Say hello to Madero's newest English teacher

So good news tonight, I finally was able to talk to the director of English and I got the "job" I was looking for. I will be teaching two conversational english classes at the university, which is definitely an answer to prayer. I won't get paid as far as I know because of my visa, but its a blessing because it will let me get to know more people and also because it will be a reason I have to be on campus. Sometimes, i have felt funny just being on campus and "hanging out" because I felt funny when someone asked me what I was doing there. So that was definitely an answer to prayer because it should really help with the ministry and also help me hopefully to get a job in Brasil. Also today the volcano near my house had a lot of smoke coming out of it and I took a few pictures and posted one, hope all is well with you guys. Much love and God bless.

P.S. I am upset at the terps for blowing their lead against duke, makes me sad....

Rough Night

Hey all, so things here seem to be really up and down, some days I feel great, like I'm getting something accomplished, other days I wish there was a plane I could hop on and go home. Tonight was one of the latter. I was supposed to meet with the director of foreign languages to discuss a job or at least a chance to teach english or something, but he never showed up, I waited two hours. Also, i was supposed to meet up with some people that I had met at the university to go to a party, but somehow missed them too. So I am kinda frustrated right now and not feeling all that great about things. I would definitely just ask for prayer. I feel really attacked right now, just like a lot of stuff is happening and I am getting overwhelmed. I would just ask for prayers that God might show me the peace that passes all understanding and help me to see my purpose here in Puebla and in this world. Much love to all of you and may God truly bless you.

New apartment and sundays visit

hey guys, todays the day where I officially become an adult in Mexico and get my own apartment. I move into this afternoon and while still being in contact with the family i'm staying with currently it will be the first time that I have lived in Mexico entirely on my own. I look forward to the challenge and hope that it treats me well. Tonight I will also be going to a carne asada (BBQ/party) of some people I met at the university I'm working at. I hope to get official word today of whether I will actually get to teach english or not at the university. Keep that and my move in your prayers.

On another note I went on Sunday with what might be my new church to a really rural place in the mountains of the state of Puebla, where they just got electricity recently. We went and handed out a van and car full of blankets, clothing and food and shared with them as well. We played games and sang songs with the kids and then shared a gospel presentation. It was a powerful experience and just hard to believe that people in the world still live with so little and that poverty here in Mexico is not nearly as bad as poverty in other parts of the world. It is just hard to know what to do with all the injustice in the world. So I pray for God to reach is hand down and bring justice into the world, but with this prayer I can only picture God doing the same thing asking why we don't do something about all the injustice in the world. If we could only just do what my favorite verse says:

He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?
-Micah 6:8

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

Although I don't get the day off here, I thought I could still celebrate his life today so I watched Barack Obama give a message at his church (I think yesterday) and read a few of his sermons online. Trying not to preach my political views...but i liked the speech.


Below is one of my favorite quotes of his.

“We are called to play the Good Samaritan on life’s roadside…but one day we must come to see that the whole Jericho road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see ethat a system that produces beggars needs to be repaved. We are called to be the Good Samaritan, but after you lift so many people out of the ditch you start to ask, maybe the whole road to Jericho needs to be repaved.”

"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."

"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant."

"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

"It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it."

"
Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men."

Preaching to the preacher

It's funny how it seems that whenever I lead a Bible study or preach or something I feel like I am preaching to myself. It seems for me the time when God's word is most alive for me is when I am in and the midst of sharing it, whether it be with a friend informally or at a Bible study or preaching. Tonight I led a study about God being Lord of our lives and really was struck that we need to surrender ourselves before him. As I was sharing a thought came to me that I found helpful. It seems that in this world we are all competing running the rat race of human existence, the majority of people are running for fear of what lays behind them, as if they are chased by the ghosts of the pasts and the worries of the future, it is fear that drives them to press on, we as Jesus followers on the other hand should not be motivated by fear. We run in a different race, where hope carries us on, where we run for the hope of what lies ahead, with our eyes fixed on Jesus we continue on. I am continually struck by this concept of fear versus hope and really think it is the key to life. As my favorite movie's poster says "Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free." I truly believe that Jesus coming into the world, like Andy Dufresne going into that prison and not accepting the world as it seemed to be gives us the hope that we can live otherwise; that we might be able to live for hope and not fear, for community and not only self, for life and not for death, for happiness and not success. I pray that we may all grow in our faith as we each continue in our journey of faith and that we may spurred on by hope and not fear. Much love to all of you and thanks for your continued support.

Stop going to church...

Be the Church!!!

“Once there was a small group of kids who decided to go to a park in the middle of the city, and dance and play, laugh and twirl. As they played in the park, they thought that maybe another child would pass by and see them. Maybe that child would think it looked fun and even decide to join them. Then maybe another one would. Then maybe a businessman would hear them from his skyscraper. Maybe he would look out the window. Maybe he would see them playing and lay down his papers and come down. Maybe they could teach him to dance. Then maybe another businessman would walk by, a nostalgic man, and he would take off is tie and toss aside his briefcase and dance and play.. Maybe the whole city would join the dance. Maybe even the world. Maybe…Regardless, they decided to enjoy the dance.”

“The teaching pastor said, “Now this doesn’t mean you have to go sell your rollerblades and golf clubs,” and he went on to “contextualize” the teaching to show that we just need to be careful not to make idols of our things. I wasn’t so sure about that. Jesus doesn’t tell the man to be a better steward, or to treat his workers fairly, or not to make money an idol. He tells this highly educated and devoutly religious young man that he lacks one thing? Giving up everything he owns to give to the poor. Rich Mullins used to say that’s because there are a lot of people coming to the Banquet, and God doesn’t want all the luggage to deal with.” -Shane Claiborne

“You guys are all into that born again thing, which is great. We do need to be born again, since Jesus said that to a guy named Nicodemus. But if you tell me I have to be born again to enter the kingdom of God, I can tell you that you have to sell everything you have and give it to the poor, because Jesus said that to one guy too…(And he paused in the awkward silence.) But I guess that’s why God invented highlighters, so we can highlight the parts we like and ignore the rest.” -Rich Mullins

Lots of questions, looking for answers

Dai Jesu achoinekwa, ndaizofara naye. Taizofara naye.

Pondering life, Jesus, love and what I am doing here. I praise God for the prophetic words of an ordinary radical.

“There were plenty of folks talking about the gospel and writing books about it, but as far as I could tell, living out the gospel had yet to be tried in recent days.”

“I was driven mostly by ideology and theology, which isn’t very sustainable, even if they’re true. I wondered if Jesus had anything to say about this world and I began to question how much he cared whether I listened to Metallica. Sometimes when we evangelized, I felt like I was selling Jesus like a used-car salesman, like people’s salvation depended on how well I articulated things. And that’s a lot of pressure...Sometimes it felt like Jesus was a blue-light special at Kmart, or like I was in one of those infomercials in which people are way too happy to give you lots of cheap stuff you don’t need. Really, all I had was a lot of Christian clutter, in my bedroom and in my soul. I began to doubt whether the Bible stories looked like they did in Sunday school. I needed some relief for my overchurched soul. So I became quite disenchanted with the church, though I was still fascinated with Jesus.”

-Shane Claiborne

A song on my heart these days

Quiero volver a empezar
Con un corazón sencillo como al principio te conocí

Y recuperar aquel sentir
Cuando mi deseo era vivir toda mi vida para tí

Necesito regresar a lo que viví cuando recibí tu perdón

Quiero volver a empezar otra vez
Y volver a los tiempos de dulce comunión

Y revivir el fuego de nuestro primer amor
Necesito regresar a lo que viví cuando recibí tu perdón

Quiero volver a empezar otra vez.

Safely back in México

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. Unfortunately I managed to delete my blog, which I could reclaim but lost all my old entries, guess its a chance for a new start in a new year. I am currently in Mexico City and will return to Puebla tomorrow. Continue to keep me in your prayers as I continue forward with trying to start my ministry at the university I work out. Pray that my doubts would be quenched and I would be able to live with hope and not a prisoner of fear. I recently sent out my support letter, I think I emailed it to most anyone who might read this blog, but let me know if you want a copy or also if you want to support me financially, my email is andrewfroboy@gmail.com. Much love to all and God bless.

Deleted blog, going back to Mexico

Hey guys, don't have a lot of time, but I accidentally deleted my blog so I lost all my previous entries, very frustrating, but i'm still clinging to a bit of hope i can get them back. ON another note I will be heading back to Mexico very early on Wednesday morning. Thanks for your prayers.