USA, here we come...

I have to admit that I feel in recent years, miraculously, I haven't experienced a great deal of culture shock. It's strange, because we went from having a home in Ithaca, NY in July of 2011 to being 'homeless' a month later in August. We traveled from NY to CT to IL to WI to MN to ND, raising funds to serve in Ecuador, all the while having no home. Kaia was born in Elgin, IL in February 2012, while we were staying in an apartment in our missions headquarters. We drove back east eventually and looped back to MN, flying from Minneapolis to San José, Costa Rica in April of 2012.

We spent 2 weeks in Seattle 4 months later in August 2012 with my parents, between semesters at the language school in Coast Rica. After 'graduating' from language school, we flew straight from Costa Rica to Ecuador. This past April our son, Espen, was born here. We've been living in Ecuador since December 2012, and have only returned to the US once for 10 days to be with family in Wisconsin this past July.

That's a lot of change over the course of three years. Lots of different cultural experiences, different places to call 'home' (or not call home) and yet I've not experienced a ton of culture shock-- from what I can recognize, anyway.

On Wednesday of this week-- tomorrow -- we will get on a plane that will take us back to the US for three months. That's a long time. In some ways it sounds really long, and in other ways it's a drop in the bucket. But once again, we'll be 'homeless.' We'll be doing lots of traveling. And for Kaia especially, it will be a big cultural adjustment.

What I've been building up to is that I'm beginning to feel it. I really should say that I am feeling it. To be completely honest, I'm feeling the pressure of what's to come and I have so many different feelings, thoughts, pressures, and emotions running around inside of me. 

Don't get me wrong-- I'm incredibly excited to see friends and family members that we haven't seen in years. I'm excited to eat a good steak, have a great cup of coffee, and visit some of those old places we used to love going to when we lived in these different towns. But we're not the same people that left the US in 2012. We're not 'coming back' to a 'home.' We're passing through. We're traveling between many, many locations. And the culture we left is not our 'norm' anymore. We call Ecuador home. 

So it's this crazy blending of feelings. Excitement to see people and be with those we love. Feeling the weight of knowing that our kids will be out of their element and normal routine and may have great difficulty sleeping and adjusting to the pace of life into which they're about to be thrust. Sadness knowing there simply won't be enough time to spend with everyone and at times we won't walk away feeling 'satisfied' by how much time we were able to visit and connect. Happiness about getting to attend the churches we've gone to over the years. Stress over knowing the amount of coordinating and planning that still has to be done to make sure we can see all the people and go to all of the places we would like to. Joy knowing that God will be with us. Fear knowing that we might get sick, tired, and/or exhausted from our intense traveling schedule.

Maybe you get a glimpse-- maybe not. I guess my desire is simply to be real and let those of you who are interested in actually reading something like this, know that it's not a neatly packaged little existence we're living-- nor that we're stepping into. There are a lot of emotions and feelings going on in our household these days. And though we really, truly, genuinely are excited to be going to the US-- it's more complicated than that. All that, and the fact that I've sunk countless hours into a website for our ministry over the past weeks that crashed 2 nights ago... and I have no clue how to fix it.

So, would you pray for us? Pray for God's peace, for provision, and contentment with what this time ends up looking like.

Thanks for walking with us.

The Olympics: Dedication

The Olympics have never been something that have gotten me really excited.

      I think they’re great-- don’t get me wrong-- it’s just that I know some people who get so pumped to watch the Olympics, and I don’t quite relate. That being said, I’ve watched a ton of events with Suzy this year-- probably more than I ever have before-- and it has been quite enjoyable.

      While listening to some of the stories of the Olympians, it struck me how much dedication and practice they devote to becoming the best at what they do. These athletes spend 4 years training. Some spend 8... 12... 16 years, if they decide to keep coming back; like Bode Miller who just won a metal in his fifth Olympics (his first being in 1998). But let’s stick with the idea of 4 years. Think about that decision: I will dedicate the next 4 years to train my body and discipline myself to become the absolute best at what I do. And if I succeed, I will get a small, round piece of metal and stand on top of a box for a few minutes on tv. Okay... I’ll admit that there is some world fame that goes with it and other perks, too.



      Something about that dedication strikes me. Every decision that you make for 4 years influenced by that one goal... wow. I guess the sad thing for me is that the whole pursuit is so ‘self’ focused. In the end the goal is self-promotion and fame in the eyes of man. It certainly is an accomplishment... but what if the goal wasn’t self-focused?

      What if all of that focus and energy and dedication was put towards expanding the Kingdom of God and bringing fame and glory to His name? I guess the parallel is easy for me to see, being that I’m in ministry. But this question is healthy to ask for those of us in ministry and for those who are not: Is every decision that I make influenced by the goal of bringing glory to His name?

      Whether you’re in formal ministry, serving/volunteering in a church, or someone who wants to dedicate the next 4... 8... 12... 16... or 60 years to expanding the Kingdom; can we live with that same dedication as Olympic Athletes? With their passion? Drive? Our goal is so much more worthy; our results more eternal; our impact more lasting; and our motivation more inspiring. Our motivation is not simply the same old ‘overcoming the odds of a small town in middle-of-nowhere america’ ... our motivation is that our Creator carried a cross to the top of a hill and gave His all for us: and we’re sinners! Shouldn’t that be inspiring enough for us to be willing to give at the very least four years of our lives dedicated to Him to expand His Kingdom?


"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Matthew 6:19 - 21

A Year in Review

This past month we gathered as a staff and took time to remember & celebrate 2013. I blogged about this experience on the blog that I maintain for El Refugio. Here's the start of the article-- click on the link below to read the rest of it.




I enjoyed the activity quite a lot and decided we should share all that happened with you as well!

We held the Youth World Annual Team Conference in January. The Olsens officially started their work at El Refugio that month, too– though they arrived in December…

…click here to read the rest of the article on the El Refugio blog.

The Crash… and lessons from the apostle Peter

God is constantly teaching us lessons and providing us opportunities to grow, isn’t He? When I step back from the details and busyness of everyday life and try to look at things with a wider perspective, I see the Lord and know that He is with me.

A few weeks back Suzy was in an accident with our car. Approaching a work zone where 2 lanes became one, she looked aside for a brief second and when her foot slipped and wasn’t able to break in time, our car struck the back of a large, orange dump-truck. Apparently the driver stepped out of his vehicle for a few seconds, saw that his truck was fine, and drove off. 

My day ended up getting consumed in needing to deal with the fallout. After receiving the call from Suzy around 1:15 I got a ride to the site of the accident. We called our insurance, hunted for a tow-truck, and once we found one that was available I rode with him to the mechanic. On the way back I sat with him through a lot of traffic. He dropped me off in the town where the crash had taken place. I paid him and got on a bus to the next town. In the next town I had to hire a truck to drive me back to Calacalí. Arriving home in the rain at 6:45pm, I was pretty beat. 

I’m reading a book that looks in detail at each of Christ’s disciples. Having just finished the chapter on Peter, the topic and idea of leadership is fresh on my mind. The author talks about the raw leadership potential that Peter had, but he also focuses a great deal on the characteristics Jesus constantly worked on developing in Peter. He contrasts the innate quality Peter had of ‘a passion to be personally involved’ with those he Christ needed to impress upon him: restraint, humility, and love (among others). 

Leaders are often people with extreme passion and personalities. They say it’s easier to tone down a fanatic than to resurrect a corpse. However, those with passion and strong or extreme opinions or emotions can be just that: extreme. Anger, unkind impulsive words, and ‘my way or the highway’ attitudes can easily emerge from these personalities. So Christ took the strong personality and passion of Peter and modeled to him how to lead with love, humility, and restraint. He also knew Peter would have many experiences throughout his life to teach him how to embody these characteristics: and he would fail. Jesus was there to see him fail many times. But he’d also learn through these experiences. And eventually we see him teaching others these same traits as he writes letters that are now part of the New Testament.

I don’t think many people have seen it, but deep inside of me I have the potential to respond to situations in uncontrolled anger... I know I have a ‘temper’ inside of me and have worked really hard for most of my life to control it and never let it get the best of me or rear its ugly head and hurt others. Situations like this really put it to the test. I hate that our car was damaged so badly and that we had to be without a vehicle for over two weeks. It’s hard for me when my day gets totally thrown off and I have to deal with fallout from a situation that I wish hadn’t happened. Traffic stinks. And maybe the worst part for me was that from the day the accident took place to the day we got the car back, I was  basically the one who had to make all the phone calls, run from place to place, communicate (in spanish) between the mechanic and our insurance agency, and deal with all of this even though I wasn’t even in the car when the accident took place!

I’m happy to say I never exploded. Suzy can tell you that I never spoke an unkind word to her, nor did I complain about all I had to do after the accident. I’m happy to say that from the outside, I handled everything with patience and grace. But I’ll be vulnerable and let you know that inside, all of this was difficult for me. 

So I zoom out and look at all of this from God’s perspective. First of all, what a tiny ‘blip’ on the radar this is in terms of a lifetime... or eternity, for that matter. But just like Peter, God provides me with experiences and opportunities to grow, to learn, and to test who I am: as a husband, a leader, a Believer. God is with us. And though this situation was by no means fun, I am learning through it; and I have been especially blessed by the members of the body who have helped us in navigating through by lending a hand in the details of daily life in the midst of inconvenience. So I thank God for being with us and wanting us to grow and turn our eyes to Him in times of difficulty.

Kaia's going to have a little baby __________!!

     We went to the doctor for an ultrasound and decided to find out the gender of our baby. If you haven't found out yet what it's going to be, click on the video below to find out!

 -jim, suzy & kaia

Marguerita.

This is Marguerita's corner restaurant

One of the weekly routines that we have developed living here in Ecuador is that we walk to church each Sunday. The other piece of our tradition is that on our walk back home we stop at the same little corner restaurant for lunch. When we started doing this we’d occasionally get the food to go, though we came to realize the value of staying and taking advantage of the opportunity to talk with the people sitting and eating in this small room with us.

Marguerita is the woman who owns this small restaurant and prepares all of the food. She warmly embraced us from the very first week we stopped by to eat there. The interesting thing is how she has been very open with Suzy regarding her questions and worries about faith and Christianity. The second week we walked by her restaurant, she asked us where we were going. When we told her we were on our way to church, she asked very genuinely if we would pray for her. 

A few weeks later she excitedly brought us inside and showed us a Bible she had recently put on display in the restaurant. She told us a friend of hers had had it and she asked if they would give it to her. They did. Each week she proudly puts it on display, surrounding it with flowers and other decorations. 

In September of 2013, Marguerita asked Suzy in conversation why she doesn’t have more faith. She expressed that she desires to have it, but so many days she feels distrust for God. As the conversation progressed, Suzy asked her if she had any interest in getting together to study the God of the Bible. Marguerita excitedly said, “Yes!” For several weeks now, Suzy has been getting together with her and often other members of her family to read the Bible. Together, they are discovering who Jesus is. 

force.

I learned an interesting lesson in 'force' a week and a half ago.

Really, I blame the whole thing on Pinterest. You see, we have a really nice outdoor space at our house here in Calacalí. However, we haven’t given it a ton of attention– though we’d like to! And of course, when you desire to spruce something up, to pinterest.com you must go. We searched and came up with the idea of making an outdoor chandelier comprised of driftwood from the beach, a rough kind of twine/rope, and glass jars that would hang from it, containing candles– something somewhat similar to the picture you see here.

We bought some candles. We already had the driftwood. And when over at a friends’ house, we were offered a couple of perfect, empty pasta jars. I went home that night bound to make this thing happen. The problem was, the mouth of the jar was a little smaller than the jar itself, as well as the size of the candles.

No problem. I took out a knife to shave down the candle. I take the shaved-down candle and begin to insert it into the jar. The thing is, the candle still doesn’t quite fit. But it was close. I got it halfway in. A little further. And then. THEN  I used force. I just knew I could get it through– it was so close! So I fixed my hand on the top of the candle and used a bit of my body weight. I pushed. And pushed. Until…

The glass jar completely shattered and exploded beneath the pressure being exerted upon it.

Needless to say, my hand got pretty cut up. I lost a fair amount of blood. It hurt quite a lot. And I felt light-headed and quite foolish for the rest of the night. Just in the past couple of days is the last of the wounds finally healing completely.

The lesson here is perhaps quite obvious, but I’ll share it just the same. God has been showing me through all of this that force is not the answer. I mean… is force ever the answer? Granted, force can bring about results. Things can get done under pressure and tension… but I think relationships are almost always damaged as a result of this approach.

I’ve watched the series ’24′ on-and-off over the past couple of years. I’m reminded of the principal character, Jack Bauer. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the show, but Jack is someone who gets things done– no matter what the cost. He gets results. He does terrible things constantly to force results and get answers; and he gets them. But he is an island. I haven’t watched the entire series, but until this point, I have yet to see a single person that deeply cares about Jack. He’s burned essentially every person he knows at one point or another. Is that a good reputation: someone who is able to force results?

The method does matter. The heart does matter. And I see obvious parallels in evangelism. When we share the Gospel, are we thinking of the person with our heart and longing for them as a friend to know the greatest truth that exists– or do we see them as a number? Do we think in terms of heads to count at whatever the cost, whatever method necessary? Or do we see them as people, children dearly loved who are complex and need time and love and care? Force is not the answer, as I clearly learned with my hand and the pasta jar.

What great news we have to share with those around us! The truth of the Gospel– of what Christ did– this is a message that everyone needs to hear! But how we deliver that message is important. We represent a loving God who cares deeply for each and every individual in our world. I pray that I always keep in mind that force, though at times might be easier, is not likely going to bring about the results I would hope. May we walk in the truths of God’s word, ever learning, ever striving to grow and be more like our Savior, Jesus Christ.