India Newsletter

The beauty of Facebook is that you can easily keep your finger on the pulse of old friend’s lives. The problem is that it becomes the only outlet – it makes communication too easy. Therefore, our family hasn't sent out a newsletter of any sorts in over two years. With only daily tid-bits, you get to learn about the silly antics of raising our daughters, but may not have the big-picture that a newsletter conveys.

On that note, we've recently put together a newsletter/support letter which outlines a bit of our journey these past few years and highlights our next big adventure... we're going to India for two weeks in October. The object of this letter is not just to inform, but also seeks your assistance in making this mission a reality. We hope you enjoy a look into our lives on a level that Facebook doesn't provide, and catch the sense of passion and excitement that we have about some amazing work going on in India.

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Greetings!


We have some exciting news to share… we are going to India in October! As you probably remember long ago, we were both called to missions, went to college for it, and participated in multiple missions trips. And then we got married, moved to Phoenix and eight years passed. Some have asked, “What happened to that calling?” To explain, here is an excerpt from our 2008 year-end newsletter (the last one we sent out!).

“…when we came to Arizona we thought we’d be here for one to two years max, raise support, and head to the mission field. Shortly after arriving, we realized that God was asking us to put a hold on those dreams and to plug-in and stay here for now. People can talk all they want about how you shouldn’t get comfortable and forget what God has called you to (which is true), but sometimes you’re told to stay and abandon your grandiose plans. And in those times, you need to obey as well. So, here we are years later, and suddenly we’re helping to plant a church right in our back yard.”

We’ve been involved in that church plant in the Surprise suburb of Phoenix, AZ for almost three years now. The passion and direction of Reveal… A Vineyard Community Church have had a major impact on what Christianity means to us. It has shaped how we see the community around us, our world, and how “doing church” should look. To be a part of it, we are thankful. So where does that leave us now?

The phrase “Old orders are standing orders” comes to our minds. We specifically felt God calling us to stay and plug into the community here in the Valley of the Sun. In the eight years we have lived here, we’ve committed ourselves to sewing our lives into life here, which is why we share a little about our joy of working with Reveal. And now, recently, we’ve felt God re-awakening that yearning in both of our hearts… the call to missions.

“And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere--in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8b

We aren’t planning on moving far away or leading teams on short-term mission endeavors… YET… but God has told us we’ve served our own Jerusalem well and now it’s time to get a little “ends of the earth” action going again.

This October, we are excited to let you know that we have the privilege of going with a team from our church on a two-week mission trip to India. Our church supports a missionary couple who lead two churches in New Delhi. The team’s goal is to assist and encourage them and of course to see God work not just in the lives of the community there, but our own lives as well. The specifics are still being worked out as far as what exactly we’ll be doing, but bringing some aid the poorest of the poor, worshipping with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, and loving on kiddos will be a part of the work.

We’d love for you to partner with us on this – to participate in telling people about Christ in India. You may not be able to physically go, but you can allow us to be an extension of your hands by praying for us in the coming months and/or assisting us with the finances necessary to make the trip possible.

Prayer Requests:
• Protection & health for our family in these months of planning
• Peace for us and our girls during the trip - we plan on leaving Naiya & Natalia here with family while we are gone
• God to prepare our hearts to be compassionate and see the beauty of His creation
• For the financial support needed

Financial Support:
• We need to raise roughly $5,000 for the two of us to go in October
• $3,000 is needed by the end of June to purchase plane tickets
• One-time gifts of any amount can be made to our church, Reveal... A Vineyard Community Church, with our name in the memo line and will be tax-deductable:
     Reveal
     17744 W. Charter Oak Rd
     Surprise AZ, 85388


Please prayerfully consider supporting us in prayer and/or financially on this mission trip. We won’t call to ask for money, but if you have any questions or want to know more, contact us and we’ll be happy to share all the details we have.

If you decide to support us, please message us and let us know whether it is through prayer and/or with a one-time gift. We truly want to make this a partnership and involve you in the process.

Thank you for your friendship, love, and support!

So excited,
Adonái & Kelly Martínez

Random Marriage Advice

So I was on my friend Robyn's blog, Everyone wants to be a Roste, late last night (she is my blogging inspiration), and Robyn covers a new topic every month on which she blogs about. This month, since she is a newlywed, she is doing "Married Life So Far" and kicked off her topic by asking for marriage advice. I figure since I'm behind on  my own blogging, I'm going to steal my own content that I posted as commetns to her blog and post it here on mine as well.

So, when asked for marriage advice, here are the first four things I thought of. They are a bit random, but I hope you enjoy!!

 

There is No Arsenal

One rule that Ado and I established when we were dating and live by to this day is that we are NEVER allowed to throw the past in each others faces. For instance, if we've argued about something and resolve it, and then get into an arguement again, it's a rule that you can't go back and use the past as ammunition for the new fight. What's resolved, is resolved. It's done. The End.

 

Obviously sometimes there are ongoing issues, and it's okay to talk about those more than once, but we still don't get to throw the specifics of the past that we've forgiven at each other. You just gotta move on.

I think this is important advice for a healthy marriage and for arguing fair.

Sex Begets Sex

Lots of things in life require discipline and the more you do it, the more you're inclined to do it. Conversely, the less you do it, the less likely you are to do it. Attending church is a good example. Have you ever noticed that if things come up for a few weeks, that it's not really that big of a deal to miss church a third or fourth Sunday? But when you go regularly, you want to keep going.

How does this concept relate to marriage? Simple - sex begets sex. I'm telling you, the more you do it, the more you'll do it! So do it! Make making love a priority. Schedule it in if you have to. Because when the week gets busy and you have kids, and someone gets sick, and it's a late night at work, etc. the days easily fly can by and you might just realize that you've not been doing the one-flesh thing nearly as often as you thought you would be. So, enjoy one another and have lots of sex... which leads to more sex. Ooo la la!

Keep Your Marriage a Priority When Kids Exist

I'm in a place in my life where we have young children in the house. I realize you're not there yet, but here is my marriage advice for when you get there - the best way to be the best parent is to love your spouse. Let your kids see you loving one another. Be involved in a marriage group and still go on date nights; these take time away from your children, but teaches them that you value your marriage. It also fosters a safe environment - one of security for your kiddos - to know that mommy and daddy make each other a priority (and that they aren't the center of the universe).

Wait on the Baby-Making

I advise newlyweds to be married for a while before having kids. Get to know your spouse, just the two of you, before you add another layer to the family dynamic. Enjoy going out to the movies at 10pm and not needing a baby-sitter. Enjoy learning about one another now, while it's just the two of you. If there things to adjust to or issues to work through, they won't go away with kids in the picture.

We were married 4 1/2 years before we had our first kiddo and I don't regret it in the least! I adore being a mommy and this phase of my life, but I throughly enjoyed the first four years of marriage too.

So there it is - my random marriage advice - solicited by Robyn but unsolicited by you. Feel free to add your own bit of advice as a comment to this blog post for kicks. And if you're one of my friends in Canada, go to Robyn's blog and put your advice there - maybe you'll win her contest and score some movie tickets!