theTREIFactor

Something's brewing!  I've been away for a while.  How've you been?  I can't wait to get back into blogging and sharing all the great things God has done over the last two years. Blessings, Sonja

It's been just over six months since I last posted a blog.  I was (maybe still am) in a funk of sorts--spiritual and otherwise.  I didn't feel I had anything to offer and I was struggling to find my "missionary" self.  When Mike and I first talked about moving to Venezuela over two years ago, I thought the transition would be easy.  After all, there was no question in my mind that God was the one leading us.  So there shouldn't be any problems, right?  Not so. I felt language school would be somewhat of a comfort.  A good place to get my missionary role on.  It was an academic environment and I have always thrived in academic environments (with the exception of one Vectors Calculus class that is).  But, when I got to Costa Rica, I quickly discovered it was nothing like I expected.  For me, I found it to be more of a spiritual boot-camp.  And I felt I was failing miserably.  So I did what I always do when I feel I'm failing--...

WARNING:  The following story may contain some graphic details that might make it difficult for the reader. Sunday morning Mike and I took the bus to church with our friend and fellow student Josh LaFever.  I took the opportunity to flip through my bible to find a passage of scripture for class devotional Monday morning.  We attend a very small church (Cuidad Belén) just outside San José.  It takes about 10 minutes by taxi - a little more by bus.  The area is known as Calle Blancho (White Road) and it's in a pretty rough part of town.  I had just picked the passage in Judges 6 about Gideon when our bus came upon somewhat of a traffic jam.  A very narrow two lane road with cars parked on both sides--only one lane of traffic getting through.  The bus driver allowed some on coming traffic to go then proceeded forward.  Well, another vehicle realized that it was in the way and had no where to go.  The driver put the car in reverse and back...

     As I start this blog, I am bedside next to my mother-in-law, Eileen.  Doctors diagnosed her two years ago with double lung cancer and gave her a 15% chance of making it through 6 months of chemotherapy.  A little over two weeks ago, Mike and I flew back from Costa Rica because it didn't look like she would make it through the weekend.  While her condition is all over the board, and we were prepared to "let her go" without seeing her again, I am not sorry we're here.  There have been some very precious moments spent with her and she still manages to make us laugh through the tears.  She has been a formidable lady over the years and such an example to me.  I am so thankful God brought me into this family.      I met Eileen more than 14 years ago, and what struck me most is how she welcomed me as one of her own.  And that's how she was with everybody it seems.  Eileen didn't have "casual friends".  There were...

When I was in my late teens and early twenties, I used to question God's existence by pointing to all the "bad" situations in the world.  "How could God allow... ?"  "What good comes from... ?"  Fill in your blank.  It was extremely difficult for me to believe in a loving caring God who would permit any  harm to come to his children.  To me. And it made me bitter.  Much like the Israelites when they escaped Egypt. The story in Exodus plays out--God wants Pharaoh to allow the Israelites to leave and go to "the promised land."  Pharaoh is stubborn and refuses (he doesn´t want to lose his labor force), so God sent ten plagues (pretty nasty stuff too) to help him change his mind.  When the Israelites left, God parted the Red Sea so they could cross on dry land.   They watched God perform Miracle after miracle.  They were singing and dancing and all out praising God for His deliverance...       ...

Another characteristic of God is His sovereignty.  He is the ruler of the universe--Daniel 4:34(b)-35 read, "For His dominion is an everlasting dominion.  As his kingdom is from generation to generation.  All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.  NO ONE CAN RESTRAIN HIS HAND OR SAY TO HIM, 'WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?'" This is a tough one for people to grasp (to be honest, sometimes it's still hard for me).  No matter what happens here, there is a story being played out in the heavens and God's purpose is being fulfilled at this very moment.  Even though millions of unborn babies are being aborted; hundreds of thousands of women and children are slaves to sex trafficking; and countless other tragic situations (physical and sexual abuse in families, alcohol and drug addictions, starvation, infertility...) GOD REIGNS!  Whether you act like it or not. ...

In the Old Testament, Israelites would use different names to describe God's character.  Most of the time, it was as a result of the Lord meeting a need.  One of His many names is Jehova-jireh and it means God will provide.  The first place you find it used is in the story of Abraham being told by God to go sacrifice his son Isaac (Gen. 22).  At the very last second, God provided an animal for Abraham to substitute instead.  The story is a great illustration of how God responds to a faithful servant. This past year God has proven himself "Provider" over and over again.  Even in the little things.  When He showed himself in such ways, at times I was completely amazed by what He had done!  I literally would smile at just how awesome He was and what He accomplished...  Mike would laugh and say, "Why are you so amazed?  You should expect it!"  And he's right--I should have expected it.  Sometimes, it takes me a while to learn. ...

A few posts ago, I told you I would share some stories about how I saw God working through this process of becoming "missionaries."  I need a break from Spanish homework, so I'll start off at the beginning.  That's as good a place as any. Mike and I got the "bug" a few years back after taking a few short term trips.  I had gone on 4 trips to El Salvador and Mike had several trips under his belt to Venezuela.  (I hadn't been there yet.)  In 2006 we casually talked about what we would like to do for "retirement".  We were all about traveling to different spots and spending 3 months or so helping missionaries.  It wasn't something we talked about all the time, but we had a plan.  That summer, we started the process for an international adoption. The more time Mike spent in Venezuela, the more drawn he got (he generally took two trips a year).  My first trip to Samuel's House was in September 2008 (and it was our first missions trip tog...

We arrived in San Jose a week ago after getting travel approval the afternoon before our departure.  Do you ever feel like God waits until the very last minute to "act"?  Personally, I think it's an exercise to strengthen our faith. There are 11 of us studying Latin American culture and learning Spanish--4 couples and three singles.  What an awesome and diverse group of people!  It didn't take long for them to become our extended family.  (Many of them share names of Mike's family even--we have: Jonathan, Zach, Denise, Emma, Chad and Leah!  Not named in any order of importance--just went from furthest apartment to closest!)  We spent the first few days in orientation--getting to know the area, shopping for food and other essentials, finding the nearest Taco Bell... All the important stuff.  (Just kidding about the Taco Bell.  But there is a KFC and Pizza Hut within walking distance!) This week started with our multi-culture classroom work...

Before leaving Colorado Springs, some very good friends of our (Wendell & Stephanie) gave us a NewLife worship CD for the road trip.  One of the songs on it is titled "Dry Bones" and is based on the story Valley of Dry Bones out of Ezekiel 37.  Listening to the words really got me thinking and desiring a deeper and more intimate relationship with God. The prophet Ezekiel has a vision that he is standing over a valley filled with dry bones (skeletons).  God tells Ezekiel to speak the Word of the Lord over them.  When he does, the bones come together and rise.  A lot of the teaching on this passage highlights the need for the Holy Spirit in our lives.  The dry bones represent people living without being plugged into God's power source. This past year has been an incredible spiritual journey for me.  Every time I relied on God to work out a glitch--He came through.  Every time He did, I trusted Him more.  I will take time later to share ...

(I tried to publish this before Christmas, while we were traveling.  Apparently I had some difficulty with the connection and it never made it.) We've been on the road for just over two weeks now and we're on the last stretch to Raleigh, North Carolina.  Weather has been outstanding for the most part.  It is December and really the only place that we've seen snow is St. Peter, Minnesota!  While it hasn't been completely dry, it has been warmer than expected. It has been such a joy spending time (even if it was a few hours) with family along the way.  We discovered that the Wood Duck migrates to Venezuela in January--so we'll be sure to keep a look out for Bennett!  We took a tour of an urban hydroponics facility (The Iron Street Farm) in Chicago as well as a "small" (12 acre) green house in upstate New York (H2Gro, Youngstown).  We were able to get some ideas we may be able to use at Samuel's House.  We are even more excited to get to Costa Ri...

It's been a whirl-wind last couple of weeks.  We were able to spend about 10 days with some of Mike's immediate family in northern Minnesota (Fargo/Moorhead) over Thanksgiving.  The temperatures were low for what I'm used to, but pretty warm for them! Pastor Jim Ray from Vally Christian Church was gracious to give us time to show a promotional video for Samuel's House and share a few minutes with his congregation about our heart for missions.  We were so blessed by the warm reception and an inspiring message about Giving. Then it was back to Colorado for the final pack up and another speaking engagement.  This time, we were at New Hope Community Church in Golden thanks to an invite from Pastor Justin Atchley.  I don't know why, but I'm always amazed at how real and authentic relationships are changing communities around the world.  We are grateful Pastor Justin turned over the entire sunday school and service times to us--allowing the church to get to k...

As we've been telling family and friends about Samuel's House, occasionally we'll be asked, "So why are you going to Venezuela to work with children when there's so many here in the US that need help?" Good question.  The not-so-simple answer is this: Because God didn't ask us to stay in the US.  He called us to work in Venezuela.  To some, this may sound a little strange, but we believe there is no other way to live than with God taking the wheel.  I recently watched a short video from Urban Outreach at a Denver location, one of the guys interviewed summed it up pretty well, "When God puts something on your heart, He has a way of getting it out and making sure you aren't happy with anything else." There are two of us but many more of you we are "leaving behind."  If you aren't already involved in your community (your "sphere of influence") I would encourage you to look into volunteer opportunities. You don't h...

Gary and Patty Heiney moved to Venezuela about 20 years ago to pastor an Assemblies of God church in Caracas.  When they arrived, they noticed the streets full of neglected children.  Their hearts broke and they just said a quick prayer, "Lord, help us to help these children."  They did what they could through their church, but they always felt they could do more.  It wasn't until 2005 that a suitable piece of property became available.  18 Acres, not too far out of Caracas.  They stepped out in faith and made an offer to purchase, believing God would provide the financial means necessary.  And he did.  That started what is now known as "Samuel's House." The master plan consisted of a community setting instead of a typical institutional one.  Each finished home would have a set of house parents (a married couple) and up to 10 kids.  The initial property was large enough, so an orchard was planned with the intention of producing income....

Thanks for taking an interest in our ministry.  We're excited to be starting on this journey and would love to share with you as we go.  We welcome your comments and feedback.  I will be doing most of the posting, but be sure that it is certainly a team (and group) effort!