The Key to the Missionary

“All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go therefore, and teach all nations.”

–Matthew 28:18-19-

The basis of missionary appeals is the authority of Jesus Christ, not the needs of the heathen. We are apt to look upon our Lord as one who assists us in out enterprises for God. Our Lord puts Himself as the absolute sovereign supreme Lord over His disciples. He does not say the heathen will be lost if we do not go; He simple says – “Go therefore and teach all nations.” Go on the revelation of My sovereignty; teach and preach out of a living experience of Me.

“Then the eleven disciples went... unto a mountain where Jesus had appointed them” (v.16). If I want to know the universal sovereignty of Christ, I must know Him for myself, and how to get to alone with Him; I must take time to worship the Being Whose Name I bear. “Come unto Me” – that is the place to meet Jesus. Are you weary and heavy laden? How many missionaries are! We banish those marvelous words of the universal Sovereign of the world to the theshold of an after-meeting; they are the words of Jesus to His disciples.

“Go ye therefore...” Go simply means live. Acts 1:8 is the description of how to go. Jesus did not say – Go into Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria, but, “You will be witnesses unto Me” in all these places. He undertakes to establish the goings.

“If you abide in Me and My words abide in you...” – that is the way to keep going in our personal lives. Where we are placed is a matter of indifference; God engineers the goings.

“None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself...” That is how to keep going till we are gone.

Oswald Chambers

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Me

God has many believers, people who put their trust in Him to deliver them from the power of sin and death and receive salvation. If you are saved does this make you a disciple or follower of Christ? 

Salvation is a free gift that is received when you confess your sins to God and receive Jesus to be your Savior. Many only know Jesus as Savior but not as Lord.  The cost of being a disciple of Christ is giving up my right to govern and rule my own life.

                  The rich young ruler came to Jesus and desired to know how to inherit eternal life. Jesus reminds him of the commandments and the young man replies, “All these I have kept since I was a boy.”  Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack, go sell everything and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell. He went away because he had great wealth. Mark 10:37

Many times our focus in life is for personal holiness, just like the rich young ruler we desire a method we can follow to obtain eternal life without having to surrender our lives to Jesus. The ruler told Jesus that he has always followed the commandments hoping that through his own personal holiness he would be justified. Jesus desire is for nothing to come between us and Him. Is our desire for Him what gets us up in the morning and lays us down at night? God knows the question to ask us that exposes the reality that is in our hearts. As Christians we know that it is right to put God first, many believe that at salvation we have totally surrendered our lives to Christ. This is not so, we have received eternal life but each day we need to walk out our salvation by daily denying ourselves and following Him. How can we be sure that we have surrendered our lives to Christ? What is the test of identification?  God is calling us to reduce ourselves and renounce everything that comes between our relationship with Him. We must understand that only one thing saves a man's soul and that is absolute reliance on Christ, but to be a disciple we need to learn how to be God’s possession.

Jesus is always our model on how to have a relationship with the Father. His life was a living example of how to surrender to the Father who is good and merciful. Jesus came to do His Father’s will; He said he only did what he saw the Father doing. When Jesus came to earth he emptied himself of all he possessed in heaven, his place, position, and his power to identify with us. He came in the form of a man, taking on the nature of a servant, which is the lowest, humblest position; he was even obedient to death on the cross. Although Jesus gave up everything he had he was still able to do miracles, signs and wonders and even raise the dead. How is this possible?  He was able to do this because His life was not his own, he surrendered it to the Father and God used His life to break off the power of sin and death.

God is calling us to identify with his Son to learn the lesson of Gethsemane, “Not my will but your will be done.”

What areas of our lives are we living for ourselves and not for Him?  I have learned all the places in my heart that want to accuse others, pass judgment, live in darkness and isolation have not come in contact with the love of Christ. When you have gazed into the eyes of Jesus your heart will cry out like his did on the cross, “Forgive them Father for they know not what they do.” We need to learn to bring our hearts before the Lord and have him examine us, what areas do we try to hide from God or try to rule our own lives. His desire is to make us like Himself broken bread and poured out wine. When you gaze into the eyes of Jesus you will see the cleansing pools of His kindness, humility and love. It casts out all fear, guilt and shame. Learn the prayer of a humble servant: Help me to see others greater than myself. This is identification.   

Kerry Blacklock

Ready, Set, Go by Kerry

I guess we were tired of the routine as usual so we decided to go to Guatemala a different route.  We wanted to avoid the dreadful 3:00 am wake up, so we upgraded to leaving at 1:00pm, better right?  Well it definately was an a long adventure. Edmonton to San Fransico, San to Chicago and then at midnight we found an available bench and experienced a social experiment in homelessness. It was cold and uncomfortable but still hauling all our luggage to a hotel is tidious and being the Blacklocks we like to live on the fun side of life. We are here and all is well. This will be random because I am experiencing a phenomenon called smoke on the brain. Anyone else ever feel like they are between two places, suspended, not fulling awake? That is what it feels like for me when I get here. All the expectations for what is in store for our family plus adjusting to the new things that are here = smoke on the brain. I digress because some things can’t be explained you just have to feel it.  We walked into our house and this time the transition to home was much quicker, less clutter means a happy mother. The kids are doing well, keep them in your prayers homesickness is hard and we are praying that they have breakthroughs in the language so they can make more friends.

We had an amazing ladies seminar the atmoshpere was charged with expectancy, women were showing up early and soon we had nearly 100 women. The Lord had spoke to us that He wanted to do a new thing, so we set up chairs in a circle to create an intimate atmosphere. We had a table in the middle surrounded by potted plants and  two simple traditional Guatemalan clay pots to represent our lives. We didn’t have a worship team and I felt the seminar would bathed in worship, as we prayed the night before the Holy Spirit was birthing a new thing in many of our lives. God blessed us with two worship leaders that worked with us seamlessly. Every part of the seminar flowed and worked together. It was the first time I hosted a seminar and being sensitive to stewarding an atmoshpere where the presence of God can rest is humbling and challenging. By His grace we were able to work together as a team  even though  the team formed the morning of the conference and some of us had never worked together, this is the goodness ot our God in the land of the living.  There was such a fragrance of humility and transparency in the room. I was supposed to be one of the guest speakers but the Holy Spirit moved upon me in a unique way of preaching. During the transition between speakers I led the women in corporate prayers preparing our hearts to receive what God is doing. I felt His intimacy all over the room and witnessed many women encounter the beauty of the Lord. We had an amazing speaker from Canada, Deborah Arsenault, who shared on yielding to the Master potter and giving our whole lives to Him. We ended the day with a prophetic act of smashing the clay pots as a reminder to remain broken and pliable before the Lord. It was beautiful and I am truley blessed to serve the Lord in this day and hour.

Kerry

Into the adventure land....

Adventure. It is not always what it seems. It is not like the movies where all we experience is intense action, pithy sayings and "in-the-nick-of-times". It is much more than that and less. Adventure has the anticipation of something new and exciting, but also the dread of the unknown. Adventure is dreaming big and yet having to pack a certain weight in your luggage so as not to have to pay more to the airline. Adventure is meeting exciting and interesting people right beside the the weird, smelly, annoying and scary ones. It is rising to the challenge and overcoming and failing flat on your face. It is sharing your joys, hurts, triumphs, pains and love. Adventure is not what it seems when you are going through it, but wait a few weeks for the experiences to become great stories that turn into legends.
Adventure is about experiencing all this with those close around who you share this life with and get to make a difference in this world. I thank God for His gift of adventure. His gift of life. His gift of the mountain top the valley and everything in between. For what he has given to me to use to help others.

Go out today and live the life God gave you.

You will never know where it can lead you.

From one who will not shrink back.....

Blacklock News

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BLACKLOCK EPICS BLOGS August 24, 2011 Stories, Thoughts, Insights and Revelations along the way... Blacklock Family Fe Viva World Missions For More Blacklock Blogs go to: www.blacklockepics.blogspot.com A Brand New Season. The summer is almost over which always means a change; a new school year, change in the weather (if you don't live in Alberta), or signing up for new programs. We are also in the midst of a change as well. We have had an exciting, adventurous and busy summer, filled with fun, travels, old friends, new friends and change. We have had a roller coaster last 3-4 months: coming from Guatemala going to Disneyland, travelling to Kelowna for work, running the Sinister 7, going to Kelowna/Salmon Arm/Vancouver/Quesnel for holidays, traveling to Ontario for work (while 3 kids were in 3 different camps) along with getting some reno's done at our home and the kids spending a lot of good time with friends and family. It has all been good. The change we are talking about that is new with the Blacklock's is we will be working in Guatemala for longer periods of time with Fe Viva. September 20th we head off to Guate for 3 months returning to Canada Dec. 13th. We will be continuing with the same work we have been doing there, but we are now moving into new responsibility as the Base Directors in Guatemala. We are excited and honored to have this new responsibility, and are asking the Holy Spirit to guide us in this new role. In this role we will be overseeing the operations of the Fe Viva base in Guatemala and facilitating the ministries working together and functioning closer together. We have been working as base pastors, prayer leaders and the Missionary Leadership Training Program over the past few years and will continue in those as well. Please pray for us as we move into this position. We need God's wisdom, faith and grace. We will be in Guatemala September 20th to December 13th and then from the middle of January to approximately the beginning of June. So we will be in Guatemala about 8 months of the year and in Canada over Christmas and during the summer. We will be home schooling our kids this year, so please pray for that as well. We want to send letters to Canada and hopefully receive them as well. Here is our address in Guatemala if you want to send letters/pictures/parcels: Asociacion Cristiana Fe Viva De Guatemala KM 114.5 Carretera CA-2 Rumbo a El Salvador Callejon El Cocalito Aldea Poza de Agua Guazacapan, Santa Rosa, 06011 We will keep you updated with what is happening with us and work in Guatemala and Central America. You can also stay informed with what is happening with us and our work at: www.feviva.org (Guatemala missions organization) www.cyctf.org (our charitable society) and www.blacklockepics.blogspot.com (our blog page) God Bless Matt, Kerry, Abby, Hayley and Liam

2 days until The GOOD Run

We are in the Crowsnest Pass. Myself, Kerry and Abby. 2 days until the big race. 148km of excitement. waiting for the crew to arrive (Larry, Brian, Terry) and checking out the trails today.
Asking Kerry if she wants to run instead of me.

Be the Incarnation of Christ

The world is looking for "little Christ's" to reveal the love of God on this earth. God wants us to embody who Christ is and have him invade our beings. Will you be the incarnation of Christ in this world? Will you be Christ to the those around us?

Live the Life

Reminded again to keep living the life that God has given me. I am bought at a price, purchased by Jesus' blood. I am His and he has given me a life to live. We get one try at this life; no practice lives. We are in the game right; jump in and play.

This is not the warm-up round
This is not a trial heat
It can't be repeated when your time has gone
This is not an infinite resource
Or the prelude to a starter course
You don't send it back if it gets done wrong

This is your life
Treat yourself right
Treat others right
Live like you know you should
This is life
Fight the good fight
Fight for what's right
Do what you know you should

Every living soul completes
A finite number of heartbeats
This is NOT the sum of what you're here for
Every breath you take will be exhaled
Every rising sun will fall
The measure of it all is what you live for

You had a dream
But it got lost in a life of regret
The devil knows you get just one shot
You had a dream
Are you still dreaming or did you forget
That heaven's calling for your best shot

By The Creek: In Costa Rica

I found a creek and it reminds me of home. Being alone in the woods is priceless. The strong wind is chasing through the trees and it lifts the heaviness of my heart. Breathing in and out, solitude, peace and beauty, what peace to watch a single leaf surrendered to the current float without care of where it is going. Let my life be a leaf caught up in the current of your love, moving as you move, breathing as you breathe. All creation speaks of your glory, mercy and love. How can you not believe in God when you see the beauty of the forest, trees clothed in emerald splendor? The winds choreography is beyond description, branches swaying in the wind, a perfect blend of soft and quick. My soul longs for you Lord, in a dry and thirsty land I find rest and strength in you. Peace personified by a black bird having a morning drink in the creek, and then disappears in flight and song. Thank you Lord for your creation, thank you for painting the sky and giving us life. I live and move and have my life under the shadow of your wings, under your mighty hand I rest; and breathe in love to sustain my soul.

15 hours in a hot sweaty van; sounds like a lot of fun; YEEAAAA!

Well we are heading off to Nicaragua in 6 hours with our MTS to minister there for 4 days and then off to Costa Rica for 4 days of more ministry. Nothing like a 15 hour van ride through 4 countries to unify a team. We have Matt, Kerry, Ashley, Dan, Reid, Shara-Rae, Nicole, Nelson, Melissa and Pastor Rafael; 10 of us in total. It has been great to see God bring our MTS group together and make us stronger together. It will be a test for us all with lots of fun, adventure, trials, joys, life altering moments and changed lives. We will be ministering in churches, a prison, door to door and in Fe Viva's school that they have in a very poor area of Managua, Nicaragua. This is the school that schools in Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada will be walking to raise funds and also The GOOD Run fundraiser is focusing on this as well. Please pray for divine appointments, God's revelations over our lives and those we serve, safety, protection for our kids we leave in Guatemala and unity.

We need your prayers and we look forward to sharing with you the adventures, salvations, pictures, videos and great stories when we get back. Our trip dates are: February 26 to March 6.

To those who will not shrink back, (Revelation 12:10-11)

Matt and Kerry

Many Are Invited Few Are Chosen

Many Are Invited Few Are Chosen

What is a day like here for me in Guatemala?  Que depende. This morning started at 6:25 am and if anyone knows me well they know I have never been a morning person. I have always said to Matt if you want to tell me something important let me know after 10:00 am. People change, don’t tell Matt but I recently found great peace in getting up early in the morning. I can only hear the bird’s awkward attempts at singing, they are more of a cacophony here and not a sweet sound, picture magpies and crows combined. I make myself a good strong cup of tea and I relax in my chair for some coveted quiet with the Lord. This morning my alone time was short and then we were off to the friends of Jesus breakfast. If you do not know what this means message me, this is what I call my beloved pre-Christian sisters who make a living in the bars. The girl MLT students accompany Steve and Karla to the House of Refuge where they host a breakfast for our sisters, we only have two hours to spend with them before the bars open and it is always a sweet time. Shara-Rae led worship in Spanish on guitar with Nicole and Ashley accompanying her. At first it was hard, it seemed like we were singing for the women and not worshiping but as we prayed the presence of the Lord came in like a sweet fragrance. Shara-Rae shared her testimony and the transparency opened the heavens over us. I shared the parable of the wedding banquet. I have heard this many times before and my attention was always directed to the part where the Lord commanded His servants to go to the street corners and invite anyone you can find. But this time when I read it I was drawn to the part where a man came in the wrong clothes and the king had him thrown out into the darkness. This struck me, is this harsh treatment or simply mercy? For many are invited but few are chosen. What does this mean? God is calling us and instead of responding to our maker we go about our business and pay no attention to what our King has prepared for us. He is planning a huge wedding banquet and His son is the groom. Would a bride show up in her jeans and hoodie?  No, she comes prepared and ready to marry her love. The clothes we are to wear to this wedding are very specific; they are the robes of righteousness bought by our grooms love, paid in full by His shed blood. No one comes in without wearing these robes. This is mercy because there are white robes for you and for me; for the sinner and the saint. Every breakfast is a divine mingling of sinners and saints waiting to be clothed and welcomed home. Pray with us as we share the message of God’s grace to all we come in contact with. There was a battle in the realm of the spirit because the enemy wants the domain of these ladies hearts to belong to them, but I chose to receive them with open arms and prepare these brides for their beloved. After this I came home chat with my kids, teach on my best friend, the Holy Spirit and then have some delicious lunch that I do not have to cook. In the afternoon I chat with friends organize our outreach and have hot chocolate in the heat with my beautiful friends. That was today in Guatemala and I hoped I can get a run in before I fall exhausted into bed with my other best friend. Love you all!

Kerry

What we've been up to

You have been getting a lot of awesome words from Kerry these past 4 weeks; through our blog. God has been really speaking to her (in English and Spanish). She already preached in Spanish a few weeks ago and is planning to continue to write teachings and preachings in Spanish. She said that this time she has finally begun to receive revelation in Spanish. It is awesome to see her grow in her gift of writing, speaking and teaching; and now in 2 languages. We have been doing a lot this past month: prepping our house once we got here; a week of Spanish school in Antigua, Guatemala with the whole family; prepping for MTS. MTS started Friday Feb. 11. We have 5 students this year. Nicole from Ontario, Shara-Rae from Spruce Grove, Alberta, Reid from Westbank, B.C. and Dan and Ashley from Kingston, ON (they are the directors of Casa Alabbanza in Villa Nueva, Guatemala). We are just finishing our first week in MTS. We are excited to see what God is doing and going to do with these students. We have begun teaching with the Father heart of God. We are doing Generation Curses these last few days with the students and preparing for our first Outreach trip to Nicaragua and Costa Rica (February 26-March 6). It will be a long trip and are praying for everything to come together as we are still working out the details. The students are coming together really well and working well; only to be made stronger on an outreach trip. We will be working in churches, the prison ministry in Nicaragua that Fe Viva has and the school that Fe Viva has in Managua, Nicaragua. In Costa Rica we will be be working in schools, churches and the streets.

We have also been doing leadership training with the Fe Viva base missionary staff. (we are using the Heroes material that we teach in Canada and it is working great). We have been leading Monday prayer nights and attending a Tuesday night bible study with a local pastor and people from his church. My (Matt) brain gets really tired with all the Spanish, but we are learning lots. Kerry is teaching dance on Friday nights with 20-25 girls. It is going really well.

Our kids are excited to have the students here and are having fun in everything they do. They got some bikes and few weeks ago and are riding all the time on the track on base. I (Matt) has been training fairly well for the race fundraiser I am doing in July. On Saturday I am planning to run a 21km all uphill. We will see how much elevation I gain. I will post some video of this run. Check out The GOOD Run

We will continue to let you know all that we are doing here. God bless and talk later.

Matt, Kerry, Abby, Hayley and Liam

Walking in the Light

“The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.  So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” Romans 13:12

Ephesians chapter five exhorts us to be imitators of God, walk in love and live a life of sacrifice, a life poured out and fragrant. What is the kingdom of darkness imitation of sacrifice?  Idolatry; summed up as – immoral, impure and greedy. The word of God says these people will not have any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.  We need to understand what the significance of this statement.  It does not say you won’t obtain salvation but indicates you will not have any inheritance.  Inheritance represents sonship; which means we receive everything that God has already obtained.  The understanding of this truth is very powerful.  Do I want to remain in idolatry, drawing form my own broken, marred cistern, or do I want an inheritance that is incorruptible and full of light?

We are warned not to be deceived and receive empty words.  The result of walking in deception is disobedience, and disobedience brings the wrath of God.  Our origin was once darkness, and darkness is the familiar territory of the flesh.  We believe the lie that everything is hidden in darkness and that we are safe and secure there.  If we cannot see our condition does that mean it does not exist?

God is asking us to walk in the light as He is in the light, so that we may have fellowship with one another. (Paraphrase my own, reference 1 John 1:7).  What are the fruits of walking in the light?  According to Ephesians 5 verse 9: goodness, righteousness and truth.  People born of the light pursue to find out what pleases God.  God desires to expose the fruitless deeds of darkness.  He wants us to know that whatever is conceived in darkness will bear no fruit, but will only lull us to sleep and that sleep leads to death. This begs the question, “Do we want to live in darkness, living fruitless lives?”  No! We want to be children of the light, putting off the deeds of darkness and being clothed in the armor of light which is love, goodness, righteousness and truth.  Remember if we confess our sins to God, He is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us from the fruitless deeds of darkness.  His mercy triumphs over judgment, walk as children of the light!

“But the gift is not like the trespass.”

“But the gift is not like the trespass.” Romans 5:15

This morning I come to you as a contemplative, and that is part of who I am. I think upon different things, process them in my mind, surrender them to the beautiful feet of Jesus my Lord, searching until Christ’s nature is branded upon my heart. The fire of his love burns away all the things that try to replace him, or the vain imaginations that glorify the wrong ruler. I have a king and his name is Jesus, He is the servant ruler of all. I want to highlight the first sentence of a verse: “But the gift is not like the trespass.” Through the principles of magnetism we know that opposites attract. Humans are interesting creatures. We are attracted to the opposite things that we despise about ourselves. For example, a shy person may be attracted to an outgoing, bubbly person because they possess qualities the timid person always longed for. Let’s say a shy person marries an extreme extravert; a problem arises when the bubbly extravert who by nature acts more spontaneously embarrasses their partner because they spoke carelessly at an inappropriate time. Who determines the regulations for careless words and when they should be spoken? The timid person is the one who has made this unspoken rule. The irony is they are angry at the other person because they themselves have not spoken. Many times we assume everyone holds the same value system as us, and we judge others according to our own values. The reason why we are attracted to someone is because we wish we were more like them, but when they act naturally we become jealous and despise them. How do you get out of this trap? We need a revelation, “that the gift is not like the trespass.” We need to realize that we have “we have all sinned and have fallen short of the grace of God.” The sin in others is the same as in us just a different expressions. Jesus came to rescue us from sin. Many times we see it in others but they only reflect what is hidden in our hearts. How will people trapped in these mindsets become free? First we need to acknowledge that we need forgiveness from God. He offered His son, who is not like us in heart; He knew no sin. We on the other hand were born with a sin nature. We need to ask God to forgive us for believing the lie that we are like Him but others are not. Did you get that? Other people will always be an excuse in your life if you believe the lie that you are different from your brother in nature. Believe me, we are not different in nature we are the same. First repent for believing this lie and receive the forgiveness of God. Then forgive others for the things they have done that hurt you, intentionally or unintentionally. Then you will receive the gift unlike the trespass that knows no end.

Kerry

Love and Prayer: Simple Words

Love cannot remain by itself - it has no meaning. Love has to be put in action and that action is service. A mission of love can come only from union with God. From that union, love for family, love ofr one's neighbour, love for the poor is the natural fruit.

You can pray while you work. Work doesn't stop prayer and prayer doesn't stop work. It requires only that small raising of the mind to Him: I love you God, I trust you, I believe in you, I need you now. Small things like that. They are wonderful prayers.

Mother Teresa.

Like the gardener here at Fe Viva says over and over about watering the plants: Poco y poco. Little by little. And you know what the plants grow.

God bless you day
Matt

“Humility is the surrender of the soul to God.”

“Humility is the surrender of the soul to God.” Francis Frangipane

What is the soul? It is your mind, will (ability to make a choice), and emotions.  We need to learn the lesson of Gethsemane, surrender.  Jesus is our example of how to yield your mind, will and emotions to a loving Father. Although everything about surrendering to the cross has the appearance of cruelty and violence it is the very love of God that enabled Christ to fulfill his call to redeem the world. The love the Father bestowed upon His only begotten son empowered Jesus to suffer and die in our places so that we could be redeemed from believing the hideous lie that God is not love.

What keeps us from humbling ourselves before our loving Father and asking for His forgiveness and love?

We believe our own good works make us acceptable to God.  When we are performing well, loving our neighbor, preaching the gospel and serving others we can approach God boldly, but when we see our selfishness and the anger in our hearts, we hide from God’s presence.  Humility is the virtue that draws us from the shadows of hiding behind good works or; surrendering to God when we have sinned against Him.  I worship God because He is good not because I am good.  We are a fragrance to the Lord when we have a broken and contrite heart and we choose to worship Him from our places of disappointment, anger, fear or rejection.  We need to come to Him as we are and offer Him the sacrifice of praise because He is worthy. I have come to realize that when I worship God from a place where I feel unacceptable, He covers me with His wings and speaks that I am His own.  He made a way for me through the death and resurrection of His son.  I can boldly come into His presence and receive the longing of my heart, to be God’s own child.

Kerry

Hope

I awoke early this morning with the faces of many poor children imprinted on my mind, and I thought of their priceless value; yet many struggle for their basic needs. I began to think of things that could motivate me to be a better advocate for these beautiful lives.

I have learned that my own human compassion is a non-renewable resource, it has a beginning and an end. So you can see my dilemma when I see innocent lives marginalized and in pain, my knowledge that I have the potential to become desensitized and unmoved overwhelms me. Who has the compassion and love for every broken life? Where can I find this love that is not my own to give to the lonely and poor?

I have come to understand that if we are disconnected from the unending love of our Heavenly Father, the pure love of God cannot flow through us unhindered and uninhibited. Please understand we are the same as those we serve, orphans. The natural state of humanity has been an orphan spirit since sin entered the world through one man. How do we receive a new name and a new position?

Look to Jesus, the yielded, obedient Son of God, who gave His life joyfully so we could be a part of his family. He is our example of how to be a son. He was fully yielded to His loving Father, putting his life into his Fathers capable hands. He is the resurrection and the life. I have seen with my own eyes the greatest needs of the poor and they are not food or education, they are a deep need for identity and destiny….hope. Who am I? Does anyone care for me? What will I become?

Jesus showed us to be great you need to be a servant of all. To live you must die. To be a son you must obey and carry a cross. Can you hear the call of the cross to identify with Jesus and lay your life down? We need to die to our selfish ways to receive the resurrection and life that is our promise as children of God. His work is complete but ours is only beginning. Will we give Jesus the opportunities to shine through us as we identify with his death and suffering; going with joy to the cross so that eternal life may spring up and rivers of living water will transform orphans to sons.

“I once was lost, but now I am found, was blind but now I see.”

Remember there are many expressions in the Kingdom of God but only one door,

Kerry

Transition for the Blacklocks

Transition, no matter how hard you try to make transition easier it is by nature difficult but necessary. We are now professional movers and after playing musical beds for 3 weeks we finally have everyone in their own bed and hopefully they will keep these beds for awhile. We have been going at break neck speed for almost 3 weeks and as always it finally takes it toll and we learn to surrender fears, anxieties and misappropriated expectations to the beautiful feet of Jesus. Picture with me the beautiful scarred feet of our Lord and then try not to surrender your worries, is it possible?

I got to fulfill a life long dream of studying Spanish in another country. Our family spent a week in Antigua as students and this was such an amazing experience for me personally. I got to see this beautiful city from the perspective of a traveler, and I have not appreciated the beauty and diversity of Guatemala so much as I do now. It is so interesting to have a second chance to see something from a new perspective. So it begs the question, what did I see? I saw people from all around the world being hosted by gracious people who make you feel at home not only in their casas but their hearts as well. I saw art, architecture, a huge open blue sky painted with wispy clouds and cascading flowers and vines. I ran through villages and up endless hills to watch people play soccer in dusty dry fields. We were chased by children through the streets as the crazy gringos ran. I am so thankful for this opportunity to embrace this beautiful nation and its rich tapestry of people. Please pray fervently for our family to fully understand Spanish, I believe if many believe with us this year we will have our breakthrough.

Our students will be arriving next week and that is always exciting for our kids. They have been restless and fighting a lot; getting used to home schooling and being away from the comforts of home. This area is a huge prayer target for us. When the kids are at peace we have peace too. They have their own trials and ups and downs and it is a challenge to allow room for everyone's difficulties while learning to embrace God’s will for our lives. Please pray, my desire is that we serve God as a family and that each of us will feel at home here in Guatemala. God’s grace is sufficient and as we pray together we see His grace rain down over us.

I have to share with you one amazing missionary story. This morning I woke up at 6:30 because I felt the Holy Spirit leading me to go to the “Friends of Jesus” breakfast. ( for those who are not familiar with this term; this is what I renamed the prostitutes breakfast ministry). I got up and quickly got ready and squished into the front of the van beside Karla (leader of the ministry) and we were off, like so many times before. We pick up the women from the bars around 7:00 am and then feed them breakfast, have worship, share multiple testimonies and pray with them all before we have to have them back by exactly 9:00 am. This is the most amazing part and everyone who has been involved in this ministry can attest to this, God miraculously holds back time for us. We were able to have three women share with translation, serve breakfast and coffee, sing worship songs and minister to the women. I have been in ministry for 17 years and I know this is not humanly possible in 2 hours, but we do it every time and leisurely as well. As I was praying for a couple of Jesus’ friends I felt such oppression and deep emotional pain. I did not feel we had broken through. Karla asked if I had something to say and I said no sadly and walked away. Then a few minutes later, unplanned the Lord gave me a word and Karla and I delivered it seamlessly like their was no translation. The intimacy of the Spirits words through the testimony of brokenness in my life brought a river of love and healing into the room. When we were leaving many of the women came over to me to receive a hug from the very arms of Christ. It is hard to explain with words the intimacy and transparency that enveloped the room. I held them like long lost daughters who came home from far away lands. This is the picture; we are God’s long lost children and he sent his very own Son to bring us home. Walk in eternity today and be the hands, the feet, the arms, the eyes, the ears and the very heart of Jesus.

Kerry

Matt and Kerry Blacklock

Fe Viva World Missions

011 502 4688 1494 (Guatemala Cell)

matt@feviva.org

www.feviva.org

www.blacklockepics.blogspot.com 

Words that have inspired and challenged me this week.

Words that have inspired and challenged me this week.

Our ambitions need to match the size and scope of Christ's ambitions in coming to the earth. Did the only begotten Son of God humble Himself and come here to be violently and brutally murdered, hung on a cross, despised and mocked, then come back from the dead and preach and teach for forty days just so we could be prosperous and have emotion-stirring praise and worship times and pass out colorful leaflets and set up clever websites, all while people around us are depressed and committing suicide , spreading AIDS, dying of hunger, wrecking the planet and much more? I think not.

Sunday Adelaja in ChurchShift

For a long time the church has taken care of itself only, but the time has come to take responsibility for every sphere of society, from our circle of friends to our families; from our workplaces to our city councils and schools; from sports and the arts to politics and business. Today the church needs to bring peoples and nations out of the desert, where they have been wandering. The kingdom of God is God's total answer to man's total problem. It is synonymous with God's will and ways. When He says,"Your kingdom come" (Luke 11:2), it means through you and me. we are to walk in power. Every gift and talent we have is to be exercised in service of the kingdom. Believers need to start social organizations and charities that will become strong social movements that captivate people's attention. We need to find effective ways to serve the homeless, the troubled, the orphan, the beaten, the addicted,the criminal, the helpless.

Sunday Adelaja in ChurchShift


God bless

Matt

Spanish in Antigua

We just had out first day of Spanish classes in the beautiful city of Antigua. We all did well and we are proud of the kids for their hard work. They are so great at jumoing right in in new places with new people to meet all the time. The home we are staying in is wonderful. The family is wonderful and one of their daughters is the girls' age. They have been having lots of fun. It should be a connection to have for a while. It is always wonderful to see children play together with such freedom no matter where they are in the world. Liam is enjoying the cooler weather; he is a hot box so Fe Viva is always an overheating place for him. Please pray for his core body temperature to go down so he can handle the heat.lol. There is a young woman from Denmark staying the same home as well. Kerry had a great conversation time with her. Picked up one of our MTS students today. She is taking 4 weeks of Spanish so she should be fairly good come the start of MTS.
Thank you all for praying for us and enjoy all the snow.

God Bless
Los candadonegroes

Our Mailing address in Guatemala

To send letters to us in Guatemala:

Fe Viva World Missions
El Cocalito, Poza de Agua
Guazacapan, SANTA Rosa
Guatemala, C. A.

We love to receive mail!!!

Heading to Guatemala

We are leaving for Guatemala in less than 24 hours with mixed feelings from us all. Happy that we will see our friends again, excited for the work God has in store and ready for more adventure, but sad about leaving our family and friends here, the wide open spaces and the nation we love. Had the bg talk with the kids last night about why we go and the surprises God has in store for us this year in Guatemala. Please pray for them as they miss their friends in Canada and meet their friends again in Guate and make new ones.

We will be doing our youtube messages again this year, with a special twist; The Head Cam (to reveal the driving rituals and more in Guate) If you don't receive these emails, let me know at matt@feviva.org and you will get them.

God Bless

Matt