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.
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.
-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
