Our teammate Chadd Shroeder posted the video of our baptism Sunday at the water fall from 3 years ago. It is BEAUTIFUL! I'd love for you to check it out if you haven't seen it yet.

You can go to his blog:

http://familiaschroeder.blogspot.com/

and scroll down to Nov. 5.

You won't be sorry.

Is this just human nature?

I'm reading a paper on the history of the effects of technology on culture, specifically the printing press's role in history. And I just read this quote: "Throughout the patristic and medieval periods, the quest for truth is thought of as the recovery of what is embedded in tradition... rather than the discovery of what is new."

Sounds oddly familiar.

A Question about Obedience

In the introduction of his letter to the Romans, Paul makes an interesting statement. “Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.”

It is that last phrase that I want to ask you about… is this what we believe? …that obedience comes from faith? If you surveyed our history, I wonder if it wouldn’t appear that we believed obedience comes from knowledge. E.g. the church is struggling with X, then lets be sure and have a study of Y. Or more specifically, the youth are cussing, let’s have a study of I Timothy 4:12.

So I guess I have a couple of questions. 1. Do we believe obedience really is a result of faith? And 2. If so, how does that effect how we push/encourage ourselves and the body we are a part of to live obedient lives?

The Garden and Compost by Kim Rush

We have lived in the same house these last six years in Mexico and have a small yard space that we share with the two other houses on our lot. It seems like every family picture we have taken here has been in that little yard. You can see the progress of the garden as our family grows from year to year. The garden has reflected the seasons of our life in Mexico as much as it displays the rainy and the dry seasons of the climate. Periods of time have passed when life demanded too much and the garden was neglected, lacking water and care. But as the kids got a bit older, and life became easier, that shows in the garden as well.

A couple of years ago, we started to compost our organic trash. The burial of the trash was really a decision Tim committed to, and my part was the saving of scraps. (If you know me, you know I am naturally good at saving scraps of all sorts). This decision is also a reflection of what had been growing in us; more simple, organic principles at work in ourselves and our churches. It seems that so much of our growth and faith can be illustrated in the compost, so much that I cannot explain everything God has taught us there. The garden, and especially the composting time, has become a favorite spot of refuge and prayer for both of us.

The most exciting principle God has shared is the promise of life. The house church we have spent the most time with in Jocotan came from such a rough past. Their lives were full of pain and scarred by cycles of hurt and abuse. From the time we met them (and with growing certainty even more today), we felt that only God could make a difference in the bitter reality they were living. But sometimes we saw nothing good happening, and it was discouraging and sad. At those times, some struggling seed would sprout from the compost . . . something that could have been trash sprouted to become a healthy, amazing plant. It never ceases to bring hope in our hearts for the Kingdom of God to reign over the chaos.

We have had countless spontaneous plants pop up: pumpkin, jalapeño, avocado trees, tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, garlic, beans, flowers and most recently a pineapple plant! We try to do our best with what God has placed before us, and some have matured to produce fruit. Many we have given away, in hopes that the same seeds we are planting will begin to reproduce in other places. There is a small garden in Jocotan with Serrano chili, cucumber, pumpkin, tomato and avocado. These were not the first plants growing there, and hopefully will not be the last. Spiritually speaking, we pray that the plants mature to bear fruit and that the fruit is shared to nurture the whole neighborhood. We pray for more gardens to grow and spread.

More wisdom God imparted through the garden (for us seeing it has been more meaningful that hearing it): The best soil has plenty of fertilizer, (which left to itself would have been a stinky mess). Unless a seed dies and is buried, it will not grow. We need to give over our trash to God, he certainly has better things planned. The plants must have light and water. The ones that have sprouted in the shadows will stretch across the yard to the sun. We make mistakes. Sometimes our best efforts to help are damaging, like when I tried soap suds for organic pest removal (suggestion from another gardener) and all but killed off three big, beautiful tomato plants. But God revived them. What we watch other gardeners do, we will imitate. Home grown fruits taste better and has more meaning to us than what someone else has grown for us.

The most recent chapter is that we have a new neighbor after a year of having the garden to ourselves. Since the rainy season has not begun yet, this is another promise from God that He is really the one taking care of our garden. She wants to learn to compost, and she loves plants. Ha, I just realized that her name is Eva (Eve). Coincidence? In addition to caring for the garden, she is buying all of our potted plants from us, with the promise that we can buy whatever back if we have space when we return. One of our first cucumber plants is almost ready to be enjoyed. I was showing her the plants she was buying and she said excitedly, “Oh! I have a cucumber!” My insides said, “What? You have a cucumber?” She has not paid us or done any of the work. But God says that while one plants, another waters, and still another reaps the harvest . . . only He provides the increase.

I had some verses hanging on our bedroom wall as a banner, (now they are in Eva’s house). “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it sprout and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:10-11.

There is a modern proverb that says “More things grow in the garden than the gardener sows.” Very true. Thank you, God.

Family Update for June

Celebrating Six Years
At the end of May, we celebrated our sixth year anniversary here in Guadalajara. It has been a wild and crazy ride to say the least. We are so thankful to God for all that he’s provided along the way. We’ve been blessed to be a part of a large simple-church network in Guadalajara, while focusing the majority of our attention on a the house church in a neighborhood that is marked by violence and addictions. We want to say thank you for all of your care, support and prayers. Especially in the scarier moments, we’ve been reminded that you are with us on our journey, lifting us up. Thank you so very much.

Jocotan
Each time we gather with our brothers in Jocotan, we prepare ourselves for a whole new adventure. One couple continues to face very difficult struggles. They are at odds with one another constantly. The one good thing about their struggle is that they don’t try to fake anything. They are real and honest so problems are dealt with as a community. We do not know if they will choose to be faithful to God or to each other. This makes are hearts very heavy. The other couple seems to be maturing more and more. They’ve also encountered a lot of stress. After time of fear and uncertainty, they’ve continued moving forward with Jesus. They are ministering to friends and have family members coming closer to God along with them. Please pray for all of us to place our hope and trust in God. There has been so much godly transformation and so much attacking from Satan.

Math Class in Jocotan
My Math class in Jocotan is coming to a close. It has been a learning experience on many levels. (I want to track down my high school math teacher and apologize for any and all distractions I caused in class.) Kim joined me this last week for a school party. We were touched to see all tha t the school is offering to this neighborhood and were encouraged to be a part of such a ministry in the name of Jesus. We don’t know what the harvest will hold, but seeds have been planted. Please pray for Sadai and Lupita, my most faithful students. Their lives are in such chaos that it often leaves me speechless. (Lupita’s dream is to be a drug runner and her dad is the manager of a famous strip club in Guadalajara.) Only Jesus can change their life’s course.

All-Church Farewell
On the last Sunday in May, all of the churches gathered together to say goodbye to us and the Pruett family. The Pruetts were a part of the original mission team that arrived in Guadalajara in 1998. When we arrived in Guadalajara in 2003, the Pruetts opened their home to us for our first month. They have been a great encouragement to us and to the churches in Guadalajara. They will be returning to the states (San Antonio) in July.

Sunday was very good. It was wonderful to be with the Christians from all over the city, gathered together as one family. We pray that our guys from Jocotan will stay connected to the body and continue to grow in their relationships with other Christians. We also lift the other groups up to God and pray that He be a powerful force that unites them together and fills them with His character and Spirit. We pray for our co-workers who will remain here to be surrounded by God’s presence, protection and blessings.

Crafts in the Park
Our good friend Adriana has begun a ministry in the park in her neighborhood. Each Saturday night she gathers the kids together for a Bible story and a craft. We love that God placed the needs of the kids on her heart and she obeyed His call. She is an answer to your prayers to the Lord of the Harvest. She’s been cautious to stay on the good side of the parents. This last week she asked Kim to join=2 0her to make cards with the kids. She was excited and surprised when a dad approached her afterwards to thank her for what she’s doing. He said he is afraid to let his girl play in the park by herself. But he is grateful that Adriana is making the park a place that his daughter can learn about the Bible.

Car Trouble and Headaches Galore
This last month has been horrible on our vehicles. The Taurus, which is the newer car with fewer miles is also our least reliable. This worries us all the more since it is the Expedition that was just released from the shop after a 40 day stay. During that span, the Taurus has been in and out of the shop due to a problem the mechanics were unable to diagnose. We’re hoping that if it breaks down on us, it will do it here and not while driving across Mexico later this month. Hopefully the Expedition is ready to make the trek north as well. Please pray for our safe travel and peace of mind.

What’s The Plan?
Our plan is to leave Guadalajara on the 25th of June for a year furlough, or for what some call “home assignment”. We will drive to Tulsa so that we can leave a load of our stuff, as well as the Taurus, before heading on to California for the month of July to be with Kim’s family. We will return to Tulsa at the beginning of August in time to get set up before the kids start school. Tim will also begin taking masters courses in communications at the University of Oklahoma. To do this, he’ll spend two weekends a month in Lawton as the courses are designed to be weekend intensive. Our plan is to return to Guadalajara in June of 2010.

the flu goes on

So I thought this flu business was winding down. After all, it seems CNN has stopped talking about it. But we just found out that the schools will remained closed until the 18th of May. Until two days ago, they were saying there were no reported cases in the state of Jalisco. (Guadalajara is in Jalisco.) But just recently they've said that there are 15 cases plus 11 more under observation. Four of those cases were reported to be grave. Sadly, three have died. I think that's influenced the decision to keep the schools closed.

Rush Family Update

One Crazy Summer

April has been a crazy month. The two weeks of Spring Break were a lot of fun. We got to do out-of-the-ordinary things and spend time with people that are not in our regular schedule. Grandma Kay came for 10 days and that was a blast.

She went camping with us and was a great trooper. She made camping a lot easier. Now, two weeks after the kids returned to school, everything has been shut down because of the Swine Flu scare.

Teaching English in Jocotan

Closing out 08’ we began realizing that we were being given the opportunity to plant a new church. This would mean not getting to spend every Sunday in Jocotan. With this in mind, we wanted to find more times during the week that we could be in Jocotan; both with our church family as well as the community. We’ve shared in the past about studying the Holy Spirit together on Friday nights and teaching Math two hours a week in a school for those trying to graduate from junior high.

In January we began teaching English for an hour each Thursday night. The church had the idea of inviting their neighbors into their home and offering this free class as a service. We generally have 5-10 students, half of which are not Christians. Three of our AIM students have been helping out, which allows us to break up into small groups and practice our pronunciation or grammar lesson as well as enhance personal relationships.

Camping Under the

Volcano

Over Spring Break, we went with a group of about 15 to camp under the Volcano of Colima. A friend from the kids’ school is beginning to farm the land and planned the 4 day, 3 night excursion. The trip was a perfect microcosm of mission work.

It was a once in a lifetime experience filled with culture-shock, out of the ordinary living conditions, hard work, and a lot of hurry-up and wait moments all wrapped with just a taste of danger.

The dad who invited us, Gerardo, is a very spiritual man who describes himself as catholic-christian. He spent 11 years studying to be a priest but is now married and has a son just a year older than Quincy.

Being Easter weekend, we were expecting the opportunity to share our faith, and even worship together. A few of the others who joined the group, however, were not the least bit spiritual and weren’t too thrilled when they found out we are missionaries. (That is always an uncomfortable moment.)

So our course changed. Instead of opening our Bibles together and spending time singing, we tried to love people who at times were very difficult to love. It put a fresh perspective in our hearts about our ministry. Living side by side and working with people who are just getting to know God (or do not know him at all) is not the same as spending time with Jesus people.

We should not be so surprised to not see God’s fruit in their lives when our very purpose in ministry is to take the essence of Jesus to places that need Him. We also tried to encourage Gerardo, who seemed to be disappointed as we believe he was also hoping for some sort of a “spiritual” weekend as well.

Swine Flu

So life is again out of the ordinary because of the swine flu outbreak. On Monday our school opted to have all students and staff wear surgical masks. Later that day, all schools were closed until at least the 6^th of May. The Government has asked everyone to avoid public gatherings and (without alarm) take necessary steps to prevent further outbreak. Since we were with a sister on Sunday who was ill and on Monday was afraid she might have it, we’ve pretty much stayed at home the last four days. Our sister went to the doctor Tuesday and has been cleared.

Guadalajara has not had any confirmed cases, only some people in observation. No one else that we know is sick at this time. However, we have canceled our group activities, including the all-church gathering for this Sunday. Thank you for your prayers. We feel good about the way the government and health officials are handling this outbreak.

Making the Most of it

Kim’s taken advantage of the time to get a head start on packing up the house. She’s also spent time doing school work with the kids. We keep in contact with people mostly through phone calls. I’ve gotten a lot of reading done and have even been inspired by Kim to pack up a bit of my office.

Since I haven’t been able to go to the gym, I’ve been having “exercise class” with the kids. It is quite different, but still a workout and so much more fun. Doing lunges at the gym is one of my least favorite things. However, Karsyn likes to hold hands when we do them together at home, and it actually makes them easier. When I try to touch my toes, the kids are trying (and achieving) touching their knees with their noses. Quincy can really pump out the push-ups and Karsyn kills on the chin-ups, though she still thinks they are called hick-ups. Clark, well, Clark giggles. A LOT! Yesterday, after I put them through a good workout, I let each child take a turn leading. It was sort of a follow the leader workout program. It was the first time I’ve done somersaults (Clark leading) since I was 5. Now I’ve got a whole new kind of post-workout soreness.

Working with

AIMers

Since last May we’ve had the privilege of working with a team of 6 AIM students. Cory and Toni Burns have coordinated their time here and have done an excellent job. Kim and I have enjoyed the role of “fun aunt/uncle”. By that I mean we get to have fun with them without being responsible for them.

Cory and I have been teaching the book of Ephesians to the AIMers and, as mentioned earlier, 3 of the AIMers have been helping teach English in Jocotan once a week.

We’re about to enter an interesting time of transition as 3 new AIMers will be arriving shortly while our current team of 6 begin returning home. (There is no set return date so they will be leaving between July and November.) Please keep these young people in your prayers.