Christmas Letter

Friday, December 3, 2010
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Some of you may be in shock as this is the first Christmas letter you have received from the Hjemvick family, but put your eyes back in your sockets because you will want to read this letter! We have some exciting news to share! It has been absolutely amazing to see the way that God has been working in our lives this year.
The story actually begins in 2008 when Jake went on a short-term trip to El Salvador with a group from Discovery Christian Church. In addition to feeding the homeless in San Salvador, the country’s capital, the team spent time repairing a dormitory in a government run orphanage in the city’s poor outskirts. Some boys there have parents in jail or addicted to drugs, other have parents who left them for dead on the streets as infants. Many have no parents at all. They have little clothing, no shoes, few personal belongings, and awful hygiene due to their living conditions.
It was a humbling and convicting experience. Could we go back to our comfortable homes, brand name clothes, our well-paying jobs, and do nothing when real children were suffering physically, emotionally, and spiritually? Jake returned home and immediately began convincing Becky that she should go on the next trip. At the time, Adam was three-years-old and Abby had just turned one. Becky had never been away from the kids for an extended period of time and certainly didn’t want to leave them for a week. She finally agreed (somewhat reluctantly) to go.
The Becky that left our home in Jan 2009 was not the Becky that returned a week later! Becky immediately felt a connection and some sort of ‘call’ to El Salvador but just was not sure what that call looked like.  Over the next two years we took a combined 11 trips and continued to invest more of our lives into the orphaned children of El Salvador. It was late last year when we felt God calling us to do more than just spend time with these kids.  After many lengthy discussions and weeks of prayerful consideration, we decided to begin the process of trying to adopt a child.
Becky and some of the boys at CISNA
It was a few months later that we began to realize that God had moved our hearts closer to where He wanted, but was not done with us yet. After Becky’s trip to El Salvador in March, God pressed her heart to talk with Jake about serving there full time and turning this heartfelt passion into a reality. Jake struggled with the reality of giving up everything we have here; our “safe” and “comfortable” life, to jump into the unknown. What about the kids? What about our family here in Pittsburgh? What about my job?  As we prayed and examined Scripture, God began to reveal His nature, will, and desires.
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? – James 1:27
As we read these passages we think of the orphans we’ve met and their desire to have attention, love, someone to really care about them, and real hope. Thinking about the “chains of injustice” mentioned in Isaiah 58, we picture the gangs that plague San Salvador. It breaks our hearts to know that many of the boys from the orphanages will end up in one of these violent gangs when they are sent back to the streets at age 18 with no education, no future, and no hope. It is clear that God has a heart for the poor, orphaned, hungry, and oppressed. Was He serious about wanting us to help care for “the least of these”? Isn't that what we were already doing? How much more does He want?! Jesus answered…
The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” – Matthew 25:40
Jesus asks for everything but we try to give him less.  The Creator and Sustainer of the Universe (the one who decides if I take another breath!) has given us life and His infinite love and we respond by giving Him some of our leftover money, time, and talents. The more we studied the Bible, the more we realized that only thing we can do is to respond in love.
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.  For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” – Galatians 5:13-14
If I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.                    – 1 Corinthians 13:2-3
According to God we are here to love. Not much else really matters. God has given us a real love for the children in El Salvador; a desire to want to do something real for them. To help to give them a chance in life; to love them unconditionally, to help bring them real hope. God has been tugging on our hearts over the past two years and we cannot ignore His call for us to serve there in El Salvador. So.... here we are now! Going all in.
About six months ago God brought to our attention a faith-based non-profit organization called Christ For the City International (CFCI).  CFCI has over 250 workers in Latin America, Canada, Spain, Mali, and the U.S. We met their staff in El Salvador as well as their headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska and are excited to work through an organization that has more than 15 years of experience meeting the needs of people living in poverty. CFCI’s vision is that there be “no place without a witness, no church without a vision, no person without hope”. We completely share this vision, and would like the results of our service to help keep kids off the streets, lower crime rates, enable people to find better jobs, and get churches involved in needs around them.
Adam (six-years-old) and Abby (almost four-years-old) are both excited about moving to El Salvador. It is so cute to hear “God please take care of the Salvador kids” as a frequent request in their nightly prayers. Adam is into soccer and Abby loves dancing so we think they’ll fit right in with the Latin American culture! If we are able to raise sufficient funding, we plan to make the big move next June.
We are so thankful for those of you who have been a part of this ministry decision with us! Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement. Some of you have already expressed interest in taking this journey with us and have asked how to help. We would love for you all to be part of this great adventure with us! We will need support of all kinds: prayer partners, one time gifts for travel and language training, and our greatest need will be for partners who support us monthly to help us cover our living expenses.  If you are interested, you can view our donation page for more information.
God gave us the greatest present we could ever receive when he sent Jesus to earth to die for us so we could spend eternity with Him in heaven. We clearly do not deserve this gift but yet we take it freely! We are very excited to tell the people of El Salvador about this gift that they have also received…it is for everyone! We hope you enjoy this Christmas season, and remember to give thanks for your many blessings!

One Response to Christmas Letter

  1. Danaly December 17, 2010 at 4:51 PM | Permalink

    Hey guys,

    Jim and I received your Christmas card. What a beautiful family you have!! We are super excited for the news you shared and are praying to see how God would have us be involved in your ministry. We'll let you know soon but know that we are already praying for you. How cool that you'll be living in a Latin American country... a taste of my childhood!

    Our love,

    The Paynes
    Jim, Danaly, Lucy, Jenna & Michael

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