Return to San Andres
- By omega-admin
- 2014/12/17
- 410
[layerslider id=”8″]
Shalom beloved of God, As I got up this morning and did my meditation, the Lord led me to a passage that is very applicable to my return to San Andres. Many of you know that I returned here upon the prompting of the Lord to return to my kindred and to the land of my childhood to do according to His will. The same was the case with Jacob as the Lord challenged him to return home in Genesis 31. Verse 2 in particular states “and Jacob beheld the face of Laban, and he noticed that it was not favorable towards him as before”.
Jacob had worked for over 20 years for Laban who continually tricked and misused him. Yet he worked faithfully and caused his father in law to prosper. I see parallels in Jacob’s story and that of my life as well. When I started to work with HISD I entered under a promise that after one year I would get my green card. Once the year was up, the district changed its police from one year to a three year requirement for a foreign employee to get their green card. As you all know very well I stayed and worked for the next three years… but as in the case with Jacob, I was “tricked” twice.
Upon completion of three years of service the school district adopted another policy – “we no longer sponsor employees to get their green cards”. I nonetheless worked faithfully for another three years. I am pleased to tell you however that my last year was the most successful as a teacher in the district. My students ranked amongst HISD’s highest performing students on the state examinations. My brothers do not get discouraged when the Labans in your life seem to “trick you” – the Lord is at work even in Laban. It was not the will of God for me to have a green card, if it was it would have been that way, and not even “Laban” could have stopped that. I am home not because I was deported or because I had no choice but to leave. I am home because the Father intended it that way. There were many fellow loving brothers and sisters who offered to help us in getting our Green card, yet I did not feel led to pursue it. There was even an opportunity to pastor a church, and I turned it down. “Why would I do that?” You may ask. I did it because of the inner witness, because of the inner knowing that we get from the Lord when He is trying to steer us another direction.
My wife and I can clearly see the need for the presence of the Lord here. We see the need for a spiritual awakening. As we drove down the street at 3:00 am upon our arrival, we were stopped by heavily armed guards who were requiring papers from the vehicle we were traveling in. My brother then shared with me that the island had become heavily policed after a recent wave of killing due to drugs. In one week, six people were shot and killed, due to drug deals gone wrong. This may seem as a small thing to some of you who live in large cities. However it’s a big deal for an island that depends mostly on tourism for its very survival. Yes friends, the drug lords are trying to take over this island that was once 90% Christian. However, I want you to take heart and not to worry or fret for me or my family. I would never put my family in harm’s way intentionally.
God has a plan, and trust me you will see it unfold before your very eyes. I am therefore grateful for friends and partners like you, those of you who continue to pray for my family and me, and continue to give as the Lord leads. My brethren, I do not ask of you to do that which I myself do not do. Rather, as I ask you to listen to the voice of the Lord as He leads you to sow into our ministry; I can tell you that you will not be doing to us that which we ourselves do not do for others. Before leaving Houston, Texas, the Lord challenged me to give away my vehicle and to quit my substitute teaching job. “What do I do now for income”, I asked the lord. His reply was very simple. “I want for you and your wife to restore marriages”. Friends my wife and I have not yet completed our 10 years as a marriage couple, so you can see how this was a nerve rocking assignment. Nonetheless, we knew that when the Lord calls, He also equips.
For several days the Lord would wake me up at three or four in the morning to teach me the principles in marriage restoration. As my wife and I applied what He taught us, we began to see marriages restored in record time. Out of what we were doing, the Lord gave us a manual and a course that we were able to teach at Warriors Worship Center. We are still getting praise reports from that seminar and from couples all over the Houston area regarding marriage restoration. The lord also showed us the couple to whom he wanted us to give the car and we did. We were amazed as we watched tears falling down this couple’s faces as they shared with us that they were in need of a car to take their little baby to child care. I must also share with you that just from love offerings from the couples we worked with, and the love gifts of friends, our income for the month of October was six times what it would have been as a substitute teacher. God is good indeed!
I cannot leave without thanking all of you for your prayers and continual support of what God is doing in our lives. “Here I am, send me” – that’s what my family and I have said, and you have decided to come along with us as you join us with your giving. We are still believing God to provide us with a means of transportation since it’s very difficult to move around with three children and a wife in San Andres without a vehicle. We see great things coming up for this Island and we will share then with you as they occur.
Remember, you can send your gifts made out to Warriors Worship Center, to get a tax deduction, and in the For section of the check, write: to Ignacio and Edna Barrera.
You can also give online through xoom.com and use the new xoom App directly from your phone to give. You will send your donation to Colombia in the name of Ignacio Barrera.
Amen and God bless you,
Shalom beloved of God.
Ignacio, Edna and children
OmegaShofer.com