trusting in the 180s
Heading into our fourth month of ministry and end of the school year, we're being forced to evaluate the progress & obstacles we've encountered since we arrived. We're also re-evaluting our mission and vision in order to ensure we're on track or work on implementing necessary changes. Well, after a team meeting a few weeks ago, we all learned that changes were the order of the day. Layo, the National Director, had been praying about/discussing/contemplating our current reality as a team of 10 spit across 4 campuses spread out in San Salvador. My team of five is often faced with feeling like we're not making much of difference - the challenging staff can leave us seeming hands-tied...wheels spinning... The other team of 5 is struggling with feeling stretched-thin, responsible to take over an existing ministry and weekly meeting, while launching a completely new movement on a wealthy, post-modern drenched campus. Now these obstacles aren't anything we can't handle - especially when we're trusting God to do big things in this country - but they do threaten to cripple our strategic vision.
After talking with our team leaders, Trevor and Kristen, Layo has decided that right now - the best way our STINT team can be most effective and strategic is to focus on one campus - Matias Delgado - to build up a model movement that will be the foundation for building up movements on other campuses. It will eventually act as a kind of training model for the staff on the other Universities.
Matias isn't one of the two campuses that my team of 5 has been working on - so this month will be a prayerful one for us as we prepare to be learners of the campus come January. But our team of 10 will finally be united and under the same schedules (Monday-Thursday 9-3; Staff meetings and Admin stuff on Fridays). A few current realities for the campus are: It's the wealthiest in the country - it is comprised of wealthy students (or, future leaders of El Salvador); Religious views are very "western," post-modern beliefs permeate more abundantly than the other campuses; there is no established movement or national staff currently working on this campus.
This is an opportunity for us to start fresh. New campus (for half of us). New team. New students. New ideas. A time to inspire a stronger partnership and have a more focused mission and vision.
Our biggest question was what happens on the 3 other campuses we've invested these past months on? What happens to all those students? Each of those campuses has national staff working on them (there are 6). We don't plan to let go of those friendships and relationships. Our goal is to keep in touch and continue building them up in their relationships with Christ - but to also connect them with Staff. We HAVE to trust in the Staff here and their ability to continue pouring into these students. To give them resources and to encourage them to be involved in their campuses growing movements. And trust that God is still on these campuses and will be working in and through these students for his glory!
For me, the thought of leaving students has been the hardest... but yesterday as we made plans for a beach day with some students during their Christmas break, I was filled with assurance and peace that we aren't abandoning them. That it will be possible to still be involved in their lives. Yes, it will look different, but I know that God doesn't need ME there to make changes in these students lives. To draw them closer to Him. So now, I am clinging to the truth that God's plans and bigger and better than my own. And that I can be obedient in taking this step of faith with my team.
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