful to me, just as time and time again Jesus was faithful to the stomachs of his followers. Time and time again I worry about how things will work out. I guess it´s time that I get it...

Just Checking In....

2009-01-16T12:56:00.000-08:00

It is Friday. I have finished my first week of classes. I have class from 8:15 in the morning until 12:10 in the afternoon. There is an English chapel 3 days a week in the morning before class and one Spanish class a week in the afternoon after classes. Next week will be a full Monday through Friday week with a completly normal schedule. This week we had orientation on Monday, an introdution to our Interaction class and Cultural Chapel instead of Spanish Chapel. It is was a little different. I am glad it is the weekend. I plan to still study because it is important to be in the language and culture, but it will be nice to have a break from class. Tomorrow I will go to the beach. A group of us are taking the public bus to the Pacific Ocean. This will be fun to get out of the city and enjoy a different part of Costa Rica. My personal computer is temporarily out of use, but as soon is it is up and running I will post pictures. I have pictures of Cincel, a fruit market, an old Catholic church and hopefully soon of the beach or la playa as it is called here. I am going to run now and get some excercise and a brain break! I hope all is well.

Thank you for all your prayers and supports.

Be Blessed!

Claire

I have arrived...

2009-01-09T14:18:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to let you all know that I arrived in Costa Rica safe and sound with all my luggage. I survived the earthquake. It was fairly strong in San Jose, but there is minimal damage in the main city. In the areas near the epicenter there was damage and some deaths. You can be in prayer for these families who lost loved ones. My host family is kind. The know my Grandparents Wilson as well as many Vanguard students. This provides a good connection. While I am not close to the school I think that living with a host family was a good decision. I do not have to worry about meals or laundry and I am more immeresed in Spanish. Yesterday I had my placement interview and exam. The professor made it sound like there is hope for me yet in learning Spanish =) Today I toured the downtown of San Jose. Classes will begin Tuesday! I am excited for what the next few months hold. Pray for my Spanish speaking abilities! I hope all is well with you!

Around the World in One Hour...

2009-01-04T15:44:00.000-08:00

I just spent the last few days at The World Mission Summit 2. This event is put on by Chi Alpha, US Missions, and Assemblies of God World Missions. The purpose is to give young adults vision and a way to fulfill the Great Commission. Convoy of Hope went to tell those who were interested about the who, the what and the why of Convoy of Hope and their internship program. We had both a booth and a fifty minute session. Working the booth was one of my favorite parts of the event because you get to hang out and tell whoever is interested about Convoy of Hope and the internship. You get to meet and talk to lots of different people. I also was asked on the second day to speak three to five minutes on what it looks like to live missions particularly with Convoy of Hope. I also enjoyed being able to participate in the session in this way. Of course like all big events there are interesting speakers, good worship and a general all around excitement. In some ways because of the number of missionaries it was like a big reunion for many to see friends they have not seen a while.

The Assemblies of God has broken up the world into six different areas: Eurasia, Europe, Africa, South Pacific, Northern Asia and Africa. Then they have international service ministries which organizations such as Medical Missions falls under. It quickly became apparent to me that visiting each section’s booth was a little like being in that area of the world. It was like going around the world in just thirty minutes to an hour. The following photos are a result of that brilliance of thought…

Eurasia

South Pacific

Northern Asia

Africa

Latin America and Caribbean

The Summit

I leave for language school in Costa Rica on the 6th. I will arrive around noon on the December 7th. Please pray for safe traveling, no airport delays and grace in pronouncing the Spanish language!

Happy New Year and good luck with all your resolutions. =)

Christmas Focus

2008-12-25T21:37:00.001-08:00

It's Christmas. I leave for Ohio in three days and then Springfield. Finally, in early January I will leave for language school in Costa Rica. It seems like I just arrived in California. The time flew by filled with travel, running errands, getting strep throat, visiting Sacramento and other various Christmas events. These next few days hold no promise of slowing down. I am currently looking at my list of ten things to do before I leave. I have crossed off the first thing and am working on number five and ten. I love being able to take that pen or pencil and cross off that thing to do. It gives me such a sense of accomplishment.

In the midst of all these things to do it is important to stop and remember the reason we are exchanging presents and setting up trees. Last night I was frustrated about some issues with my lap top and the company who created the computer. I was pretty worked up about it and not in the mood for Christmas. My dad reminded me that my computer was not a life and death matter and one way or another my computer issues will work out. My parents also encouraged me to go to the candle light Christmas eve series. After the service I was no longer worked up about my computer. In life it is important when we get tired and when we get frustrated to refocus ourselves. Hit our reset button, so to speak. The focus reminds us what is important and what we believe. God is faithful and loves us. He sent his son for us to live and then to die for us. This is the focus of our faith. This is the focus for Christmas time. This is the focus of our lives.

"The word became flesh and blood,

and moved into the neighborhood.

We saw the glory with our own eyes,

the one-of-a-kind glory,

like Father, like son,

Generous inside and out,

true from start to finish.

John pointed him out and called, 'This is the One! The One I told you was coming after me but in fact was ahead of me. He has always been ahead of me, has always had the first word.'

We all live off his generous bounty

gift after gift after gift.

We got the basics from Moses,

and then this exuberant giving and receiving,

This endless knowing and understanding -

all this came through Jesus, the Messiah.

No one has ever seen God,

not so much as a glimpse.

This one-of-a-kind God-expression,

who exist at the very heart of the Father,

has made him plain as day.

John 1: 14-17 (the message version)

Here are some pictures from the Balch Christmas...

Sarah's fiance Josh and Luke pose with the book Luke got Josh

Lolo with her new jacket

Kathryn with her new jacket

Derek and I in the snow after a quick visit with my grandparents

The Arrival...

2008-12-07T17:16:00.000-08:00

The team arrived safely back into Springfield on December 5th at 10:00pm. Now we are experiencing the joy of a thing called jet lag - symptons include waking up at odd hours of the morning, not being able to fall asleep at normal times and heavyness of eyelids. We attended Republic Assembly this morning and were able to share a couple stories and photos about our trip. Thus the debriefing process begins. =) The term will end on the 11th.

I will be flying home for Christmas on the 13th and will be able to spend the holidays with my family. I am excited for this time at home. Over the New Years I will be in Cincinnatti, Ohio for the World Missions Summit help work the Convoy of Hope booth and break out session. Then on January 7th I will fly to Costa Rica to begin three months of language school. For a while now I have wanted the opportunity to study Spanish and finally now is the time. Convoy of Hope has a large focus on Latin America, so they they want their Missionary Associates to be able to have a base to draw from to prepare them for the work ahead. Needless to say this will be a time of learning and growing as I work on my Spanish linguistic skills.

I will leave you with this...

"Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good - crucified. Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original"

Galatians 5: 22-25

Just an Update

2008-11-25T00:26:00.000-08:00

We are waiting for the "Go" call from the Salvation Army and the missionaries here in Georgia. When we get the call half of us will go to the Salvation Army warehouse and the other half of us will go distribute food to the displaced people from the war. The Salvation Army is receiving a new container and have only a twenty-four hour period to unload it, so we will help provide some manpower. The distribution group will go to one place with thirteen families and distribute goods such as blankets, pots, plates and so forth. Then they will go to another building with 160 people. We went there yesterday, so today we will distribute the rest of the food, play with the children and have a mini program with the youth and adults.

Until then we are talking, catching up on emails and Facebook, eating food and resting up for the day. Thanksgiving is on Thursdsay and we will spend it with the international church here in Georgia. It will be my first Thanksgiving away from home and my first Thanksgiving abroad. It will be interesting to see how this Thanksgiving works out. The interns are bringing mashed potatoes and drinks. I can't wait to peel all those potatoes - in Strasini I got kicked out the kitchen for peeling potatoes to slow - I don't think that will happen Thursday morning =). I have to go. Have a good Thanksgiving. Live in Christ Love!

I attached some more pictures below...

Gabby working on removing old chipped paint from the basement

Me at the old Monastery - this gives you a good view of the whole river

Their is an old folk tale that says if you take a piece of cloth and tye it on a tree in a holy spot and make wish it will come true

This is Nate climbing a Persimmon tree during our lunch break

Reports from Georgia...

2008-11-23T07:39:00.000-08:00

I am in Tbilisi, Georgia right now. The team arrived on Monday. Georgia reminds me of a mix between Moldova and Armenia. Georgia like Armenia has its own language. It is a flowy script – very artistic. The produce here is good. The missionary home here has its own grape, pomegranate and persimmon trees. It is fun to pick the fruit and eat it straight from the tree. I never had tasted a persimmon before this trip. They are very good. I love the new taste, experience and culture.

The team has been working with the Salvation Army. We split into two teams. Half of the team is sorting and organizing in the Salvation Army warehouse, so that the donations can be distributed to the internally displaced people from the crisis with Russia. The other half of the team is working in a Salvation Army office cleaning up the basement and an upper room preparing it for painting. I have been working with the basement crew. I have spent the last few days scraping paint and cleaning off wallpaper. The basement will be used for children’s Sunday school. It is a pretty big project. It is nice to know that we have helped them get a little farther on renovating their building.

I have put some pictures below of both Armenia and Georgia. Enjoy =). Thank you for all your prayer and financial support. Be Blessed! =)

This is an old cathedral in Georgia - the Salvation Army took us here on Saturday - they took us sight seeing and bought us a Georgian lunch. I love Georgian food.

The view from another old monastery on top of a mountain.

Me (just in case you forgot what I look like =) ) at the old Monastery with the scarf I bought in Vandazour.

A Persimmon

Me - working at removing wall paper off the ceiling

Noah, Zach and Nate taking a break from work

Candy from the Armenian market

We butchered a lamb and then cooked it - It an adventure in lamb barbecue- These are the vegetables we cooked over the fire. It was fun - we ate all the parts of the lamb =)

2008-11-14T01:42:00.000-08:00

I am in an Armenian Internet Cafe. I am alive. The teams heads to Georgia on the 17th - please pray for us and the work we will do in the country. We worked on water filters and a program called Community Health Evangelism this week. It has been cold here. I just wanted to check in and say hello. Live in Christ Love!

Claire Balch

Just a Few Pictures

2008-11-08T05:04:00.000-08:00

I have a few moments to touch base. I have not had any internet access in the last week. I posted two blogs below that I wrote in the last week or so to give you an idea of what the team has been doing in Armenia. Internet access isn't consistent, so I am alive, just not able to communicate with the world =). I uploaded some pictures, so you can see a little bit of Armenia. I hope all is well. Live in Christ Love.

Claire Balch

Some Armenian Sheep

These are some of the homes - they are mid construction

This is at the church built on the spot where the first monk to bring Christianty to Armenia was thrown into a dungeon

This is a picture of the church with Mount Arat in the background - we could see the Turkish-Armenian border from the other side of the church

House Building

2008-11-08T05:03:00.000-08:00

November 2, 2008

* Internet is not as accessible here, so I am posting these as soon as I can, the post date and the written date may not line up =)

The last few days we have began working on the homes for the Armenians who lost their homes in an earthquake many years ago. They have been living in FEMA style trailers since that point in time. The homes we are helping build are funded mainly by the Armenian Relief and Development Agency (ARDA) with the help of a few other agencies. The homes are built from a technology out of Arizona using Styrofoam blocks, cement, and rebar. The technology has been tested to work.

We have been painting and mudding sheetrock the last few days, while we are waiting for the blocks to arrive. The blocks arrived late Friday night, so the Armenian workers set up the first layer of blocks on Saturday, while we painted and mudded. Monday we will begin to help set up the structure. This will be an interesting task. It will be cool to see the house take shape and to know that a family in need will be able to live there.

Today we went to an Armenian Church service. Culturally it is very different than Moldova. It was much more similar to what we are used to in America. We were allowed to worship more freely, wear jeans and I was allowed to introduce the team to the church. It felt a little more comfortable. We sang some songs in English, Glori Ann gave her testimony, Karen read a Psalm and Zach preached. Afterwards the pastor and his family had us over for lunch. The food was very good and we had a lot of it. The team really loves the flatbread here in Armenia. Another favorite food are grape or cabbage leaves stuffed with meat or rice. We had them in Moldova also, but the name is different in Armenia. I believe they are called dolmas. It is always nice to have food that you enjoy in a different country. The lunch was very good and the pastor and his family were very kind. Afterwards we went on a ski lift in the area that overlooks part of Armenia. It was beautiful.

I want to leave you with a verse from 1 John 4:
“God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free from worry on Judgment day – our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love, banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life – fear of death, fear of judgment – is one not yet fully formed in love.
We, though, are going to love – love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.

If anyone boast ‘I love God,’ and goes right on hating his brother and sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both.”

We are now in Armenia...

2008-11-08T05:01:00.000-08:00

Hello My Dear Friends and Supporters –
I wanted to let you know that I am now in Armenia. It was a long day of traveling from Chisinau, Moldova to Odessa, Ukraine. We left on the bus at 7:00 in the morning and arrived around 3:00 in the afternoon. Our flight did not leave until 8:45 in the evening, so we set up shop in the airport. We sat around listening to music and reading our books. Around 6:00 in the evening we attempted to go through customs only to find our flight had been delayed. At 8:30 in the evening we finally started the journey through customs again. We finally boarded our flight around 11:30 at night and we arrived in Armenia around 4:00 in the morning on October twenty-sixth. It was quite the day. =)
We are now in Armenia. We are resting from our journey and our learning about a community development plan called Community Health Evangelism. This program looks at health from physical, emotional and spiritual aspects. Members of the community are trained on the program, create a committee and then train others in their community. The idea behind the program is to get people in villages to think about solutions to the issues they face. These issues may be lack of fuel, lack of clean water, bad backs or toothaches. It encourages them to look for the cause of the problem and then come up with solutions using local resources. The trained members are also to visit homes in their community to discuss problems and solutions. At the root of everything is the love Christ has for us and to share this love by meeting people’s needs. Our role is to inform, train and help share the vision of this program to the Armenian Kurds.
After our training days and rest we will begin to help build houses for Armenians who lost their home twenty or so years ago in an earthquake. They have been living in FEMA style trailers since they lost their home. Then we will use our Community Health Evangelism training to train the Ysidi Kurds. Lastly we will help build winter kits for those who lack enough food for the winter. For the last part of our trip we will head to Georgia and work with the people displaced from the war.
Please continue your prayers as the team and myself begin this last part of our journey.
“The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you”. 2 Corinthians 13:14

The Promised Pictures

2008-10-24T07:26:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures more pictures of the last week or so...

These are some Moldovans doing some sort of agriculture work - I always thought they were working with corn stock, but I am not 100% sure that is what they are doing.

This is one of the rooms at the orphanage we were working with. Missions without Borders came in and built these rooms. This is an example of what missions can do - I explain this a little more in my last blog posting.

This is a child at the orphanage

This is Alex. He is the youngest son of the family we stayed with. He could play the flute with his nose - who would of known? We had fun at there house.

This is plachenta. I spelled it the way it is pronounced not the Romanian way. It is a pastry like crust stuffed with whatever you want. It is usually cheese, potatoes or apples. It is very good.

The last couple of days we have worked in Orhie at a church mudding and taping walls. This is a picture of what will one day be a sanctuary.

This is me - proof that I am working =). I am sanding down the mud on the wall.

This is Mikellah and I

A Wrap up of the Week in Straseni

2008-10-23T14:08:00.000-07:00

It is not quite the tomorrow that I promised the updated blog, but it is fairly close to tomorrow. After all tomorrow is just a day away. I suppose with this schedule I keep that I should not promise to have blogs posted on certain days. On the other hand it is good to have goals and plans as long as their is room to change when necessary... It is often necessary because you never know when life is going to throw you a curve ball. All I can say is hang on to God, pack your bags and be ready. =).

As you may have picked up on each day has been very full. I have a few moments now to fill everyone in on the ministry and adventure of Moldova. The last village we were in was called Straseni. We stayed in the homes of the local church members. Glori Ann, Karen and I stayed in the same home. This home was such a blessing and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Angela and Brother Oligert (this is most likely not the way you spell his name =) ). Angela kept us well fed. Every night and morning we broke out the Romanian/English dictionary to help us communicate. The last night we were there they asked us to pray with them as a family before we went to bed. This was just a special time because they asked us what they could pray for and we asked them what we could pray for and prayed to the same God in different languages. It also solidified the time we had spent together. It was good.

The ministry we did in Straseni had many different faces. There was construction on a wall, home visits, cutting wood, helping in the kitchen, working at an orphanage, a service to the blind, a youth service and a couple services at the church. God works in so many different ways and all these different types of ministry reflect this part of him. I went on two home visits. One was a visit to the apartment of a woman named Mary. She lived alone. Her husband had passed away. Mary told us a little about her life. She grew up in the Ukraine, her father died when she was young, so her mother raised her and her siblings. She moved to Moldova later in life. I enjoyed talking to her and hearing her life story. We prayed for her before we left.

The other home visit I went to was to a family whose oldest child has cerebral palesy. The mother was telling us how hard it was sometimes. She spent all her time taking care of her child. It sounded like that at times it was a lonely and frustrating task. She was lucky enough to have a special chair for him, but the chair is getting to be too small. The child was four years old and they received the chair when he was two. She also had a younger child. In Moldova they do not have all the resources and support groups that they have in the states. We just took the time to give attention to the two children and talk to the mother. We also prayed for that family before we left.

The orphanage is the ministry that we did every afternoon. This was so much fun. Glori Ann focused on a different theme every day. The themes were love, joy strength, and faith. The rest of us helped support her by hanging out with children in the crowd, being interactive with the message and assisting in games and demonstrations. This orphanage was different in that it was for children with functional mental disabilities. It was also different in that only two of the children were actually orphans. The rest of the parents either did not want to or could not take care of their child. The director told us that many of the children did not want to go home on weekends, but would prefer to stay there - so that tells us a little about the home situations.

I have attached* a few of the pictures of the dormitory because it shows what giving to missions can do. These dorms were built by Missions without Borders. The money given to help improve these dorms has made life better for these children whose families can not or will not take care of them. I just want to encourage those of you that support missions that the money you give does make a big difference.

The time at the orphanage was awesome. It was fun to love on the children, play games with them and see them interact with the theme for the day. There is so much more I can add about the teams time in Straseni, but then I would be writing for a little longer yet. We are back in the main city now and will travel to Armenia on Saturday. We have had three accidents in our time in Moldova. We will be driving to Odessa to fly to Armenia. Pray for traveling mercies for the team. Pray that God will continue to cultivate the seeds planted in Moldova and that he will be the local church here. Pray for the upcoming time in Armenia.

* The pictures are not uploading - I will upload the pictures in the next few days, so you can view the promised pictures =).

Thank you for your prayers. May God be with You! Peace!

Cancelled Flights and Checking In

2008-10-20T13:01:00.000-07:00

Hello My Friends and Supporters! I hope all is well with you. Our flight to Armenia was cancelled, so the team will be in Moldova a little longer than expected. An extended Moldovan adventure, so to speak. We spent the last week in a village called Straseni. It was a good time, a good village, and a good church. I am pretty tired right now and should of been in bed a hour ago. I am going to post some pictures and then tomorrow when I am a little more refreshed write up about the teams time in Straseni. Today we spent some time at an old monastery. I will put some of those pictures on the blog as well.

"Do you see what this means - all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running - and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed - that exhilarating finish in and with God - he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls." Hebrews 12

Two girls from the Orphange

Blowing Bubbles - This was an activity at the orphange. Glori Ann is in charge of all our children activities and she does a great job!

This is another pictures of a girl from the orphange

This is the team at the Monastery - I wasn't sure if I had posted a team pictures yet. Pray for us!

This is me looking over a valley in Moldova

Here I am again - This cross overlooks a valley - thought this picture was kind of fun =)

A Whirl Wind Week and Day of Rest

2008-10-12T12:19:00.000-07:00

* This is a long one - there was alot of information and happenings in the last week - even I was posting this I could think of so much more to say - for those of you short of time and attention there are pictures at the bottom. =)

Life here in Moldova has been full. We spent about five days in a village called Sarata Galbena. The girls stayed in the house of a Moldovan couple and the guys stayed at the church. We had no internet access for those days we spent in Sarata Galbena, which is the main reason it has been awhile since my last post. In Sarata Galbena our main ministry was helping out with a Convoy of Hope Moldovan style outreach and connecting with the youth at the local church. The first day there we bagged groceries. Then the second day was the outreach. The church had a program prepared and then afterwards there was food to eat, balloons, an oral hygiene area, a physician was present, face paint and groceries as they left. In the following days we were there we had a couple church services, home visits and a children’s program.

My favorite part of Sarata Galbena was working with the youth. On Saturday night we joined them in their youth service. We worshipped and fellowshipped together despite the fact we are from two different cultures and languages. The following two nights Sunday and Monday night we ate, fellowshipped, and worshipped together. It really was just a special time. We played Moldovan games and played music to connect instead of talking. It is amazing how Christ can work through the language differences and how he blessed us with the ability to connect.

After leaving Sarata we were able to have a half a day rest in Chisanou. The next day we headed up north to help flood victims. Moldova has some of its worst flooding this last summer season. We drove about four to five hours up to north to one of the villages affected by the flooding. Along the way we got into an accident. No one was hurt and our van was fine. The car that hit us from behind however was totaled. Despite all that we did finally make it up north. We bagged groceries until ten or so that night. Everybody broke up into groups of two or three and we spent the night at people’s homes in the village. So everyone in the group the next morning had a story to share of a Moldovan feast at eleven o’clock at night and a Moldovan breakfast the next morning. It is very important to Moldovans that their guest are well fed and do not go away saying they are hungry. In honor of the family we were staying with the Zama (soup) and bread was very good and breakfast was even better. I definitely did not go away hungry. =). The next day we distributed the groceries we had bagged the night before to 250 families or so that were in the most need. The names were given to the local pastor we were working with by the government. Before the groceries were distributed a Moldovan evangelist spoke to the crowd and one of the interns Chris explained Convoy of Hope, introduced the team and shared a little about why were there in Moldova. The pastor after the event was over told the team that other teams had come with more money and supplies, but that our team brought something special/different with us that was great blessing.

Today was a day of rest for our team. I did nothing much, but still feel pretty tired. It is about that three week mark where culture shock, homesickness and tiredness begins to sneak up on us. Pray for the team that we will endeavor through it well and will remember that we are here to honor Christ by serving his people. Pray for protection, safe travels and strength.

May God’s Love and Blessing Be With You!

This was one of the nights we hung out with the youth - they made us sausage and hot dogs.

This is Glori Ann - she is in charge of our Children Ministry - this is a village we did some home visits in and a short children's program

This lady told me I was like a daughter to her because I reminded her of her daughter - needless to say I think she was pretty cool - she took us to the homes in the villages. As a side note there are many elderly people who live alone with no source of income because there children have left Moldova or have moved to the city for work. This is creating a need for elderly care in the villages.

This is one home that was destroyed in the flooding.

This is Karen helping organize groceries for distribution

A day in Chisinau and a Story from Mihailenii

2008-10-01T14:36:00.000-07:00

* I added some of the intern team members blogs links to this site - they're on the right side of the screen if you're interested in reading them.

10/01/2008

We left Belts yesterday. It took a while to actually leave the city. The van refused to start and the battery refused to charge. So we went to eat lunch, while the van went to the car shop. And then when we sat outside the church and read, slept and played guitars. Finally around five o’clock we left Belts.

Our last day in Mihailenii (we were spending the night in Belts and days in Mihailenii) I sanded in the morning and visited a house in the village in the afternoon. Some of the other members of the intern team and of the church had visited this home earlier in the week and that day. The father of the household had left a long time ago and the mother had left this summer to find work in another country. She left 5,000 lei (their currency - which is about 500 dollars). The money is now all gone. She left six children. The oldest three are seldom at the home. That leaves a thirteen year old, eight year old and a three year old at the home for the majority of the day. The neighbor keeps an eye on them. We brought them a ball, socks, toy cars and food from the church. We cleaned up the youngest two children, cleaned some of their dishes and shook off their blankets. The thirteen year old was sullen, but the three year old and eight year old had such joy. Apparently earlier in the morning the kids were not so smiley and giggly. The church told us that they we would continue to visit these children. They were unaware that this type of poverty existed in their village. The church is a good church, so I know they will follow through on their word. I am glad that their eyes are now a little more open to their community. As a challenge to all of us we should look around our communities and see and take action about the need in our own backyards. There is a video of this house visit at the following link: http://www.mattwilkie.com/2008/09/more-from-dani-and-lenas.html

This morning we had pancakes for breakfast. They were good. We got a tour of Chisinau. The team visited the Artesian Market, had quiche at a café, and visited the Orthodox Church. I have always loved the artwork of both the Catholic and the Orthodox Church. I enjoyed walking around the church and looking at the paintings and architecture. However the power and control of the Orthodox Church is not always as beautiful. The missionaries we are working with told us today that their housekeeper’s brother in-law, who is a pastor in another village, received a knock on his door yesterday. The man at the door told the pastor that the Orthodox Priest had sent him there to kill him. He proceeded to beat the pastor. The pastor was able to run down the stairs to a neighbor who protected him. The threat of the Orthodox Church to other church denominations is still present in Moldova. Please remember to pray for the Protestant and Pentecostal churches in Moldova. Please pray for this pastor and his family.

Tomorrow we leave for the next village and unless there is a surprise there will be no internet access. I will post my next blog when we get back into Chisinau. Please continue to pray for me and the team. Pray for freedom from persecution. Pray for health. Pray for protection. Pray for the people in the next village we are going visiting. Finally, pray for the Convoy of Hope outreach we will be doing in this upcoming week in Moldova.

“May Jesus himself and God our Father, who reached out in love and surprised you with gifts of unending help and confidence, put a fresh heart in you, invigorate your work, enliven your speech.”
2 Thessalonians 2:16

The bell tower in front of the Orthodox Church

A cool fence in Moldova

I was pretty much covered in dust from sanding

A building in Moldova - I think it is a church

This one is kind of long, but there are Pictures at the end =)

2008-09-29T13:07:00.000-07:00

Written September 28, 2008

It has been a few days since my last post. I am not sure when I will actually be able to post this blog. The internet isn’t working in the building. As Americans we are very dependent on the internet. It is amazing what a bummer it is to see that Internet signal yet for one reason or another it is not connecting. A few years ago on a trip like this we would be lucky to talk to home once a week at an internet café or hotel phone. Then it would cost us an arm and a leg. Today it is completely different. I think it is nice to be able to post a blog, send an email, and make a call. The difference is when the attachment from home keeps you from bonding with the group and the people of country you are in. The internet like all things in life needs balance and self control. That goes for whether you are traveling abroad or living in your home in the United States or wherever else your home may be.

It is somewhat of a time warp here in Moldova. The combination of longs days and jet lag make it hard to remember which day is which. Today is Sunday and yesterday was Saturday, which means my last update was Friday. Friday seems so long ago from today. Saturday was the Thanksgiving for Moldova. It is a day of thanking God for the harvest. They have a program at the church which involved about ten other churches from other villages. The program involved singing, preaching and testimonies. They had this beautiful setup at the front of the church, which included the biggest cabbage I have ever seen, apples, sunflowers, pumpkin, grapes and other produce from their harvest. The difference between their Thanksgiving and ours is that they actually grow and harvest the food that they eat. In most homes in America we go to the store and buy the food we eat for Thanksgiving. In two places that are very different in many ways we can both be thankful for what the Lord has given us.

Today was Sunday. We went to church in another village and then later today went to Mihailenii for lunch, home visits and fellowshipping with Moldovans. The group I was with went and visited with a woman with crippled legs and chronic pain. She told us that she prayed to die. She asked for medicine for the pain. We told her that we didn’t have any medicine, but we do have God and the power of prayer. She told us she wanted to give us money for prayer and the visit, but we told we where there for free. That it was gift. We prayed for her and talked for a little bit. The Moldovan girls sang her a couple of songs. Then we left because she was tired. I could hear her crying as we left. I asked and they told me that the youth from the church would follow up and continue to visit her. I hope that they do because that is what will make this first visit effective.

After the home visit I talked with a Moldovan girl who lived in Sacramento for two years. We talked a long time about Moldova, school and life. She taught me some Romanian and Russian words and we ate walnuts from the tree. It was good. Then we joined some other girls in the eating area and we just hung out for a while. They sang songs and then made me sing a solo. Unfortunately I can’t sing and then I couldn’t remember any songs, but I think they got a kick out of my embarrassment. It was just a good time of bonding with the church over here. When Alexandria left she left because she had to bring the cows in – I thought that was an interesting cultural difference.

Remember to keep me in your prayers. Pray for the youth and the church of Mihailenii. Pray for the healing and salvation of Mila, the crippled lady, from today’s house visit. Pray for Moldova.

The Amazing Grace of Jesus Christ be with You!

Here are some pictures from Moldova...

This is one of the water wells across the street from the church. The Orthodox church built that building behind it with the purpose to make it a store to distract from the church we are working with. The building is currently empty.

Our van sort of broke one night in the middle of Mihailenii. It was an adventure and nothing too serious.

This is the church we went to on Sunday

I think these cars are so cool! I want one =)

This is me at the outside market on Friday. I am going to spell it wrong, but the call it a Pizzaza or something like that =).

This is a picture of the church that we are working with in Mihailenii.

A Full Day in Moldova...

2008-09-26T11:44:00.000-07:00

9/25/08

Today was the team’s first full day in Moldova. We woke up in Chesinu, spent the day in Milehni and are spending the night in Bells. It was quite the day. Moldova is a very pretty country. It is green and full of rolling hills. As you go into the country it is like stepping a back into time with a few cars and cell phones thrown into the mix. We saw multiple times a horse and cart serving as transportation, shepherds and livestock roaming in front and back yards. There is a lot of agriculture here and we saw people harvesting their crops.

We met with the pastor, the deacon and some other church members from Milehni today. They introduced themselves and shared some of the history of the church. The pastor’s grandfather was martyred during the years the country belonged to the Soviet Union and Communism. When they were trying to build the current church in early 2000 the Orthodox church protested by threatening to tear the building down and then by trying to buy half the land to squeeze them out. Neither one of these things happened. Today the church is in its final phases of construction. We will help texture and paint it tomorrow. In American we can worship God so freely. We can go to church when and where we please. There may be a handful o f times that the American church faces vandalism and mockers, but rarely are we in harm’s way for professing to be a Christian and for attending church. These freedoms are awesome and I wish every country could experience that freedom. The truth is that in many areas of this world Christian’s lives are threatened everyday from the countries of the Middle East, to some of those in Asia, to the current persecution going on in India and so forth. We need to remember to pray for our brothers and sisters, our fellow God worshippers, around the world who face persecution for believing the same thing you and I believe.

After lunch we set up for the next day. Since the weather has been less than ideal we are staying at a church in a different town. This means a longer drive in the morning, but it also means we don’t have to rough it out quite as much as predicted. We have beds, a hot shower, and internet so not too bad at all.
=)

* My comupter is about to run out of battery, so I will post pictures at a later date. Also the spelling of the names of the cities need to be corrected.

A Plane Flight and Moldova

2008-09-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

I have arrived in Moldova. I wrote the below post while on the plane and this was my first chance to publish it. I also have included a few photos at the bottom of the post.

I am sitting on a Boeing 777-200 watching Kung Fu Panda and drinking a diet coke. My destination is Chisinau, Moldova. The plane is now between land and the Atlantic Ocean just how every person on this team is between who we are today and who we will be in December. Our experiences of spending two months in a place different than our own will change our worldview. Ministering to others will teach us to be more like Christ. Finally as we minister and as we live in a different place we will deepen our intimacy and walk with God.

The plane will land in Vienna, Austria. In Vienna the team will be able to leave the airport and explore the city. After our exploration of Vienna we will board another plane and find ourselves in Moldova. We will spend the night in the Chisinau and then the next day head out to the first village. It has been said that this first week will probably be our hardest week. It will be our hardest week in the sense of the amount of roughing it out we will be doing. I am not sure if we will be staying with Moldovan families or in a church there. It will be an adventure and a new experience.

Please keep me and the intern team in your prayers. Pray for the people of Moldova (which has been called the saddest place on earth) and the missionaries there. Pray that our team will have long term Kingdom impact and not just be a short term experience for us. The point is to show God’s love so people can see and then receive God’s love.

I want to leave you with a section from Ephesians 5:

“God is strong, and he want you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the devil and all his angels.

Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, Righteousness, peace, faith and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so than no one falls behind or drops out.” Ephesians 5

Go out and live your God created identity!

This is me in front of the St. Stevens Cathedral in Vienna

This is me drinking a Coco-Cola Light in Vienna - who would of known? :)

The St. Stevens Cathedral

Long Van Rides and Disaster Relief

2008-09-18T20:57:00.000-07:00

I have been in the Convoy of Hope van for several hours too many. We left Port Arthur on Wednesday morning and drove to Houston. We stayed the night in Houston at one of the other interns house. I have never been so happy to eat a salad. Her mom made us a great meal complete with apple pie. We departed from Houston early this morning. We left at 6:30am and are still driving. Needless to say we are restless and ready to be back in Springfield. The next few days promise to be a whirlwind of preparation as we leave Tuesday morning for Moldova!

We worked the distribution line all day Monday, most of Tuesday and a half day on Wednesday. The distribution is set up with three to six stations of ice, water and MREs (meals, ready to eat). Three to six cars (depending on the number of stations) would come through the line at a time. Each station was responsible for their car. We would put the goods in the cars with a smile. Let them know that they were all set, told them to have a good day and God bless and they were off. We try to make the line as efficient as possible, while making the people feel important and taken care of.

We ran out of goods and that is why we closed early Tuesday and Wednesday. As we were leaving on Wednesday the National Guard came in and took over. It was funny because they were asking me how the line worked, so there I was telling the National Guard what to do – like I was in charge or something. =). Its amazing how God can give you energy to serve all day. It was like the moment I stopped then I felt tired, but while working I had energy to move boxes and smile to the drivers and passengers coming through the line.

For the most part the people coming through the line were gracious and felt blessed to be receiving ice, water and MREs. On Tuesday I worked with a local volunteer. I have no idea what his story was or if he was a Christian or not, but he had heard about Convoy of Hope and the distribution area on the radio station and decided to come out to help. He was so excited to be there. He told me that volunteering that day was just what he needed and that it was the first time since Friday that he hadn't been stressed. I thought this was a cool different perspective. So many times the stories are about people without power or a flooded house, this story was about God using Convoy to help someone by allowing local people come and volunteer.

I didn’t take too many pictures because I was super busy during the day and I really didn’t want to make people feel like I was taking advantage of their situation, but I took a few Wednesday morning before distribution. I also have included a link to a article with a picture of yours truly on it =). It will also tell you more about what Convoy of Hope did in Port Arthur. http://www.convoyofhope.org/go/usdisaster/details/convoy_of_hope_expands_hurricane_response

Here I am in front of some boxes

Here are the stations before we opened up

This is a reenactment...

This is another reenactment

“And don’t forget to pray for me. Pray that I’ll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all , the Message that I, jailbird preacher that I am (or just Claire Balch from California – definitely not the missionary that Paul was), am responsible for getting out…Good-bye, my friends. Love mixed with faith be yours from God the Father and from the Master, Jesus Christ. Pure grace and nothing but grace be with all who love our Master, Jesus Christ” Ephesians 6

Almost a Day Later...

2008-09-14T19:03:00.000-07:00

After almost 24 hours of driving we pulled into Port Arthur, Texas. This is the area that the state asked Convoy of Hope to set up their point of distribution also known as a POD. We left Saturday evening around 5:30pm and drove until 3:00pm Sunday. We stopped for 3.5 or so hours somewhere in Dallas at a gas station with truck and van parking. We all slept in the van or the RV. It was quite the adventure. We even drove through the rain and wind. In fact most of the roads and interstates were closed, so it took some creative thinking/driving and a good map to get us into Port Arthur.

We did arrive and as soon as we did we got to work. There is a curfew here so around 4:00pm we had to stop the distribution. For the hour we had we jumped in and then of course helped with clean up. For dinner we had MREs, not quite mom's cooking, but will fill the stomach. We even got in a quick shower, an outdoor leg shave and are able to sleep in the RVs. We even have Internet access! It's not the Hilton, but definitely a blessing from God. Tomorrow will be a long day. So pray for the teams strength and please pray for the people here who have been hit by this storm and that God's love and truth will be revealed to them.

Another need is that these last few hurricanes have really drawn out resources from Convoy of Hope. This is good because we are suppose to respond to disasters, but we need the resources to be replenished. So, pray for resources for the current damage in the US, Haiti, Cuba and the other islands in the Caribbean as well as the replenishing of resources. For more information on this you can go to the Convoy of Hope website: http://www.blogger.com/www.convoyofhope.org

Here is a link to an article on Hurricane IKE : http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/us/15ike.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&adxnnlx=1221444047-8cJnqcBj3f%20G5NGBds4Rqw

Tilting Power Lines - There was a whole line of them, but I couldn't get the picture from the van

Flooding - we drove through some of it and we also saw several flooded streets

This picture is a little fuzzy, but the words on the wood on windows are "Go Away Ike".

These are just a few pictures of some of the hurricane caused damage I saw, but I am sure if you turned on the news you could find similar or more informative images.

I just wanted to touch in to let everyone know what is going on. I will try to do this a couple times, while I'm down here in Texas.

"May what our Master Jesus Christ gives freely be deeply and personally yours, my friends. Oh, yes!" Galatians 6:18

Training and a Hurricane called Ike

2008-09-10T19:38:00.000-07:00

Life has been very busy the last few days. We have been in training learning about Convoy of Hope and Compassion Ministry. We have discussed social justice, discussed the balancing line between the traditional idea of evangelism and the idea of compassion ministry, learned to build water filters, talked to missionaries in Moldova and Armenia, unloaded a Target load and began to be introduced to a program called Community Health Evangelism. We are being prepared for the tasks ahead.

In the midst of our time of learning a hurricane has been brewing in the Caribbean. Hurricane Ike is set to hit Texas sometime Friday or Saturday. The US Disaster Response asked the Convoy of Hope Interns to help them in responding to this disaster. Three of our team members headed down Thursday afternoon. They will help with the prep work and immediate setup. The rest of us will head to Texas on late afternoon on Saturday. This has caused are schedule to fly out the window, but what a better way to take what we have learned so far and apply it. Anyone who has done missions knows that plans change and that one must be flexible. When we are willing to flow and flex God can move in ways that we could never plan for. Please pray for the protection and safety of those living on the Texas coast and for the protection and safety of the interns and the Convoy of Hope disaster response team. Also pray that God will be glorified through it all and that we will properly represent him to the people we serve. If you hit the following link it will take you to a article on Hurricane Ike: http://www.startribune.com/nation/28280739.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUl

I have attached some pictures of our various task throughout the last week or so -

Water Filter Training - Cleaning Sand

Water Filter Training - Cleaning Some More Sand

The Target Load - Well part of it...

A certain Uunnamed company didn't want their name on the beans they provided, so we got to open up boxes and dump bags of beans into other boxes. These bags will either go to Cuba or Haiti for hurricane relief efforts.

"And that;s about it my friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure. Greet one another with a holy embrace. All the brothers and sisters say here say hello. The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christs, the extravagant love of God, the initimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you." 2 Corinthians 13: 11-14

So it begins...

2008-09-07T17:52:00.000-07:00

The interns arrived on September 4th and so it all begins. We started introductions to Convoy of Hope on Friday. It included a tour and detail on the upcoming training and time in Moldova and Armenia. Saturday we started right away on helping with an outreach in the city of Republic. The churches in that town organized and put together their own outreach that included a kid's zone, music, haircuts, clothing, health exams and so forth. I worked at the throw a hat on the powerade bottle game. It was cool to see these churches get together and help out their community. As a side note the community center in Republic is very cool. Every city should have a community center like this one. It included a gym, 1/12 mile indoor track, and a basketball court among other things.

Karen was the first to arrive at the intern house. She came into Springfield late Wednesday night in the pouring rain. I attached some pictures of our adventures in the rain unloading her bike and a few key items that she needed that night. It was quite fun. Rain requires positive thinking, but once you've got that it can be quite the adventure. =)

Me in the rain

Karen in the rain

The Shoes post rain =)

I am working on creating a prayer list for Moldova and Armenia. I haven't had a lot of time to breath, but I will get to that because I believe it is important. I do want list the interns name on the team so if you would like to pray for the team as a whole you can.

Karen
Kisha
Gabrielle
Mikellah
Glori Ann
Chris
Chad
Noah
Nathan
Zac
Bracy

Then of course there is me. I ask for your continued prayers in the areas of discernment, wisdom, maturity, strength, that I will have the eyes and heart of Jesus for his people, and that my financial supporters will remember me each month.

MAY YOU BE BLESSED!

"Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart." Proverbs 3:3

Food For Thought

2008-09-01T19:07:00.000-07:00

Food for Thought:

“Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralist, loose-living immoralist, the defeated, the demoralized – whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ – but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all of this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!”
1 Corinthians 9: 19 - 23

I read these verses the other night and they made me stop and think. I am entering the world of global missions and if I don’t have this attitude I’ll find myself ineffective. If I don’t understand or at least try to understand and respect the culture of the people I want to share Jesus with how will I ever effectively communicate the gospel?

I believe this verse doesn’t just apply to global missions. How many people have you met in your state, city, community and church that have a radically different worldview than you? How many times have you said they are just too different than me or judged someone because they look different or don’t dress like you? How many times have you laid down your own opinions and preferences and tried to enter someone else’s world? How many times have you laid down the differences to find the things you have in common?

Trying to experience someone else’s worldview is not easy. I believe for many of us it is a lifelong learning process. For some of us it goes against our personality and our self-taught learned behavior. I believe that through prayer, God’s help, determination and many uncomfortable moments that we can all become better at becoming servants and entering someone else’s world.

Off to Missouri

2008-08-28T19:32:00.001-07:00

I wanted to blog sooner, but I left my laptop charger in California. I was bummed. There was lot I wanted to keep you updated on during my journey to Missouri. Now most of it has passed. Nevertheless I will let you know it was a relatively uneventful trip from the west coast to the mid west. Sarah and I managed just fine putting in two long days and one short day. The short day ended up longer than originally planned and included a detour through a section of Oklahoma. Of course what else are plans made for, but to change them? We pulled into Springfield, Mo on Sunday. Sarah moved into Evangel and the next day I moved into the intern housing.

Moving into intern housing was something else. I spent most of the first day cleaning my room and killing spiders. I hate spiders. I ended up in a war with a large hairy one. It ended in a draw. It might tell you it won because the bag still remains outside of my room and the spider's location is unknown. It is rather ridiculous. I have spent the last few days moving in and making my room home. I like it. The house is old and it is funny because it has these quirks like kicking the bottom of the refrigerator to make it close and I can't even get the front door open from the inside or outside. It has character and I like it. Character is good.

Today was my first full day of work. I helped load a container for Armenia. It was interesting to see how that happens. There is a semi-truck, a loading dock, a loading station, a fork lift and lots of paperwork involved in this process. It was a good start to hopefully a good two years. I did odds and ends for preparing for the upcoming intern session. The interns will arrive on September 4^th and we will leave for Moldova on September 22^nd. After Moldova we will head to Armenia. Keep us in our prayers.

In the next few days I will be posting a blog about each country and what you can pray for in regards to each country. I all of a sudden feel very excited. In the midst of this excitement I will ask for your prayers that God will give me all the strength, wisdom, and discernment that I will need for the task ahead.

I have included some pictures below of the trip =).

Somewhere in New Mexico

A Big Bug found on the wall of my house.

I Am Packing my Bags and Leaving in a Ford Taurus

2008-08-06T15:40:00.001-07:00

August 2008

Hello Friends and Family,

At last the time has come for me to pack up my bags and head out to Springfield, Missouri. I will begin my time with Convoy of Hope at the end of August.

I am excited to begin this journey that God has in store for me. I want to thank each and every one of you for your prayers and financial support. Now that I am going to begin my commitment with Convoy of Hope I will need your support more than ever. Please pray for traveling mercies and that the rest of the support I need to be able to leave in August is raised. This also means that for those of you who have partnered with me by making a monthly commitment will need to begin sending your monthly commitment come September.

My first assignment with Convoy of Hope will be with the Fall 2008 Intern Team. This team will be heading out over the Atlantic Ocean to Armenia and Moldova. In Armenia we will build water filters in a Kurdish village, help in orphanages, and distribute food and firewood in villages. In Moldova we will have outreaches, distribute food, help Teen Challenge, and celebrate twenty years of evangelism with a Moldovan church. I will be updating my blog (www.clairewithconvoyofhope.blogspot.com) with stories from the field. I encourage you to take a few minutes every now and then and to take a look at my blog.

As I end this letter I want to end with the Apostle Paul's words "Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure. Greet one another with a holy embrace…The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, this intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you." (2 Corinthians 13:11-14)

Live in Christ Love.

Claire Balch

Missionary Associate

Convoy of Hope

I am off to Springfield, Missouri!

A little update, a little bit of Isaiah and a little bit of pictures

2008-07-13T16:03:00.000-07:00

* I wanted to let everyone know that I changed the comment setting, so that anyone can leave a comment not just google account users.

I am on the Amtrak. I was in Sacramento this weekend. I did not feel like driving and with the cost of gas plus the wear on my car I decided to take the train. I also like the adventure aspect of taking the train. It is kind of cool. As I am blogging I am looking at these big old ships sitting in the river. In fact I decided to take a picture. Now you too can see the big old ships in the river. =)

As I wrote in my last blog I was in Sacramento because I had a window of time at Grace Community in Elk Grove to speak about what I will be doing as a missionary associate with Convoy of Hope. I spoke today and I think it went well. I spoke to a few people about what I am doing and passed out a couple cards. We will see what God does with it. As I mentioned in the last blog I am at 72% in monthly commitments. This means there is $600.14 left to raise. I am planning on leaving at the end of August. Having only $600.14 left to raise and if it is all in God's timing then I will be with Convoy of Hope for the fall internship. I am so excited about this!

I wanted to share a passage from Isaiah and then a scripture from Matthew.

"This is the kind of fast day I'm after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts.

What I am interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families.

Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once. Your righteousness will pave your way. The God of glory will secure your passage. Then when you pray, God will answer. You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am'.

Isaiah 58: 7 to the end. (This is the message version and it doesn't have verses - this is an approximation) :)

"In a word, what I am saying is Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you."

Matthew 5: The last verse.

I shared these passages this morning at Grace. Theses scriptures go hand in hand with what and why I have gone through the missionary associate process. It is my response (living my God-created identity) to the passion God has placed in my heart for meeting both the spiritual and physical condition of His people. The passages at the same time are for all of us. One does not have to go to far off lands to apply the scriptures to our day to day lives. We can live our "God created identity" and we can "live generously and graciously toward others" in our day to day lives. We can share our food with the hungry, be available to our families, break the chains of injustice and free the oppressed in Santa Cruz, San Jose, Sacramento or wherever we may call home. This call is really for all us who call ourselves Christ Followers.

The boats on the river - the view in real life was a lot cooler :)

Below are some pictures from the Fourth of July in Truckee, CA.

All of the Balch shoes after we got back from the fireworks.

A Sunset - This was after Lolo, my Dad and I got lost on a hike.

Donner Lake

Another view of Donner Lake

A Very Short Update

2008-07-11T22:46:00.000-07:00

It has been to long since my last blog. I am afraid that this one will not be very long. I am taking the Amtrak to Sacramento tomorrow. My Uncle Damon is a pastor at Grace Community in Elk Grove. His church is giving me a ten minute window and a table, so that I can share what I am doing with Convoy of Hope. I appreciate your prayers that I will communicate well the passion God has given me and that God will move people's hearts to help support me.

I received my June statement today and I am at about 72% in my monthly commitments. So, this is very encouraging. I will provide a better breakdown in my next blog. Thank You to everyone who has supported me so far. My goal is the end of August and I know that with God's help the other 30% or so will come in by that time.

Until next time Live in Christ Love!