"Finding Patience and Joy in a Slow Calamity"

I got the title from an article I came across, Come What May by David Mathis from Desiring God and thought he gave life and hope to our current situation. Give it a read!

It's interesting how circumstances bring out very different responses in us. When things go our way we are often very excited but when things don't go our way we are often frustrated. To go from frustration to excitement we are usually in need of things going in our favor. Unfortunately, the calamity COVID19 is bringing to our world is more than likely not working in our favor and perhaps we find our self asking God "Why?". l don't have a simple short answer. First, if you haven't read the book of Habakkuk I would encourage you to get a read on that. If you have then I hope this is just a fresh reminder. In the book of Habakkuk we are able to see how Habakkuk's response went from fear and perplexity to faith and praise. We find Habakkuk constantly frustrated, questioning God, asking him "Why?" but God's response silences him, "See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright - but the righteous person will live by faithfulness" Habakkuk 2:4. When we ask "Why?" we need to remember that we are limited people but God is active at work and he will bring things about in the end to his glory and for our good and therefore we are to trust him. With that I choose to trust God during this funky season. 

Side note: Before COVID19 exploded through our world, (never thought I would say this) I opted from being in social media. I kept finding myself scrolling for hours or waking up and unconsciously finding my finger clicking on apps like Instagram and Facebook. I've found social media to only fill me with anxiety and loneliness. I've now found freedom of anxiety and loneliness and rather so much life and fulfillment in God. Due to our current circumstances, social media is currently our main source of communication to our students so I am back but with limitations. I would encourage you to try abstaining from social media for a week or even the amount of times you check the news. It's possible and rewarding.

Face to Face ministry.
First week after Spring Break things looked pretty normal around here. I was still having Focus On Jesus (our bible study), one on ones, meeting with apprentices etc. I have also been working on saving money and being more conscious about the times I eat out. I started cooking for the people/students I met during my one on ones and taking them out to the park. Soon coffee shops started closing and so I got creative and started meeting with girls at Central Market and Target's parking lot in my car. 

Olivia and I having FOJ in my car

Virtual ministry.

Once restrictions became a thing we started moving one on ones, bible studies and meetings to face time and phone calls. Changes in our ministry, county, state started happening so fast I was in unbelief. I remember going to Kroger to get the necessary for the week and not being able to find basic things like milk, chicken, bread etc. I freaked out and would find myself checking the news every hour. I started looking and acting much like Habakkuk. God spoke to me through all of our staff across the border as they moved their feet and found creative ways to keep our students plugged in to Jesus. God reaffirmed me that He was still at work and so I go to work too. 

We encouraged our students to get creative during these times and here is a story.

Outreach:

Our students spend so much time in social media and with Collin closing until the end of school year it confirmed more where their time would be going to. Pedro, Austin and I started developing content for our media giving our students opportunities to take advantage of this time to reach out to their communities via technology. Currently this has been successful and given many of our students hope and encouragement.

Core/TNF:

One on one's and Core (girls small group) looks very different from before. I am learning that I have to shorten deep discussions since one can easily loose focus. I have broken my one on ones to 30 minutes and adding more games through apps like Houseparty. My girls love this app, you can play games and at the same time talk with a group of 8 people. On the other hand, TNF has also been very successful. We have transitioned to streaming our service on Twitch with a 15 minute sermon and dividing into small group discussions. I am thankful for technology it has allowed the girls in my core to grow closer to each other and allowed our ministry to stay plugged in. 

People:

During this time I've been able to contact and check in with some of you more consistently which has been so refreshing and sweet. At the same time I have been able to develop a great bonding experience with my 4 roommates. Their schedule and my schedule are quite the opposite but now that they are working from home we have been able to work together, play board games, watch movies, go on walks, the list truly goes on. I've been very lucky to spend a lot of time with my roommate, Rachel. Rachel and I share a room and all she knew about me before quarantine was that I work for FOCUS and how bad I snore. Recently we have been able to run, go on walks, talk about our childhood, favorite movies and have neat conversations about God. I have also had time to catch up with old friends that I don't get to see because of work or distance so it was nice to have them all together virtually at the same time.

Observing:

This quarantine has definitely allowed me to slow down and become more aware of the ways that the Lord is working around me. I find so much relaxation and joy in the ability to run so I've taken advantage of that. Normally when I run I am the only person running, rarely do I find people outside but now that is all I see. I see families sitting on their front porch, playing basketball with their kids, some gardening, others walking consciously 6ft apart and I can only assume they are learning to slow down from this American fast pace lifestyle. In addition I have been able to greet and wave at my neighbors from a distance and in a way I sense a warmth saying "we can do this". 

I pray that through my experience in this season you are able to find joy and affirmation that God is still moving and working despite COVID19. Know that I am praying for you and your families health. I hope to talk to you soon and catch up!

Pray for our students. Currently we are in a season where although it is easy to meet through technology it is also easy for our students to pick up old and bad habits while feeling disconnected and lonely.

Pray for our staff. These are new waters we are navigating through pray we learn how to adapt and keep developing creative ways to minister and reach our students. skfjsfl


Thank you,

Adriana