Learning a new language kills any pride you may have left. But if you really want it bad enough, you will be willing to make many mistakes, then, learn from those mistakes in order to become better. This is true in anything we do in life. Mistakes cause us to reflect and to learn.
I beg the people to correct my horrible spanish but very few do. They are so thrilled that I am trying, (and sometimes laugh, or hold back from laughing at me) that they don't want to correct me. I've convinced only a few to "AYUDAME!" Help me! Then I explain to them that it is for their good as well, because how else will I learn to preach well enough without an interpretor.
Sometimes, throughout the day, after I have had a good conversation with the maid concerning anything in general, I have to hold back the tears and say to myself, "thank you Jesus," for giving me more and more pieces to this language every day. Sometimes during Paul's spanish class, he sits across the table from me, and at times I look at him and he is teary eyed. When I asked him why, he says it is because he is amazed at how I understand all the teacher is saying when she is rattling off so quickly and I am comprehending and answering her.
I struggle with perfectionism, as many of you know, and I forget to be thankful for what I can do instead of what I can't.
I was left at the beauty shop for 3 hours the other day, alone, without the pastor's wife to translate for me. At first I was very nervous, but I decided ....Superalo!, to "get over it" and just step out and spoke. Once I did, the ice was broken and I didn't care that my conjugation was perfect or that I forgot to put my direct object in front of the correct word, etc. etc. I just enjoyed the time in being able to be alone, without an interpretor, in a 3rd World Country, communicating with the people and making myself understood in their language. Who cares if I sounded like a 3 year old or 5 year old, I was being understood.
Fear and Pride have no place in the learning experience. NONE> When fear and pride come together, they become a powerful force to hinder you in whatever you do.
Sometimes I think God wants to see just what it will take to make us quit. It feels that way. So....do we bow down to the fear and pride, or do we stand up to it, like a giant in our lives? True faith has no fear! God is showing me this through perfecting the spanish language. Of course we know this in our heads and have heard it all our lives, but when you are facing that mountain.....confront it as a child would do, fully trusting in his father....without fear. Children learn things quickly, especially a 2nd language. They approach it without fear and have no pride to fight as they approach the new venture. Two children, speaking two completely different languages, can play together all day long without any thought of how they say things or if they are correct, yet, eventually and quickly, they learn each other's language.
So, my desire is to become as a little child, have the faith of a little child and simply step out and try.
"Superalo! Get over it!
What a fool I must look like or sound like, no matter how wonderful they tell me I am doing, one shouldn't have to SWEAT so much to carry on a conversation or to preach a simple message. My perfectionism is dying daily here in Honduras. Maybe that was God's plan all along. hmmmm.....I'm smiling.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Settling In
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| during the story time |
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| Audrey Dawne and I |
Val and I also had a wonderful prayer meeting with a very sweet Arab lady, Normita, whom I met many years ago. She has a gorgeous "mansion" which was originally her parents home. I asked a "million" questions, of course, and she told me her life story and that of her children, 2 of which are in the states, and her husband as well, as he is waiting for a kidney transplant. She runs a school for disabled children of all ages, with all kinds of disabilities. She shared with me stories of precious children with autism, down's syndrome, deaf, muscular dystrophy, etc. I told her I had volunteered work with adults with the same disabilities twice a week for 3 years back in the states and just loved that job. We were able to relate on so many levels. Then we prayed and prayed about so many things. I felt truly refreshed when I left her house. Prayer meetings like that are never boring or "work."
Then I went with Val to teach a bible lesson to the children and feed them donuts afterwards. The donuts are such a very special treat for them. They could never afford such a luxury. The pics below are proof of this. I listened in amazement to Audrey Dawne(my name sake) interpret for her grandma, the bible lesson. She is only 13 but does an amazing job. I hope to be as fluent as she is some day. Sometimes, during the story, she took it upon herself to improvise and change what her grandma was saying a bit. I caught her several times and was trying not to laugh out loud for the children's sake. I was merely a spectator, along for the ride, but I did get to talk to several of the children and babies one on one, which I so enjoy.
We are now in Tocoa, with Pastors Helio and Yesi Robleto, enjoying our new home for the next 4 1/2 months. It was good seeing so many faces I remembered from our last visits here, last night at church. It wasn't so good being put on the spot, when Helio asked me to come up and interpret for Paul while he prayed. You should have seen the look on my face! I told him he had the spirit of my dad, by pulling me up in front of everyone, unplanned and making me do something I didn't necessarily want to do. So, I began to speak in Spanish first by explaining how scared I was. (everyone laughed) Then, I leaned over to Paul and told him to pray a SHORT prayer, then repeated in spanish to everyone what I told Paul and they laughed again. I was so so scared and nervous. I did a horrible job(in my eyes) but they understood anyway. Oh Lord! I guess they appreciate me trying. So, while we are still standing before the congregation, Helio proceeds to announce that Paul will preach this Sunday and I will translate then next Sunday I will preach in Spanish. My mouth dropped completely open wide and everyone was rolling with laughter. I turned to look at Pastor Helio, who was taking a picture of us and said, "ONLY if God supernaturally gives me the language in the next 4 days." He just laughed. (Someone will translate for us both, unless a miracle happens in me.)
He is putting us through bootcamp, bringing a teacher in 5 days a week to teach Paul Spanish and to communicate with me. She speaks NOT ONE WORD of English. If Paul makes it through an hour and a half class five days a week, I will be amazed. Last time in Honduras, when we were here for almost 2 months, he couldn't take much more than 30 minutes at a time and he needed a break. It does stretch your brain!!!
So, all of you can pray for us. Helio is on a mission to have us speaking spanish. I do ok talking with their housekeeper and Yesi all day, but when we are put in front of the church, it is a whole different story. I am constantly reminded of my favorite verse in the bible,"Apart for Me you can do NOTHING," Jesus said.
And so....the journey begins.
(PS. I will be sharing with the young people on Saturday and teaching a new dance to the dance team for a special meeting on December 22, which will last all day and night until 5 am. So...more to pray about. :)
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| coloring time(she would not smile for anything) |
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| He is a little doll, and he wasn't going to be left out without a donut! |
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| Look at that smile. Donuts make them smile. |
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| Big sister taking care of her little brother. She would pat and love on him like she was the mother. So precious. |
Milagro para Gaby (miracle for Gaby)
Dark hair and eyes and a magnetic smile radiate from this little girl of only 5 years old. At least that is the age they believe her to be. When her soon to be adoptive parents first laid eyes on her she was only 18 pounds at the age of 3. No one is for certain how old she really is since her past is extremely vague. She was found on the streets and brought to a lady in Tegus, (short for Tegucigalpa) Honduras. This lady called some American missionaries and asked if they would be interested in trying to work with her, love her and to help her gain weight and restore her health. Of course, they said yes. At first Gaby, the frail little girl, was very fearful and scared of everyone. If anyone would try to hold her she would bite, kick, hit and scream. Then, at times she would retreat somewhere deep within her own self to try and "hide" and no one seemed to be able to reach her. One can only imagine the torment, torture or fear she must have endured at such a young age. To look at her now, you would never know she ever lacked food, love or attention.
I got to meet Gaby last week for the first time, up in the mountains of Seguatepeque. She took to me right away, or maybe it was I who took to her. She is a doll. Being raised by American missionaries who haven't conquered the spanish language yet, Gaby's English is very good. In fact, she hardly remembers her native tongue at all.
{ Men pretending to be officials with the adoption agency and orphanage have been to the missionaries home a few times, inquiring about Gaby and always showing great interest in her ability to speak english and as to how well she is doing with her english. The missionaries have since learned that these people are indeed not officials but are only interested in selling Gaby into prostitution as she can bring much more money if she speaks english. The last time these men tried to take Gaby away from the missionaries, the mother got on the phone and called the real officials and found out they hadn't sent anyone, so she told the "bad" men to leave her house immediately. }
So Gaby took my hand and pull me out onto the huge front porch of the house where she is now living. She then pulled the cushions off of the outdoor furniture and sat down with her new puppy, pulling on my jeans, commanding me to sit down with her. "I like your earrings and your necklace is very pretty," she said, as she twirlled a part of my hair around and around her finger. Then she reached down to pick up my camera and said, "take a picture of me and you." I obeyed. Then she giggled after I showed her the picture of us. "Again, again!!" she said, so I obliged. Then she reached up to touch my eyelashes, and said, "I like your eyelashes.". I said, "Thank you, and I like your smile." Gaby then laid her head on my shoulder for a few minutes and hugged my neck, an action her soon-to-be mother said is not common at all with strangers.
I had to fight back the tears. Little did Gaby know as she touched my eyelashes, that she touched my heart as well. She has no idea the life that awaits her, and the miracle that she is, having been rescued and soon to be adopted by a precious couple who took the time to take her in and unlock her fears, all because of the love of Jesus. A miracle indeed, for Gaby.....Love.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
5 $EED DEED
Many years ago I set out to memorize the book of James. James just seems to lay it out so plainly as to how every true Christian should walk, think or act. It’s such a wonderful book full of simple, yet, profound teachings and instructions.
Mailing address: Paul and Dawne Erickson
Everyone wants to be blessed, right? In James 1:25 it says, “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his DEED.” In other words, simply put, if we read God’s Word, and hear it, but then DO what it says, we will be blessed in our DEEDS, our works. So many times we hear and hear and hear, but forget to act. According to James, we should do both.
All through scripture God speaks of giving, planting seed, walking by faith and trusting Him to meet our needs. Yet, sometimes it is just so hard for us to step out and do just that. Matthew 10:40-42 speaks about when you give to someone doing the work of the Lord, you receive the same reward as he who went and did the work. Even in I Samuel 30, King David established it as a law, that those who went into battle and those who stayed with the stuff got the same reward. Many people are unable to go, but they can still be a part by giving and by praying. Unfortunately, everything takes money to do anything.
My heart goes out to those who want to give but don’t have much or may be embarrassed to give just a small amount. No gift is too small. The second chapter of James says you should not show favor to the rich man instead of the poor man, or the one who can give much verses the one who can only give a little. Those who sacrificially give, as the poor widow did (Mark 12:41-44), are far more blessed in their DEED than those who give from their abundance. It takes no faith to give from abundance. Remember, once a SEED planted into good ground leaves your hand, there are NO limits to what God can do to bless that DEED. To many of you, $5.00 may be a huge sacrifice, as it has been for Paul and me many times, but I have stood in amazement, and through tears, as God blessed our small SEED DEEDS, over and above what we could ever imagine. God is so very good. Thus, our 5 $EED DEED was birthed. We want everyone to be able to give their SEED, no matter how great or small. When you do so, watch how blessed your DEED will be by giving to “one of the least of these,” as Paul and I most certainly are. Thank you for your gift.
Make checks payable to Paul Erickson,
Or for a tax deduction to Grove Christian Center
27847 S 623 Court
Grove, Ok. 74344
e-mail: dawne_of_creation@hotmail.com
follow us at: fromhisseedministries.blogspot.com
I would like to join Paul and Dawne Erickson, From His Seed Ministries, and be a World Changer by giving:
__ A one-time SEED gift of $________
__ A monthly $5.00 $EED DEED gift
__ A monthly SEED gift of another amount:
__$10 __$15 __$20 __$50 __$100 or Other $____
NAME _________________________________________
ADDRESS _________________________________________
_________________________________________
E-MAIL _________________________________________
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Honduras Newsletter
Dear family and friends,
The time has come, again, for Paul and I to answer a call for help. Honduras is calling our name. Pastor Helio Robleto, from Tocoa, Honduras, has been trying to get us to work fulltime by his side since 1995, when he briefly worked as a laborer in our construction business (he was in the states attending Bible College). He just expected us to pack up our 5 children and move south to Central America, right then and there. Well, as most of you know, I certainly would have, but the vision had to not only be mine, but Paul’s as well.
Most of you, that know me, know I have felt called to missionary work since I walked that long isle in the Baptist Church, at the age of nine, which confirmed that call on my life. But it wasn’t until 1978, when I spent 3 ½ months in Israel, on a kibbutz, that I knew for certain my life was forever changed. My heart had “missions” engraved upon it. While raising a family of 5 kids, I went on several mission trips to foreign lands, where my heart lies. Paul, on the other hand, having been a self-employed contractor and stone mason throughout our marriage of nearly 34 years, has far out-weighed me in “ministry” (as most people recognize it), by discipling and being a “father” to so many young men in his line of work, most had no father, and by teaching God’s word, weekly, in the Adult Sunday School class for 28 years. He truly loves to teach the Word and lives his life by doing just that.
God spoke to him several years ago and gave him the scripture in Isaiah 61:1-3, which says, “For the Spirit of the Sovereign God is upon me, for He has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor, He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, and to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to those held in bondage by satan.” As for myself, I have always just simply said, “Lord, send me. I will go anywhere for you, Lord.” One Sunday, my sister Rhonda, who is the pastor’s wife to my brother in law at GCC, handed out pieces of a puzzle to each person in the service that morning. She had written a scripture reference on each piece. We had come in late that service and she was standing in the back of the auditorium with the basket of pieces, and she asked me if I’d gotten my puzzle piece. I answered, “no.” So she reached into the basket of pieces, drew out and handed it to me. It read, “Isaiah 6:8.” I knew instantly what it said, having claimed that scripture many years before. So when she asked, “What does it say?” I told her the reference and then quoted the scripture which says, “[W]hom shall I send and who will go for us? And I said, ‘here am I, Lord, send me.’” She simply answered, “ Well, there you go.” Of course, I didn’t need confirmation, but it is always wonderful when God gives it to you, even in obscure ways, like a little puzzle piece. Of all the pieces left in her basket to hand me, it couldn’t have spoken to me more perfectly.
Since that time, and even years before and now, people are rallying for us to go. I remember 13 years ago, at an Aquire the Fire youth rally, I heard a song for the first time, and I quickly claimed it right then as my own mission statement and song. I even sang the chorus of this song at a mission banquet before I left for a 34 day mission trip to Zimbabwe, where I ministered and shared 39 times. The words to the song are as follows.
“There is a people, there is a land, that doesn’t know You as the Great I Am, we love Your Spirit, we preach Your Word, to those around us who may not have heard.
The world is dying without a clue, as to the knowledge of what you can do, we hold the answer, Your hand is near, and we can touch it, if we just draw near.
Chorus: Give me the heart of a World Changer, make me a servant to your divine call, help me to love, help me not to be a stranger, your people need you today, Lord, and I . . . want to reach them all.”
A little over 5 years ago, less than a year after my Daddy passed away, I was praying and fasting for several days, and God dropped our ministry name and logo into my spirit. “From His Seed Ministries.” My first thought was, perfect, because the loss of my father was still so prevalent in my mind; I thought, so true Lord, I am from his (Leon Vernon’s) seed. But the Lord quickly reminded me and clarified His purpose by saying, “From My SEED, Jesus, My Word, I will send you forth to share that Seed to the nations, but, yes, daughter, You are from your father’s seed, too, and that is a ‘good’ thing.”
Little did I know that over the next 5 years, we would be hit with such adversity that would delay that fulltime call, yet, when I prayed just two months ago, “Lord, when will we be fulltime?” The Lord responded, “What do you think you’ve been doing the last 18 months?” Most of you know the move we made to Kansas City this last year for our daughter Molly, who was in the hospital and unable to care for her children. We made that move strictly to help out, to take her newborn baby home from the hospital at two days old, to raise and care for him and to help her husband out with the other two children. It was truly, the most difficult, nightmarish trial or mission, as God called it, we have endured. All the while, it prepared us for this over 4 ½ month trip to Honduras, from November 26 to April 15, where we will teach and disciple new pastors and converts, from the mountain areas, to take the gospel back to their own people. We are going with an open heart and mind, willing to do whatever the Lord says and willing to go wherever he sends us from there.
Please hold us up in prayer and believe with us for the finances we need for this extended trip. No gift is too small when you give it to the work of the Lord. Zechariah 4:10 says to “not despise small beginnings.” We can never judge God’s work by human standards.
Consumed by His Call,
Paul and dawne. Erickson
Our Ministry Vision
Burning in our hearts is Isaiah 61:1-3: “For the Spirit of
the Sovereign God is upon me, for He has anointed me to preach the good news to
the poor, He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted and to proclaim liberty
to the captives and freedom to those held in bondage by satan.”
God has called us, once again, to the nation of Honduras.
There, Pastor Helio Robleto awaits to put us to work in meeting the needs of
his people, but not just the spiritual needs of evangelism, discipleship and
counseling; we’ll also help with building projects for the men, with new
ministries in the mountains and with practical life training for the church
ladies.
We have seen God move in the past and we are believing again
for the Lord to use us as channels of blessings for these precious people, so
they may be lives brought to Christ and trained for the work of the ministry.
Those who give a cup of water to a prophet of God receive the
same reward as the prophet, so those who give to others involved in God’s work
receive the same reward as those doing God’s work. King David of old established a principle:
those who are left behind with the stuff will equally share God’s generous
blessings with those who go into battle.
Come join us, and in doing your part, you’ll be a world
changer with us.
We are scheduled to leave for Honduras on November 26th,
2012, and will be returning on April 15, 2013.
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