Clay Pots ~ Guatemala part 2

My Spanish studies are going well. Two weeks down and two to go! I passed the grade "A" level test on Friday and am moving on to level "B". I appreciate my teacher and his patience. Also, he is going to try to teach me all the vocabulary he can for gardening and cultivation so I can better serve in the upcoming project this summer. What a nice guy!

The following paragraph is in answer to my prayer that God would use me in small ways... I wanted to attend a church today, but my contact fell through and so I found myself out and about today on my own. Well, I thought about going on a mountain bike ride with this outfitting group, but the only trip going today was a 32 mile trip… too much for me today since I just hiked down a volcanoe last night (I was in awe of the omnipotence of my Father in Heaven). So I was like, “Well, where should I go for breakfast since I am famished?” So I went to this little bakery that had some good prices. There were absolutely no tables open except one right next to the cash register. So I sat down there by myself. It was a table for three and I felt a little strange taking up their whole table for only me, but I was hungry and ordered eggs, beans, coffee, juice, and a plate of fruit. Well, this older gentleman (probably my father's age) comes walking in and was looking for a table too and couldn't find one, and so I offered him a spot at my table. Suprisingly, he actually accepted and sat down. He is down here learning Spanish too and so we practised for a few minutes on each other. Then God just opened the door and before I knew it, we were having the greatest conversation which lasted for the next two hours about his life and divorce and kids and about our backgrounds and how difficult life had been up to this point. I told him a bit about who I was and what I was doing here and opened up and told him about some of my struggles but how Jesus has made all the difference in my life. We talked about immigration, our country, and something that he thought our country lacks… and that being an understanding of ‘grace’. So we talked about grace and the grace of God through Jesus Christ. He was appreciative of our conversation and I offered to pray for him before we left and he accepted. So I prayed a short prayer of blessing on his family, kids, and studies abroad. He thanked me and we parted. I was very blessed to be able to sit and chat with this guy… and to share Jesus with him during an incredibly deep conversation - considering we were strangers. I think that he just needed to hear about grace and Jesus today. May the Spirit of God work in his heart to draw him to himself!

Adios,
Jason

Clay Pots ~ Guatemala part 1

Well, I have been in Guatemala for a full week now... and my, what a full week it has been. My first full day here was filled with attending a fairly wealthy and 'modern' church in Guatemala city, seeing (from a car) the poorest section of Guatemala city, visiting Paco's parents for lunch (pray for Paco's Mom who is very ill), and then driving to a smaller city called Sumpango, where I attended a newly planted church (within the past 5 years) which is in the advanced planning stages of planting another church fairly soon in a neighboring city. I finally arrived at my host family's home in Antigua a bit after 8pm, exhausted and trying to get prepared for classes the next morning.

I have class from 8-4 minus two hours for lunch. My teacher is a very nice guy named Julio who has been teaching Spanish to foreigners for 20 years. We have managed to have some pretty interesting conversations even during this first week as we covered about 18 lessons in 5 days. I say 'interesting conversations' because he is not allowed to speak English (and he really does not know it super well anyway). I think we are one of the more lively pairs (every student is paired up with an individual teacher) as I had him dancing in the hall to a spanish song on you tube called Buenas Dias Senior Sol. We also got pretty animated when I started telling him about Milwaukee in my very broken Spanish, but was able to get across the idea that Harley Davidson and Miller Park are two icons in my home state... the Cerveseros (Brewers) are a pretty popular team. The studies are coming along really well and I am satisfied with the progress we are making.

Thank you to all of you who have been praying and have made this possible for me. Thank you for remembering my wife and children at home too. We talk at least once a day via video chat, so that makes the separation a little easier.

Adios,
Jason
Jason's e-mail address: jason@claypots.org

Clay Pots ~ Immersion School

Thank goodness for Llamas

It is hard to believe that it is halfway through January already. I have had a busy week, but I wanted to catch you up on what is going on so that you can be in prayer. First of all, I am heading out on Saturday for Guatemala for 4 weeks of immersion Spanish study. I will be attending a school during the day and staying with a host family during the evenings. I am hoping that I can accelerate my Spanish study during this month and come back with the ability to carry on simple conversation, talk on the phone, and be able to build on that base during this spring and summer's activities in Waukesha. Be in prayer for Kellie and the kids as they will be home alone for that month; and pray for me, that I will learn quickly and retain it all; and that I will be a blessing to those I come in contact with.
Another thing which you can be praying for is the Common Ground garden project. God has really been at work with this and I am getting pretty excited about how things are starting to come together. As you know, the ground has been turned over, which is a good start, but there is still a long way to go. Some friends of mine have really jumped in and done some amazing work. Through them, a local tree trimming company has graciously donated free wood chips (which I believe will be a big help in cutting down the mud and in retaining moisture) and we have a means of acquiring llama manure as our fertilizer this first year. I don't know much about llamas, but I have read enough to know that they make the best manure for gardens! Also, I have been looking into sources for seeds and have found what I believe to be a very reasonable source. Remember, we want to be able to provide seeds for the participants free of cost. In my ideal world, I would like to purchase these seeds this year, and then harvest our own and save them from year to year afterwards and never really have to pay for seeds again. The total cost for slightly under the amount of seeds we need will be around $450.00, but if I wanted to have excess (which I think would be a good idea), then I am estimating the cost to be $615.00. If you feel that helping us purchase some seed would be a way in which you would like to participate in this project, please contact me through email (because I will be out of country for awhile) or send a check specifying the garden project to:
Clay Pots
S53 WW24079 Glendale Rd.
Waukesha, WI 53189
Keep praying about this up-coming year. I think God has big things in store and look forward to updating you as we find out more. I will try to send out an update or two from down in Guatemala. See you all in a month.
Peace,
Jason for Kellie, Micah, Sophia, and Malachi Knapp

Clay Pots ~ Grandpa Knapp

On Monday, December, 27, 2010, at 10:35 am, my Grandpa, Kellogg Knapp, went to be with his Savior, Jesus Christ. This post is a tribute to him.

I believe my Grandpa was great because he found his greatest satisfaction in relationships. He was not concerned with worldly possessions, he knew that they only brought worry and trouble; instead, he possessed a wealth of friendships and relationships, and this brought him joy and peace. His first and most special love was for Jesus, followed closely by his love for his wife Lucille. Now, I would not consider Grandpa a book smart theologian who knew all the aspects of and defenses for all the doctrines in the Bible, but he was an experiential theologian that knew Jesus, loved him deeply, and knew that he would see him someday when he finally passed away. His comments about his Savior were often short and sometimes subtle, but they were frequent, interspersed through almost every conversation, heartfelt, and full of thankfulness to his Lord. Grandpa lived his theology and loved his Savior.

Grandpa had a way of making every person he met feel special. He always had time for people, they were never a bother to him, never inconvenienced him, and you always felt like he would rather talk to you than do anything else at that moment. I loved that about him. And… as everyone can testify, he was extremely funny.

A special bond that I believe I, personally, shared with my Grandfather, was the fact that both of us, in the prime of our lives, went overseas for the sake of something bigger than ourselves, for a cause. Psalm 102:18-22 – We both believe in freedom. A freedom for this generation and the ones to come to have the opportunity to worship the true God and his Son Jesus Christ. And we both believe that true freedom from our sin, freedom from the punishment of eternity in hell, and freedom from the cares of all the garbage in this life comes only through belief in Jesus’ substitutionary death on the cross for us. Without Jesus, we have no hope in this life or in the life to come… Grandpa is EXPERIENCING this freedom and hope in full right now, whereas I continue to believe… that lucky dog (as he would say). Grandpa made every opportunity (even at the possibility of loosing his life in WW2) for us as a family to be able to first believe, and then to declare the praises of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Because this belief permeated his entire life, he exuded a quiet confidence in life. Growing up, I knew that my Grandpa wasn’t afraid of anything in life or in death, and I believe that this is because he knew that he belonged to Jesus whether in life or death and that Jesus would never let him go, no matter what the circumstances. This caused him not to worry about much, and that is why I believe that he was always smiling… confident that his life was in Jesus’ hands. Well, his confidence spurred me on to travel overseas and live among a primitive people group who were in spiritual darkness and who did not have the light of Jesus shining in their lives. But before I left, I remember sitting at Grandpa and Grandma’s kitchen table, worrying, and asking them if I should continue on this crazy journey and head overseas… everything was so unknown and I was fearful. They sat there over ice cream cones and told me about how God will never let you down; how God is your only back-up plan. They told me about how God had provided for them during the depression, after the war, and while raising three kids. They told me that if God was leading me to do this, that I should not fear whether or not he would provide, but to go trusting that he would. So I took my family, and we went… and we never lacked!

These are the qualities of my Grandfather that I wish to aspire to: To continue to live my life for Jesus, in dependence upon him, not worrying about the things of this life, but investing in the lives of others, to demonstrate to everyone in my life that they are special, because they ARE in the eyes of Jesus, and to not be afraid of new challenges in life because I am confidence that the same God who cared for my Grandfather is caring for me.

I love you Grandpa! I know you are now in the arms of Jesus and the Father is saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” I pray that you are enjoying a hunting trip with your best friend, Jesus. And I pray that each and every life that you touched is like a gem which you can cast at the feet of your Savior because I know that you would rather give than receive. God bless you!