Right Turn Ministries

Isaiah 30:21 "This is the way....walk in it"

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Of Luxury

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Of Luxury

Hello, readers! I am writing you from the beautiful community of Masatepe, Nicaragua. My name is Mandy, and while I am a Director for the Board of Right Turn Ministries working in Honduras, I am also the Short-Term & Empowerment Teams Coordinator in Nicaragua, where I currently live, working with an organization called International Teams. Our vision is to see lives and communities transformed by the power of God. I’ve been here for nearly a month now and though adjusting to a new culture is always a challenge, I am loving my new home.

I’d like to invite you to take a moment to think about the word “luxury.” What comes to mind for you? Maybe a five-star hotel in New York City. Maybe an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean.

What if I told you that it’s all relative, and that maybe, to a vast majority of the world, luxury is actually…where you find yourself right now?

That may sound crazy to you, but stick with me. I want to put some things in perspective.

Water.

At home (for me in Illinois), we never lack for water. Sure, sometimes there are droughts, but as far as water for drinking, cleaning, cooking, clothes-washing, showering…we never lack. Not only do we never lack, but we can have it at any time, at any temperature. Need an ice-cold water before walking out the door in the morning? Got it. Need to cook dinner at 5:30pm? You’re good. Need to take a hot shower at 9:00pm? Got it. Forgot that your child needs their sports uniform clean for the next day until midnight? You can wash it at the touch of a button. AND DRY IT.

The water situation here in Nicaragua is slightly different. Generally speaking, we have water twice a day. In our community, these times are from about 5:00-8:30am, and 3:00-5:30pm. If you try to turn on the water any other time of the day, nothing happens. Now, to be fair, some people do have water tanks in their home. When my teammate and I move from our host homes into our own home in a couple months, we will likely be getting a water tank, which refills during those two times a day and allows us to have a limited amount of water available as needed for most of the day. However, these are a luxury, and most homes do not have them. The water comes out at one temperature, generally cool, and that is what you use for dishwashing, showering, cooking, cleaning, and washing your clothes.

Air.

Back home nowadays, it is rare to find a home without central A/C, or at least some type of window unit. In Nicaragua, air conditioning is an extreme luxury. I have not yet been in a home that has it and to be honest, we do okay without it. This week has been challenging as the daily high reached 92, and my family told me that next month will be warmer. However, windows are nearly always open, and fans are a nice bonus as they can be afforded. Just last night, I was sitting outside with one of my host aunts. She was recounting her experience visiting one of her sons who now lives in the United States. In Spanish, she told me this:

“In your country, everything is air-conditioned. Living room: air-conditioned. You walk to your bedroom: air-conditioned. You walk to the bathroom: air-conditioned. Laundry room: air-conditioned!” she went on, “Then you walk outside and are hot for a few seconds. Then you hop in your car and…air-conditioned!’’ I laughed, slightly ashamed, as I remembered just how privileged we are (as a whole) in the country I come from.

Automatic…everything.

In a similar conversation to the one above, last week I was talking with my host uncle who lives with me. I was telling him how I needed to do my laundry soon. The coffee shop that our ministry has here has a space attached to it that has a washer and dryer, where you can pay to have your clothes washed for a few dollars. However, that too, is a luxury in a country where most households do not bring in more than $200/month. Many families wash all clothes by hand.

I told my uncle that although I took my laundry to the coffee shop here the first time I needed it done, that I wanted to improve my ability to wash my clothes by hand, the way that most Nicaraguans do it. He seemed surprised, but I told him that just because most Americans choose to do it the faster (and in our minds easier way), and that maybe in the future I would choose that option, too, that I wanted to learn to do things the way that most of the locals do. I’m thinking of maybe washing shirts and thinner articles of clothing at home, and taking more challenging things like jeans and bedding to the café as I continue learning. How can I live alongside Nicaraguans and strive to see ourselves as equals if I don’t even try to understand their “normal?’’

My uncle thought for a minute and then reflected a bit on the differences of life here and in my country. He said, “When I need to wash my clothes, you know what I do? I take them outside to the pila (outdoor concrete sink for washing clothes and dishes), and I wash them. In your country, you throw them in a machine, what do you call it?”

“Lavadora (washer)…” I responded.

“Right. You throw them in the washer. Clean. Then you throw them in another machine. Dry!”

I laughed nervously as he continued.

“And here, we need to clean the floor and so we take the mop, and we scrub,” he says as he pretends to mop the living room floor.

“You all have a machine that just goes ‘bzzzzhhhh,’” as he imitates an American zipping around with a vacuum, something I’d never before even considered to be a luxury. He laughed and smiled as he made his point, and I did too.

“Tio, I’m laughing because you are so right!” I told him.

Friends, today I invite you to reconsider what luxury means, and the fact that you may already be living right in the middle of it. Please don’t take me as claiming to understand everything about life in this part of the world—I have such a long way to go! However, God has taught me so much over the last several years of weeks-long trips and months-long visits to work and study.

Here in Central America, we don’t have water every hour of the day at the temperature of our choosing. But we have water.  We don’t have ice cold air set to the exact temperature of our liking in every room and every space. But we have air. And we don’t have mechanical/automatic everything. Yet, we have everything we need. I want to encourage you today, the next time you take a deep breath and think about how much better things might be if you earned just a little more, had just a little larger of a home, a little fancier of a car, I want you to remember…luxury.

Amanda Marie Haffer
Serving with International Teams
Masatepe, Nicaragua

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” -Eleanor Roosevel                                                                                                            t

Why Does Bad Stuff Have to Happen???

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Yesterday, I read a message from a man who runs an amazing ministry in Honduras called the Jeremiah 29:11 Mission. He basically takes in orphans that even the locally run orphanages refuse to take. He shared a story about a girl he received yesterday. In the message he writes:
“Katerin, is 15 years old and tattooed up. Musical notes on the fingers of one hand, a small heart on her pinky on the other hand, initials of an old boyfriend on the ankle, a marijuana plant and the word marijuanera, a female smoker on her stomach. From her story, I think She was trying to get in with a bad group. I am not real clear on that. A group of men gang raped her and threw her off a bridge and left her for dead. The bridge is a regular location for killings “by the fall”. She says she knew of 4 other people that had been thrown from the bridge and died. In December, she could walk, use the bathroom, play the guitar and have conversation. She can do none of that now and will require much physical therapy and the amount of recovery is unknow. The truth is, much of her future is unknown. She is totally and utterly lost in the world with no place to go. She didn’t talk about her parents but she said they did not want her.”
—————————————————————

Her parents did not want her. Why is that? Was she too bad for them? Were they disappointed in her poor choices? Could it be they just couldn’t afford to clothe and feed her? As a parent myself, I have a hard time wrapping my head around this one. Never, could I walk away from my child. NEVER! But I live in a very different world that Katerin and her parents.
Whatever the reason they didn’t want her, it is clear to me that Katerin sought acceptance, love, and attention…and the only place she found it was in a rough crowd. A crowd that eventually tried to kill her.

One day she is a functioning teenager who loved to play the guitar, and today she can’t move. Nobody knows what her future holds.

I find myself wondering what is she thinking today? Does she feel abandoned by God? We know that she clearly felt abandoned by her family, and obviously the crowd she was running with threw her off of a bridge and left her to die. How does a 15 year old recover from that. Yes, eventually her physical wounds will heal, but how does one recover mentally? spiritually?

Some not of faith might say “This is proof there is no god….If god really existed, he would have stopped it”

I get that statement…I mean, I don’t BELIEVE that statement, but I get why people THINK that way.

I do not know why God allowed her to be thrown over a bridge and left to die in a ditch all alone, but what I do know is that God was with her every moment. He cried when she cried. He cried when He saw what His sons were doing to His daughter. It broke His heart.
The Bible reassures me that God wasn’t just sitting back on His throne looking down and laughing, saying “this is what ya get…” No. He cried!

Ezek 18:32 “For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord God.

God allows things to happen for His reasons, whether or not we understand them. He never asked us to understand. He just asked us to trust in Him, and above all, we must remember that God is good, just, loving, and merciful. Often things happen to us that we simply cannot understand. However, instead of doubting God’s goodness, our reaction should be to trust Him. ”Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Why do bad things happen to Good People? That is a simple question to answer….None of us are good. I am sorry if you are hearing it here for the first time but you are not good…I am not good….Nobody is good.

The Bible makes it abundantly clear that we are all tainted by and infected with sin (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8). Romans 3:10-18 could not be clearer about the non-existence of “good” people: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

WOW…I don’t think I liked reading that this morning. In fact, I KNOW I don’t like reading that…..I may even think to myself:
yeah, ok…whatever…..that doesn’t apply to me…afterall, I am a nice person, I care about others, I work in Ministry…clearly I am good..I serve people, I give away money, I tithe,…so I am exempt from this passage, right??

NOT!

BUBBLE BUSTER!!! Really? I am not good? OUCH!!

Here is the hard reality of that verse: We all deserve to be thrown into hell at this very moment. Every second we spend alive is only by the grace and mercy of God. Even the most terrible misery we could experience on this planet is merciful compared to what we deserve, eternal hell in the lake of fire.

Yes, sometimes bad things happen to people who seem undeserving of them. But God allows things to happen for His reasons, whether or not we understand them. He did not ask me or you to understand why things happen. What He did as is the we TRUST in Him and remember that He is good ALL THE TIME. He is just, loving, and merciful…ALL THE TIME!

Yes, there will be things that happen to us that we simply cannot understand. However, instead of doubting God’s goodness, our reaction should be to trust Him. ”Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

It is my prayer that something GREAT will come from Katerin’s tragedy. Maybe she will a witness for Christ that she couldn’t have been when she was running with a rough crowd. Maybe through her tragedy, somebody will ready this note and their heart will be softened, changed, or stirred to serve and make a difference.

Maybe her story will touch the heart of somebody who feels compelled to become a life changer.

We may never see what God has planned in this situation. It may be generations past before His plan is fully revealed. No matter the time table, I just have to remember God has a plan…and He is Good….ALL THE TIME…..even when bad things happen.

**NOTE***

RIGHT TURN MINISTRIES will be serving at the Jer 29:11 Mission in July.  If you would like to help support our work there, please

consider donating some much needed supplies to the 50 children (ages 0-20)

Tshirts, shoes, flip flops, underwear, small games/toys.

email: info@rightturnministries  if you want to learn more on how to help Chuck and his Mission.

Attention Getters

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Attention Getters
By Jim Shoffstall

I had kind of a funny thing happen this morning (well, maybe not funny in the sense of being humorous, but sort of).
I was approached by one of my co-workers during shift change this morning (yes, I know I work too much) with what he describes as a “religious” question. He proceeded to tell me about a patient that the crew had transported early that morning (0-dark-thirty). This young man of 27 years or so was in a car with three other men when the driver lost control of the vehicle causing it to crash through the wall of a church. As a result of the impact (and quite probably lack of a seatbelt) this young man was thrown out of the vehicle and subsequently ended up on the floor of the sanctuary of the church they had struck.
After sharing the details of the accident, Jason asked me to share my thoughts with regard to where the patient ended up.
Without thinking, my response was something similar to this: “Well, sounds to me as if God really wants that fella’ to get into church”.
That gave us all a good laugh. However this evening I decided to explore this scenario a little deeper. A question that comes to mind is this: Does God permit events to take place in our lives in an attempt to get our attention? If so, to what extreme will He go to accomplish this?
What do you think? Has God used some “Attention Getters” in your life?
I can think of a few events which may have been used to get my attention. First there were the repeated requests from my wife and son to come to this great new church with them (CUMC).
Needless to say, I was very resistant!
Then, I can imagine our Lord saying to my wife something like this: “Tell him about the church softball team-that should do the trick”.
Well, it worked. God got my attention and started to reveal himself to me through the men of Christ United Methodist Church, morning sermons, and scripture (which, by the way, I had never laid eyes upon before).
So, it would appear as though God didn’t have to “holler” too loud to get me to look in His direction. I must not have wanted to stay away from him as much as I thought.
For those of you who are Christians, how loud did God’s voice have to be to get your attention?

For those who may be reading this who are not Christians, how much do you think it would take to get you to turn toward Christ and give Him a chance to become a part of your life? I am not talking about just getting involved with a church. Rather, I am referring to a one-on-one relationship with our Lord Jesus! I never used to want anything to do with what I referred to as “organized religion”; I viewed it as nothing more than show business. However, once Christ revealed Himself to me, I saw that my views were distorted and suddenly I wanted to be a part of His church.
What will it take? Something simple (such as a request from your wife and son). Or will it take something more extreme such as a hurricane (why hurricane? Well, did you see the picture which found its way onto the internet? This was a shot taken of a billboard along some highway which I believe was in Florida; the outer banner was torn to shreds making what was underneath visible. Now visible was a black background with white lettering which read “We need to talk-God”). I thought that was quite an attention getter.
Would God really get that extreme to gain our attention? Let’s refer to the Book of Jonah.
Here was a man for whom God had an assignment:
The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” (Jonah 1:1, 2)
Jonah, like many of us, ran in the opposite direction:
But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord. (Jonah 1: 3)
Seeing that Jonah wasn’t paying attention, the Lord tried to make His point a little clearer:
Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. (Jonah 1:4)
Jonah got the hint as evidenced in chapter 1:12: Pick me up and throw me into the sea”; “I know it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you”.
After this, Jonah spent three days in the belly of a great fish before being “vomited” onto dry land. Now that the Lord had Jonah’s attention, he spoke again: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” (Jonah 3:2)
So Jonah obeyed.
All of us need to open our hearts to God. Like driving a car, when we start to notice a lot of unusual “bumps”, we may need to open our eyes and take a peek at where we are headed. These “bumps” could be an indication that we have lost control of our vehicle and are now headed for a brick wall.

For those of us who have gotten ourselves into positions of being thrown into a “violent sea” such as Jonah, we must know that God offers us a means to return to dry land. Once on dry land, we need to stay on the path which leads in the direction of God’s plan for our lives. Although that path will often times be an uphill struggle, at least we will have something solid on which to place our feet. I myself haven’t had much luck walking on the rough waves of the sea.
Have a blessed week!
Jim

**NOTE**

Jim is an active member of Christ Church in Fairview Heights, IL. He works as full time Flight Paramedic and when he is not working saving lives, you will find utilizing his free time serving Jesus in various capacities.  We are excited to have him share on this blog!

Making a Difference or Wasting Time?

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As we get the new ministry up and running, I find myself being asked all kinds of crazy questions. Questions like:

“Do you really think you can change the world?”

“When you give people something, aren’t you just making them more dependent on the system?”

“How do you know the money/resources you give are really going where they tell you?”

“Couldn’t you have more ‘stuff’, like a bigger house, a newer car, purses that don’t come from Gordmans if you would stop giving all your money away?”

“How come you don’t do ministry/mission work here in the USA….afterall, we have poor people, too?”

Wow….that’s a lot of questions to answer….I was trying to think of reasonable, sound, theological answer to the questions, but all I could come up with was this:

YES

NO

DON’T CARE

YES

BECAUSE GOD TOLD ME WHERE TO SERVE.

I guess maybe those deep answers might need explanation.  I don’t feel like I really owe anybody and explanation, but what they heck.. I will  put my thoughts out there knowing not everybody may agree….and, in fact, may rattle some chains, but that’s ok…that’s what makes us….well….US.  We don’t have to agree on anything, we can agree on everything. That’s the beauty of it all.  It is what it is.

Do I think I can change the world?  I do.  I honestly do. Maybe not in the way you visualize it, but in a way that makes sense to me.  Am I ever going to build a dynasty, end world hunger, cause world peace?  Nope…sure not.  However, I figure if I can make a lasting impact or change just ONE life, then that maybe, just maybe, that 1 life will change a life…or two…then those lives will change a life and so on and so forth. Before you now, there could potentially be this huge cataclysmic force that moves across the world like a tornado does in Kansas.

Do I think I make people dependent on the system?  WHAT system? There is NO system in Honduras. I know that I am not a system!!!  Do I make people dependent on me??  Nah…I like to think I am giving them a friendly smile and a generous hand up in this cruel world. And even if I did splurge and give them a hand out every once in a while, I think that’s ok.  I mean, maybe Oscar’s mom is DEPENDENT on me to help get him through school, but isn’t that ok? Isn’t every one of our own children dependent on us to get them through school?

How do I know the resources are going where they are supposed to?  This is a sticky wicket question, and when I say I don’t care, I really mean it…I DO NOT CARE. Here’s the thing…..God told me to GIVE, so I GAVE. What the other person does with that gift is really between them and God. Now, with that being said, I do have strict accountability in place to ensure we operate a ministry that is above board in all we do in the name of the ministry. And yes, that money must go where it’s designated to go. But for me personally, if I give Oscar’s mom money for his education and he gets really sick and she uses that for medical care, I’m really ok with it.  I never want to judge…for I, if in her same shoes, would probably do the same thing. So, with that being said, NO, I don’t care what GOD’s money is being used on. What I do care about is whether or not I am faithful to God in doing as He asked.

Couldn’t I have more stuff if I didn’t give all my money away?  Yep I sure could.  And your point is what??  What do I need? Do I need a bigger house?  Nope…sure don’t. Do I need a new, fancy smart car? Nope…my 2009 Kia that has 150,000 miles still gets me from point A to point B.  Do I need and expensive MK purse?  Heck No!  Have you ever seen how hard on purses I am?  Why on earth would I pay several hundred dollars for something that I am going to ruin a few months?  I just don’t need….STUFF…I just don’t. I am totally ok toting around a $20 purse from Gordmans. I love shopping at resale shops. I don’t need to have all the stuff…it’s not going to make me happy. What makes me happy? Knowing my boys in Honduras are going to eat today. Knowing that for today, they have a full belly.

Why don’t I serve in the US?  Because God didn’t ask me to serve here…He asked me to serve in Honduras. I wished He would have asked me to serve locally. Do you know how much easier my life would be?  Sheesh…it would be a cake walk…Serving oversees is not easy. Heck…serving anywhere is not always easy, but serving in a 3rd world country….its hard…really, really hard.

Today I received word that a young man I met in Honduras several years ago became a new daddy.  I met Mario working on the streets…he was running with a group of guys I perceived as thugs.  While I can’t prove they were thugs, I knew in my heart they were thugs.  I fell in love with them. Don’t ask me why…have no idea why…but I loved them unconditionally, and they loved be back. I wasn’t like them, and they certainly were not like me.  We were a perfect match. Over the years, as I developed and maintained a relationship with these young men, I watched them start to change…all for the good.  Especially young Mario, he turned his life around. He went back to school and graduated high school at the age of 20. He found a nice girlfriend, got married, and today, he is a proud father.

Did we change the country of Honduras? Nope…not even close….

Did we make a difference in life?  I sure like to think so.

Time will tell.

 

Just Stuff

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Tonight when I came home from work…yes my JOB, I got in to my car..it’s a Kia….2009. Nothing fancy…definitely NOT a smart car, but it’s a car nonetheless. After I got her started, I pushed a button and instantly got heat from the vent,h it another button and instantly got some great Christian music from JoyFM.
When I got home, I pushed another button to open my garage door where I proceeded to pull my not so smart (but paid for) Kia in for the night.
I came in to my warm house, stripped out of my work scrubs, reached for my fat pants, sweatshirt, and hit up my Keurig machine. While my warm coffee was brewing, I searched my fridge for something to eat for dinner.
Nothing looked appetizing.
Not the left over pulled pork we had for lunch today,not the bacon and eggs that were in the drawer, not my boxes of Special K Chocolaty Crunch cereal, and not the copious amounts of frozen dinner in my freezer. Maybe I will just order some chinese take out….nah…that didn’t sound so great either. Maybe a pizza from Marco’s down the street….afterall, they have the BEST bacon/pepperoni pizza. …nah…that didn’t sound good either….
So, while I contemplated what I wanted to eat from the many choices I had and still thought nothing sounded good, I grabbed my fresh cup of warm coffee, added my peppermint essential oil for a little extra flavor and……
Then I sat at my computer……
and on my screen saver is a picture of my Honduran family. I was suddenly filled with remorse and guilt for being so “unhappy” with my dinner options. As I sat staring at this beautiful family, I couldn’t help but think “what are they eating tonight…probably nothing”
Shame on me.
I took a moment to look at all the blessings God had given me today….
First, I woke up…that in itself is a HUGE blessing we should not take for granted.
-I was able to take a shower…with hot water AND water pressure this morning.
-I used an INDOOR toilet….that flushed.
-I had power in my house to light my way, heat the air, and run the appliances that fixed my breakfast
-I got dressed in work scrubs and threw on a pair of Aasics tennis shoes.
-I got in to a perfectly functional car that took me to a paid job that I love.
-I used my Galaxy Note 5 phone all day…while it’s not the newest and latest of gadgets, it’s still a great phone
-I broke a nail that I paid to have manicured 2 weeks prior
-I came home to a warm house, electricity, lots of food choices (even if they didn’t sound good at the time), internet, tv, cell phone, INDOOR bathroom…WITH plumbing.

What did my Honduras family have today? Probably not 1/10th of the material things I had…and my stuff was just 12 hours worth of blessings.

Philippians 4:11 talks about being content with what we have. Are you content? I like to think I am…then moments like tonight happen and God uses these moments as teaching tools for me.

Count your blessings, count them one by one….

If you actually sit back and count all the blessings you had blessed today, you might be shocked. I know I was.

Blessings!
Cheryl