Sunday, August 30, 2009

The Opposite of Ignorance


Seven sharp young people from Costa Rica and Bolivia are spending six weeks in what we call FormaciĆ³n Intensiva. During this time our team is intentionally investing in them in many ways: teaching, mentoring, and conversing at meal times. Together they are studying the life and strategy of Christ, cross-cultural communication, a chronological study of the Old Testament, and basic missions principles. We even watch pertinent movies together and discuss their content – this week it was Luther, a great modern bio-pic about the church reformer.

One of these young missionaries is Joana Quiroga. Joana is from Bolivia and is family to us. I don’t say “like family,” because certain people won their way into our hearts during our twelve years in Bolivia, and Joana is one we have loved from the moment she was born. Her mom is Norma’s older sister, so that makes Joana a “granddaughter” to us. She is 23 years old and is a top-notch missionary, serving on our team in Cochabamba, Bolivia, ministering to children. She is staying with us on weekends during these six weeks.

Here are some of Joana’s thoughts after finishing her first week in Formation 2009.

I’m so happy to be in Costa Rica and to be part of the Formation group. It’s been a week of blessing - studying the life of Christ, the Bible, communication and more! “The mark of spiritual maturity is not how much you understand, but how much you put to use. In the spiritual realm, the opposite of ignorance is not knowledge, but obedience.” –H. Hendrix

God has put a huge challenge in front of me, and I pray that the Father’s desire for me will be become more real each day: to be an authentic disciple of Jesus Christ.

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