Kristi Archives - 61 Isaiah

August 16, 2022 by Kristi Hopkins 1 Comment

I Cried Tears Over You

Any teacher will tell you that our students aren’t just “students,” they are our kids; a little family that God gives us to love for a year (sometimes more). And with love comes the privilege of walking with my kids in the good times, rejoicing in their triumphs, and cheering them on in their challenges. With this love comes walking in their struggles as well. Sometimes it’s providing the support they need and sometimes it’s crying right alongside them. Sometimes though it’s taking their struggles home. I don’t know if there are any teachers out there that truly leave their kids at school. We think about them. We pray for them. We want to wring their necks. We cry over them. Most of the time they have no idea. But this is what love looks like.

Allan is one that I have done all of the above with- I have rejoiced with him. I have wanted to shake him. I have prayed for him. I have cried for him. What a privilege it is to get to love him. And this kid loves people so well. When Shannon is gone, he jumps in to help with anything I need. And now to get to call him my brother in Christ, not just my student. Pray for Allan as he follows our Lord and Savior from now on.

The night Allan accepted Christ as his savior

And as we start back to school, pray for the teachers in your town as they love their little families this year; As they minister in their mission fields to the Allans in their classrooms.

January 14, 2022 by Kristi Hopkins 2 Comments

Guard the Calling

As any parent will tell you, silence is rare and golden. I am not saying that I don’t enjoy my kids because I do, but I also enjoy waking up and having a few quiet minutes before being “mom.” Sometimes though it doesn’t happen and I have had to learn to carve out quiet time elsewhere. Why you may ask, is this such a big deal?

I have been doing a study of 2 Timothy (which I highly recommend) and this is what God has impressed on my heart over the last several weeks: God has called me for a purpose (2 Tim. 2:21). I will lose sight of that purpose or miss when God calls me to do specific things within this calling if I do not guard this calling with the Holy Spirit (2 Tim. 1:14).

He can not correct, guide, and empower me if I am not taking time to listen; stop the inner dialog, and focus on the higher dialogue. Ideally, this happens in those early moments but sometimes it happens after dropping off a kid at their activity, watering my flowers, or cooking dinner.

This is when God confirms my calling to love my students the way He loves them, this is when he shows me how to make decisions like Him. This is when he renews my passion to help others “obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 2:10.) This is when my heart can cry “Abba, Father,” otherwise translated as the irreverent “Dad” instead of Lord (Romans 8:15).

I encourage you to find silence to listen to Dad. He has a calling on your life too (2 Tim. 2:21). I would love to hear what that calling is and how you guard this calling in your life.

2 Timothy 1:14 Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

2 Timothy 2:21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

August 20, 2021 by Kristi Hopkins 1 Comment

Understanding Unconditional Love

“I am a woman. I am invincible. I am tired.” These are the words that resonated with me as I read a book a friend gave me. I have spent my life looking at what needs to be done around me and doing it. And now I find myself with a list of roles both professionally and personally: teacher, counselor, supervisor of 19 people, academic director of an additional 21 people, lead missionary with a growing team, librarian, mom, wife, daughter, sister, mentor, doctoral student, and the list goes on. I am sure your list looks similar. I don’t think there is anything wrong with fulfilling the needs you see around you. But I am having to take a hard look at whether I apply these same “roles” to my spiritual life. Do I think God needs me to fulfill roles instead of believing he loves me even when I am unproductive? Of course in my head I believe this. But in my heart, way, way down deep, do I think I have to do certain things to be loved unconditionally? Isn’t this a contradiction? And yet, how many times do I check off certain boxes believing God is proud of me fulfilling my duties. Friend, I am here to tell you that unconditional love really doesn’t come with the conditions of teaching Sunday school, leading Bible study, mentoring, volunteering, or whatever you fill in the blank with.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Culture tells us that we have to hold everything together. But is this what is expected of us spiritually? He doesn’t ever say to get our lives together then go to Him. Or be all things to all people so we are viewed as the perfect Christian. No, when we go to Him for rest not only does He take our burdens but He makes clear that His burden is not heavy. He does not require that we put more work on ourselves so that we can be a “good Christian.” Quite the opposite. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Get rid of the expectations that you have placed on yourself or perhaps others have placed on you. When we rest in him, we relieve ourselves of religion and get to enjoy relationships. An unconditional acceptance and love without a checklist of productivity.

To be quite honest, I stink at this. School started for teachers this week. My to-do list is a mile long. I feel I have to fulfill all my duties flawlessly. I try regularly to give him my burdens only to find that I have taken them back later in the day. I get scared that if I am not perfect and not productive then I will disappoint the Father. But I am trying. And I am relieving myself of the guilt when I don’t measure up. Realizing that he loves me through my failure to perform. He desires to help us rest. Pray with me that I (and maybe you) will truly understand unconditional love and that perhaps we will even extend this love without expectations to others.

June 16, 2021 by Kristi Hopkins 1 Comment

Going “home”… or is it?

Tyler will graduate in a few short weeks and head “home” to college. Except in this case, home isn’t home. We left the US when Tyler was in 2nd grade. I am not sure how much he remembers living there. And while he has visited grandparents often, it isn’t quite the same. We call these children “third-culture” kids. They don’t fit into either culture- the one they were born in or the one they were raised in. Instead they are a combo of both cultures, maybe even the best of both cultures. I tell my students that if our cultures would learn from each other then we would all be better off. Perhaps this is exactly where Tyler is. He is a combination of both cultures, and I believe he is ready to face the challenges about to hit him.

Trust the Father

He is heading to Tarleton, our alma mater. He is joining the Corp of Cadets and plans to study mechanical engineering. This simultaneously terrifies, saddens and excites me. What if he gets lost; forgets which manners to use; doesn’t know the phrases teens use (how often is he around other US kids). He doesn’t look like your average international student, so he may not be given the same grace as others. And yet… Father is present there just like he is here. I have watched God mature Tyler into a loving, kind, smart servant. I have to trust Father will be there in those moments of insecurity: when he doesn’t know which songs to stand up on in church, how to two-step, or questions the culture he has been dropped into after 10 years.

He hasn’t had the same experiences teenagers in the US are used to: only driven a handful of times, never heard of homecoming, never been to a football game, prom, etc. Instead he has: volunteered at Fiesta Tipica, the Lenca Hunger Farm, mission teams, boxed and delivered food packages and the list goes on. He wasn’t given the same freedom as other teens but he has had different kinds of responsibility. Some might say Missionary Kids are free labor. I prefer to phrase it as “volunteers in training.” This has shaped his worldview to a large degree. He displays his faith in quiet servanthood. His prayer right now is not that he will adapt or not get homesick but instead that he will not miss opportunities to serve the Lord. Please join me in praying for him.

June 2, 2021 by Kristi Hopkins 3 Comments

The life of a MK

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.

Psalm 89:19-26

Tyler:

God Helped Me Love the People Around Me

I Have Learned

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