Jesus did not call me to be comfortable

On Monday we will have been here in PA for three weeks. Crazy how time flies. We have been catching up with friends, enjoying meals with grandparents, hanging out with my brothers and parents, seeing other relatives, and meeting with ministry partners and supporters. To you this probably sounds like a great time, but there are a lot of emotions that come with spending time with people in this area. Being here, we both have sensed a feeling of being comfortable. As I was playing in a church softball game this past week, it felt comfortable for the 10th summer in a row. I had the privilege of leading a worship team at Dillsburg BIC this past Sunday. It felt comfortable to be back in that role after the hundreds of times I’ve been on that stage. I have been able to help my brothers with their mowing business a few days. It felt comfortable to get my boots on, mow, weed wack, and run a blower. I was able to hang out and play some basketball and spike ball with some of my college friends last weekend. My friends are who I feel comfortable around, speaking the language that I am comfortable with. I have to constantly remind myself that...

JESUS DID NOT CALL ME TO BE COMFORTABLE.

He called me to take up my cross and follow Him. 

In Matthew 16:24 Jesus tells his disciples, “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” (Berean Study Bible)

“Radical obedience to Christ is not easy... It's not comfort, not health, not wealth, and not prosperity in this world. Radical obedience to Christ risks losing all these things. But in the end, such risk finds its reward in Christ. And he is more than enough for us.” – David Platt

“I could not help but think that somewhere along the way we had missed what was radical about our faith and replaced it with what is comfortable.” – David Platt

Being a follower of Christ I should not be comfortable – I don’t know what will come and so the only thing I can do next is to trust God. I have a vision and plans to start an after-school program as one of the first steps with Push The Rock. Krishauna has plans to start a special education training program for teachers. Do we both have all the details laid out? Absolutely not. Do we have vision and passion? Absolutely. Do we know what both ministries will look like next year at this time? Nope. Are we afraid, anxious, worried, and uncomfortable? Oh yeah. Are we the most qualified? Highly doubtful. Do we enjoy asking people for their money? Ha, yeah so much fun *sarcasm*. Do we believe God will provide no matter how much our budget is? Well we have to or else we aren’t putting our full trust in Him, but it's so hard. Has God called us? Well, we probably wouldn’t be in Guatemala if it wasn’t for His calling and our obedience to that call.

You don’t know how much it means to hear those of you who have said, 'we have been reading your updates' or 'we have been praying for you.' We are so thankful for your excitement to see us and to give us hugs. If you didn’t realize, the Holy Spirit is speaking through you to encourage us whether it is through audible words, a hug, a smile, or message or e-mail.

Our first steps as we head back are to find a new house to rent and finalize and sign paperwork to purchase our vehicle. We need to move houses because there is not a garage or place to park the vehicle where we currently live. We will be staying in the area we live now. We came to that decision because of connections with have made with different ministries and people, the very friendly town and area, accessibility to the city, Antigua, and the airport, and the amount of resources that are nearby. Lord willing, my residency paperwork will be completed and we can take the next steps to getting a DPI card (ID card) and Guatemalan driver’s license. These two items we are also currently working on for Shauna because of her name change. We ask for your prayers for these things!

I will be posting again before we leave, hopefully with many more photos of our time here, and also more specific details of what plans will be for the after-school program and vision of Push The Rock Guatemala!

This weekend I will be cheering on Dillsburg BIC quizzers at the national finals. Brings back lots of great memories, but one of the greatest memories was in the championship quiz in California in 2012. I jumped on a question, was able to finish the question and give the answer early in the quiz, and will never forget what that question was, "What is living and active?" THE WORD OF GOD. Keep in mind that The Word of God is not just a book, but is His Word to us, and it is constantly around us.

Jesus did not call me to be comfortable,

Andi

Ministry Update!

Well, like I said in my last update we had big news regarding ministry to share with you! We are now officially partnered with Push The Rock! Woo-hoo. The past couple months we have had many e-mails, video calls, letters, and details to work out, but now there will officially be a Push The Rock Guatemala office! Tuesday we visited the main headquarters here in PA and talked through some final items, We also were able to join for a staff picnic to meet many of the other employees too!

So to answer some of the questions you may have regarding working with both organizations keep on reading!

• Where do I give money to support you? 

• All donations and monies will continue to flow through Hope for Home Ministries (via www.hopeforhome.org or by sending donations to P.O. Box 393 Troy Ohio, 45373). Both organizations met and decided that this was the best course of action. Be sure to designate your gift to 'The Brubakers', 'Andi and Krishauna', or 'Push The Rock'.
• I am financially supporting you now, but I want to have more information about Push the Rock as an organization in general. How do I do that?
• Let us know and we can send your information and name to Push The Rock so that you can recieve updates and communication directly from them.
• Can I donate through the Push The Rock website to you?
• No, all donations will flow through Hope for Home. However, we will be listed on the website as staff and partners under the Guatemala section (this part of the website is currently being worked on.)
• Did your budget rise?
• Yes, because of joining Push The Rock along with living expenses and ministry expenses that we know will increase our budget has increased to $3,200 a month.
• What will you use the new money in your increased budget for?
• We are purchasing a vehicle in August so expenses that are associated with a vehicle, for example, insurance, gas, maintenence and upkeep. Slightly higher rent and utility costs as we look for a new house that has a garage or courtyard to park the vehicle inside. Ministry expenses as we both begin our respective ministries. Taxes due to increase in budget/salary.

We will be posting another update very soon about our trip back to PA and what we have been up to as well as how both of our visions for ministry have progressed.

We also still have a few bags of coffee and some scarves if anybody is interested!

For anyone who has questions or needs more explanation feel free to contact us via e-mail or Andi's cell 717-502-2183.

Andi and Krishauna