10 days down

It is wild to think that we have already been here for 1.5 weeks. Some days it feels like we’ve been here for a year, and other days it feels like we just got here yesterday. We have packed these last 10 days as full as we can. We have looked at houses and cars galore. We have purchased our appliances, couches, bed and most of what we need to get started. There is lots of news, thoughts, lessons to share, so to keep it brief I will employ the ever-so-boring list form.

    1.  We have a house.

Praise God, we have a house. It took us a while, and was a much more difficult decision than we previously thought. We are in a house that is secure, probably a bit big for us, but only 15 minutes from Potters House.

    2.  We have a car.

Anyone who has bought a used care understands the risk. Even more, buying a used car in Latin America…well you don’t really know what you’re getting. We had a mechanic look it over, and are really hoping that it will last us a long time.

         3.  We will make mistakes.

What has become clear is that every missionary makes mistakes. We have already made lots of them. We seem to find more of the language mistakes because we already speak Spanish, yet continue to find dialectical differences.

For Example: In some places you can use the word sosten for support. We were talking about our financial support and I used that word. However, in Guatemala sosten means “bra.” People were just a little confused that I would speak so openly about the strength of our bra.

We will make much worse mistakes than just language mistakes. What is beautiful, is that we are learning that it is in the midst of those mistakes that God uses our honesty, gentleness, and ability to laugh it off! Even more, it alleviates some of the stereotypes that Americans think they have all the answers. We, too, are broken vessels that God must fill to use. We’re cracked clay in the Potter’s hands.

         4.  VBS for 2,000 kids

Yes, you read right! This Monday kicks off 4 straight weeks of VBS at Potters House. They are running about 5 VBS in the morning and 5 in the evening for the next 4 weeks. They are being hosted in a variety of community centers, and buildings in the area. I (Justin) am running one (or a handful?) of them.

We would ask that you would pray that God would manifest Himself powerfully in the lives of these children. There comes a moment where these kids face the hopelessness of their life situation, yet we know that the cross of Christ supersedes even the most dire situations. Christ came to conquer sin and ALL of it’s effects and establish His Kingdom. Christ’s Kingdom is not concerned with one’s house, clothes, cars, etc., yet the hope of Christ can be found when those are not present.

It is our prayer that children, this week would learn to “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all of these things will be given to you as well.”  

As the King, Christ, takes root in the heart of these children, may His Kingdom come in this community.

For His Kingdom,

The Burkholders

October Prayer Letter

In 2011 I "ran" the marathon (it's in quotes on purpose). A good friend of mine (Mark Nerud) and I spent months training, running all through the week, and doing long runs on the weekends. On October 9^th of 2011 we piled into a van at 4:00 AM for the drive to downtown Chicago. At about 5:30 we were standing in our corral, waiting for the gun to blast to begin the event for which we had been preparing for months. 

Yesterday, the feeling was identical. Jenny and I have worked for months. We have prayed and prayed and prayed. We have had hundreds of great, educational conversations. We have been blessed by a myriad of supporters. We have been to training, raised all of our funds, got pregnant (yikes), purchased plane tickets, packed up our belongings, celebrated, laughed, cried, worshipped...and there we sat, in our corral, waiting for the gun to sound.

Today, at 6 AM, the gun sounded.

It's surreal. 

We have no idea what the marathon ahead is going to entail. The first leg of the first mile is just barely visible, what the other 25 hold, only God knows.

There are a couple things of which we are entirely certain.

1. God determined the course.

The future isn't a big question mark. It is decided, established. It may be a big, harry question mark to us, but it's not to God. He knows the end to every story and the resolution to every challenge. He sees the sun rise when we are in the midst of the darkness, and has steadfastly determined our future paths. It is mysterious how he does so while allowing us the freedom to live and love. Yet, we take great solace in His knowledge, His providence, and His sovereignty.

2.   We have support

Not like financial support. Sure, we have that. (shameless plug: if anyone would like to donate follow the "Donate Online" link above) We have been sent off by such a warm and loving church family. We have been prayed for, celebrated, encouraged, and energized by all of you.

I will never forget the first 3 miles of the marathon that I ran. There were thousands of people lined up 5 or 6 people deep to cheer on those of us running. Even though I was way back in the Losers corral, I felt like I could have run a million miles.

That's how Jenny and I feel right now. Because of your support, and the sovereign hand of God, we can face anything.

We have a long race ahead. There are many obstacles that we will face. We aren't naïve about that. We long to see great victories, and we know we will experience great turmoil. But one thing we know: Christ IS King. It's not a myth, or some fairy tale. He really IS King. That alone makes this a race worth running.

Prayer Requests:

1. PRAISE: We arrived in Guatemala City safe and sound with all of the bags that we brought with us!

2.This week we will be looking at houses, pray that we find something appropriate to our needs.

  

3. We also need a vehicle, which we will be shopping for this week as well.

4. This week we will also be viewing hospitals and finding a doctor for the baby and Jenny. Pray that we find one that we are comfortable with and can pick right up where we left off in the states.

Only God Knows

October  21^st is a date that I will never forget. It’s the day that we will board a plane, depart the U.S.A. and establish residency in Guatemala. I don’t want to be too melodramatic about this; everyone goes through transitions. Some transitions are planned, like ours. Other transitions flop themselves into the middle of our lives with no preparation or opportunity to positions ourselves.

As I've considered this change what is becoming crystal clear is that if I could have the attitude that I currently have, facing all transitions, even unplanned ones, my life would fill with far less anxiety. Many people have graciously asked us “what do you expect the transition to be like?” My response may seem a tad reductionist, “Only God knows…”  

To some it may seem like I’m dismissing their question and avoiding the “real deep conversation about my anxiety,” but, alas, I’m not.

I don’t think that there could be any more comforting response than “only God knows.” Every transition that we face, every crossroads or intersection, there are a litany of possibilities for how the situation ends. Those of us who love control examine every possibility filling our minds with a spider web of options, but to what end?

I’ve been able to plan for this transition. God has graciously given us insight and the freedom to choose the chaotic crossroads that is our move to Guatemala. However, life is a minefield of unplanned transitions. Some are small – a misbehaving child, tension at work, car problems. But some of these are WAY bigger, and we could never plan for them sufficiently – a dreaded call from the doctor saying “it’s terminal”, a child born with severe handicaps, a sudden death, divorce etc.

Nevertheless, the severity of the situation doesn’t change the fact that only God knows. We’ve all had one of those moments, that unplanned transition that lands on our chest like a Mack truck, but even in those situations God knows. God is not surprised. The sorts of earthy obstacles that we face do not faze him. He knows them, and they respond to His voice.

This means that I’m free. I don’t need to know the outcome because I know the Knower. You don’t need to know the outcome because you know the one who knows the outcome and who has determined the outcome.

Some of you may find yourself in the middle of an unplanned transition. Take solace; to God it was not unplanned.

Psalm 37:23-24

²³ The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
    when he delights in his way;
²⁴ though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
    for the Lord upholds his hand.