It has been a long time since I felt like blogging. Partly, I feel that I have been too busy to breath and actually allow myself to think about what to say. Now on the other hand, it's hard to blog having forgotten  my password for my OLD SCHOOL blog.  Oh, that Old School blog!

Let me give you a short history on my relationship with blogging. Way before myspace, facebook, blogspot, tumblr, and twitter were known , there was a site called xanga. In 2002 a girlfriend introduced me to the idea of blogging and since I liked her, I decided to get an account. To be honest, I didn't really like it. With time, I found myself really enjoying expressing ideas in that way, and started writing everything. The inevitable happened and she broke up with me; leaving Juanito  stuck thousands of miles away from home, learning a lot, yet feeling really lonely.  Blogging became a way in which God worked in my heart and helped me cope with my life alone in the U.S.  From wrestling on living out my faith on a real way,  breakups , being homesick, mistakes, joys,  being laid off, moving, traveling,... that blog became a great way to externalize in a healthy way what God was doing.  Through sitting down and writing the little mishaps of the ecuadorian kid, God taught me a lot and I experienced God on ways that I had never experienced before.  I grew in my faith rapidly and with my growth the blog also grew. I still remember traveling with www.onetruth.com and hearing from random people how they had found my blog and God somehow used it in their lives.  One of those visitors actually ended up key on me being able to pay my college years.. crazy heh?!

Anyways, why am I saying all of this? Because I have been praying for God to do something in my heart and the last week has found me wresstling and getting beat up (with love) by a God who is relentless on showing me that He has a beautiful plan ahead.

Yesterday, my wife and I were on the roof of the building shooting a video with our friends from http://www.halleproject.org/ and it hit me. The beautiful Quito skyline was reminded me that God has a beautiful horizon ahead.  A horizon that I have not been able to enjoy or think clearly because I have been reacting to not let go of what has happened before. Not just the situations and memories, but I see that I am holding to wanting to see God work on the same ways that He used to or he had done it in the past. I was convicted that I want to experience Him in the same ways that I did when I was sitting down alone in my apartment, late at night writing those blog entries and how that propelled me to the day to day life.

God was reminding me on that roof that the best is yet to come. To let go. To go back to enjoying Him for who HE is and not for who He has been. He has been faithful and true, yet there is much of God to experience and learn. To enjoy time with Him without thinking too much on what should be my correct, perfect response. To sit still and know that He is God.  So today, as I gave up on waiting for that response email to reset my password, I am closing that page convinced that I haven't seen anything yet. Convinced that God will work in beautiful ways. Convinced that I need to let God be God (for my own JOY). To be reminded of the principles, to go back to basics, to find my first love every day.  To live by Faith and how that looks like now as I lead my beautiful wife here in Quito... Ecuador here we come (again!)


Grace and Peace,
j

"Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.” Matthew 9:17

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.  And one [seraphim] called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.  And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!  Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.  And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”  And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”  And he said, “Go" (Isaiah 6:1-9)

The hand of the Lord is always upon us, moving and shaping and guiding our existence according to His perfectly sovereign plan.  And the Lord's hand has been visibly evident in my life leading up to and during my time in Quito, Ecuador.

My name is Andrew, although my students call me Mr. Berndt, and I am just completing my three month student teaching semester in mathematics here at the Alliance Academy International.  (As a quick background, I am 23 years old and just graduated from Wheaton College (Illinois) this past May, and am currently working on a Master's Degree in the Art of Teaching from Wheaton College (Illinois) as well.)  Although I knew the Lord was orchestrating something as I prepared to depart for Quito back in August, I was unprepared for the "far more abundantly than all that we ask or think" that I was about to become immersed in (Ephesians 3:20).

Student teaching at the Alliance Academy International and living on campus in the school dorm (yes, living in the school dorm) are two experiences that I will not soon forget (yes, not soon forget).  In terms of student teaching, the Lord has been so gracious to me as I've prepared my lessons plans for Algebra 1 and Algebra 2, as I've taught those lesson plans while making adjustments on the fly and managing my classroom, as I've written quizzes and tests that are fair for my students and allow them to show me what they have learned, as I've graded quizzes and tests fairly in order to assess what my students have learned, and as I've cultivated and developed relationships with my students that seek to love them where they are at.  But I believe that it is this last area in which the grace of God has been most dearly felt over these last three months.  Although my personality is by and large individual and introverted, one of the greatest joys in life that the Lord has placed within me is loving and serving others in relationship, especially others who might in some way look up to me.  And it is this great joy of mine that led me to pursue a vocation as a high school mathematics teacher.  From the first day of school until now my students have welcomed me and have sought to build a relationship with me in ways I did not anticipate, with arms open wide (both figuratively and literally).  Ending my time as a student teacher will not be hard, from an educational perspective, but from a relational perspective it might be one of the hardest things I've done yet in my young life.  Over the past three months my students have become so dear and precious to me that saying goodbye on Friday is going to be hard, but it is a goodbye that must take place and pray for more of God's grace in my preparation to return to the States.

But student teaching has been just the first derivative of my time in Quito; living in the dorm has been the second derivative, and the majority of the "far more abundantly."  At first thought, although convenient, living in the dorm didn't seem like it was going to be the most appealing option for me.  However, the Lord's hand directs and living in the dorm has turned out to be more than the best option.  And why is that?  Juan Fernando and Marissa Moncayo, who have in large measure been God's servants to me while in Ecuador.  Perhaps more than any married couple I have gotten to know, Juan and Marissa have presented to me a picture of the Ephesians 5 type of man and the Proverbs 31 type of woman, demonstrating their sacrificial love to the land and illustrating the love of Christ for His bride, the Church, to all they encounter.  In addition, the two of them are so rooted in the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that one time event that is announced as The Good News that transforms lives, that its proclamation shines brightly from within them almost every time we interact.  I remember one of my first conversations with Juan early on in my time here and him saying, "I'm really looking forward to getting to know you, bro, but also to be the kind of friend that can ask you the challenging and hard questions."  Perhaps this should have scared me and caused me to flee, but thanks to the power of the Gospel it drew me in.  As a young man, I clung to this opportunity for friendship and have literally sought out as many interactions as possible with Juan, looking to glean from him all that I can.  During my three months the Lord has provided numerous opportunities for a friendship to develop between Juan and I.  Whether going to church or hanging out in the dorm or talking about school or lifting weights in the gym or chopping it up about Gospel rap music (I never thought I would go to Ecuador and find someone as blessed by and interested in Gospel rap music as me!), Juan is always faithfully present with me to listen and speak into me as he is led by the Spirit.  So as I prepare to head back to the States, I am saddened by the fact that that means I have to say goodbye to my newly found and dear friends, Juan Fernando and Marissa Moncayo, who have been used by God as instruments in my sanctification.

In closing, Lord is good, abounding is steadfast love and spiritual blessings for His children.  As one of His children, I have received the love of God through His directing me to the Alliance Academy International and I have experienced His spiritual blessings in the form of relationships with my students and the Moncayos.  God is three times holy and the only one worthy of my praise, while I am the chief of sinners and worthy of condemnation.  But in Christ I have been washed as white as snow and am equipped to say with Isaiah, "Here I am!  Send me."  With the Lord's calling we go, and as we go we trust that all things work together for the good of those who love God and have been called according to His purposes, a tautology that cannot fail.  In coming to Quito the hand of the Lord has been evident, and I have been blessed far more abundantly than I could have ever thought or imagined.

Soli Deo Gloria.

Grace and Peace,
Andrew Berndt
Dear friends and family,


Here is a bit of what has been going on in our lives since our return from the US this Summer. Yes... we have 7 kids and you want to hear more about it. First we wanted to share with you what is going on with other areas of our ministry here. Thank you for reading this and your love!

Discipleship/Counseling
. The last few months have been heavy and heart breaking, as sin issues have come up with some members in the church. Sin promises a lot, but ends up destroying. Please pray for a few marriages that are on the line, because of brokenness from poor decisions, and heavy hearts due to health problems, finances, etc. On the other hand, the gospel is penetrating lives and people are maturing in their faith. This process is slow and intense and it's humbling to see how much more committed the Lord is to the sanctification of his church, than we are.
Please pray for us as the need for counselors
is great . The Lord has been so faithful to encourage us through this time through some great conversations and meetings with Ana Cecilia (who was saved last year and baptized during the Summer) and with Jonathan (a guy that was totally against church). They are both growing so much and it has been a privilege to see how the gospel is transforming their lives! Ana Cecilia is becoming a prayer warrior and an avid reader, that is zealous for loving and encouraging people with the Word. Jonathan has become a champion on understanding and sharing the importance of community and church to his friends, who he previously told the opposite. Please pray for them.
Related to this point, please pray for my awesome MARIS as she is planning on finishing her NANC certification. This will be huge, not only for the church plant and lack of biblical counseling in Ecuador, but as a tool for our extended ministry with the School.

Teaching. Coming back from the states I have had the privilege of teaching often. After closing the book of Ephesians, we
had a short Biblical Counseling series on the gospel as a filter for life. This series resulted in an intense Q&A session, that I was able to moderate. Finally, last week I was able to launch our new series on the book of Genesis. Please pray for this new series as we are a lot of visitors checking out the church and and we have a lot of baby Christians.

Networking . Last year the first missions organization to come to Ecuador announced that they were closing Ecuador as a field. One of the missionaries that stayed in Ecuador approached me a few months ago and asked me to meet with a leader of one of the churches that they had planted 30 years ago. This church was one of the strongest in Quito. It has been through a lot and is currently dying. Please pray for the Lord's wisdom on this. At the same time, right before getting this call, we had been praying for an opportunity to rent a local or find something not that expensive to buy. We have had a really hard time with this and are at capacity level at our current local (living room from one of the members that got saved last year) The church that we met with (the one I was speaking of above), has offered us to use their property for free.

Training
. We wanted to ask for your prayers as BILD international is allowing us to launch an Antioch School in Ecuador. We have a cohort of 6 people that the leadership of the church has been pouring into. They will be the first to start this official training program. Our prayer is for this program to help us train leaders for our church plant and eventually to provide this program on a national level. Currently Compassion Connection has a Bible Institute and we are excited for this opportunity.

Dorm Parenting. I could write a 2 page update only on this point. It has been an area that the Lord is using majorly in our lives to stretch us and to learn to rely more on Him. We are loving being dorm parents and we are hit daily with the potential to make a difference in the lives of the kids that we have been entrusted with. From the relationship with our kids that are mature in the Lord and the opportunity to disciple them and their friends from school because of our role as "parents"; to our hearts understanding on a deeper level, of the sovereignty of God as we deal with students from other cultures that don't speak the language well, or other students asking tough questions about God and struggling with the transition. We love them a lot. We covet your prayers. Also, we have made great friendship with the student teachers that are staying at the dorm, please pray for them as they have been a great encouragement. One of them might even do a guest update in the future.


Moncayo's moving the U.S. Please pray for my family (Fernando and Dalila). The instability in Ecuador is a major reality and my dad was laid off last Friday. I am so thankful that the Lord is sovereign over all events, but it's hard to see how unfair and evil a "system" could be with the people that have served so faithfully and love their country.
I am thankful that one of the beautiful aspects of the cross, is that Jesus died to bring justice and there is a comfort in that. In the same way, there is a bigger desire in our hearts for people to know Him and put their trust on Him and not false ideas of hope.Through it all, my parents are confident that the Lord is the provider and they will be OK. Please pray for them and us in this transition. They are planning on moving to the U.S. in February and they are looking forward to spending time with my sister, her husband and little baby in CA. On a personal note, please pray for Ecuador and the "rumors" of new laws that would continue to take the liberties of many and especially heavily infringe on the freedom to worship or the type of work that we do here.

Support. Please continue to pray for us as we seek to raise support. We have been serving in Ecuador with the small stipend that the school provides, yet the last few months have been a wake up call to realize that we need to plan ahead in case something happens and that we need to be more careful and purposeful on raising support. We love Ecuador and we see the importance of the work that the Lord has for us here. Please consider partnering with us in this.


Some other prayer requests.


Children's Ministry. We are helping or teaching at "Fuentecita" the children's ministry of our church.

Chapel. We are speaking for Elementary Chapel on October the 27th.

Gospel Community Group. It meets at our house weekly. Please pray for our relationships there to continue to deepen and for opportunities to be missional to our city of Quito.

The Truth Project. We will be leading Focus on the Family's Truth project for the staff at the School. Please pray for us to encourage and have a good influence to many people in leadership in this community.

The Master's College. Please pray for us and a great group of students from TMC as we are going to be able to minister together during the Summer of 2012. Please pray for all the planning and prep work that has to happen until then.

Bendiciones desde latitud 0. We would love to hear from you!

Los Moncayos
Hi Everyone,

I want to start off by saying thank you! After our last update, we were showered with emails that reminded us in a practical way of God's love for us shown by your love and your commitment to be part of our lives! We are both feeling a lot better. Maris was able to fight that cold within a week or two and I finished my meds. and haven't had symptoms in a little over a week. By the way... shingles= not fun.

Speaking of shingles, apparently in Ecuador they prescribe people that are coming out of them with anti-depressants so that you don't have a recurrence. I do not like to take medicines and this has been a challenging and humbling time. If you know me, I LOVE to be busy and cross things of my to-do-list. With these medicines I have become a zombie and it's extremely hard to get up and get on a rhythm not to mention that by early afternoon, I am ready to go to bed. My wife has been such an encouragement and has been so understanding, patient and loving with me, but it has been hard. Everything has taken double the time to do. It takes a lot of work to just engage in conversations, and specially try to keep up with my students with special needs.

On the other hand, the Lord has really taught me a lot of things that I know I believe mentally, but I see I have a hard time living them out. He has been teaching me that His love for me is not dependent in how busy I am nor how many things I do for Him a day, but just on His Grace and Christ's death on the cross.

I just wanted to take a moment to share and be honest with you about what the Lord has been teaching me. For some reason, I see that in the back of my mind I end up feeling guilty if I don't give you "something worth reading" about how God is working in Ecuador. By God's grace we can say that everything that we have done accounts to NOTHING compared to what Christ did and we celebrated a few Sunday's ago. Christ gave it all on the cross so that our identity as a (teacher, missionary, pastor, business man, mom, dad, husband, fill in the blank) is based on His work and not ours.

Tonight I wanted to encourage you to take the time that you would spend reading of what the Lord is doing in Ecuador and spend it being reminded of everything that you have and that which He has already done in your life!

Love you and can't wait to see you this summer,
IN Christ,
Jota

P.S. Yes... there is much to update you on. I didn't plan to write this but it's what God put in my heart.
P.S.#2 This took me way to long to write!

Welcome Banner For ICEC
Originally uploaded by followdason
Maris and I were able to take the facilitator class for the Truth Project as well as network with a lot of teachers from all over the region. We were encouraged by their testimony and to see how the Lord is working in the lives of millions of people through Christian Education Worldwide. On a random note, it was also encouraging to connect with other "cross cultural" couples that are in the same type of trenches and were able to share some wisdom. It was a blessing!

I have to be honest and say that through the whole International Conference my mind was thinking a lot and all over the place. AAI asked me to do 3 workshops for Ecuadorian teachers for the joint day of the conference with Ecadorian Educators on Saturday. I have never done something like that in Spanish and its an understatement that it was a big stretch and way out of my comfort zone. I have to add that I not only had to prep for the conference but my talk was selected as one of the workshops that got radio promotion on HCJB (major local radio station) during premier airing time!
After I got over myself and was reminded of how the Lord has been so faithful to always come through and that He is the one infront as I humble myself (did i mention that I was sick, slept 2 hours and my English set-up of Power point would not cooperate with Spanish characters?) The talk went great and I was able to connect with my audience. This was specially tricky because let's face it...I have a baby face and culturally, people expect to see an older seasoned professional to be presenting in these types of conferences. God reminded me of Timothy and how it is not about me but to be faithful to His word and let HIm do the work. One of the most encouraging parts of my time was that people left really moved by thinking of the greatness of God and our key role as vessels for Him. Speaking of that I met a lady that decided to go to the conference because of the radio interview. She was in tears as she had been fighting trying to help her child through painful years of schooling. She said that the workshop didn't only allow her to get practical advice on how to love and help his son, but reminded her of God's sovereignty, perfect plan and love through it all. All that to say, the Lord was so faithful to work beyond all my human frailties to bring glory to Himself and at the end of the day, I looked back to see such beauty in so many details.
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