Compassion part 8: Changed Lives

"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men" - Frederick Douglass, abolitionist and statesman

This is the eighth and final post in my series discussing the work of Compassion International. It wasn't quite the ten posts I promised, but hey! Life happens, and it's good to fully live it when it does.

We discussed the weight of a hurting world, and learned that while we may not all be able to do great things, we can all do small things with great love.

In the next post I introduced you to three beautiful, small people from three far-flung corners of the globe.

We met Egi, the seven year old from Indonesia with the shy smile and beautiful eyes.

You saw Yegele, the sweet kindergartener who loves to play "house", and lives with no daddy.

We peeked into the life of a tiny boy named Gregori, a preschooler in Peru whose birthday is coming soon.

If you watched this video of Helen when she received her sponsor after waiting for over a year, you probably cried--I know I did!

And before the weekend, we talked about sports fanatics and saw how loving God means letting our hearts become invested in the things that move His.

I'm closing this series with one of the most compelling videos I've ever seen. 

Compassion International has been in operation since 1952, so they invited some of the children who have now graduated from the program to tell their stories as adults. If you ever wondered, "does sponsorship actually make a long-term difference?" just watch this.

Thank you for coming along with me for the past week and a half! In case you're curious, Egi, Yegele and Gregori did not find their sponsors this month, but this means that their profiles will be placed back on Compassion's website for anyone to find. If one of these children has touched your heart, you can search for them by their names, found below:

Egi Ricard Sarumaha

Yegele Telahun

Gregori David Quezada Pintado

And of course, these are only three of thousands of children waiting for sponsors! Check out the Compassion International homepage to see all of the children. 

Compassion part 6: Watch Her Reaction When She Gets a Sponsor

Today I planned to write about letters, both received and sent across continents.

I wanted to type down the translated words here for you to read. I wanted to tell you how each exchange has helped us know the kids beyond their photos, revealing their fears, their loves, and the days of their lives.

I planned to talk about how fun it is to find a fat envelope that has traveled thousands of miles, and how we know that the ten minutes we spend writing will mean more to our sponsored kids than all the checks we write.

Actual letter from Asnaku, who lives in Ethiopia.

But any words I put write here would be flimsy next to this video produced by Compassion, Australia. Just watch it!

To read about the three beautiful children that I am trying to connect with sponsors of their own, click here! 

Compassion part 5: Gregori

Today I get to introduce you to the third and final child in my packet from Compassion International!

In case you're just now jumping into the conversation, let's do a quick recap:

My husband and I each started supporting children through Compassion International before we were married. Those kids, who were both very little when we started, are now teenagers whose letters now move us to tears. 

A few weeks ago, I received a packet containing the profiles of three precious children who are currently waiting for their own sponsors. My goal is to share their stories and photos with as many people as possible so that they can be connected with a sponsor too by September 30!

Compassion International operates on the principle that the most effective way to end poverty is to link individual children to individual sponsors, especially when it is integrated into a holistic approach to child development. To read more about their work, click here.

Today, meet Gregori!

His full name is Gregori David Quezada Pindato--a long name for such a little boy! He will turn four next month on October 27, and his favorite thing to do is to play with toy cars. 

Born into a large family in the desert community of AA. HH. Rosa de Guadalupe in Peru, Gregori is at risk for poor nutrition and diseases such as dengue fever and colds. Homes in this area typically have dirt floors, walls made of cardboard or plywood, and tin roofs. 

Right now, Gregori is too young for school, but without encouragement, it is likely that he will drop out of school to help support his family as a day laborer once he is old enough. 

Once he is sponsored, Gregori will suddenly have access to Bible teaching, medical and opthalmological care, deworming, sports and games, tutoring, school supplies, and nutritious food. The center staff at Los Amigos de Jesus Student Center will also provide meetings, evangelism, educational movies and Bibles for his mother and father.

"Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it" - Proverbs 22:6

The fact that children are continually being born, growing, and becoming adults is a powerful constant. Once, we were children. Someday, the children being born today will take our place.

As a generation, the choices we make today will have a profound impact on the generation coming behind us. Will those future adults understand love and compassion? Will they have hope for the future, and concern for the helpless?

You may not feel like you have much to offer. I get that.

But sit and receive this truth: our Jesus is big enough.

The world is not too broken for His healing. And He invites you--yes you, the one who never received the right kind of love, the one who feels pulled in a thousand directions, the one who is struggling under the weight of student loans or depression or grief--to come along with Him as he pursues this world.

I want to support Gregori!

Great! Gregori's starter packet is currently displayed in the lobby of Fellowship Church in College Station. If you live here in town, just stop by during office hours to pick it up. Please mail in the sponsorship information by September 30. 

If you live out of town, no worries! Just email me at cherise.castille[at]gmail[dot]com to send me your mailing address, and I will be happy to mail your packet to you. 

I can't sponsor right now, but how can I help?

Pray for Gregori. Your prayers DO make a difference. Pray that God will give him a sponsor soon. Pray for his health, Pray that he will be protected from abuse and disease. Pray for his family, his education, and his development. Most of all, pray that he will know God's love and give his life to him as his savior, letting him transform him from the inside out. 

Share this post! You never know whether your random Facebook friend is the one who is meant to build a life-long relationship with Gregori through sponsorship. 

Be an advocate. Compassion International needs our voices to connect thousands of children just like Gregori, Yegele and Egi with people who have the funds and willingness to be their sponsors. Click here for more information. 

Just now joining the conversation and want to see what you missed? Here are links to the previous posts:

Compassion part 1: When you can't feed 100 children
Compassion part 2: Meet the kids!
Compassion part 3: Egi
Compassion part 4: Yegele 

Compassion part 4: Yegele

Today is day #4 in a ten-day series showcasing three precious children who are waiting for a sponsor through Compassion International.

Yesterday, we met a soccer-loving seven-year-old named Egi who sleeps under a tin roof on one of the largest islands in Indonesia. (Click here to see his post!)

I love this quote by former president Nelson Mandela because it strips away any illusion that peace and security will come about naturally, all on its own.

"Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free from violence and fear."- Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa

Every human is bent from birth toward evil and selfishness. It is the law of entropy, if you will--we will become worse, not better, if we simply follow our desires.

Because of this fact, no society will  become--or remain--safe and good without the strenuous efforts and thoughtful actions of men and women willing to put aside their own love of comfort and ease for the sake of those who are poor and oppressed.

Compassion International is one amazing channel through which collective consensus and personal investment are making a difference.

Wherever they operate, Compassion partners with local churches to provide critical resources to children and their families. Each child in the program is personally connected to a sponsor--a normal somebody who commits to investing in that child. This helps Compassion provide that child with medical care, food, tutoring, educational opportunities, and mentoring.

Today, meet Yegele!

Yegele has a much more worried look than a typical five year old should have. 

She lives in an area of Ethiopia heavily affected by HIV and AIDS. Other common health problems include tuberculosis and parasitic diseases. 

The city where she lives is large, with over 130,000 residents. The community has many modern amenities such as running water, electricity, telephone services and health centers, but sorely lacks schools, employment centers, and educational opportunities.

At the kindergarten she attends, Yegele loves to play house, and other group games with her friends. Yegele lives with her mother and one sibling, but there was no mention of her father on the profile card. The cryptic notes say her mom is sometimes employed as a day laborer, and most likely earns around $20 per month. 

As I have prayed for Yegele this week, my thoughts kept drifting to her mom. What is her story? I wonder what hopes fill her mind in the middle of the night for Yegele and her other child. Did she do Yegele's hair and help her pick out that white outfit for the picture taken at the development center?

I want to support Yegele!

Great! Yegele's starter packet is currently displayed in the lobby of Fellowship Church in College Station. If you live here in town, just stop by during office hours to pick it up. Please mail in the sponsorship information by September 30. 

If you live out of town, no worries! Just email me at cherise.castille[at]gmail[dot]com to send me your mailing address, and I will be happy to mail your packet to you. 

I can't sponsor right now, but how can I help?

Pray for Yegele. This moment, if you can. Pray that God will give her a sponsor soon. Pray for her health, Pray that she will be protected from abuse and disease. Pray for her family, her education, and her development. Most of all, pray that she will know God's love and give her life to him as her savior, letting him transform her from the inside out. 

Share this post! You never know whether your random Facebook friend is the one who is meant to build a life-long relationship with Yegele through sponsorship. 

Be an advocate. Compassion International needs our voices to connect thousands of children just like Yegele with people who have the funds and willingness to be their sponsors. Click here for more information. 

Just joining the conversation? Welcome! Here are links to the previous posts:

Compassion part 1: When you can't feed 100 children
Compassion part 2: Meet the kids!
Compassion part 3: Egi

Compassion part 3: Egi

Yesterday we finally got to meet all three kids in the packet for the first time! More than eighty of you clicked to see little Egi, Yegele, and Gregori's faces. Whoo hoo! Every click or share filled my heart with hope that all of these precious little ones will have sponsors by next week on September 30.

If you're just jumping in today, welcome! This is day number three in a ten-day series showcasing the work of Compassion International for impoverished and at-risk children around the world. (To catch up on what you missed, click here for Day 1, and here for Day 2!)

Compassion International operates on the assumption that:

"In a world where more than a billion children live on less than $2 USD per day, child sponsorship is the most strategic way to end poverty."

Many of us ache with sorrow over the tragedies occurring around the world, but feel helpless to help from our living rooms. Or, we feel simply overwhelmed because the Great Need just feels too great.

Friend, you are small. That is truth. But when a small person offers their smallness to a Great God , that tiny offering can be used to change the world.

Today, and for the next two days, I want to open the profile packs a smidge further and really introduce you to each child so that you can make a more informed decision about whether one of them is waiting for you. 

Today, meet Egi. 

Egi Ricard Sarumaha turned seven on the seventh of June - his "golden birthday".

He lives in an island community called Sukarami where around 2,700 people live elbow-to-elbow in homes made of cement floors and tin roofs.

The area is known for torrential rains during the flood season. Can you imagine the deafening effect of a heavy rain on a tin roof?

Egi lives with his father, his mother, and one other sibling. His mom stays at home with the kids while his father tries to keep steady employment as a day laborer. However, he is not always successful, since Egi's profile says his father is "sometimes employed". Most day laborers earn an average of $53 per month in Sukaramai.

Children living in Sukaramai are at risk for diseases such as dengue fever, malaria, and skin diseases.

Compassion International's work in Indonesia began in 1968. They partner with churches to help them provide Indonesian kids with the opportunity to rise above their circumstances and reach their full potential.

Your sponsorship of $38 per month would allow the staff at Agape Denninger Student Center to give Egi Bible studies, medical checkups, nutritious food, sports, character building programs, reading and writing classes and special celebrations.

One other thing that surprised me--it said that the center staff would also offer meetings and seminars to Egi's parents!

This means that in a very practical way, your sponsorship of a single child may actually be part of God's plan for an entire family's transformation through the love of Christ.

How do I support Egi?

Egi's starter packet is currently displayed in the lobby of the Fellowship Church office in College Station. If you live here in town, drop by after your morning cup of coffee to pick it up. Everything you need to get started will be inside. 

What's that, you say? You live out of town? Just email me at cherise.castille[at]gmail[dot]com to give me your mailing address, and I'll be more than happy to mail Egi's packet to you. 

I can't sponsor right now, but how can I help?

Pray for Egi. Like, right now, wherever you are. Pray that God will bring him a sponsor soon. Pray for his health. Pray for his education, his family, and his development. Most of all, pray that he will choose to follow Jesus and let God's love transform both him and his community. 

Share this post with anyone you think might want to be Egi's sponsor! You never know--that co-worker or relative may be the one who is meant to build a life-long relationship with Egi through sponsorship. 

Be an advocate. Compassion international needs our voices (and facebook pages and twitter accounts) to connect thousands of children just like Egi with people who have the funds and the willingness to be their sponsors. Click here for more information. 


 

Compassion part 2: meet the kids!

Welcome to day #2 in a ten-day series here on the blog! I've never done a series before, but I'm sure you'll agree--a single post just wouldn't do justice in this case.

The purpose of this blog sequence is to have a discussion about compassion in a hurting world, and to introduce all of you to three very special children. 

Each one of these kids has a story. Each of them hails from a different continent. Each one is waiting anxiously for someone to say "I choose you."

Yesterday, I kicked off the conversation by teasing you with little glimpses of the kids' profiles (so mean, I know!), and telling a little bit of what it has been like for my husband and I to sponsor kids through Compassion International. To catch up on what you missed, click here! 

I know you've all been dying to see the faces of the three kids in my packet, so without further ado, meet Egi, Yegele, and Gregori.

Egi - age 7

Isn't this the sweetest second-grader you ever saw? 

Egi lives in an island community in Indonesia where rice is the staple for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Like most little boys around the world, his favorite game is soccer. His parents have signed him up for the Compassion program hoping that he will soon receive medical checkups, nutritious food, sports, and the reading and writing programs that the Agape Denninger Student Center provides. 

"There are no greater miracles than those when lives are transformed" - Unknown

Yegele - age 5

This little sweetheart is five, but she is so tiny that she could be mistaken for a four-year old. Yegele reminds me so much of the way Asnaku looked when I first sponsored her--they could almost be sisters! Both of them live in Ethiopia, a country where Compassion International has been working since 1993. 

"And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward." - Jesus (Matthew 10:42)

Gregori - age 3 1/2

I made sure to mention the "1/2" when listing little Gregori's age, because he will turn 4 next month on October 27. Imagine how amazing it would be if Gregori could receive his very own sponsor by his birthday!

"Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love." - Mother Teresa

Thirty-eight dollars is a small thing for many of us. It is a blouse. A dinner out. A gym membership.

For thirty-eight dollars a month, children sponsored through Compassion are nurtured, given nutrition and medical attention, and hear about the love of Jesus. As they grow, they receive educational opportunities, love from the development center staff, and leadership training that will set them on a track to become mature, self-sufficient adults.

Thirty-eight dollars may seem like pocket change, or maybe it represents a true sacrifice. But to a single mom hoping for a better life for her son, it is a miracle. It is a way to break free from a cycle of malnutrition, illiteracy, and hopelessness.

Sponsorship involves money, but it is far more than just throwing cash at a faraway project. It is relationship. You will write letters to your child which, for many sponsored kids, are their most precious possessions. You will receive letters. You will watch them get taller and see their handwriting improve over the years. Many sponsors even get the chance to visit their sponsored kids!

One thing is certain--both you and the child you love in this way will never be the same.

Sounds great! How do I sponsor one of them?

For the next two weeks, you will not be able to find any of these children on Compassion's website. They were temporarily removed so that I could personally connect someone (maybe you?) with each child.

Starting today (Tuesday), the three starter packets will be displayed in the lobby of the Fellowship Church office in College Station. (Click here for directions.) You can either:

• Run to the church office in a mad dash to beat everyone else to pick up a packet (Actually, you can drive normally. Car wrecks = not good.), OR
• Email me at cherise.castille[at]gmail[dot]com. If you live out of town, just give me your address and I will be more than happy to pop your child's packet in the mail to you. 

One little thing: PLEASE let me know if you have chosen one of the kids, even if you pick up the packet from the office! Aside from reassuring me that the packet wasn't just misplaced, this will also give me the chance to encourage you and answer any questions you may have. 

I'm interested...what's next?

Over the next few days, I will share more of each child's profile and details about their family situations and the countries where they live. I hope to give you a better sense of who each kid is as an individual, and show you more of the amazing work that Compassion is doing in these three locations. 

If you'd like to check out what Compassion International is all about, visit their website here! 

Compassion part 1: When you can't feed 100 people

Sometimes the needs of our hurting world can feel like a crushing weight.

Barrel-bomb shrapnel is pulled from a newborn's face and Nigerian schoolgirls are pulled roughly from their dorms, still missing a year later.
Tsunamis sweep generations away, wildfires turn homes to ash in a dry land, and masked soldiers think nothing of beheading children while masked doctors do the same in sterile clinics.

Each tragedy pulses through our phones and computer screens with numbing regularity. It's tempting to shut our eyes, plug our ears, and roll over into a deep, comfortable coma.

Don't.

Do not buy into the slimy lie that because you cannot heal our world, you should ignore it.

You cannot stop all the wars or heal all the diseases, but you can make a difference.

I love this quote by Mother Teresa:

Picture from FMSC: http://preview.tinyurl.com/oocguxv

So, my question to you is this: If you could lift one child out of hopelessness, would you?

I'm asking because I just received a fat packet from Compassion International with the profiles of three children inside.

You guys, they are three of the most beautifully unique children I've ever seen.

Up on my fridge, between the wedding invitations and graduation announcements, are two brown faces that my husband and I love like family. 

One is a young man named Eric. Eric is from Mexico and he writes to us to tell us about his grades, his hopes for the future, and his love for futbol (soccer). In his last letter, he told us that he wants to follow God, but he is not sure that he can. His father refuses to take the family to church, and we pray his heart will soften.

The other is a dark-skinned beauty from Ethiopia with round eyes and angular shoulders. I became Asnaku's sponsor when she was six, and she is now thirteen. She loves the color red, and she worries about her schoolwork. She wants to do well and get a good job someday, and she asks when will we visit? Her letters are always decorated with artwork.

The high level of care for the children, the financial integrity, and the quality of communications provided by Compassion International has been impressive.

But far beyond the medical, educational, and social benefits given to each child in the program, the personal connection we've been able to have with both Eric and Asnaku has been something truly special.

So here's the plan: for ten days my blog posts will focus on the children in this packet and on the work of Compassion International. 

I have two goals:

1. To find loving sponsors for Egi, Yegele, and little Gregori by the end of September, 
2. To have a conversation about compassion, need, and God's ancient and unchanging pursuit of poor and broken people. 

I hope you'll join me, get to know the kids, and show them to your friends! Because while we can't do everything, we can do something.

When you wonder if you measure up

The chairs were arranged in an inviting circle and the coffee was sputtering cozily in the corner. On the door was a sign saying "Welcome to the 24-hour prayer meeting"

I walked around, fluffing pillows and making sure that the keyboard was plugged in. I checked my watch: 5:34. Maybe they're all still getting off work. 

Over seventy people had been invited, but I knew that it was Memorial Day weekend and I might have only a handful show up to pray.

At 6:45 the room was still empty, so I sat and held out my similarly empty hands. Lord, I said, this is for you. You asked me to pray with other people, so here I am. I've sent the invitations, but I can't make them come. I hope you like this. I hope you can use this, even if it's just me all night. 

Suddenly, into the expectant space, I felt these words:

"It's already a success. It's already a victory."

I sat up straight and opened my eyes. Really? You aren't disappointed if no one comes? You like it already--before anything happens--just because I obeyed? 

In that moment, relief blew through my heart and the anxiety I didn't know I'd been holding dropped on the floor. I sat there for a minute or so, just enjoying the realization. He was pleased. He even called it victory! Wow.

I felt like Samuel, learning that man looks at the outward appearance while God looks deeper. (Check out 1 Samuel 16:7 for the story)

Things that look"unfruitful" or "a waste" may tip the scale in unseen battles that we will never know until later.

If He calls it a success, who am I to call it failure? So why is the prospect of Christ being formed in me somehow less significant in my eyes than twenty people showing up to a prayer meeting?

Friends did come to pray with me :)

The thing is, we live in a culture pretty obsessed by numbers, stats, and feedback. 

At school, we measure success by grades.
At the gym, it's the number on the scale or the pounds lifted.
At work, we are evaluated on a sliding scale in dozens of categories designed to measure output, growth, and efficiency.
In online dating, it's the number of winks or likes.

So what if the grade is borderline, the scale doesn't move, and the winks don't roll in? 

In the absence of measurable, positive feedback, we can easily conclude that the effort was a failure. Like that age-old riddle about the tree falling in the wood, we ask, if the Instagram post didn't get any likes, was it any good? No, we conclude, it wasn't.

This formula is dangerous and inaccurate. Inaccurate because numbers are only a partial measure of value, often dependent on the human dolling them out. And what if that human is having a bad day? It is dangerous because the value of something--or someone--may be wildly mis-represented.

Now, please don't misunderstand--numbers are good, helpful tools. I use numbers every day at work to help me reach targets. I learn from feedback and rankings. And, in the world of social media, the number of clicks can give helpful clues as to what stories mean the most to readers.

But when the numbers become the only feedback that matters to me, or when I become unwilling to obey the Lord's leading if it flies in the face of those numbers, my heart needs to be re-aligned. 

These are questions that I've been asking myself:

• Do you feel discouraged when no one notices your efforts? 
• Do you get the urge to quit when you feel like your best try just did a bellyflop? 
• Do you hesitate to embark on something that you know won't have a tidy accompanying list of accomplishments to check through?
• Does the thought of being graded--in school, at work, or by friend's opinions--make you nervous?

Oh, yeah, been there. Still there, friend. The good days are the days I choose to step back, and purpose to remember truth.

And the truth is that our God is a God who sees. He sees holistically, accounting for the state of my heart, not just the tally marks on my list. (Genesis 16:13)

Faithfulness in little things matters to him immensely. He notices when you turn to him, try that brave thing, choose to obey--even if no one else is impressed. (Luke 16:10, Matt 25:21)

He does not break the broken--he lifts and heals. Failure or depression or mental illness or addiction do not disqualify you from his love or from serving Him. In fact, He tends to choose weak things and people over the strong ones. (Romans 8:39, 1 Cor. 1:27-29)

The economy of the Kingdom sounds backward. The weak and lowly--even kids--are rulers. The King bends to serve his subjects. The poor are rich and the rich are poor, and the small, weak things are chosen over the strong so that God will be magnified.

It sounds so crazy...but maybe we are the ones living topsy-turvey.

You prayed, this happened.

We're halfway through the bag of espresso from Milan, which means it's high time for an update on how your prayers impacted those two weeks!

*Coffee in Milan, not my kitchen. I wish!

Instead of going on the mission trip as I have for the past three summers, the Lord asked me to stay here while hubs led the team. When I asked God to show me His plans for those two weeks, I got a clear answer. Pray. Pray with other people. 

And many of you did, both online and in the blue living room across from my house.

From my heart--thank you. From the hearts of Italians and Asians who had no idea you prayed--thank you. Your courageous minutes spent in prayer mattered.

Only two of these people knew you were praying for them!

Some of you joined the online prayer team, covering each day of the trip via email. 
Those moments set aside while you were sitting at those stop lights, brushing your teeth or standing in line at Starbucks to pray--they counted. They rose like sweet incense, doing battle on behalf of real people with real situations who encountered a real God during those two weeks.

Some of you came to the twenty-four hour prayer meeting in College Station. 
This was so exciting! I had never done anything like this before. It was humbling, exhilarating, and exhausting.

I want you to know that the sleep you sacrificed to come to the apartment in the small hours of midnight, praying on the curling carpet for people you would never meet on earth--it was seen by the Lord of Heaven's Armies. Your prayers meant the world half a world away.

The team felt the difference.
Thanks to an international texting plan, we were able to send encouragement and get up-to-the-minute news from the team during the trip, especially during the 24-hour prayer meeting. It was thrilling to sit on the opposite side of the globe and pray for a conversation happening thousands of miles away, knowing that our God was working.

Here are some specific prayers you prayed, and the response God gave:

1. You prayed that God would give our team the emotional energy to keep going. 

On a team of seven people, five were introverts. For you extroverts reading this, please take my word for it--twelve-hour days filled to the brim with challenging conversations can be extraordinarily draining.
 But the Lord gave the energy we asked for! The quieter ones on the team reported that they were surprised at their own ability to keep engaging in conversations long after their reserves would normally have sputtered out.

2. You asked Him to heal one of the girls on our team, who was sick with stomach cramps. 

The stomach pains ended up being something more serious than a simple virus, and she has spent much of the past week in the hospital. However, we praise God that the hospital visit was not needed until after she had returned from Italy! Please continue to keep her in your prayers.

3. You asked God for unity, and wisdom for the team leader.  

As his wife, this special request for my man really meant a lot to me. He told me later, after the jetlag began to wear off, that he definitely felt the Lord giving him wisdom in some challenging situations. The unity of our team was a key component in the success of the trip.

4. You prayed for students to trust in Jesus Christ.

We have a new brother and a new sister! Amelia*, a Chinese student studying in Italy, befriended our team during the first week. She had heard the gospel in Italian before, but it was not until a girl on our team, also from China, explained salvation in her heart language that it finally clicked. She still has many questions, and we were excited to hear that she met with one of the long-term missionaries just last Sunday to talk about Jesus more.

Marco* decided to follow Jesus as a result of a lunch conversation with two of the guys on our team during the second week. As each of them told about the difference that knowing Jesus has made in their lives, he leaned in eagerly. They sketched a simple bridge to illustrate how Jesus made a way for man to return to a holy God, and he said "yes--I want that."

The team was not just the seven people who got on a plane in Houston. It was also every one of you who prayed. Thank you for being part of God's work in Milan, Italy. 

*Names changed to protect our friend's privacy.

Your Minutes Matter :: an invitation to pray for Italy 2015

This morning I helped hubby roll the suitcases out to his car before I gave him one last kiss. Just five minutes ago, he texted me this picture to tell me that the team was about to board the plane for Italy!

Why am I not in the picture? Earlier this year, God surprised me by asking me to stay home rather than go on the mission trip to Milan. (Click here to read the story.) It was strange. I tend to assume--and I think a lot of Christians assume--that obedience usually means going rather than staying, but I couldn't deny the calm I felt once the decision was made.

I brought those now-empty weeks on the calendar to God. Did you want me to do something else with them, Lord?

The answer came quietly, dropping like a leaf into the calm pool of my heart: Pray. 

The ripple widened and another thought came, quick and insistent after the first: Pray WITH other people. 

All though scripture, there vivid examples of our great God answering prayer. He heard Abraham and made a 90 year old woman pregnant. He heard Moses and made a dry highway through an ocean. He heard Peter and made a dead woman live again. He has made water pour out of a rock, made lions ignore their dinner, and struck a whole army of enemy soldiers dead because of prayer.

One story in particular keeps running through my head, reminding me that prayer has significant results. 

That day the odds were stacked ridiculously high against the Israelites. They were just a bunch of sheep-tending nomads who'd been little kids when their parents left Egypt. Manna and the desert were all they'd ever known. They were about to face the Amalekites--seasoned warriors fighting on their home turf.

Moses told Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands."

When Moses became tired and lowered his hands, the enemy began to beat Joshua and his men. But when he raised his hands in prayer again, the battle went well. As the day went on, he became exhausted, so two other leaders helped hold up his arms. The rag-taggle Jews beat the Amalekites that day not because they were good fighters, but because Moses persistently called on the Lord's help.

If we pray during these two weeks, it will accomplish three purposes:

1. The team in Italy will become more effective.
This one feels too obvious to write, but my half-hearted prayer track record shows that I need the reminder. As we pray, God will work. He will literally intervene in our space-time situations and change circumstances when we ask. He can keep the team joyful when they're jetlagged. He can heal food poisoning (which we pray won't happen!). He can change hearts and make the Good News suddenly clear to Italians.

2. The Church will become connected to God's heart for the nations. 
Prayer doesn't just change the things we pray for; it changes us.  If we spend our precious free time praying that God's purposes would happen, those purposes soon grow in importance to us. If we as the Church pray earnestly for lost people, those lost people soon become more and more precious to us and the love of Christ will dwell in us richly. The division between those who go and those who stay will be simply a matter of physical location. We are ALL commissioned by Jesus' command to "make disciples of all nations."

3. God will be glorified. 
This is the heartbeat pulsing through everything already mentioned. When God answers a specific prayer, He receives thanks, and his power over every circumstance is put on grand display. And to whom is it displayed? To us, certainly, but we are surrounded in a very real sense with a "great cloud of witnesses." When the angels in the unseen realms see our faith expressed through prayer, who can imagine what songs they sing to Him for it? When they see the way that His love causes us, His adopted children, to run to Him, the mysteries of his greatness and wisdom become the anthem of Heaven.

If God is stirring your heart, there are two ways to get involved:

Join the Online Prayer Team!

We need prayer cover for each day that the team is in Italy. You can sign up to pray for a specific day of the week, or the whole two-week trip--ask the Lord what He wants you to do.

As a member of the prayer team, you will get an email reminder on the night before your prayer day with prayer requests from Italy.

To join, click HERE.  

Gather in College Station for 24 hours of prayer!

There is power, encouragement and JOY when believers meet together to pray! The 24-hour prayer gathering will start next Friday, May 22nd at 5pm and will end the next day at the same time. It is a come-and-go event; guests are welcome to stay as long as they like and leave as needed.

Why this 24 hours, you ask?

This particular 24 hour period coincides with one of the most important days of ministry for the team in Milan. After a week of meeting students through the English Clubs on campus, our team always invites their new friends to join them for a full day excursion at a beautiful location several hours away from the city. The long bus ride and the relaxed setting of the Excursion Day has traditionally been one of the best days for deeper conversations about the Gospel with students.

To get the Evite to the event with more details, click HERE. 

Keeping up with the Castilles:: Debt, Dancing, and Deaconization

Hello, my sweet family and friends!

Obligatory bluebonnet picture. The sun was bright. :P

It's been a while since I visited this little patch of internet. The sheer volume of documents at work has kept my fingers tapping constantly, and they feel the ache of repetitive motion by the end of the day. Most evenings, I can't wait to grab my gym bag and give my body a chance to sweat out the stiffness of a day spent sitting. 

Not only does my body shun the thought of sitting at the computer, sometimes words are just...gone.

For a highly verbal external processor who majored in Communication, it is an odd feeling to reach inside and find nothing.

Uhhhhhhh...me no have words. Come back later. 

But the Lord has been good. In the middle of the constant phone ringing at work, I feel His presence. When I'm feverishly typing out thirty emails, processing over a hundred new documents, and telling the tenth student in a row how to run a degree evaluation, He is with me, giving me gentleness when I just don't have any left to give out.

And He keeps giving me times of refreshing. There was a recent tickle fight with my husband. There were tacos shared at our tiny table with friends. And check out the new flowers popping up in my garden!

But since it's been a while--and because last week enjoyd a rare vacation in Dallas and had some time to work on a post--I thought I should take the chance to catch you up on some recent highlights. 

Here's the first one, and it's a doozy....

WE ARE DEBT FREE!!

When I met my hubby, he had paid off his loans. But then he said "I do", and cheerfully agreed to start from ground zero with mine.

After two and a half years of renting small, driving old, (and the generosity of my sweet Grandma Elaine who set up an amazing little trust fund for each grandchild at our births), we sent the last payment for my student loans two weeks ago!

Actual photo of the last payment! 

Oh, there was no sweeter sound than that last mouse click. We totally did a happy dance in our living room. Thank you, God!


SPEAKING OF DANCING...

 The students in our homegroup threw an amazing, retro dance party for my man's 34th birthday! Everyone picked a decade, and we *literally* tore up the vinyl dance floor with music spanning every era of the past century.

There were twinkling lights, a photo backdrop bedecked with handmade paper discs, chocolate covered strawberries, and even--to my allergy-prone husband's delight--a gluten free chocolate cake! Seriously, those girls outdid themselves.

I have a personal theory that most of us weren't done playing dress up by the time we reached the age when we were too cool to do such things. And this is why adult costume parties exist.

My hubby was genuinely touched. In all the years that he has been leading a homegroup,  the students had never before thrown such an amazing party for him. He felt so loved and celebrated.

And then last Sunday, we celebrated for another reason...

HUBBY BECAME A DEACON!

This step has seriously brought us to our knees, totally flabbergasted at the goodness of God. When my husband came to our church in 2003, he was a college junior with spiked hair, energy that would rival a twelve year old, and no real concept of community.

Since then, my man has been mentored, discipled, trained, and encouraged by godly men in our church. As the years have gone by, he has become a mentor, a trainer, an encourager for younger men, all while continuing to receive love, correction and support from others.

It's a beautiful cycle as we build up each other. When all serve, all are served. 

As he and the husband of my friend stood at the front of the church to be named deacons, our pastors prayed, and I bowed my head over my open hands.

I've realized that receiving the title "deacon" is a bit like being officially named a janitor. Deacon is literally Greek for servant. And serving means continually dying to self, continually allowing the Lord to empty you--of pride, of expectations, of yourself. It isn't glamorous, self-fulfilling, or comfortable.

But Jesus served. He died to himself in every way imaginable, all the way to the ultimate obedience at the cross. And if serving knits us closer to his heart, makes us more like Him, then I say bring it on.

Italy this year looks different

I *almost* posted this Wednesday, but it was the first of April, and the common wisdom says that nothing posted on April Fools Day should be trusted as fact.

I wanted you to believe me when I tell you this.

After much prayer and thought, I have decided to remain state-side this year while my husband goes back to Milan in May.

To explain why, let me tell you the story.

Around November, as I was praying for my friends in Italy and for the coming mission trip, I felt a hesitancy that was as unexpected as it was strong. Why does this year feel different? I wondered.

 The following week, my beautiful younger sister got a sparkling rock on her left hand. A wedding was quickly set for June. Only a few short weeks later, my other sister and her husband welcomed a sweet baby girl to our family. In our close-knit clan, babies and weddings are all-hands-on-deck affairs--a chance to pour love through action and presence.

I was torn. On the one hand, I could not wait to see my friends in Milan. I longed to grieve with the church there over the recent death of one of the missionaries, to continue the conversations about life and Jesus with those I met in the last three years, and to feel the joy of serving alongside my husband in a place we've both come to love.

On the other hand was a growing desire to grasp these momentous moments with my sisters. But it felt almost selfish to consider choosing family over a mission trip.

There was not enough vacation for both.

However, as I prayed, I became convinced that loving my sisters and their families was this year's mission. And, as I realized several years ago, even spiritual things like a mission trip overseas can be downright disobedient if the Lord is asking me to do something else.

So while it feels odd to reach March without a flurry of support-raising, I am filled with peace. When I get home and see the coffee cups from an Italy meeting cluttering the countertop by the sink, I smile, knowing that God has hand-picked these seven volunteers. It is a good team, and they will succeed.

And that's not all.

God has been dropping ideas into the now-peaceful pool of my heart. Each one sends excited ripples to the very edges of me until I can hardly sit still! I may be here, an ocean away from the team for two weeks, but those two weeks have a purpose. The purpose is slowly forming into a plan, but that will have to wait until the next post. :)

Stay tuned! 

An Italian in Texas! (And a crazy start to the semester)

For thousands of college students, the new school year means cramming your life into the back of your car and returning to the world of tests, papers, and dorm life.

And for those of us who do campus ministry (or are married to those who are), it means prayerfully flinging ourselves headlong into the busiest season of the year.

It means opening our hearts once again to befriend and love students.

It means pretending we don't have work at eight am for the sake of a deep conversation.

It means choosing to create community for young men and women who may carry scars from community gone wrong.

This year, it also meant the collision of two worlds: Italy and Texas. 

On the Italy mission trip two years ago, we met a young man with a big personality. Michele (pronounced "Mih-KE-leh") was not a believer in Jesus, but he had a lot of questions, and he seemed to have a really good time with our team and the Italian believers.

Several months after we returned to TX, that young man decided to follow Jesus and was baptized in an Italian mountain lake.

When we returned to Italy this past May, Michele was like a different person! He was full of joy, constantly laughing and joking around. It was as if knowing Jesus amped up his already gregarious personality. More than anything, he was excited to talk about Jesus and the Bible with anyone he met.

Check out these joyful guys! (Michele on left, with our friend, Ottavio, who is also a believer in Jesus.)

Two weeks ago, (smack in the middle of the busy semester kickoff) Michele arrived in the US for his very first visit! One of the permanent missionary couples in Milan traveled with him to Texas when they came back for their son's wedding. Hubby and I had the privilege of hosting him for two of the nights he was in town.

He promptly bought a cowboy hat that he wore with more Texan pride than most Texans.

This pic was snapped in Milan after he returned from his American adventure. Can you tell which one is Michele?

He also dove right into our busy preparations for welcoming the new students, helping the hubby pass out flyers for the Freshmen Connect event and even helping him set up the sound equipment for the student-led worship band.

But more than the Blue Bell Ice Cream, BBQ, steaks and stetsons, we were thrilled that we could share ministry with our Italian brother. While the church in Milan does some similar things--we are both doing campus ministry after all--is is larger and more established here.

Here too, the campus does not censor religious speech.

We went ice skating too! (from left: me, Michele, and two of the awesome students who went with us on the Italy mission trip last May)

We were also pumped to receive the encouragement of having Michele with us!

There is nothing quite like being around a newer believer to remind you of how crazy and amazing it is to know the God of the Universe. 

Or how precious it is to pray openly, publicly, without repercussions.

Or the fact that it really is incredible, this chance to do college ministry. This chance to stand witness to God changing the lives of young adults, one by one.

Our homegroup plus new students on the night of the Kickoff Rally! Right there in Rudder Fountain, we baptized two of the girls who joined our group last year. An awesome night!

When an old fear gets a facelift

"Now I drawed socks, see?"

 

Her eyes, heavily rimmed with dense lashes, were so blue. She clutched the percussion egg in one hand and the pen in the other as she created an elaborate family portrait. 

 

With socks.

Her little sister climbed into my lap momentarily to clasp my neck, only to leap off a moment later and run to where her daddy sat.

 

The parents were traveling, documenting the state of the evangelical church in Europe. With them were their three kids, ages 4, 3, and 1.

 

It was beautiful to watch them.

 

There was a time I believed that missions was only for single people. Because of this, I feared marriage. 

I was petrified by the fear that love for a man might crowd out my First Love. Now my fears seem small and silly. Two people who the same Lord can be a powerful expression of who He is. The marriage can become a living picture of the grace of God, the faithfulness of God, the community of God.

Watching that beautiful family, I felt...surprise? And then I was surprised at my surprise.

 

I suddenly saw that my stinky old fear had never really died--it had just leveled-up a notch. 

Now the fear whispers that mommy-hood will absorb any chance of being involved full-throttle in the Great Commission. 

 

And I know how ridiculous this sounds. How un-true it is. But fears defy logic and truth much of the time.

 

 

I fear missing out.

 

I fear isolation and stereotyping from younger, kid-less friends.

 

I fear losing my passion for Jesus in a wilderness of diapers and spit-up and soccer practice.

 

I fear losing my identity, of being just "so-and-so's mom".

 

Can anyone else relate?

 

 

But somewhere in the tangle of my unease, I feel Jesus whispering to my anxious heart.

 

Daughter, do not fear losing yourself; this is how you find true life.

 

"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it." (Matthew 16:25)

 

 

And right along all these whispers of truth, He is gently breaking down the fences I erect between myself and Change. Little nudges.

 

With each new baby in our circle of friends, each new announcement of "Guess what--?!", the idea of family has earned familiarity.

 

He also keeps letting me stumble upon amazing blog posts on this topic. Like this one that made me cry, or this one about surrendering the desire for a life on the mission field that sounded like a twin heartbeat of my post from last year. And then, just this morning, I came across this beautiful post about trusting the Lord with change.

 

I'm so glad my Jesus is gentle with me. I'm getting there.