Cool example in the Billings Gazette today!

OK, so I don't know anything about this guy, and I am not promoting him or his business (not that I think would be bad in this case!) but I ran across this article on a business in Montana today, and I thought it was a great example of doing business for the glory of God.  Right here at home!

Quote from the article: "To become part of the team, the crew members have to be from the South Side, out of prison and have an interest in learning about the Bible.

“The idea is to teach these guys construction skills, introduce them to the teachings of Jesus and hope they pick up on what we are teaching and doing,” Houlihan said.

Click here to read the whole article. "Construction program gives former inmates skills needed for new life"

Why? (or Why not?)

An outlet in Bolivia...  If only all of
life's decisions were so clearly marked!

One thing I’ve struggled to summarize for you who have asked is “Why” we are doing this.  In the end, it would be easier to explain how we overcame the reasons not to, than simply the drive to move forward.  Dana & I have gone through a long decision-making process, and it was good for us to do together, but there was never a moment when we simply knew this was the right thing to do.  Maybe it would help to share our basic understanding of following God’s will in our lives. 

While I believe God can and does work in unique ways, when it comes to a vocation or job, I don’t think He generally gives most of us a clear path to follow.  Rather, He has given us this amazing gift of “free will” and expects us to use that gift in making wise choices.  We have been repeatedly asked about this “calling” on our lives, and I have to admit, I’m not sure I would use that term.  I think God has placed in us a desire for adventure, a desire to have a lasting impact in our world, a desire to see our children raised in such a way as to expand their horizons, and a desire to constantly strive to better ourselves.  Ironically, at times, feeling the urge to pursue these desires has seemed very self-serving, and even an argument against moving forward with this.  After all, we didn’t want to be doing this simply for ourselves.  There’s nothing too “Godly” about doing something from selfish ambition…  So yes, we struggled with numerous circular arguments and philosophical debates.

Another couple serving in Bolivia.  We had a great conversation about
"Why?" and they had a totally different path to their decision, yet we are
so excited about arriving at the same conclusions and serving together!

In the end, we know that we will not be outside of God’s will for our lives in pursuing this opportunity to improve the world as we know it.  However, we truly believe we (and you are included in this!) can serve God right where we are.  In fact, that is one of the goals of Business As Mission: to chip away at the “secular-sacred” divide, and help people see how they can serve God with the skills they have, right in the workplace, just as effectively as if you decide to pursue “full time ministry.”  In fact, if you think about the realities of who a small business person interacts with throughout a week, compared to who a church pastor interacts with, I believe the small business person has more potential to impact non-Christians on a regular basis.

Bolivia... Even the terrain offers some challenges.

For most of us, I don’t think God insists on a specific career path, or the correct toothpaste.  Some things are left to us to figure out.  I don’t know what this means for you, but I do hope you are seeking to live a life that glorifies God.

This concept of finding “God’s will” for our lives has been tricky for many people I have talked to.  Not that this will have all the answers you are looking for, but if you are interested in learning more about this topic, our pastor did a great series on this last fall, and those teachings are available online here.  I hope you find them interesting and thought-provoking.

-Update: Our church updated their website after I posted this link, so if it didn't work for you, I have updated the link to direct you to the new website location.

Family Update from Dana

Kellton and Astoria in Miles City, with their friend Perri for the 4^th of July, 2011

While we were in Bolivia, I wanted to try and visualize what it’d be like to really live there for three years.  Traveling without our two mini demolition crew bosses (Kellton 5 and Astoria 3) it was tempting to picture life in Cochabamba as a bit of a cinch.  And then I’d snap out of my “vacation daze” when we’d get into a taxi with the pressure to communicate.  I’d say to myself, “Now picture doing this without Quinn and with the kids.”  Mind you, we won’t even bring down car seats to Bolivia…we’ll have to convert our American ideals about safety in quite a few areas.

So to picture our new lives in Bolivia, my “must see list” included the open air market, grocery store, and school options for the kids.  A little school background is needed before I post a photo of the school our kids will likely attend.  Where I went to school in Central Indiana, there’s seemingly no end to a school’s financial resources.  The schools have beautiful grounds, immaculate classrooms, and Gifted and Talented programs beginning in the elementary schools.  You can take Japanese and Russian in high school, in addition to the other languages you’d expect.  We had a phenomenal planetarium.  Graduation rates top 95% for the high school, even with 4,000 in the student body.  So growing up as a student, it was just what I came to expect school to look like.

Our friends' daughter in front of her classroom.

So touring a potential school, Cristo Nación was not only a cross cultural experience, it was a bit of a shock in terms of the facility.   Most everyone has emotional ties and memories to their elementary school.  So picturing Kellton and Stori going to school at a playground without grass, or any play equipment to speak of was, well, pretty much what I’d expect of a developing world school.

So what impressed me about Cristo Nación?  First of all, the Directors.  They have a big heart for orphans and so a whole orphanage is schooled there.  Impressive when you think of approximately  20% of a fledging private school offering a free education to so many students.  Secondly, the rebar sticking out of the first story of much of the building.  Ok, so this wasn’t the “dream setting” of Orchard Park Elementary School where I attended, with all fresh paint, new books, and cheery wall murals.  But the rebar was there because the school Directors fully plan to grow and expand the school as God supplies, and they’ve completed in two years an impressive amount of remodeling.  They have faith and vision to impact their country by raising up solid students who have a good education and heart for God. 

Quinn looks over the school courtyard.

At some level every parent wonders if a school is “good enough” for their child.  And yet Quinn and I believe that the opportunity to live in Bolivia and see more of the world, much of it poor and non English speaking, will also be a special way to show our children first hand the big world Jesus loves.   Yes, we want our friends and family to pray for safety, and for Kellton and Astoria’s language acquisition to go well (so they can translate for me!) but we also believe that they will be blessed by fellow orphan class mates in a classroom that looks like the year is 1850.  Education will likely be less technological and entertaining…and that’s not all bad.

So yes, I want to the very best education for my kids.  But I also want their hearts full of compassion and wisdom, and tender to the things that really matter most.