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“But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head.” Psalm 3:3

The goal of the Shield Ministry is to honor and glorify God by being prayer warriors for our First Responders and their families. Day after day and night after night, law enforcement officers, fire fighters, paramedics, and EMTs say goodbye to their families and put their lives on the line to keep us safe. Day after day, they put on the full armor of God Paul spoke of in Ephesians 6:10-18.

We provide spiritual back-up for these heroes with prayer and words of encouragement. This may look like birthday cards, anniversary cards, notes of encouragement, scripture verses, or however the Lord leads.  We commit to praying for their safety, courage, strength, and integrity.  Sometimes we receive specific prayer requests and join our First Responders in bringing them before the throne of grace.  

We encourage everyone to pray for First Responders. If you are a First Responder or are interested in becoming a Shield Ministry Prayer Warrior and receive specific prayer requests, contact Pete Feldner at (505) 350-0399 or Cathy Feldner at (505) 362-8048.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  Thessalonians 5:16-18

Last week Kellie shared the first part of their adoption journey. Here is the rest of the story...

About four weeks later, I got a call from a caseworker I’d never met. She said, “I’ve read your home study and I think I’ve found a really good match for you and your husband.” I was so excited… tell me more! She began talking and I was immediately floored! She began, “It’s a sibling pair, a girl and a boy. The boy is 16 and the girl is 10.” I stopped her there and said, “I know exactly who you are talking about.” She was speechless when I said, “Is it Felix and Ashley?” She hadn’t even realized that Sean and I had been at the slide show night. She had no idea that we’d been discussing them.

It was absolutely clear in that moment that God was opening a door for us and making it crystal clear that this was His plan for us and for these kiddos. Every fear I had of adopting, of their age, of the unknown, completely vanished. I told her, “YES!” She tried to tell me more, making it clear to me that if we said yes we had to mean it because these kids had just been through an adoption that had fallen through and they didn’t want to take a chance that it would happen again. I continued to just tell her, “Yes, yes yes!” I couldn’t wait to go home and tell Sean.

When I got home, Sean was in the garage working on his motorcycle. I told him the news and he got immediately choked up and was in complete agreement. It was completely evident to us that God had heard our prayers.

Our next step was to put together a family book that CYFD could share with Felix. Because he was 16, he had a say in his adoption. I quickly gathered photos, bought a DIY scrapbook at Hobby Lobby, and whipped up that family book! When they presented it to Felix and he said, “Yes!”, we were thrilled.

At that point, we were given full disclosure of their past, CYFD reports, police reports, medical records, school records, etc. AND, we got pictures of them! Big 11 x 16 photos! I loved them immediately! We hung them proudly in the kitchen and shared them with our family and closest friends.

This was late October. We found out soon after that we would meet them for the first time on January 1.

We went home to Washington for Christmas that year and flew back to New Mexico a few days before the New Year. While we were in the Seattle-Tacoma airport, heading back to New Mexico, we got a call from the social worker telling us that Felix had run away. She told us that he had a pregnant girlfriend who had recently moved out of state and that they believed that was where he had gone. I felt like I had been hit by a semi-truck! I literally almost threw up. They still wanted us to come and meet Ashley and move forward. We were grateful for that and more than willing… but, it was such a shock! Sean was really looking forward to a teenage son and a boy he could mentor and help grow. A boy who wanted to fly in the Air Force. A boy who wanted a motorcycle. It seemed too perfect.

On New Years Day, the drive three hours south was long and silent. Each of us wrapped up in so many thoughts and emotions. We arrived at the foster home, knocked on the door, and that little girl answered. She was hiding behind the door so we couldn’t see her. She slowly came out from behind the door and the love I immediately felt was beyond anything I can truly explain. I have no doubt that God gave me the love for Ashley Nicole days, weeks, months, years before I actually got to meet her! She was part of me. She was mine. It was something I thought a woman could only feel/have by giving birth to her own child. I was SO wrong. Though I’ve never experienced that, I can only imagine it was exactly the same. God is so gracious. God is so faithful.

These last four years have been nothing short of a tremendously rich and blessed experience. We feel so extremely fortunate to have this amazing little girl join our family. She is a light and so amazingly full of joy. She is funny and gracious and beautiful and sweet and loving and awesome! She is the perfect addition to our family.   

(P.S. This was written in 2014- most of you know Ashley now and have witnessed our blessed journey! She is our absolute pride and joy! We continue to feel like the luckiest parents there are- though we know there was really no luck involved. God had a plan and we are so thankful we listened.)

Sean and I had tried for years to conceive and eventually went through the whole fertility testing process. We were told that we were able to get pregnant, but that it was unlikely. It was heartbreaking news. It took a couple of years before we decided that we were ready to adopt. We had discussed it many times and were both “open” to it, but I think we were always hopeful that I would get pregnant in the meantime!

Once we actually decided to start the adoption process, we looked first at the international avenues of adoption and the adoption of a baby through a private agency. At the same time, as I met with God daily, I felt him stirring in my heart the idea that He wanted us to adopt an older child. I easily dismissed this feeling because I WANTED A BABY. I fought it for months and then one night Sean came to me and told me that he felt God was prodding him (us) to consider adopting an older child(ren). Wow! It was clear from that point on that this is what we would do and we began the process of becoming licensed as foster parents so we could adopt through the State.

As we went through the training, classes, home study, etc., we still talked of adopting an older child in terms of a child age 2-5’ish. We had decided on a boy because the trainers scared Sean when they spoke about all the things that can happen when you adopt a girl. They warn of adoptive fathers having trouble with girls accusing them of different kinds of abuse (many because of what they’ve endured in the past). They warn fathers to keep journals of any time a touch or a hug may have taken place and been misconstrued as inappropriate, etc. Sean felt strongly that we should adopt a boy and I couldn’t blame him.

We completed our training and home study and became officially licensed foster parents. We had chosen to only accept “waiting children”, meaning that they were ready for adoption (parental rights had already been terminated). I was too scared to have a child in my home for any length of time only to have them taken away. I felt I had already endured so much heartache and did not think I was capable of that kind of situation. We told CYFD that we preferred a toddler boy because they highly encourage you to narrow it down to a specific sex, age, etc. I think they thought we were crazy because we kept telling them that we had NO idea what God had planned and we were mostly just willing to be obedient to whatever He laid in front of us. Still, to me, in my heart this meant a young boy and just one child (while Sean was open to a sibling group).

Shortly after our home study was finished, Sean got orders to deploy to Afghanistan for one year, putting everything on hold.

When he returned, we made sure everything was up-to-date with CYFD and a few months later told them that we were ready to be considered again. We went to a “slide show night” where the caseworkers show pictures of their kiddos and give little bios on them. At the end of the night, prospective parents turn in a list of kids they are interested in. We submitted the name of one little boy, Ezekiel, about age 5. About a week later, they notified us that he already had a prospective forever family. At that same slide show, a caseworker had spoken about a brother and sister who had just come up for adoption. She had no pictures and just a little bit of information about them. The boy was 16 and the girl was 10. Something about them sparked Sean’s interest. He mentioned it to me and I abruptly dismissed it. What in the world would I do with a 16-year old boy? It seemed, to me, more than I could handle!

After the prospect of Ezekiel fell through, Sean again mentioned this brother and sister duo. I really didn’t say anything, I just let him talk and then I let it go. After all, we had told CYFD that we wanted a toddler boy and so they would never even consider our home study for this pair of children. I didn’t need to worry about it. He brought them up a few other times, but it never went further than just casual conversation.

Come back next week to find out the rest of the story…..

Sixty-five years ago, Audrey Wetherell Johnson returned from missionary work in China and asked the Lord what He wanted her to do. “He seemed to thrust the question right back at me: ‘What would you above all things like to do?’ I replied, ‘I love Your Word above all things. I would love to spend my life teaching others to find what I have found.’”

She and four friends started Bible Study Fellowship in California and it now is world-wide, numbering thousands of participants and still growing, as the Lord moves hearts and souls to seek Him.

The BSF approach to understanding His word is straight forward. Every year BSF leadership selects a book or books from the Bible to walk through in 29 weekly lessons. Each lesson is broken down into reviewing BSF-created notes, hearing a lecture (now online) on the previous week’s lesson, daily reading of verses (usually less than a page), and answering thought provoking questions on the current week’s lesson (4 or 5 questions per daily reading). The questions often refer to other related Bible passages, which help provide perspective on the verse or lesson. The weekly meetings review ‘take-aways’ from the notes and the lectures, and then review the daily questions. In all, a disciplined study approach.

However, the ‘secret sauce’ is how the discipline is relaxed in the weekly meetings. Study group sizes are typically 10 to 20 people, from a variety of vocations and Bible knowledge. This results in many perspectives on the verses’ meanings, which often lead to lengthy discussions on single questions. This is where the Lord and the Holy Spirit are working on hearts and minds, giving understanding.

The Lord pursues every life that He created, but He also numbered everyone’s days. Life is so short - don’t pass up opportunities to draw closer to Him by studying His word. 

There are men’s and women’s groups scattered from Los Lunas to Rio Rancho to Edgewood. There is a men's group that meets Tuesday evenings at MCC. And there are online groups. This link has more information on BSF, and this link can help you find an in-person or online group.  

This year’s study started this week and covers the book of Revelation. In this tumultuous time, you may identify things happening now that the Apostle John saw in visions almost 2,000 years ago. But, remember that the Lord is in control and is faithful to His own.

If you have questions, call Tom Mead at (505) 710-9138 or the church office. We can help you find a study group or answer questions on BSF.

It was early March, 2023 when I reached out to Marcy Bryant about tutoring students through the MCC Shine program at A. Montoya in the fall. I knew the background check process took time and I wanted to be ready for the new school year.

Marcy introduced me to Felisa Palfery, who immediately started the ball rolling. When I was midway through the process, an urgent request arrived for a reading tutor for a third grader to start as soon as possible. Then, just before my clearance was approved, we received an urgent request for a math tutor for a third grader.

And so it was that I found myself in early April tutoring two third grade students. And the blessings poured in. First, I met the two caring and talented front desk staff who all day juggle scores of tasks and who inspired me with their kindness and devotion to everyone in the school. Next, I met the school counselor, whose outpouring of love for the students shines like a beacon. I was touched by so many that I met and got to know at the school - the students I tutored, their teachers, and many other school staff.

Everyone at the school expressed sincere gratitude for my service. However, for me, the abundant gifts I received surpassed anything I could imagine. The gift of relationships with so many. The gift of witnessing the growing confidence and skills of a student. The gift of creating a safe space for a student to share about the death of a beloved pet. The gift of living God's will for me. The gift of being inspired by the many who go above and beyond for the school. The gift of being challenged and developing my skills. The gift of engaging with students, teachers, staff, fellow tutors, and the exceptional members of the Shine Core Team at MCC.

Not all of my experiences were easy or as expected. One day, a student disappeared as we were walking back to the classroom. I had to confess to the school counselor that I had lost my student and waited for her to be found. I then was able to witness and learn from the school counselors who firmly handled the situation with kindness and compassion.

As I was finishing tutoring this past school year, I told my fifth grade student that the following week would be our last session together. “Noooo!” he responded. Certain he was disappointed that we would be unable to finish the exciting book we were reading, I assured him that he could keep the book after our last session. When he told me he had other books he was already reading, I asked him what made him sad that our sessions were coming to an end. “Not seeing you every week.”

I have no words for the beauty of God's blessings.

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If you’d like to experience the blessings of serving with Shine, talk to Wendy Erickson or Marcy Bryant.