“Healer of my Heart!”

God of Light, take away the dark of night!

Fill me with your pure delight;

Touch me with your hand.

God of grace, flow into this holy place,

Listen as your children pray: “Take me as I am!”

 

Healer of my heart, Lover of my soul!

Maker of the stars, the earth, the sky,

Come and make me whole!

Savior of the world, my voice is praising you alone.

Healer of my heart, Lover of my Soul!

 

Emmanuel, lead me to deepest well,

Where never-ending love prevails,

Drinking from your cup!

Prince of Peace, forever live inside of me!

Keeper of eternity, O Lord, revive me with your touch!

 

Healer of my heart, Lover of my soul!

Maker of the stars, the earth, the sky,

Come and make me whole!

Savior of the world, my voice is praising you alone.

Healer of my heart, Lover of my Soul!

[Sung by Kevin Inafuku]

Preguntas difíciles...

(Publicado originalmente en inglés en abril 2012)

“¿Mamá?”

“¿Mmmm?”

“¿Por qué se está muriendo Jona?”

Ella estaba sentada a la mesa frente a mí, comiendo una merienda. Miré por encima de la pantalla del laptop y me encontré con esos ojazos azules, más grandes que nunca con esa pregunta. De manera franca y muy tranquila, la vocecita de mi niña de cinco años había captado lo que clamaban todos nuestros corazones...

“Bueno, mi amor, a menudo no sabemos por qué Dios está haciendo lo que está haciendo...”

Su pregunta me había sorprendido. Me mordí el labio, pensando...

“En realidad, nos estamos muriendo todos...”

“¡¿Nos estamos muriendo todos?!” Los ojos, siempre grandes, se hicieron aún más grandes y muy serios.

“Es por el pecado, y por eso Jesús tuvo que morir en la cruz...”

Y llegué solo hasta allí con esta publicación ese 10 de abril del 2011... Las demandas del cuidado paliativo, la falta de sueño, el cuidado de mi bebé de cinco meses y muchas otras demandas me impidieron volver a escribir.

Hay muchos ángulos en la historia, pero la respuesta principal es la que hablé con mi hijita de cinco años esa noche y muchas, muchas veces desde entonces; es la respuesta que desearía haber tenido tiempo y energía para articular en este blog esa noche. Pero, casi un año después (en abril 2012), JM resumió la respuesta en www.jonatorres.com.

¡Te invitamos a leerla, creerla y regocijarte en Cristo!

(“La historia de Dios y la tuya”)

For the New Year | Para el Año Nuevo

Thoughts for the New Year, thoughts that echo my thoughts as I reflect on the past year, a year so intense that I’m still trying to process all that happened...

“Could we procure a telescope which would enable us to see to the end of the year, should we be wise to use it? I think not. What a mercy that these things are hidden from us! For if we knew our best blessings in advance, they would lose their freshness and sweetness while we impatiently waited for them, and if we knew our trials ahead of time, we would fret and miss the joy of our present blessings. Great mercy has hung up a veil between us and the future; and there let it hang.”

~Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Pensamientos para el Año Nuevo, pensamientos que hacen eco de mis pensamientos al reflexionar sobre el año pasado, un año tan intenso que todavía estoy tratando de procesar todo lo que sucedió...

“[Si] pudiéramos adquirir un telescopio que nos permitiera ver hasta el fin del año, ¿seríamos sabios al usarlo? Creo que no. ¡Qué misericordia que estas cosas nos estén ocultas! Porque si supiéramos nuestras mejores bendiciones de antemano, perderían su frescura y dulzura mientras las esperábamos con impaciencia, y si supiéramos nuestras pruebas con antelación, nos preocuparíamos y perderíamos la alegría de nuestras bendiciones actuales. Gran misericordia ha colgado un velo entre nosotros y el futuro; y allí dejémoslo colgar”.

~Charles Haddon Spurgeon

¡¿Trabajo no espiritual?!

“Si al hacer un trabajo que los que no disciernen consideran ‘trabajo no espiritual’, puedo ayudar mejor al prójimo, y me rebelo interiormente, pensando que es lo espiritual lo que deseo, cuando en verdad es lo interesante y lo emocionante, entonces no sé nada del Amor del Calvario”.

“IF” por Amy Carmichael, misionera de por vida en la India

[Photo credit: Heroes of Faith, Public Domain]

“¡Vé al banquete!”

11 de mayo, 2019

Devocional por John Piper

¡Oh, prueben (gusten) y vean que el Señor es bueno! (Salmo 34:8)

A ustedes que dicen que nunca han probado (gustado de) la gloria de Dios, les digo que sí han probado muchos de sus aperitivos.

¿Alguna vez has mirado al cielo? ¿Alguna vez te han abrazado? ¿Alguna vez te has sentado frente a un fuego cálido? ¿Alguna vez has caminado por el bosque? ¿Te has sentado junto a un lago? ¿Te has acostado en una hamaca en el verano? ¿Alguna vez has bebido tu bebida favorita en un día caluroso o has comido algo delicioso?

Cada deseo es o una distorsión o una invitación devota a deleitarse en la gloria del Cielo.

Dices que no has probado la gloria de Dios. Y digo que sí has probado aperitivos. Entonces vé al banquete. ¡Vé a Dios mismo!

Ya has visto las sombras; ahora mira la sustancia. Ya has caminado en los cálidos rayos del día; date vuelta y mira al mismo sol ¡a través del lente protector y enfocador del evangelio! Ya has oído ecos de la gloria de Dios por todas partes; ahora sintoniza tu corazón con la música original.

El mejor lugar para afinar tu corazón es en la cruz de Jesucristo. “Hemos visto su gloria, gloria como del único Hijo del Padre, lleno de gracia y de verdad” (Juan 1:14).

Si deseas la muestra más concentrada de la gloria de Dios, mira a Jesús en los Evangelios, y mira especialmente a la cruz. Eso enfocará tus ojos y afinará tu corazón y despertará tus papilas gustativas para que veas, escuches y pruebes la gloria del verdadero Dios en todas partes.

¡Fuiste hecho para esto! Por eso, te ruego: ¡No desperdicies tu vida en las sombras! Dios te hizo para que veas y saborees su gloria. Persigue esto con todo tu corazón y sobre todo lo demás. Has probado aperitivos. ¡Ahora vé al banquete completo!

Extracto devocional de “El Propósito Último de Dios: Vasos de Misericordia Conociendo las Riquezas de Su Gloria”.

Logos Hope

The ship Logos Hope was docked in Montevideo for several weeks. DJ and I got to make the first visit as part of a school field trip. We then visited as a family the next week – and got a better look at the wealth of books in the on-board bookstore!

On Saturday morning and afternoon we visited again with a couple of former students. Book prices were very reasonable, and JM purchased some titles for both the FEBU and Bible Institute libraries.

Please join us in praying for the seeds that were sown in this secular port: The gospel has been given directly, along with repeated productions of C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe which we were able to attend.

“Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice...”

(Philippians 1:18)

Eight years ago...

We continue to be thankful, as Jona’s extended family, for you who take a moment to let us know that you not only pause to remember but also to pray – and to let us know that you’re remembering and praying! We appreciate you!

Today a former classmates of Jona’s posted on the family’s fb page:

8 years. It’s amazing how fast time flies.

I remember waking up 8 years ago around 4 in the morning. I couldn’t sleep and checked my phone to see the title of a blog “Jona is home.” My heart wanted to believe he had just made it home after another trip to the hospital, but that wasn’t the “home” being referenced.

If you didn’t know him, his obituary sums up his life as best I can find words to convey through social media:

“On his fifteenth birthday he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma cancer, which God used to demonstrate to thousands of others around the world how much Jona enjoyed the eternal life that the Lord had given him through the gospel of grace. He was a man of prayer and a warrior of the faith.”

I still remember sitting in chapel listening to his testimony through this video. A high schooler, but a young man that will never be forgotten. The memories come back every year, happy and sad, along with the joy of knowing we will see him again one day.

“You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”

(2 Corinthians 3:2-3)

[Thank you, Joseph, for sharing these thoughts...]

“El Abu” is Home!

DJ made this drawing (at age 3) when we were praying for “el Abu” who was not well then (in mid 2014).

Back then, we titled it: “El Abu, Running!”

E reminded me of the drawing this morning: “And now he is!”

At 4:49 a.m. (EST), he ran to the arms of his Savior...

Christmas Eve 2014

Christmas Carols!

On Saturday afternoon we recorded DJ singing a villancico and quoting a passage from Luke 2 – all in Spanish. Both were his part of our simple program at church on Sunday, December 23.

On New Year’s Eve we recorded E’s carol: Joy Has Dawned!

(And just this afternoon I finished editing and uploading both clips to YouTube.)

Besides sharing these snippets of life with grandparents, these (almost yearly) video clips have become another way to gauge growth from year to year.

SO thankful!

“Prayer for Children”

Father, hear us, we are praying;

Hear the words our hearts are saying.

We are praying for our children.

Keep them from the powers of evil,

From the secret, hidden peril,

From the whirlpool that would suck them,

From the treacherous quicksand pluck them.

From the worldling’s hollow gladness,

From the sting of faithless sadness,

Holy Father, save our children.

Through life’s troubled waters steer them;

Through life’s bitter battle cheer them.

Father, Father, be thou near them.

Read the language of our longing;

Read the wordless pleadings thronging,

Holy Father, for our children.

And wherever they may bide,

Lead them home at eventide.

[Amy Carmichael’s 19th century prayer for children in the Dohnavur Fellowship in India]

We cling to Truth!

Tomorrow, August 10, we would be celebrating Jona’s 24th birthday. This picture was taken nineteen years ago on the day of my Mommy’s memorial service. My little buddy, Jona, didn’t understand all the implications of that day, but his tender little-boy heart knew how to comfort all the same...

[I love you, Buddy, more than ever!]

Adjustment to life without him is long and difficult... We appreciate those who pray for us as we miss him – more than ever! But we rejoice that Jona is in the presence of his Savior, whom he loved and served with joy during the sixteen and two-thirds years he was given here with us. And we look forward – more than ever – to the Day when all wrongs will be right and all tears will be forever wiped away.

Today we cling to Truth!

Cerro Pan de Azúcar & Piriápolis

On Wednesday we took a day trip over to Cerro Pan de Azúcar, near Piriápolis on the Maldonado coast. The outing was a “bonus” – “a hug” from our Loving Shepherd – that our family was not expecting...

This was JM’s and E’s and DJ’s first time. The last time I hiked up Cerro Pan de Azúcar, I was a pre-teen (I think).

The three littlest pilgrims in our group!

Our destination: The Cross at the Top

Going with friends – “old” and new – was “icing on the cake” for us! We enjoyed many conversations along the way.

I echo thoughts shared by Pastor Jennings:

Our journey to the cross today reminded me of some great truths about the Cross. We must all come to the foot of the Cross. Like Pilgrim, we find our burden of sin removed there. The Lord has provided for us fellow pilgrims in the journey.

What great fellowship!

JM and DJ had been saying for a while now that Cerro Pan de Azúcar was going to be the first “mountain” they would climb together.

Mission accomplished!

Perspectives inside the cross (at the top)

We also got to tour the refuge for native flora and fauna at the base of the cerro.

Lots of capybaras!

We drove to Piriápolis and ended the evening with picnic leftovers, shared on a nearby beach...

Such a wonderful day together! SO thankful for all the blessings! Truly “a hug” from our Loving Shepherd!

Pray for us! (January Ministry Report)

Happy New Year! Five years ago we were preparing for a final move to Uruguay...

This has been a period of transition, learning, and—by God’s grace—much opportunity. Our report is summarized [on our ministry blog], along with a brief update in key areas.

Thank you for your continued prayers!

Pray for us! (October Ministry Report)

We appreciate your praying for Uruguay!

You can read details about activities of the past several months as well as those planned through the end of the year in our October 2017 Report (posted, as usual, at: Good News from a Distant Land).

We rest on Him and in His strength we go!

You can also read our abbreviated July 2017 Report there on the blog.

The Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You (Psalm 84:11-12).

Iglesia Bíblica Maranatha

“¡Gracias, chicos, por todo el trabajo hoy! ¡Son una bendición!”

Fue un día soleado (en contraste a aquel a fines de mayo).

¡Gracias a Dios!

¡Pasamos relindo!

Sigamos orando que Dios obre por medio de su Palabra compartida...

Fútbol, Photos, and Eternity!

While touring the Museo del Fútbol yesterday, I paused and offered to snap pictures for visitors to the Estadio Centenario. As I handed back one smart phone, another visitor came up, asking E and me to take several pictures for him. I guessed his nationality from his friendly and confident demeanor (and the previous night’s event), but I still asked. Yes, he’s from right across the River!

In the course of our conversation, he asked where I was from and then, as many do, why our family had moved here to Uruguay. Besides telling him that I grew up here, I also mentioned our current involvement in the developing Bible College. A few minutes later, he mentioned (out of the blue) that he had an uncle and aunt in Mallorca (Spain) who “are also involved in church work” and he wondered if we might know them. JM and DJ had joined us by then. We ended up giving him a business card, linking to Jona’s Story and the message of Eternal Rescue; he said he would email us and also tell his relatives that he had met us and offered that, although he’s only a nominally religious person, he’d be interested in attending a church service with us next time he visits Montevideo.

I’m especially thankful when loves such as fútbol and photography give opportunity to share the Eternal Hope offered by the One whom we most love...

Iglesia Bíblica Maranatha

¡Gracias a Dios (y a pesar de la lluvia y el frío) pasamos relindo hoy!

Sigamos orando que Dios obre por medio de su Palabra compartida...

¡Amiguitos!

¡El comité organizador! (¡Con dos más infiltrados!)

Pray for us! (April Ministry Report)

The past three months have been some of the most intense for us since our arrival in Uruguay. We rely on your prayers. We appreciate you.

You can read the full report at Good News from a Distant Land.

We are hurting as a nation today due to a complex homicide-suicide, involving a ten-year-old and his coach. 😢

Please pray for Uruguay!

“O God, My Joy!”

O God, my joy, you reign above

In radiant splendor and beauty.

Your Word has drawn my heart to love

The awesome sight of your glory.

Your blazing light and gospel grace

Shine brightly from my Savior’s face.

No other wonder would I see

Than Christ enthroned in his glory!

Sustained by joy in trial and pain,

I trust your wisdom and mercy.

Through suff'ring that your love ordains,

More like Your Son you will make me.

For Christ embraced the cross of shame,

Beholding glorious joys to come.

O give me faith like his to see

That suff’ring lifts me to glory!

Compelled by joy, I fight the sin

That turns my gaze from your glory.

Your Holy Spirit dwells within;

His presence arms me for vict’ry.

Let death and hell against me rise;

Through death I'll gain eternal joys.

All pow'rs of hell will bend the knee

Before my great King of glory!

Words by Paul Keew & Brian Pinner

Music by Paul Keew

© 2008 Watchsong

I love Molly Ijames’ arrangement (published by SoundForth).

“From Saul to Paul”

Of all the people who kept the rules, Saul was the best.

“I’m good at being good!” he’d tell you.

He was very proud. And very good. But he wasn’t very nice.

Saul hated anyone who loved Jesus. He traveled around looking for them. He wanted to catch them and put them in prison. He wanted everyone to forget all about Jesus. He didn’t believe Jesus was the Rescuer. And he didn’t believe Jesus was alive, either.

You see, Saul had never met Jesus.

So one day, Jesus met Saul.

. . .

“It’s not about keeping rules!” Paul told people. “You don’t have to be good at being good for God to love you. You just have to believe what Jesus has done and follow him. Because it’s not about trying, it’s about trusting. It’s not about rules, it’s about Grace: God’s free gift – that cost him everything.”

What had happened to Paul? He met Jesus.

Paul got a new job. He called himself a servant and traveled everywhere telling everyone about Jesus. He got shipwrecked – three times! He even ended up in prison.

“God loves us!” he wrote from prison. “Nothing can ever – no, not ever! – separate us from the Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love of God he showed us in Jesus!”

~ The Jesus Storybook Bible