Learning a New Way of Life

Happy November Greetings Ministry Partners, Family, and Friends!

As I write this blog post, I cannot believe how fast the time has gone by during these past two months.  We are now about nine weeks into this yearlong journey and it is incredible to see how God has been using this time so significantly.  From ministry to relationship building, stomach infections and team retreats, not forgetting to mention very awkward social interactions to other awkward encounters, I am experiencing much more than what I had originally anticipated when signing onboard with Avance.

I am happy to report back to you all back at home who are praying for and supporting this ministry that the Lord has been good and has been giving opportunities to share life with the people here in Mexico.  Latin America Mission’s (Now United World Mission) vision is to go, live, and serve with the people of this culture and that is just what is being put into practice.  With that said, so much is being learned than just another language, rather another way of life.  There are many of us who have aspirations to help this world and the people living it, however the work needed to be done to get to that point is demanding, exhausting, and rewarding.

I remember talking to a friend this past summer about how hard it was to work at camp and be a representative of Christ’s people, to seek out the support team that the Lord had been preparing, and to maintain my insanity all at the same time.  Once I was done unpacking all of my doubts and worries during this conversation, their response was, “Erik, you think that this season of life is tough?  Don’t you see that the Lord is preparing you for something bigger?  This could be only preparation for what is to come; I think this year ahead of you could be one of the hardest experiences you will ever face and you need to expect that.”  --Whoever this person was (sorry, I can’t remember exactly who), they were 100% correct.

My first two months here has definitely had it’s ups and far share of downs.  Culture shock came in pretty fast for me and I’d say already by week three I was starting to feel it.  I remember thinking to myself, “I’ve done this before, I’ve been abroad way longer, why am I feeling this way?,” and after some reflection I realized that I never really had fallen into a honeymoon stage with where I was living or with what I was experiencing.  For a while I felt very uncomfortable in the neighborhood that I live in and I had also turned 15 again, along with a list of things I can and cannot do while living here.  After living on my own for four years it has been hard to respect the fact that I need to submit to the rules of my family and directors.  This restriction of freedom definitely aided this entry of shock but little by little, through some good old cultural adaptation, I have been adjusting to the new lifestyle here.  It was around two weeks ago or so where I started to bounce back to being my (semi-)normal self!  I had been lacking joy for quite some time and to have that feeling come back into my life felt great.

After rediscovering this sensation of happiness, I was much more motivated to seek out others in my ministries and church.  This has led to really great relationships that allow me to practice the gift of speaking another language that the Lord has blessed me with.  After having conversations that last for hours with my new Mexican friends, many bible studies on the UNAM campus, and living with a Mexican family, I realized that I am doing it –sharing life in a whole different language.  These “Is this real life?” moments are fun to have because I see my self slowly becoming that fluent Spanish-speaking gringo that I never thought I’d be able to become!!  It is much easier to communicate to others in my everyday life and through that God is building up some really great relationships here.

For a ministry report, things are actually wrapping up already for this semester’s placements.  I am involved with Compa (a campus ministry that reaches out to the 300,000 student population) and we had our last study this week because UNAM finishes their semester next week already.   Milamex has been a pleasure to work with and just last week I finished up a few videos for the ministry, which it feels great to still be utilizing my RTF skills.  From working with Milamex, I had accidentally bumped into a great guy that had been praying for people to come on board with this documentary that he and some others are producing.  This documentary will be exploring the homeless youth that live on the streets and how the Gospel is changing lives day by day.  A very long story made short is that I have signed onto the project and it is actually a much bigger deal than what I thought it out to be.  Thanks to the Lord, they have a pretty nice budget, professional crew and a solid treatment (all pre-production pretty much finished).  Looks like towards the start of December production will be on its way and all of this is a refreshing affirmation that this is where God wants me.

Avance has been a great journey thus far and I am also very pleased with the decision I made to continue my education in International Development along side with this experience.  Everything that I am learning in my classes applies directly to what I am experiencing while serving cross-culturally.  This is also pushing me to grow in awareness of my worldview and how I can minister more effectively in all sorts of situations.  However, “all sorts of situations” that strike up while serving cross-culturally are not always easy.  My prayer is that the Lord can continue to break my heart to understand these people and better serve them.

With that said, I have a few other prayer requests:

-My family is like every other family and has it’s dysfunctions.  At times it become difficult to love them and I am seeking prayer that I can be content with my current circumstances.

-Praise/prayer request is that my Spanish is picking up pretty well and progressing! However its coming to the point where I need to stop thinking then translating my words rather than just speaking in Spanish and staying there. (Hopefully that makes sense.)

-Financial support.  Before leaving the states it seemed to be that I was fully supported, but since then there has been change in support that some financial support that was pledged can no longer be given due to personal circumstances of supporters (which is totally normal when building ministry).  And with that, I still need to raise $600 to pay for my flight in December and two months of support.  This totals around $3,000 and I am praying that the resources can be found before the end of January.

-As mentioned in the blog, joy has been rediscovered and has brought a refreshing mindset on field.  My prayer request is that this feeling of joy can be maintained as this semester starts to wrap up!

Thank you all for the prayers, support, and encouraging letters sent this way.  I praise the Lord for supporters like yourself who have joined me in this experience.  Also, if you would like to catch up and hear some of the experiences while I am back on furlough next month, please send me an email so we an arrange plans.  If you have any specific prayer requests, questions, or anything in between, please send me an email at:            erikhamiltoncole@gmail.com

Once again, thank you for walking along side of me in this journey and God Bless.

-Erik

*If you are interested in joining this ministry and would like to give financially, please visit my giving site at: http://www.lam.org/missionaries/erik-cole

Redefining the Expectations of a Missionary

El 17 de octubre

Dear Family, Friends, and Ministry Partners:


Today marks one complete month in Mexico City!  I am happy to report to you that I am yet to get sick, robbed, or lost in this crazy city.  However, these past four weeks have been very much a growing and stretching season of life.  I wish I could say that experience so far has been all smooth and well but in reality, I am learning what it means to serve at the capacity of a missionary.

Along with this journey, I am discovering that the expectations I had of a missionary moving to a foreign place to serve in God’s Kingdom were a bit off.  In reflecting on my time here so far, I have realized that there is so much more than just entering a new country and doing ministry.  This realization is also what is allowing me to walk in faith with God during this transition period of life.

With that, I want to share with you all everything that I am learning about moving to different country with a specific call to serve our Father in Heaven.  Culture is key.  There are many times where I am frustrated and feels as if I am not doing enough as a missionary to reach the people around me.  This feeling of anxiety has me I asking the Lord something along these lines,

“Why does everything feel so stagnant, God?  Why aren’t you having me effectively ministering here?  Why is it that there is so much time being spent with my host family? Do I really need to spend every other morning in Spanish class?”

The answer is, “Yes, Erik.  All the above is necessary.  Stop being so darn impatient.”  I’ve been learning that I need to trust in faith that this is answer is true and that all the above is indeed necessary.  One thing that many of us miss and don’t think of when discussing the exciting opportunity of being a missionary is that we need to learn and live the culture to effectively serve in it.  

Every effective missionary needs to go through this season of life to properly prepare them self to reach the local people with the word of God.  So these days that are spent in the home are needed to love the people of this culture.  Every time I feel as if time is wasted is actually time used to develop relationships.  Whether these relationships are found in the church youth group, with my Spanish teacher, or just hanging out with other Mexican friends, they all are needed to build my understanding of how these people think, pray, dream, and live their every day lives.

This deep immersion is a rare opportunity to have and now after this revelation, I give Praise to the Lord that I can be living amongst the people of Mexico in an authentic way.  This is the foundation of effective ministry and its something that I didn’t realize until living it and I hope that those of you who are reading this update can pray for this experience.  Time is needed to become part of this culture, although I will forever be the only 6’3” gringo in the neighborhood. 

Coming to this point of understanding was not easy to get to.  I have been definitely been experiencing some mild culture shock as many things of life are no longer the same.  At times I struggle to find the joy of living in on of the most dangerous neighborhoods (Iztapalapa) in Mexico City.  Other times, I become impatient with the street vendors, late at night and early in the morning, as they yell down my ally to sell their bread, water, etc.  Many times I become upset and find it hard to understand why I have been called here, however in that moment I remind myself that this has been in the Lord’s works for the past 22 years and to doubt it is just silly.

All in all, I praise God for where he has led me.  My ministry placements are starting to pick up and I am starting to fall into a regular schedule –which feels great.  I am becoming more and more interested in my Masters program (International & Transformative Development), and writing papers can be a bit of a drag but feels very normal to me.  Good news, I am starting to make friends with Mexican people –I’ve missed having friends so this is something very exciting to share. hahaha  My team is meshing well together and my coach/director, Kevin, is an awesome dude to relate to. 

As a group, we are learning the inductive Bible study method and last week we were in the fourth chapter of 2 Corinthians and it really spoke truth to what I am experiencing right now in Mexico.  I need to trust that the Lord is the God of time, comfort, power, and goodness:

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.  We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed… 

…Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

2 Corinthians 4:7-9, 16-17

Thank you for your support, prayers, and encouragement along this journey that I am taking with the Lord.  Please rest assure that God is moving through this huge city and that He is making us the missionaries needed to effectively reach the hearts of the broken. 

In Him,

Erik



*Also, I have received news this month that with the merger between Latin America Mission and United World Mission, we will no longer making a trip to Honduras this year.  With this change, I will be coming home for Christmas time to renew my Mexican Visa*

With that, I need to raise support to cover my travel expenses between Mexico and the States.  $600 in additional support is needed to cover my expenses and I will be praying for the monetary needs to come in. 

If you are interested in supporting this ministry or helping with the costs of my travel expenses, please email me at: erikhamiltoncole@gmail.com  

or visit my support page at:   http://www.lam.org/missionaries/erik-cole

Reality: I'm a Missionary Living in Mexico

Hello everyone!  Thank you for barring with me to get this first blog post straight from Mexico out to all of you waiting. It has been quite a whirlwind experience adjusting to the culture here and it also has been hard to find a moment that has allowed both free time and internet to get this post published!  And now, FINALLY, I can sit to collect my thoughts from the past week and a half and try to find a way to make it all fit in this blog post.

el 28 de septiembre {September 28^th}

It has been roughly 11 days to the hour since I have landed in this sea of 22 MILLION people.   Distrito Federal has had more than a handful of overwhelming moments {joyful, terrifying, simply overwhelming, exciting, & cultural} that have made me question what God has gotten me into.  Although these may feel like overwhelming experiences for me at times, I find comfort in knowing that this is where He needs me to be {despite the many other daily comforts that I am now starting to miss}.

There is so much to write about that I am going to highlight the, well, highlights so far while in la Ciudad de México:

Mi equipo {My Team}

Our Avance team is stacked this year aside from the fact that there are only four of us.  So as many of you guys know, I am the only hombre {guy} on the team along with three outgoing and God fearing hermanas de Cristo {sisters of Christ}!   We all have received our placements of ministry for the Fall and to say the least, we are ecstatic about these placements.

Amanda & Robin {from Virgina & Georgia}  will be working together this semester and are also roommates as well!  These girls on my team will be working with a ministry that serves the children at risk here in the city.  It is almost like a half-way house for kids that come to the ministry {mostly after school I believe} and help feed these kids, clothe them, and teach them both biblically and academically.  The Lord has lined this up well as both of these woman have huge hearts for kids and it seems to be a good fit.

Elizabeth {from Georgia as well} will be working for a ministry that assists people out of human trafficking.  She has been prepared well for this ministry placement as she has just graduated with a Bachelor’s in International Relations.  Lizzie will be working alongside with the Mexican lawyers at this ministry to help these victims of human trafficking to start their new lives.

For myself, I will be starting in my ministry placement next week hopefully.  I have my very first meeting with MILAMEX on Monday to check out the office there and see how I can start getting involved ASAP.  Otherwise, the placement with InterVarsity is yet to get on it’s way because my director is working out the detials with the Director of IV at la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México {UNAM}.

Our directors of our team are two couples that have been living here in the city as missionaries for many years.  Paul & Nydia and Kevin & Leah do a great job leading and serving us as a team. –Sometimes I don’t know how they do it because life here has been so crazy over the past couple weeks.  They have been heading Avance together for the past two years and I feel that promising things are to come this year while learning from these wise and impressive couples.

Mi familia {My Family}

As part of the Avance experience, we each are placed in Mexican homes with real life Mexican families.  This aspect of the year-our is a fruitful experience as we are constantly being exposed to the culture and the language which makes for a perfect immersion experience!!

Mi “abuelita” {little grandma, ha… who is just a few years younger than my real life father} is one heck of a firecracker.  I know that we shouldn’t have favorites in the family but I am going to come right out with it –she is definitely my favorite haha.  We have cooked enchiladas {no translation haha}, gone down to el centro {downtown} and just this morning, went for an amazing walk through this city’s most beautiful park/forest/pyramid called El cerro de las estrellas  {The Hill of the Stars}, which was an incredible sight to see.

Mi abuelo {my grandpa} is very devoted to God and his testimony is very powerful.  He is a very sympathetic man who has a huge influence over this family.  I don’t get to see him much because he is off driving busses here in the city every other day.

Mis padres {my parents} are fun loving and love Christ very much {part time clowns for a ministry for kids on some weekends}!  They are very much part of the working class of Mexico and I admire how much the trust in the Lord to get by each day.

Mis hermanos {my siblings} here are a bit younger than I but that’s ok because they are teenagers who are able to fill me in on some of the lingo that I wouldn’t have been able to pick up on at the church or with my ministry haha.  Mimi is 15 and Josue Daniel is 18.

Otros ministerios en esta ciudad {Other Ministries in this City}

The Lord has been breaking my heart and showing me how ministry can be so very specific to our callings.  In this city I have seen and heard of so many cool opportunities that God is building in this City:

There is Jesuit outreach with a hostel {probably THE COOLEST hostel I’ve ever experienced} in the nicer part of the city.  This community has a very personal and intentional way of living!!

Other missionaries from Latin America Mission {LAM} are here building up Mexican missionaries that are being trained and sent out into Syria as we speak –eh, well as I type. haha

Many Christian churches are being planted throughout the downtown of the city and the way they are sustained is by a side businesses operated by church members and pastors.  This kind of business ranges from operating bus lines to opening up coffee shops in the city.  The urban outreach has been a very cool wave that has been going through this city as of late.

And now… All of the In-between

Personally, I feel very exhausted.  This could be due to the crazy change in altitude or maybe the constant thinking, speaking, and processing in Spanish almost all of the time.  –Please be praying because at times I feel like I could take a siesta for many, many, many hours. haha

I’ve started my Master’s Program with William Carey International University and this too has been one of those “overwhelming” experiences more or less.  I am only enrolled in 10 credits this trimester so it should be fairly manageable with all of the ministry work going on.  I am excited to learn about the Bible and the way of missions at an academic level.  –Please pray that I can set aside solid parts of my time to pursue this with all I’ve got!

Ohhhh español {Spanish}, this has always been a love/hate relationship and still is today.  I have my good and bad days.  My Spanish teacher Joshua is great and he is impressed with my Spanish skill and is very encouragiing.  However my abuelita {my unofficial Spanish teacher} thinks otherwise. haha  -Please be praying that my brain can skip past those lazy days and I can give it my all each day.

1,300 words later, my brain is about to fry out.  Please pray that I can find opportunities to keep my ministry updated as to how God is forming this experience so each time I sit down to write this out, it doesn’t take an hour and a half.

Dar Gracías {Giving Thanks}

As I am learning and practicing to orar {pray} in Spanish, I have been praying for this ministry that God has built.  Once again, to all the ministry partners, friends, and family: thank you.

Thank you for your prayers, financial support, and everything else in-between.   All of these resources that you are sending my way continually renews my passion and heart to serve the Lord at this capacity day by day.  I am also thankful that the Lord has led you to partner with me and witness how He is using this ministry to reach the hearts of the broken in the incredible city. 

2 Corinthians 4:15-16

All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.  Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

If you are not yet part of this ministry and would like to give financially to help support me, please inquire by emailing me at:
erikhamiltoncole@gmail.com

Otherwise, to support directly online, please visit:
http://www.lam.org/missionaries/erik-cole

9 Hours Until Departure!

As I woke up from my cool mid-September nap yesterday, I found that the past couple weeks have been a bit exhausting. Coming closer and closer to my date of deployment to Mexico City, my days have been filled with many goodbyes and followed by sleepless nights where my mind keeps turning and my body just wants to go to bed.

 In those hours spent where I can’t sleep {due to the exciting chapter ahead}, I reflect upon the past summer and what an experience it was faithfully following God. My mind puts me on this map of all the highs and lows that I walked through to pursue Him and this calling for me {a 6’3” white man} to Mexico City. Although we are blessed in every moment of our lives because of Christ’s love, I’ve come to a position of awe to witness how good, faithful, and all-powerful He is and how He has blessed this ministry so.

 On June 15th, I needed to put a game face on and I feared everything ahead of me in the well known season of support raising. I remember from that week that I struggled to see that this experience ahead was truly mine to pursue. All sorts of different of thoughts went screaming by in my mind:

 –Is this really for me, how do I raise $20,000? {I never seen so much money in my life.}
 -How will I find the right partners to come along side of me in ministry?

 Now today on September 16th {9 hours before departure} I sit here with all of those fears squashed because our Father in Heaven has His hands on this ministry and I am going to go live in one of the biggest cities in the world in two days whether I like it or not. {hmph} I’ve learned that living for the righteousness of His Kingdom and glory {Matthew 6:33}, all things will be given to us according to His will. God wants me there. God wants me to share life with the Mexicans of this grand city. And lastly, God has provided abundantly:

 -Today this ministry that the Lord has provided is fully supported for the entire year! He has blessed me with an adventure of me panicking, writing letters, making calls, composing badgering text messages {you got to do what the Lord calls you to do haha}, and bringing together friends, family, neighbors and complete strangers to form this ministry to serve the Lord together. Through this adventure, I have found that the ones closest to me have come together to build this ministry up and the Lord is using this fellowship to reach the hearts of the broken in Central America!

 All my bags are packed {scary to think} and I am ready for this new season in life. The amount of growth ahead of me is overwhelming, however I am excited to see how the Lord is going to use our team this coming year! A sincere thank you to all of the partners of this ministry that are praying for my team and myself as we start lives of missionaries in Mexico City. Please be praying that we can transition smoothly into this new culture, new mindset, and new use of language. -Mexico, HERE WE COME.

 GOD IS GOOD AND HE IS FAITHFUL! -A BIG HALLELUJAH FOR THE LIVES TO BE SAVED IN MEXICO CITY!!

From Seven Months to Seven Days

Seven months ago, I anxiously hit the "submit" button for the application to join Latin America Mission in hopes to fulfill a calling from The Lord.  Since then, God has rained down affirmation upon this ministry and how I am to serve as a participant in their Avance program in Mexico City -one of the largest cities in the world.
I am writing to all of you in a humbled position where I find myself seven days from deployment with a wonderful ministry team of partners that have joined me in prayer in finance.  There is so much that I wish to write about/ share with/ give praise to and it comes to a point where I don't know where to start! This is the first official blog that I will be sharing during this 11 month journey in Mexico City and I am so excited to see how God is going to move in this metropolis.


How about we start with some praise?!
Particularly, it has been an interesting and stretching experience the last few months preparing for this year of service and trusting the Lord through it all.

I shout praise out to the Big Guy upstairs that my goal of $19,500 is almost reached!  As of today's date and my knowledge, the Lord has poured down blessings in finding partners to join me in ministry and I am happy to report that I am 95.5% supported! $18,500 -can you believe it?! 

I also give praise for the opportunities that God has set ahead of me while serving in Mexico City.  Officially as of September 3rd, I have been admitted to the William Carey International University and have enrolled in some pretty sweet courses that start in October for my Masters of Art in International Development with Ministry!

Next is that I have learned some great news from my ministry as of last week!  As many of you know, I will be serving with the Mexican branch of a campus ministry called InterVaristy.  However, I will also be serving with a Christian publication house called MILAMEX.  With MILAMEX, I will be utilizing everything learned at Oshkosh as I will be their photographer for their monthly magazine, doing some documentary and heres the zinger: helping produce radio programming for woman in the Mexico City area.  -I can't believe that every part of my Radio/TV/Film degree will be put to use this coming year.

One last thing to keep this blog relatively short is that I have been able to get in contact with my Spanish tutor prior to deployment over Skype and so far, so good!  My Spanish isn't as rusty as I had thought, however there is much room for improvement!  Turns out in May, my team and myself will be taking a comprehension test at the University of Mexico to see how our language skill is at.  If passing, we will receive a certificate indicating that Spanish is indeed one of our official languages - how cool?!


As the date of deployment sneaks up closer and closer, there are many ways we can be praying for myself and this ministry!

Please pray for my team as we prepare for this year of service.  Pray that our talents and passions can be used together to make a fruitful impact on this city.  As we prepare for our deployment, also pray against spiritual warfare as the enemy knows that great things are about to be done for our Father's Great Kingdom.

Please pray for communication skills.  A few of us on the team knows Spanish well, however it is not a native tongue to any of us so please pray that we can effectively fall into the culture at its routes to better understand this new world around us.

A praise/prayer request is that I have been placed in a Cell Group with the campus ministry that I will be working with.  Since there are no other men on my team, this Cell group is crucial for my growth with the Lord where I can find complete transparency. Please pray for this group that I can fall into place with these guys so we can then take off running! 

One last prayer request is a financial one  -Praise the Lord that almost all of the year's support has come in! However, there are still a handful of prospective partners that I am in communication with as of now and I am still praying for partners to come on board at $25, $50, and $100 in monthly finance and prayer.  It would be awesome to reach my goal prior to leaving and also to surpass it so then there can be funds to travel back to the States or for any other financial things that may come up during this year out!


Thank you to all who is reading this blog and praying for this ministry!  I praise the Lord for this wonderful opportunity that will completely change my life and I am also thankful to have all of you to be part of it!  I am excited to know that the next blog that you are to read will be coming straight from Mexico City itself!       ¡Bendiciones!


Please email me at erikhamiltoncole@gmail.com if you have any questions, prayer requests, etc.