June 2009 Whew! What a month!
Highlights for June:
• Tim Graduates from High School!
• Hannah is going to Uganda this fall!
• 25th wedding anniversary! A Milestone to remember!
• Busy Summer schedule begins
• Our 2 year anniversary of working in Mexico
First of all I want to say that WE SERVE AN AWESOME GOD! Life is busy, exciting and sometimes overwhelming with a myriad of emotions flooding our minds. However, our life here in Mexico is extremely good!
Tim Graduates from High School!
Congrats Tim! We are so proud of you! (more details previous BLOG entry)
Hannah is going to Uganda!
Dear Friends and Family,
As many of you have heard and few of you are about to find out, I'm heading to Uganda this fall with Empower A Child. I've always had a heart for missions as well as for working with children, and this seems the perfect combination of the two. Also it will serve as practicum credit for my double major in Bible and Theology and Intercultural studies at Multnomah University.
I've been working with kids all of my life. From working with children on the slopes of Mt. Rose as a ski/ snowboard instructor to the childcare provider position at Kids Kottage, an emergency shelter for youth ranging from 0-18, I've always had a heart and a love for children.
Global awareness spurring into social action came greatly as a result of the work of my youth pastors who also had a heart for the cries of the oppressed. My eyes were opened and I saw past my comfortable middle class American bubble and into the lives of the world around me. My heart ached for the broken, both globally and locally and I had to do something.
Locally I've worked as a mentor for abused and neglected children. More recently I've spent hours on the streets of downtown Portland engaging with the homeless; sharing food, laughter, tears and friendship. The time has come for me to go global with my heart of compassion. I've done volunteer work and public demonstrations with Invisible Children, an organization that seeks to change apathy into activism by means of films and movements focused on the oppression in Uganda. I've also done mission work in various parts of Mexico, as have my parents who, as you may have heard, are career missionaries in Ensendada, Mexico. But I have never done missions on such a large scale, culturally and over such a long period of time. I plan on being in Uganda from Early September (Sept 5) through the end of November; hopefully arriving back to the states before Thanksgiving. Specific dates are pending. More concrete details will be disclosed down the road (as I can afford plane tickets).
Because of the compassion specifically for Ugandan children spurred on by the work with Invisible children and also my work with children over the years, I have a huge heart for the work Empower a Child does.
Their mission statement is:
Empower A Child seeks to bring confidence and self-sustainability to orphaned and vulnerable children of Uganda by teaching modern skills, giving the opportunity of education, and enlightening through the word of God.I’ll be working with various orphanages and youth centers, staying in villages and interacting with and loving the local kids. To learn more about the organization I'm going with, check out their website at:
http://www.empower-a-child.org/I know that this is what God wants me to be doing and where he wants me to be doing it. I ask for your prayer and support as I embark on this adventure. Pray for confidence, courage, and a level head in God's work that He's calling me to do and the preparations to get there. Financially, I need about 5,000 for airfare, travel expenses, travel insurance, immunizations, room and board and administrative fees by August 1st. I am confident that God will accomplish the work he has called me to do, no matter what the financial situation is in the world. Thank you for your time. Please pray for this trip, pray for the children in Uganda, and God bless.
~Hannah Glavor
address: MSC# 480
8435 NE Glisan St.
Portland, OR 97220
skype name: hglavor
email: bananaflavor@gmail.com
web blog:
http://bananaflavor.wordpress.com/All donations will be received through Agua Viva Ministries which is an international, tax-exempt 501(c )(3) nonprofit Christian organization. All gifts are fully deductible to the donor under the extent of applicable law.
checks to:
Agua Viva Ministries
In the note area please designate that
this is for: Glavor Family/Uganda
Mailing Address:
Agua Viva Ministries
PO Box 1488
Lemon Grove, CA 91946
donations via PayPal
Follow the link and write “Glavor Family/Uganda”
under the “Please specify donation fund” area
http://www.aguaviva.com/getting-involved/financial-supportThank you helping send Hannah to Uganda!
June 23rd was our 25th wedding anniversary! WooHOO!
Psalm 34:3 “Glorify the Lord with me; and let us exalt His name together.”
This was our wedding verse. Typical for the Glavor family non-traditional ways…we spent the day working! Jeff was helping build a church and I was out visiting communities in preparation for upcoming projects, programs and clinics. We capped off the evening with a surprise celebration of cake and a reenactment of the marriage ceremony from our staff and the visiting group from Princess Bride (Mawage... twuu wuuv…) It was a great day!
The Lord has blessed us beyond measure! He has given us 25 tremendous years together and 2 amazing children. He has allowed us to have fulfilling careers and now, a second career in missions; serving the Lord together side by side here in Mexico. We are still madly in love and can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store for us for the next 25 years!
Summer is Here!Last week was the first busy week of the summer onslaught of groups. It was spectacular! Our theme this summer is: “corazones valientes” (brave hearts). Amidst the fear of narco-border violence, economic woes of the United States and the swine flu; groups are still coming and serving. FYI: Agua Viva Ministries staff and guests have not seen or experienced any problems what so ever.
Our theme verse this year is Deuteronomy 31:8 “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
This last week was called: the Paraiso Project Power Week and it was incredible! We had a Church from Elk Grove, CA come build a church from the ground up in 4 days.
Paraiso (Paradise) is a small agricultural community nestled in the foot hills south of Ensenada. Most of the homes lack running water, the children are barefoot and electricity only reaches a quarter of the homes. This community swells in numbers with people from indigenous tribes throughout Mexico during the harvest season. Many people in this community have never heard the Gospel. The dirt road where this church is located is slated to become a major thoroughfare in the near future to connect three adjacent, rural, agricultural communities. A perfect location for the church!
Thursday night the new church was packed! Over 300 people from the community came out to the BBQ and the grand opening of the church. We hooked up the generator, the sound system and everything worked! The worship was amazing!! 8 adults made first time commitments to Christ! WooHOO! What a party! At VBS countless children prayed to receive Christ. There is now a church building with a strong leadership base of 20 families to help grow, disciple and meet the physical and spiritual needs of this community.
Many times I have struggled with the relevance of short-term missions. However, this week was a reminder to me that there definitely is a place and eternal results because of short-term partnerships. This is why we are here! We have the privilege to see this first hand. Studying scripture, I see that Paul was more a short-term missionary and Timothy was more like a long term guy. The Lord used both. It really puts my whiny complaints into perspective. We are so blessed to be here!
For more info on the Paraiso Project, follow this link:
http://www.aguaviva.com/milestones/lets-build-this-churchGlavor family prayer requests:
• Brent Searway (our director) fell at the work site last week and broke his arm. Pray for rapid healing.
• Pray for Agua Viva Ministries. The economy in both the US and Mexico has had an affect on all aspects of the ministry financially.
• Pray for continued unity of our staff as the days are warmer and longer.
• Jeff for stamina. He will be out doing construction most of the summer and also is coordinating groups
• Hannah is going to Uganda in September and needs to raise her support
• Tim is in Reno. Pray that he will make wise choices, continues to work and above all: Grow in his relationship with God.
• Glavor family finances
• Ineke for mental clarity and proper perspective in scheduling all the ministries and groups (Remembering who really is in control)
