The third chapter of Ecclesiastes begins
by saying, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity
under heaven …” then it continues something like this, “A time to pack, and a
time to unpack, a time to say hello, and a time for goodbye, a time to arrive,
and a time to leave.”
At least, that’s the Sears’ family
paraphrase of those verses right now, as we look back on the last two months
and our transition from life and ministry in Costa Rica to our furlough here in
the U.S. Andrea, who’s suffering from back pain, counted up that we’ve slept in
8 different beds in the past 7 weeks, including a lot of packing up, saying
goodbye and moving to the next place.
We’ve now arrived at a home where we’re
going to grow roots for the next two months and it feels really good, thanks to
our good friends Ethan and Suzanne Vaughn, for whom we’re house-sitting while
they’re in Sydney, Australia. God is good.
While we rest from some of those
transitions, we also look forward to the next season that we’re really excited
to share with you. After serving for 3.5 years in Costa Rica with Christ For
the City Intl., we’ll be returning to serve as missionaries in Costa Rica, with
our own mission and focus: giveDIGNITY.
The mission of the new ministry we’ve formed
is, “to realize enduring life-change among the poor through Christ-centered
holistic development initiatives.” We look forward to partnering with former
teammates with CFCI in La Carpio where we share common goals, but will be
narrowing our strategic focus onto the following three areas:
Employment: Productive work gives value and worth to every person.
Nearly 20% of youths in Latin America
are neither studying nor looking for work. We’ll
use a vocational training program and business network to teach job candidates
to understand the job market, make career goals and execute concrete steps to
achieve them, while developing the character needed to get a job, stay on the
job, and maybe even get promoted, so that they can have the dignity of
supporting their family.
Education: Learning improves quality of life and stops the cycle
of poverty.
72 million children of primary-school
age around the world are not in school. 57% of these kids out of school are
girls. For every
year of education a child receives, their future earnings increase, they wait
longer to have children, they make better health decisions, and their ability
to make their own meaningful choices grows. We’ll provide scholarships and
support services to children living in poverty that enable them to continue
their education, and we’ll look for ways to counteract the factors that cause
them to drop out.
Abuse and Trafficking Prevention: Stop violence and victimization.
Human trafficking is the second largest
criminal enterprise in the world today. It is estimated that 1.2 million
children are trafficked each year, and the average age for entry into the sex
trade is 12. The most
helpless become victims in the desperate struggle to feed the rest of the family,
or they bear the brunt from frustrated and powerless parents. We’ll work with
young parents, visiting their homes to coach and counsel them on raising
healthy children and using appropriate discipline and boundaries. We’ll work
with girls at risk for human trafficking, teaching them of their inherent
worth, showing them unconditional love, and intervening to prevent their
victimization, providing rescue and shelter when necessary.
More than starting a ministry, we want
to start a movement that affirms the dignity of the poor and recognizes the
complex causes and effects of poverty. We’re convinced more than ever that God
“has chosen the poor in the eyes of the
world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom that he has promised to
those who love him.” James 2:5
This movement will be away from giving
money and stuff, which is really a one-time transaction that doesn’t address
the root causes of poverty and leaves recipients with feelings of inadequacy and
dependency at best, or feelings of entitlement at worst. This movement will be toward giving dignity through relational investment toward life
change that addresses the root causes of poverty.
If you want to be a part of this
movement, here are some places you can start:
·
read a book like
When Helping Hurts, · start thinking about where you give money and if it’s being used strategically to develop or give dignity to people,
· support and pray for our new endeavor,
· come and serve with us in a life-changing encounter with the poor, or
· spend some time with us hearing more about our experiences in La Carpio, at our silent auction on November 10, during a small gathering hosted by you, or one-on-one.
