{"id":1414,"date":"2019-07-24T11:38:18","date_gmt":"2019-07-24T15:38:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/katie-moore\/?p=1414"},"modified":"2019-07-24T14:11:15","modified_gmt":"2019-07-24T18:11:15","slug":"life-lessons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/katie-moore\/2019\/07\/24\/life-lessons\/","title":{"rendered":"Life Lessons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

My parents have taught me many things.  Many of these lessons were given during my childhood, but they continue even today.  They have instructed me both by their lectures (which they would probably say I didn\u2019t listen to) and by their example.  Two of the lessons I have learned from them have been on my mind lately, and I wanted to share them with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Me with my parents in their first years on the field<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

#1 Be helpful<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This was and is a favorite saying of my mom\u2019s.  Whenever we would go to a friend\u2019s for supper,\nor spend the weekend away from home, or simply be in the mission guest house,\nhelpfulness was definitely on her radar. \nMy mom would remind us to \u201cbrush our teeth and to be helpful.\u201d  And if one of my friends\u2019 parents happened to\nreport back how helpful one of us kids were, it was honestly like my mom had\ngotten the gold star of parenting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My dad was big on helpfulness at home: \u201cWhy are you sitting on the couch reading when your mom is trying to get supper on?  Have you asked her if she needs any help?\u201d  He was big on \u201copening your eyes\u201d and seeing what it was that needed to be done.  If the floor is dirty, sweep it.  If people are carrying a load of boxes somewhere, get up and go help them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What fun is a blog about your parents if you don’t put in some old pictures, too?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My parents have been examples of this kind of helpfulness in all my waking memory.  Another word for this is servant-minded.  They volunteered in countless jobs other than their main \u201cministry description\u201d on the field.  They postponed furloughs, sometimes for years, in order to fill in where needed.  On their days off they have fed people and played with their kids and taken them baked goods and taught Sunday school and a long list of other activities.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My mom and my sister preparing food for our field conference of about 200 people<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Their eyes are always open to see what needs to be\ndone.  And that is why they are headed to\nMexico in a few days.  There is an un-met\nneed for a teacher at the school for missionary kids.  There is an un-met need for a secretary in\nthe mission\u2019s office.  Having known about\nthese needs and having the skill sets to meet those needs, they are going to\nhelp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#2 Press On<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This time, one of my dad\u2019s favorite sayings.  Not the empty, humanistic \u201cget yourself together\u201d or \u201cgrit your teeth and bear it\u201d kind of thing, but the \u201cpressing on\u201d that is done in Jesus\u2019 power for the sake of His name.  The kind of \u201cpressing on\u201d that is necessary because we know the stakes and we know the prize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My dad talking with some of the Piaroa believers after church<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That is why, over the years, when my parents had no energy\nleft, they pressed on.  When they were\ndiscouraged about their ministries, they pressed on.  When they had no money coming in, they\npressed on.  When their current job was\ngetting too physically demanding for them, they pressed on.  And that is why now, when they should rightly\nbe thinking about retirement, they are, instead, heading to a new field to\nstart a new ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite rusty Spanish, low finances, nerves about the unknown, and my dad\u2019s recent cancer scare, my parents are packing up their car and heading to Chihuahua, Mexico to continue to give their efforts towards what God laid on their hearts more than 40 years ago: to be part of taking the gospel to those without it.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My dad has been teaching for…well, since those glasses were in style.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I feel fortunate to have parents who have set such an example for me.  I hope that in my late sixties I am still as dedicated to my calling as I was in my early twenties.  It is fun to think I will be serving on the same field as my mom and dad, although we certainly will not be close enough for weekend visits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One last lesson: <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During my childhood, my parents also set the example for me by communicating well with their support base.  The dining room table was often filled with envelopes in the process of being stuff with updates, thank you cards going out to supporters, and long letters shared with those who wanted to know how things were going.  Although Mom and Dad have stayed strong in their dedication to the things they value, they somehow have let the letter-writing skills gather some serious dust.  Oh well, what are kids for if not to dust things for their elderly parents, right?  Plus, if I\u2019m in charge, I get to include the word \u201celderly\u201d in their communications, which would most likely not happen if they were the ones writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My mom back in the long-forgotten times when letter writing was done like this.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And that is what I am doing right now: a little bit of\ncommunication for and about my parents. \nThey certainly have not asked me to do this, nor would they approve of\nthe compliments (except for this last paragraph) that I\u2019ve given them.  Somewhere in the last four decades, they have\nforgotten the joy of sharing new challenges, new burdens, and new adventures\nwith the people of God around the world who are longing to go to bat on their\nbehalf.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are reading this and you would like to be praying for Tom and Lori Moore as they head to a new ministry in Mexico, would you consider writing <\/a>and letting them know you\u2019ll be praying?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are interested in supporting them financially<\/a>, would you follow the link above and do just that?\u00a0 Whether a one-time gift to help with moving to a new place or a monthly donation that would support the day-to-day of their ministries, your efforts are greatly appreciated.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bags packed, ready for a new adventure in Mexico<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you are reading this and you have been blessed by my\nparents\u2019 helpfulness or perseverance in the past and simply want to let them\nknow, I am confident that would also be a huge encouragement to them.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, last but not least, if you are eager to write and scold them for not writing letters any more, well\u2026I say go ahead.  I got lots of scoldings from them as a child and I lived through them; I\u2019m pretty sure they will, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One last picture, just because I can…=)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A few of the lessons my parents have taught me over the years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":331,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[6413],"class_list":["post-1414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-family","tag-family","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/katie-moore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/katie-moore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/katie-moore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/katie-moore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/331"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/katie-moore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/katie-moore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1414\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/katie-moore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/katie-moore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/katie-moore\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}