If you are into the Gospel...then you are into Growth.

It’s hard to believe that September of 2018 is nearing the end. We are close to the end of the school year here which means our normal schedule is going to change. Mid October we will be having our Dia Especial for our third trimester of our after-school program and we will be transitioning to once a week events for ‘summer break.’ We are looking forward to this change of schedule as it will allow time for other administrative items, communication, planning for 2019, and traveling. We will be traveling to Costa Rica in mid-November for a regional summit with Push The Rock. The staff from the four offices in Central and South America (Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, and Costa Rica) will gather together for a week of encouragement, growth, relaxation, accountability, seminars, worship, and we will have the opportunity to see some of the ministry going on in Costa Rica. On December 7^th we will be headed out again to the U.S. We will be staying with family in Pennsylvania, and will be making a trip to Ohio as well. Our schedule is already starting to fill up as we are meeting with people, seeing family and friends, speaking at a couple different churches (Dillsburg BIC on Dec 16^th and to the youth group of Mechanicsburg BIC on Dec 23^rd), and attending some Push The Rock related events and meetings. If you are interested in having some time to catch up with us send either of us an e-mail and we will put you on the list (and we can figure out a date closer to the time). Another benefit of us traveling back to the U.S. is that we are bringing PTR Guatemala t-shirts, coffee and a variety of other Guatemalan items for purchase which would work great as Christmas gifts 😊. Follow this link to see details: Guatemalan products (let us know if you are ordering coffee or chocolate covered coffee beans so we can plan accordingly).

I have been studying in the book of Colossians recently and this verse stuck out to me. 

"Colossians 1:6 In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace." 

To go along with my last blog update regarding not staying in 'The Same,' this verse shows that if you are into the gospel then you are into growth. The two cannot be disconnected. The gospel is constantly bearing fruit even if you don't realize it or can't see it. Fruit has seeds and certain seeds take days, months, or years to grow into plant or tree that bears fruit again. Planting a seed in someone's life might take a while to see fruit, but as Christ followers, as bearers of the fruit of the gospel, we are called to persevere and continue to plant seeds. When we look back at the day when we first understood God's grace, or committed our lives to following Jesus Christ, we can all say that we have grown in many ways. The seeds have grown, and hopefully have produced fruit and planted seeds in the lives of others. We cannot live out the gospel in our lives without growth. Each day before the kids in our after-school program enter our house we spend a short time in prayer with all the volunteers that are helping for that day. We ask God to help us be His hands and feet, that our attitudes, our leadership, our love toward the kids would be a representation of Him. We spend time each day learning different stories from the Bible about who Jesus was and other people that followed Him. We have faith and confidence that seeds are being planted and we pray that God will do a work in the lives of the kids that come into the program. We cannot force the kids to follow Christ, we can only be bearers of the gospel, and show how the grace of God has impacted our lives. It is Our Heavenly Father who does the work. However, we need to show those around us that if we believe in Jesus and believe in the gospel that we are growing, because if we are into the gospel then we are into growth.

How are you growing? 

It is a question for myself as well. Are we rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as we were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness? (Col 2:7) Are we trying to become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ? Moving on from being infants who are tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Are we speaking the truth in love, and growing to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ? (Eph 4:13-15) Are we encouraging and spurring one another on toward love? (Heb 10:24) Are we letting our light shine before others? (Matthew 5:16) Below is a photo that captures the idea of encouragement and love so beautifully. They are two brothers who joined our program about a month and a half ago. 

Here are some other great photos of what's been happening in the after-school program.

We love our little boy so much and he already loves being a sports fan :)

 

 

We continue to grow and strive to do our best spreading the fruit of the gospel. We would love your prayers as we continue to do this. Have an amazing day celebrating the life and purpose that Our Heavenly Father has given you. 

Muchas gracias de Guatemala,

Andi, Krishauna, and Sammy

If you have any questions or want to know more about our ministry and what we are doing in Guatemala send us an email at abrubaker@pushtherock.org or 
krishauna@hopeforhome.org.

If you feel God is calling you to support us financially you can go to 

pushtherock.org/donate and find Andi Brubaker on the drop down menu or hopeforhome.org/donate and designate your gift to Andi and Krishauna.