EL PASO. As we move through traffic, I think how much we must seem like ants scrambling to find space as they rush through each other. I am back in City, and each time I come here I am struck by how dense and congested this city is. Just when I think not another person could fit in, more houses are built on precarious mountainsides or on the margins now gobbled up by urban sprawl. It sends me back to another image: Fathers sharing their first warm meal with their children in weeks.
It was dark, really dark. And it is not always the wisest choice to drive through the rough bush roads when the sky is black and evening has turned to night. But the radiator was leaking and the starter motor was broken.
At the Presbyterian House in Merida, Venezuela, Dr. Edgar Moros- Ruano, a former Presbyterian mission co-worker, says “the gospel is proclaimed not only by word of mouth, but also through deeds.”
Moros-Ruano serves as pastor of the Congregation of the Resurrection and is a tenured professor of philosophy at Universidad de Los Andes in Merida. In both his pastoral work and his seminary teaching, Moros-Ruano says he has integrated leadership development as an evangelistic effort to share the gospel of Jesus to his congregations and students.
Sa-wing! Bam! Whoosh! When you hit it just right, you know. Through years, decades, nearly two centuries of trial and error in the mission field, I think we Presbyterians may have found the sweet spot on this one. The way we are moving forward in mission involvement in Honduras is feeling like a step in the right direction, bringing a concrete, engaged way to be partners in mission.
In December our son Noah was visiting for Christmas. He and Brian held a belated surprise birthday party for me. Over 25 people gathered in our home. Half were our Presbyterian sisters and brothers and half were new friends from our Xela community. I was overwhelmed with the love they shared with me. This is what happens when one chooses to walk with people and take the time to listen to their stories.
At the Presbyterian House in Merida, Venezuela, Dr. Edgar Moros-Ruano, a former Presbyterian mission co-worker, says “the gospel is proclaimed not only by word of mouth, but also through deeds.”
You may not see them, but they pick the crops, sweep the floors, care for the children and elderly, build infrastructure, labor in factories, cook, and serve. They often have to leave their home countries and families to find a job. They send much of their earnings back home to their families.
In conjunction with the Women’s Department of the Church of Christ in Congo, Presbyterian World Mission co-worker Christi Boyd recently helped facilitate the first Healing Hearts training event in the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
September 2, 2016 The pair of shiny, ankle-high boy’s boots sat in my kitchen most of that day. I’d seen Paul Sinette standing outside the gate when I left my… Read more »
I felt trepidation as I entered the auditorium at the Indonesian Islamic University (UII) in Yogyakarta. More than 500 students filled every seat and many sat on the floor. The women sat on the left and the men on the right. I knew I was not the main attraction. A radical Muslim cleric, who had been in and out of jail, was one of the speakers. Some of his students had been suicide bombers in Bali.
