ONWARD Page 2 November 2006

FROM DOWN SOUTH

Emily Moore, graduate student from Mayodan Moravian Church, participating in a Rotary International scholars program, writes from Costa Rica:

Rotary International has provided me with this opportunity to test my abilities to serve others in challenging situations. Even though my Spanish speaking confidence and ability has improved immensely, I am still not a native Tica (Costa Rican). This is humbling to know I have lots of room to improve, but at times, frustrating because I want to communicate with the children here in an open and loving way.

One experience that brought me great joy was my visit to the Moravian church here in San Jose this past Sunday. I have been in contact with Br. Pixley since January because of his work with Br. Sam Gray and some of our other dear Moravian friends. I have enjoyed feeling emotionally and spiritually challenged.

I understand my motivation for service through my faith. Even though I find the Catholic Church of Costa Rica fascinating in many ways because it is so foreign to me, it was very comforting to worship with other Moravians. The Moravian Church is an international Protestant church that believes in serving others through unconditional love. A group of Moravians assisted the Nicaraguans, Hondurans, and El Salvadorans during the civil wars in the 1980s. The Moravian church offered people an outlet for education and service within their community in order to rebuild their communities and war torn hearts. The group of Nicaraguans at the church in San Jose had left Nicaragua during the war to start a new life in a more economically stable country like Costa Rica. I am excited that I had the chance to observe this new energy for this post war community.

I love the fact that the Moravians celebrate diversity not only ethnically, but in our ways of worship as well. I enjoyed getting to know Senor Pixley and his wife, who led the worship service. The church was very simple, precious, and appropriate for its function to serve the community. I was immediately greeted with hugs and surrounded by children who at first, stared at me as if I were the first blonde, blue-eyed person that they had seen and then all dragged me to sit with them.

Even though I have grown accustomed to feeling as a minority or the "other" for the first time in my life (which I highly recommend for each of you to try to put yourself in this situation), I felt accepted and loved in this new community. They addressed me as their sister and I became immersed in congregational singing. I knew several of the tunes, but obviously not the words in Spanish. The members all sang at the top of their lungs in sheer joy to worship freely. I sometimes wonder why we as Americans take this freedom for granted. It was beautiful to hear scripture in another language and feel connected even though I did not know every word.

The one song that I loved singing was "Estoy Bien con Mi Dios," which in English is "It Is Well With My Soul." I hope to visit this church again and possibly the English speaking Moravian churches on the Atlantic coast for Easter since that will be a hard holiday for me to experience away from home. To all my Moravian friends, I want you to know that your Moravian friends in Central America send their greetings and love. They are a very active and growing population, but are in desperate need of new, up to date hymnals. They only have general hymnals from the 1960s..ask your congregations if they have any extras to send and contact me.

FROM THE DEEP SOUTH

Shawn Meade, A Canadian Moravian serving with Argentine Children’s Mission, writes from Argentina:

Our winter, if one from Canada can call it that, was a very mild one here this year. As the Argentines, have apparently learned, this means we are looking forward to a very, very hot summer, which will mean a shortage of water, and much sickness in the Villas, which the all too many ghettos are called.

Thanks you to all who have stood by through our birth pains. “When a woman is in labour, she has pain, because her hour has not yet come. But when the child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish, because of the joy of having brought a human being into this world.” John 16: 21. We are spirit beings birthing people into the spirit world.

I will tell you we have pain now and we are in great anguish. Our directive as believers is to minister to the needy person, first making the lost aware of God’s wondrous plan for their lives, then the believer now willing in the spirit, to minister to the total person, body, soul and spirit based on the teachings of Christ.

Ministry is a life’s work. It is much more than a desire to help children, to feed the hungry or to minister to the lost. It necessitates a “pure moral choice” in Christ, what is right. A conviction of who I am, “Woe is me. I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips…” Isaiah 6:5. With all our haughtiness and egotism, this is who we are. When we receive by grace this conviction we fall to the ground, nowhere to turn or run. Peter cried out, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man…” Luke 5:8. Without conviction of what we are and repentance there can be no knowing the Lord and God’s Spirit of truth.

Birth pangs – but now the joy! Oh that you could share this joy – what our Lord is doing here, through you. The word of MANA’s labors in the Villa Molino Blanco is becoming known; also in the “Villa Flores”, the most renowned and dangerous neighborhood in the city where murder, drugs and alcohol and sex addictions are rampant. I feel drawn by the Holy Spirit into these neighborhoods…by Christ’s love. And as I was privileged to be, I am to this day, your servant. My deepest love to you all.