Safely in Atlanta...

We have landed safely in Atlanta!

Day 6: Last Day with the Kids...

First off, sorry for not writing yesterday, the internet here decided not to work. I'll double blog yesterday and today now.

Yesterday was a hard working day. It didn't rain, so that means it was hot! We continued working on projects from the previous day, and then did VBS again with these kids. Let me just tell you, I don't think the kids will ever forget the story of Saul & David in the cave! A great time was had by all.

Today was our last day at work and with the kids. Most of us worked, however Mackenzie Sampson and I made an unexpected trip to Poyo. It seems that while working yesterday, she broke a bone in her foot. So we got it x-rayed and set. She's doing ok, but prayers would be greatly appreciated!

This will be my last post until we are back in the states. Early tomorrow morning we leave for Quito to start home. Prayers for safe travels would be great!

In Christ,

jon walton

Day 4: Hard Work & Awesome Worship...

Sorry for the late blogging today, we have had a busy day. 

It started with us rising early to go to work at La Casa de Fe. Today was our first day of construction and as it does often here in Ecuador, it was raining. Hard. We walked there (1.5 miles) in the rain, then began work on various projects... In the rain. Some people were clearing pipe lines from overgrown weeds and grass, some people were cleaning out drainage lines that had gotten stopped up, some people were using shovels and rakes to level land, and some people were helping the teachers at the school to take down their classrooms. It was a hard morning of work, but the rain kept us cool.

After lunch, we had our first day of vbs with the kids. I gotta say, this team did an amazing job at the skit, singing songs in Spanish, playing games with the kids, and working on a craft with them. It was a super fun afternoon!

Lastly, we closed out the day by eating a meal with all the staff at La Casa de Fe. This is volunteers from all over. That was good, but the real treat came afterwards. We all got together and had an amazing time of worship, singing songs and praising our One True King, Jesus. There are no words to express just how amazing this was! They are an amazing group of Christ followers and it was an honor to praise with them.

A couple more days of serving, then we will be heading back to the states. Thanks for all your prayers, as of tonight, everyone seems to be doing good, ankles are healing up and Chris is able to walk pretty well. Keep praying for us!

In Christ,

jon walton

P. S. I'm posting all the pics to my twitter feed. It's just way easier. You can see them by going to twitter.com and searching for "youthpastorjon"

Day 3: A Day of "Rest"

On Sundays here, pretty much nothing work wise goes on. That doesn't mean we didn't get to have some amazing experiences. 

This morning we got to go to church with some of the older kids from Casa de Fe. It was an amazing moment of worship when singing songs to The Lord in different languages!

After that, we grabbed some lunch and then headed back to Casa de Fe for a jungle hike with some of the local missonaries. It was a steep, muddy trail, but it was incredibly beautiful!

Ben got really into it...

Tomorrow, we will start VBS with the kids, and construction. They have several projects lined up for us and I am so excited to get started! A couple of prayer requests:

Mackenzie twisted her ankle today, please add her to the injured list.

Carrie Frederick & Dakota Keller are feeling sick, please pray for them.

In Christ,

jon walton

Day 2: Fun with the kids!

Today we got to hang out with the kids. It was a lot of fun! Some of us played soccer with them, (which turned into a mud fight) some of us took some kids to the park, some of us played with the toddlers at La Casa de Fe, and some of us played frisbee and jumped rope with them. Just spending time with these kids is a blessing. 

A couple of prayer request updates:

Chris bought a cane today and has been taking it easy on his knee. He says it's feeling better, but please keep praying for him.

Lee twisted his ankle today. It is wrapped and he is keeping it elevated.

In Christ,

jon walton

Made It! (June 19th blog)

Our team has arrived safely in Shell, Ecuador. It has been a long 24 hours of travel, but The LORD provided everything we needed along the way. 

A couple if prayer requests:

Chris Hogan stepped in a large, deep hole last night at a bathroom stop and his leg is hurting pretty bad. Please pray for healing!

A suitcase was missing at the airport. There were no donations in it, but 2 girls clothes were. Please pray the airport finds it!

We have a full work day ahead of us, pray for strength on our team! Thanks everyone!

In Christ,

jon walton

First Day: Donations and Rest...

Today was a wonderful day. Getting to see old friends is always a blessing, but getting hugs from children you only get to see once a year is amazing. It is a blessing that words cannot fully express.

We turned in all our donations today, toured Casa de Fe, and then just took it easy. We are all pretty exhausted, but at the same time excited. Keep praying for us!

A couple of updates:

A lost bag of luggage has been found! Praise The Lord!

Chris says the prayers are working, his knee is getting better, please keep praying!

In Christ,

jon walton

Fourth Time...

I am incredibly excited as I prepare for my fourth time going to La Casa de Fe in Shell, Ecuador. Someone asked me recently, “Why are you going again?” I am thankful I get questions like that, because it helps me self check my motives. Why am I going?

Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (James 1:27 HCSB)

There is something special about serving those who can give you nothing in return. It is the most selfless thing you can do, because to only return you may get back is a simple “thank you.” Try it sometime. You might be surprised at just how amazing it is.

In Christ,

jon walton

P.S. Check back here starting Thursday, June 19th for daily updates on our trip!

Fourth Time...

You Did That To Yourself...

A few nights ago, my foster daughter was mad and pitching a fit because we told her to pick up some of her toys. She picked up her toys, but was determined to show us how upset she was. So, she stood in the middle of the living room screaming, crying, and just being loud. I asked her, “Josie, please stop crying. You aren’t in trouble, you have picked up your toys, you can go play.” Now, I was speaking to her in a nice, calm voice. I wasn’t fussing or raising my voice, I was trying to calm her. All she needed to do was go play. Josie, being 2 years old, for some reason didn’t respond well to my articulate request to lower the amazing volume being produced by her tiny lungs and vocal cords. This was beginning to get on my nerves.

I asked her a second time, “Josie, there is no need for this. Please, calm down and stop crying.” This time, as I asked her I hugged her. I thought maybe if I showed her love she would realize she wasn’t in trouble and everything is ok. This did absolutely… nothing to clam her or quiet her. She wanted us to know she was upset.

A third time I gave her the chance. “Baby girl, please, stop crying.” This time, she decided to respond to my request. Just, not in the way I had hoped. She put her hands on her hips, wrinkled her brow, took a deep breath and screamed, “NO! I’M CRYING! MAD AT YOU, DADDY!” Let me just say, that’ll bless ya!

I had enough at this point. She would not be reasoned with. “Josie, go to your room until you are done crying.” I told her. She turned, screaming as loud as she could and ran to her room. At least she listened. Then, she did something extra. To emphasize her anger, she slammed her door. Now, this wouldn’t normally be a big deal, but we put a child-lock on her door to keep her from wondering the house at night. (We have a monitor system in place, it’s safe.)

I could have went immediately and let her out, but I thought I would let this play out. After about five more minutes of screaming, I went and opened the door to find a pretty distraught little girl on the other side. She opened her arms wide and grabbed me. I picked her up, hugged her, and held her tight. “Daddy locked me in my room!” She exclaimed. “Honey, you did that to yourself.” I told her. I asked her again, “Are you done pitching a fit and crying now?” With a frown on her face and tears rolling down her cheeks, she nodded her head, “Yes.” I wiped her tears, nose and face, kissed her on the cheek, and set her down to play.

This made me think, “How many times are we two year old girls pitching a fit?” Think about it. How many times does God tell us to do something that needs to be done. We refuse, or tell God, “I don’t want to do that.” or “I’m not called to that.” or “God, someone else could do it better.” God may even persist, asking us multiple times in multiple ways, showing us love all along the way. Then, after we continue to resist Him, He disciplines us. When He does, we may get even madder and “slam our door.” We may go to a sin that gives us instant pleasure, or stop going to church, or find some way to rebel against God to show our anger. After our disobedience, the consequence of our sin hits us. What do we do in response? “God, why did you allow this? God, why didn’t you stop this? God, this is Your fault!” No, too many times, we do cause pain to ourselves because we don’t know how to handle God’s discipline to make us more like Jesus.

Do not despise the Lord’s instruction, my son, and do not loathe His discipline; for the Lord disciplines the one He loves, just as a father, the son he delights in. – Proverbs 3:11, 12

Let’s stop being 2 year old girls.

(Unless you are a two year old girl. Then it’s ok.)

In Christ,

jon walton

You Did That To Yourself...

I'm Tired...

This morning when my alarm went off, it was all I could do to get moving. I turned it off, threw the covers back, but decided to lay there a bit. Bad call as I woke up 15 minutes later. I thought to myself, “I don’t want to get up. I’m tired. I don’t “have” to get up yet.” I could have covered back up and went to sleep, but I knew that wasn’t the right decision.

I rolled out of bed onto my feet and made my way into the living room where my wife was waiting on me. “Where’s Isaiah?” I asked. “Still getting ready.” My wife responded. I went to his room where he was slowly getting his clothes on for the day. “I know you’re tired buddy, but we need to do our devotional before you go to school.” He mumbled, but speed up getting ready. We made the switch to do our devotionals in the morning after my son said he was forgetting them overnight. It causes us all to get up a bit earlier, but he remembers the devotional throughout the day.

I always try to be honest, and that’s the heart of this next statement: I’m not a morning person, and sometimes it really hard to get up when I don’t “have to.” My next thing on my to do list didn’t happen until after 10:00 am. 6:00 am was much earlier than that. I could have rolled back over. I could have chosen not to do the devotional. I could have stuck with “I’m tired” and let it all go. But that would not have reaped a greater reward. That would not have taught my son the importance of a daily time with God. That would not have shown my wife the devotion I have toward being a Godly husband and leading our family.

Sometimes we have to choose what is hard or what we don’t want to do so we can reap the rewards God has for us.

Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. – Romans 12:1,2 HCSB

In Christ,

jon walton

I'm Tired...

That Hurt...

My son and I are starting something new this year that has already given wonderful results. Each night, just before bed we are doing a short devotion together. Its only about a page long and has 2-5 verses with it. It is small, bite size chunks of God’s Word that can be easily absorbed and talked about. Although my son is only 9, this is not a kids devotion. Its an adult devotion someone got me for Christmas and it is wonderful. At the end we have been practicing praying together about God helping us obey what we learned in the devotional.

As we were doing it one night, my son was being unusually goofy. I would read something and he would talk about something completely unrelated and laugh. I would ask him to try and focus. He would for an amazing 3-4 seconds, then be off topic again. I would try to wrangle him back in only to hear a few moments later disregarded laughing. I was pretty irritated as I finished the devotional. (I say “I” because my son really wasn’t a part of it) I told my son to go get ready for bed. He asked me, “Dad, aren’t we going to pray?” I turned my head sideways like a confused dog, looked at my son and replied, “Sure. What will we pray about?” His response summed it all up. “Um….”

I told my son with all the love I could muster, “You know, I am trying my best to train you up so that you love the Lord, but tonight you just didn’t really care. That hurt.” My son hung his head. He realized that his lack of attention to what I was doing hurt both me and him. He asked again, “Can we pray?” I agreed. He then asked God for forgiveness, he asked God to help me forgive him, and then asked God to help him take the devotion time seriously.

I hugged my son, told him I did forgive him, and tucked him into bed.

I would love to say that is the end. It makes me look pretty good. Its not.

As I sat down in my chair, I will admit I was still a bit frustrated with my son. I was putting in time and effort to teach him and he wasn’t putting forth any effort back. Then God spoke to me. “Jon, you have no idea how many times I have tried to teach you, but you were uninterested in what I had to say.”

That hurt.

I prayed the same prayer my son had prayed moments earlier.

My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, listening closely to wisdom and directing your heart to understanding; furthermore, if you call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it like hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. – Proverbs 2:1-5

If you don’t do a devotion with your children, you really should. It will be great for both of you.

In Christ,

jon walton

That Hurt...