The Process

We start here and we end there and then we start over.  So what happens in the middle?  The process.  I sit on an American Airlines flight from Quito, Ecuador back to the US.   I am in the process of going from where I was to where I need to be next, home.  I am home for ONE day and then on the road to Chicago to interview Missionaries for Extreme.  My life seems to constantly be in the process stage.  I am moving from here to there and back again.  Striving towards purposes that seem unattainable and yet, they are creating who I am.  It is not what happens in the beginning or what happens at the end, but in moving from that one spot to another that is life changing.

The last 4 months I have been in a process that in all honesty, I don’t understand.  It started in Nairobi, Kenya in July and still today it is pushing and moving me harder than I have ever been before.   I know that is hard to believe, all things considered, but it is true. 

The worship team was leading us, this group of 43 students called into missions and about a dozen leaders.  The worship was simple, yet powerful; Swahili and English mixed in an array of songs that lead us to the throne of God himself.   Quietly they began to play the simple tune, “Trust and Obey.”  You know it, super old school.  No great theological depth or power, just an honest proverbial song that guides in our walk with Christ; “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”  And then it happened….God spoke.  “Rachel, I want you to say ‘yes’ again.“ God gave me red hair for a reason.  My defiant streak came to the surface: “Really God?  Really, you want me to say yes again?  If I remember correctly, I said yes when I was 15 when you called me to be a missionary.  Again 5 years ago you called me out of where I was and into this crazy world called Extreme Nazarene Ministries, where I gave up a job that paid money, that had a paycheck with a paycheck and now, you want me to say yes again?”

Now please remember that God and I are close.  I was not being ultra defiant or disrespectful, just honest about where I was at that moment in time. 

God said “You are too comfortable.  You have been Mobilizing for almost 5 years with Extreme.  You love your little home on 2 acres with your chickens and garden.  Chad loves his teaching job.  The boys are doing well in their amazing school and you are too comfortable.”  As I made my way to the alter I began to process what all this meant.  How could I give any more?  Was I willing to say “yes” again, no matter what it meant, no matter what the cost?

As I knelt at the altar I knew that I was about to enter a process.  God had somewhere for me to go and it started there.  I called Chad that night, because technology is wicked cool and I can call my husband from half way around the world.  I told him the story.  He was quiet, which is beautiful, since I haven’t quite learned this quality yet.  And with a quiet honesty he said “This is the hardest 'yes' we have ever had to say.” 

"Why is that?" you ask.  Because we don’t know where it is going to lead us. 

It is the process of faith and trust and hope with complete obedience and a blind assurance that only God can give.  I don’t know where it is going to lead.  I don’t know what God has for us.  What I do know is that “No eye has seen, no ear has heard and no heart has imagined what God has in store for those who love him (1 Corinthians 2:9).”  Over the next few weeks, I want to ask you to journey with me.  I can’t promise what will come from this.  Like I said, I am still in the process.  But I need to walk through my last 4 months of process and I would like for you to walk with me, pray with me and believe with me, that God has amazing things in store! 

From Ryan

I'm having a great time in Paraguay. The first morning was free/rest time so I dug holes in a dirt pile with some friends I met in Peru two years ago (Isa and Landon Foster) and friends that I just met this year (Teddy and Reese Williams). The next morning I woke up early, ate breakfast then went to play in a  fútbol tournament. My team won third place out of 6 teams.
Sunday was church then we ate and I played more soccer. Monday we passed flyers then went to a high school to show a video and missionaries talked to the kids. Tuesday I went to a hospital to help preach the story of Noe (Noah) and the ark. I was also in a skit (see below). Wednesday we slept in late, went shopping, then went out with friends for dinner.

Agua Viva

Saturday we participated in an activity we call Agua Viva, or Living Water, where we hand out small cups of pure water to the public... on sidewalks, in collectivos (buses), all over the street. Each cup has the John 4:13-14 and contact information for the church, and the 40/40 missionaries.

13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again.
14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

Sunday turned out to be by far the coolest day we've had, with temperatures only reaching 72. We worked hard to greet people, offer them "Auga Pura, gratis," (free, pure water) and to tell them "Cristo te ama (Christ loves you). We ran into traffic every red light (after the first 2-5 vehicles had already run the light) and hopped onto collectivos offering water to drivers and passengers alike. Many rolled their windows up when they saw us. Some nodded, "Gracias," but made no move to reach out the window to accept the offer of free water.

Most Paraguayans carry around thermoses of cold tea called tereré, that they pour into a small cup with a straw. They shares these with friends and family. Some accepted the water even though they had already provided themselves plenty to drink. Others were not at all interested.


At one point Mike Wheatley, one of the 40/40s, noticed a boy on a bicycle sorting through the trash across the road (not on our red light side). Mike took the first opportunity to run across the road and give him water. Matthew 10:42 immediately ran through my head.

42 And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.”

Throughout the experience, I tried to balance the fun and competition of handing out water (I gave out SEVEN cups that red light!) with the real reason we were doing it. As we worked, the 40/40s began getting a few texts from people who took the water and were grateful.  We celebrated the opportunity to become more connected and share the source of real Life.

Later that day and the next, I began to process the activity with different eyes. Living Water that Christ offers is the gift that people often pass on. They try to carry on with our own strength, carrying our own tereré, refilling where they can. They nod politely and move on quickly. Some even block us out before we have the chance to share. All are missing out on the relationship in which they were created to thrive. We have to draw close to people and show them what they are missing. We need to share our living water every day, in every opportunity. Just like Jesus did at the well, we have to show how insufficient their own thermoses are.


And we can only do this if we are living in Agua Vida.


Lord, help us live in daily acceptance of your Living Water and help us share with everyone around us.