Blog - 61 Isaiah

College Bound- Michael

June 13, 2021 by Kristi Hopkins Leave a Comment

He isn’t the kind of kid that blends in. You will notice him where ever he is. And I believe God will use that characteristic to bring Him glory. Michael wants to be in the ministry and has a love for studying God’s word. This combined with his magnetic personality is sure to make a great pastor or missionary. As Michael studies at the Baptist University of the Americas in San Antonio, pray 2 Peter 3:18 over him, may he “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Michael Cruz:

Dear reader,

I hope the Lord is blessing you beyond measure and you can feel his love for you today and forever. Let me tell you a bit about myself. My parents have always been involved in my local church. I grew up in a Christian environment my whole life. Even though we did not have the resources for Christian education, the Lord provided a way. Abundant Life Christian School added me to their scholarship program “Horizontes Dilatados/Expanded Horizons”. ALCS is part of who I am. Without this type of education, I wouldn’t speak English nor would I be involved in mission work with the Slyker’s Family Ministry, ALCS teachers that God brought into my life.

Missionary Family & Their Impact on my Life

In December of 2017, God sent the people He would use to change my life and mindset. A couple of weeks after meeting them, they invited me to translate for them in the villages. We have been in the middle of the mountains of Honduras sharing the love of Christ with those that need it. From weekly sermons and house visiting, to weddings and medical brigades. They didn’t have to invite me to be part of their ministry, but they did. They didn’t have to open the doors of their house to me, but they did. They didn’t have to accept me into their family, but they did. They didn’t have to love me, but they did. God used this family from my freshman year to today as a way to show his love for me. In September of 2019, He opened my eyes to His gospel through the labor of this family.

Called to Seminary

Ever since that moment I knew one thing, I was going to make every aspect and decision of my life for His kingdom and glory. For months I wasn’t sure what the Lord wanted me to do but in July of this past year, I learned what’s in the next stage of my life. During the first months of quarantine I developed a desire to learn more about God’s Word. I started reading multiple books and articles, watching tons of seminary lectures, and talking about them with my friends. Then it hit me, the Lord is calling me to seminary. If I want to serve the Lord to the best of my abilities, I should get trained in His Word. I believe seminary is where I should go because I enjoy reading theological books. At seminary, I will also learn how to balance everything in order to have a Christ-centered life, loving and caring for those around me because that is what matters the most.

Plans for Mission Field

For the next couple of years I want to grow closer in my relationship with God and develop academically in order to write articles, books, and help others do the same through social media. The most important reason why I want to attend seminary is because I want to be a missionary. Less than 1% of Christians are missionaries and I believe the Lord is calling me to the field. Though I love academics, my purpose in the kingdom of God is to reach those that haven´t heard of Jesus Christ. I’d like to become a full time missionary overseas working with pastors in the villages of Asia and Africa. I want to help them spiritually and economically. It breaks my heart to know that thousands of kids die from starvation or other preventable diseases. I would like to set up churches, orphanages, and job opportunities for those that need them the most. Yet, I can also see myself coming back to my home country. Poverty and corruption is so embedded in our culture that it’s normal to see kids in the villages that haven’t showered in weeks or months. I would love to supply spiritual and material aid for them.

I am thankful for ALCS and for the opportunities it has given me. From now on, I will serve and worship my God alone, both in the academia and on the field.

Sincerly,

Michael Cruz

College bound- Jose Ruben

June 10, 2021 by Kristi Hopkins Leave a Comment

Texas is finally getting someone (besides Tyler)… And he is an amazing young man. When we moved here, Tyler struggled to find his place. And Jose Ruben helped tremendously with this. There is no telling how many games of Monopoly deal, Pokémon and chess these two have played together. He not only has been a good friend to Tyler but is an all around great kid. He has a strong sense of right and wrong and stands by his morals. He is confident in who he is and is happy to help in whatever way he can. He also doesn’t mind telling you the truth so only ask his opinion if you really want it 😂. As a teacher, I love this though because he will be a spokesman for his classmates and let us know how we can be better teachers. As president of our school he has led well, he serves well and he has great things in store for him. Read on to find out more about Jose Ruben.

Jose Ruben:

Throughout my life, I learned from different places the value of life and our duty to preserve it even if it is not specifically ours. It was thanks to the people I interacted with that I learned more about myself, how life is, and what I want to change in it. Within the last few years, I was able to participate in all kinds of activities that have formed me, like clay, into what I am today.

Experience is the Best Teacher

My first year of high school, I realized growing up meant being independent since it was my first year without my sister, who graduated and moved to college a few months before. The best memory I had was when the Juniors asked us to support them in a fundraiser for school supplies for a local kindergarten of only 20 children that was functioning on the salary of the principal. I had the chance to be part of the group that would deliver the supplies and spend time with the kids. It was so much fun to play and draw with the toddlers. The experience revealed the truth to me, that you are never too young to help others, and that I was actually capable of investing my time and effort into helping others.

The Things you Learn from Involvement

During my sophomore year, I spent most of my time discovering new hobbies and thngs I liked to get involved in. I got more involved in competitions against other students in chess, checkers, and even basketball. September is the patriotic month for Honduras as most patriotic holidays land on that month, and this year we were asked to represent an ethnic group. We only had a week to do the research and make a banner, dishes, and a station to present our group. I remember working the day before on the banner for 6 hours with my classmates. That night I realized that you waste more time and energy whining about the work when you could finish early if you stopped whining. It was a tough night, but thankfully I had a team that showed me pretty clearly how it is always too early to give up.

Leadership

For most part of my life, I thought that leading or being the one in charge was something easy and natural for me as I fulfilled several leading positions in my class. Last year, our school was holding elections for the school council and I decided to run for president as I had several ideas that I wanted to put in place in the school. I ended up winning the elections and now I had the responsibilities of the school council in my hands. I would be lying if I said I did not struggle at the beginning, and I believed I was fully prepared for what was coming, yet I learned more about leading, organizing, and that you can never be overly prepared. I was able to organize and lead a clothing and toy fundraising for the children of the local hospital around the time of Christmas.

COVID-19 & Family

Everyone was affected by COVID-19 in a variety of ways, but in my case, it was more the stress and preoccupation that came from it more than anything else. My parents are doctors, and their work place holds the risk of exposure to the virus. The first few months I was worried for their health, but they were more worried about my health and our family’s health. It hurt me to see them avoid any kind of hug, kiss or contact with anyone in the family for most of our time in quarantine. Even though I did not like it, I understood their reason behind it since I have adopted their philosophy of doing whatever it takes to increase the chances of saving a life.

Who I am today is all due to these kinds of events that have sharpened my skills and given me the ideals that I have today. I expect to keep learning from my mistakes and from interactions with all kinds of people.

My Journey from Condemnation to Grace

June 5, 2021 by Jeff Holloway 6 Comments

During my freshman year in college while playing football at Ranger Jr. College one of my teammates was killed in a car accident. Even though I had been trained to share the gospel and had spent 7 weeks having breakfast, lunch, and dinner with him, I had not shared the gospel with him. In fact, I had never shared my faith with anyone personally. God used this to convict me of one of my core beliefs – I needed to make sharing the gospel part of my life as often as I had the opportunity. With this, God called me into the ministry and I began serving at Calvary Baptist Church in Cisco, Texas.

Conviction & Judgement

Through the years, God has continued to grow me and show me other core values to apply in the ministry He has called me to. One such core value came from a journey I had in desiring to help teenagers I was serving. In an effort to help people, I would look for the struggles and difficulties in their lives. I began to see everyone as a project and look for their problems. I became critical and dark. All I could see were problems, struggles, difficulties and sin. This developed in me a condemning, judgmental, and harsh nature. I could only see people as the sin they struggled with. My faith had become more of trying to make sure those in my ministry lived up to the standards that I felt they needed to be and since I was so hard on myself, I was hard on those around me. In the midst of this struggle God used a mentor, Dr. Frankie Rainey, to show me a core value that would change my life and my ministry. As I was sharing with him about the weight and urgency of helping so many and the overwhelming amount of sin in my life and in the lives of those around me, He simply reminded me I was to join Christ in the ministry of restoration and redemption. I was not to be in the role of the Holy Spirit or God. Conviction and judgement were not my responsibility. I needed to see people as Christ did. Each and every person was created by God to bring Him glory. He desires that each and every person come to repentance and eternal life. “For God so loved the world he gave His only son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

I needed to begin to see people as God created them, for His glory. I needed to see them as people He loves and desires a relationship with. As people that are full of potential and possibility in Christ (Colossians 3:12-14). I needed to be a person of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience (Romans 8). I needed to start forgiving as the Lord forgave me. God challenged me to move from a place of condemnation and judgment, to one of grace and mercy. I needed to learn to trust that not only is salvation a work of God, but sanctification is a work of God as well. I had to remember I was not the fixer in their lives; my job was and is to simply bare witness to the gospel. The good news is that “While we were still sinners Christ died for us” and the life we now live, we live in Him (Romans 5:8 & Ephesians 1). I had to come to trust that those who truly know and believe in Christ do not have to be bent to my will (I can be wrong and have been many times). Those who believe will not only be changed but will also desire to be changed from the conviction of the Holy Spirit who lives within them.

Instead of living in a world of darkness I was called to live in the light, knowing that “God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). I realized that I was to approach people understanding how much I had been forgiven and that I too once lived according to the flesh. When I read Scripture, I found that those who were treated with sharp words by Jesus were those religious leaders who had enslaved the people to legalism and man-made rule and law. They treated those who were under their care as subjects and not people who were dearly loved. In Matthew 18, Scripture clearly teaches that the way I am to treat others is to forgive since I have been forgiven so much. He actually calls the servant wicked who did not forgive, but held people to account for his own betterment (vs.32).

Wonderfully Made

People are not my projects designed to make me look and feel better about how I fixed them. They are wonderful, amazing creations of God created for His glory. He loves them and desires that all come to repentance and I should love them as well. My life had to change. I needed to look at everyone I met through the eyes of Christ and join Him in His ministry as He looked out and saw them, “Harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). His words on the cross to those who stood there and those who were part of killing him were, “Father forgive them, they know not what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

I began to live life seeing people as wonderfully and beautifully made by God and full of amazing potential and promise. All people. God has not given me the ability to read minds and know motivations of the heart. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. My work is to share the gospel, the good news “that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). I am to love God and love others, to shepherd the sheep by tending to them and caring for them. The correction I give must be done in love and out of a heart that desires to see them drawn to God and not scattered from God. It should be that of a loving, kind, compassionate, gentle, humble, and patient person who puts up with a lot and doesn’t seek their own way and desires but instead seeks the will of the Father. With this God changed me and I purposely began to live life by choosing to see the best in people, assuming the best from people, not assuming they meant to do harm (although they may have caused harm or even meant to cause harm) but assuming they did not know what they were doing. I am fully aware that people are capable of meaning to do evil but that is for God to discern. I would rather be wrong assuming the best than be wrong assuming the worst. I will always err on the side of grace. ”But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such there is no Law” (Galatians 5:22-23).

It has not always been easy to live like this. As a leader, many people grew frustrated with me over my decisions to be graceful and merciful, especially when it didn’t fit with what seemed to be just. There are many times when I held my ground on this principle because I knew what it was like to go down that dark road of condemnation and judgment. I will answer to God if I was graceful and showed mercy and I was not supposed to (I don’t find a Scripture that tells me to withhold grace and mercy). God has also convicted me to treat those who are frustrated with the same grace and mercy. I am given some solace in that I will be judged with the same measure of judgement I give out but I am also fearful of those times I was judgmental and condemning (Matthew 7:1-2).

Work in Honduras

I believe with this core value God has prepared me in a very unique way for the mission field here in Northwestern Honduras. I have had many years of refining and now as I go into the villages I see everyone as a wonderful opportunity to share the amazing truth with. Instead of seeing each village and person for their problems I see them as people who God dearly loves. There is potential to see the kingdom increase in each individual and in the church as a whole. The problems they face are not obstacles at all for God and we know that it is by grace through faith that they will be saved, not of themselves. When they are saved God has prepared a work for them.

My only sadness is for those whom I come in contact with, who choose to miss out on the abundant life that God has for them (John 10:10). I am saddened for those who miss out on such a great salvation or to know such a great Savior and choose to live life in the darkness of seeing everyone else through such harsh eyes. My prayer is that they are set free to completely trust in the work of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the work of the Holy Sprit and His convicting power, and the overall work of God in His amazing grace and love. It is not my job nor is it in my power to change lives. It is and will always be the work of God. I am simply a vessel He has decided to use by His grace and mercy.

I am so thrilled to be joined with 61 Isaiah Ministries who has at the heart of their core values that we are walking with people and not simply completing projects. Our Core Values are Prayer, Gospel Saturation, Education, Empowering Local Leaders, and Breaking Cycles of Poverty. All of these core values are about loving God and loving others, bringing people to relationship with God and His people.

Walking with them through good times and bad, in poverty or plenty, in sickness and wellness; not giving up but pressing on and persevering (Shannon would say having grit). None of us are perfect but we are all on this journey together in the unity that can only come from God’s amazing grace and love.

The life of a MK

June 2, 2021 by Kristi Hopkins 3 Comments

Psalm 89:19-26

I have prayed this scripture over Tyler for years; praying that he would be like David, a warrior for God’s glory, a shepherd, a leader, a man after God’s own heart, “I have bestowed strength on a warrior; I have exalted a young man from among the people.” It is now time for me to watch from a little further away but with my knees still bent in prayer, for Tyler to be the man God has raised him up to be. Look out Texas, this young man is heading your way!

As I said with the other students: pray for them, write to them, send them care packages and pray for their parents (we are not ok)!

Tyler:

I was born in Texas; however, when I turned eight, my family moved as missionaries to Honduras. It was there that I spent the next ten years of my life learning the intricacies of a very different culture. This was incredibly difficult in a way that is not describable in words; it is something you must experience. Without a doubt, I would not have been able to transition without God working in my life. The first few years I was angry at God, therefore, those first few years were some of the loneliest, most miserable years of my life. I was bitter and angry at everyone for making me leave what I knew behind. This continued until I eventually started to seek God again. He changed me, took away the pain that I had, and made it into something better.

God Helped Me Love the People Around Me

As I saw tragedy in Honduras, God helped me love the people around me. For example, we were hit by two back-to-back hurricanes this year. During the hurricanes the electricity was sporadic at best, water lines were broken, communication was halted, and all major roads in and out of Gracias were destroyed. Seeing all this destruction, and being hopeless to help, changed me. My dad was in the US at a speaking engagement when the second, and most destructive hurricane hit, which made things even more worrisome as I needed to help my mom care for everything.

Nonetheless, an experience like this changes you, seeing all the death and destruction, all the pain and fear, and being hopeless to help. There is a saying that my father has, and it is one of my favorite phrases. It is, “Life can make you bitter, or it can make you better.” That is the attitude you must have if you want to come back from something like this and not be utterly broken. So that is what I did. I focused on what I could do to help instead of how it hurt. Our ministry raised thousands of dollars and spent many hours bagging and moving food to those in need. We also worked to rebuild houses, repair roofs, and help displaced families relocate.

I Have Learned

Through all this, we were changed. There is no walking away unscathed. My perspective has grown, and I have learned to appreciate what I have and what I can do to help. Now it is not a question of “Is there is something to do?” but “will I be willing to do it?” Those are the types of lessons that can not be taught in a classroom but must be learned through experiencing life, and despite all that has happened, I am glad that I was able to learn such a rare and valuable lesson.

The difficulties and experiences with Christ and in life, affected how I grew up. They have affected my values and my priorities, and they have changed the way that I view the world. Now it is all about how I allow God to work in my life.

College bound- Diana

May 28, 2021 by Kristi Hopkins 2 Comments

Two years ago, a new girl in our school came up to me after psychology class with big tears in her eyes. Did I realize that I had given her a 99% and was there anything she could do improve this retched grade? As I assured her that it was a perfectly good grade, she walked away silently cursing me in her head. And so our relationship began. I am relieved to tell you that are rocky start improved drastically over the years. She has made me a better teacher in so many ways. I have been privileged to see this young lady grow into a child of God, more confident in who she is and who she belongs to. She loves the Lord. She loves others. And while she doesn’t beat around the bush, she says truth with such sweetness that you can help but love her. Calvin, she will make your college better. She will push and encourage others to do their best and she will always, always do her best. Just give your professors a heads-up, a 99% won’t be good enough.

Diana:

Since I was little, I attended a bilingual school and by the time I was 5 years old I was able to read and write in Spanish, and also how to read in English. I was always characterized by being the responsible girl in my class. Even when I was little, I was that annoying girl that always reminded the professor about the homework. I did have a lot of friends, but they were always judgmental. You know what they say about little kids, they are always brutally honest. I grew up always being judged on how I looked because I was a chubby girl, while my classmates were all skinny. As I grew up, I didn’t focus on that but just on school and the great price that I would get if I put all of my efforts into it.

Bullied

My life outside of school is quite diverse, I like to draw and paint. I am very passionate about animals and the environment, so I always try to reduce the plastic I consume and take care of the animals around me. I discovered my talent to do art after a quite tragic event. I have always been in this school from Santa Rosa, the city I was born in, but I began to suffer bullying from the girls there. They would always tell me how bad I looked or how fat I was. It affected me in such a way that I didn’t want to attend school anymore. My grades, perhaps, were not affected I would always try to shut their mouths with my grades. That didn’t work, they continued to do it. My self-esteem was at its lowest and even a tiny bit of affection made me cry. That is when I realized how important mental health was for a human being.

Got Help & Found Jesus

My parents started to notice these changes in my behavior and decided to take action on it. I went to the psychiatrist and he made me realize that my life is worthy and that those girls that bothered me would be broken for what they did to me for the rest of their lives while I lived happily. Another thing that helped me a lot was changing schools, when that happened, I met God and accepted Jesus in my heart. From that day on my life has been full of wonders and new things to be happy about every day. That is when I got to discover that part of me that was hidden, the most beautiful talent I could ever own, painting, and drawing.

I Can Do Great Things For Others

I mostly like oil paintings but I like to draw and paint with any one thing that is presented to me. I am ambitious when it comes to my dreams and plans for my future. I want to invent so many things to better the quality of human life, yet I lack that knowledge. That is the sole reason which powers my desire to apply to a well-known University, to bring improvement and these new projects that I have in mind. Like in the field that I want to specialize in, I would love to create apps or even new computer programs. My career is not determined yet, but I do know that I want to be a great engineer. I also like chemistry and the fact of creating new items for daily life astonishes me. The knowledge that I would get from going to college would be immensely useful for my future and I need you to allow me to collaborate in the community. I can do great things for my country and for others around the globe.