A Little Newsey

We've been so busy I've not had a chance to update my blog, or decorate for Fall!  The kids are working hard on their school, beginning on Tuesday each week and ending on Saturday.  Our week is a little unusual, but that is the beauty of homeschool.  In our schedule, we have two days out of the week in which we do school in the afternoon, because the kids or their mother have ministry related items scheduled in the morning.

That is, all except the days when they are sick, which has been the case for the past two weeks.  A harsh nagging cough gradually made its entrance into the household a few weeks ago, and now it's just as slowly making its exit.  I'd like to evict it sooner, but all my powers of cough elimination are fruitless against this bugger.  I love how the Mexican ladies are all giving me advice.  In the US I'm usually the odd ball for my home remedies.  Twice, families have dropped by with their favorite herbs to make tea with for the kids, and I've also been scolded for not making them wear socks in the house.  "That's why they're sick!  Get socks on those feet!!!!"  (I would have to use a stapler, I think.)

I'm missing church, and missing the missing of church!  I'm so thankful for a church that I can serve in, and receive blessing from, for people to minister to, and who often minister to me.  Our pastor is a man of God who preaches God's Word without compromise or fear, and who, with his wife, genuinely love God and people.  These things are all priceless to me!

The property is ready to build on, we are just getting plans and people ready for the project!

This has been my news.  Thank you for taking the time to read it!

Fear of Death

"In perfect health I went from home,

Not knowing that my race was run,

As flowers grow and then decay,

A sudden death snatched me away.

Little thought my time so short,

In this world to remain,

When from my home I went away,

And hoped to return again.

The stroke of death did end my time,

And cut me off just in my prime,

Short was my life, sharp was my pain,

Great was your loss, much more my gain."

Farewell my wife and brother so dear,

I am not dead, but sleeping here.

My debt is paid, my grave you see,

Therefore prepare to follow me.

"Jesus lover of my soul, let me to thy bosom fly."

 "One by one life's chain on earth is broken.  One by one it's linged again in heaven."

We see a lot of gravestones this time of year.  Mexico celebrates the Day of the Dead this time of year also.  There are "death" things everywhere.  Here, Halloween is for Children, and the Day of the Dead is for adults.  They believe that the spirits return to the earth on this night, and they need to leave an offering for them so they won't take vengence.  While it is treated like a game, under the surface there is real fear among so many; fear of the dead, fear of devils, fear of the unseen spiritual world all around us.

I took the above pictures of an old cemetery not far from here.  There were some of the early English settlers who came here to work on the mines.  As you can see, death was something that brought sorrow, but it was accompanied by faith and hope.  Nearly all of the very old graves had words of hope and joy.  These people lived an incredibly hard life.  We toured the mines they worked in.  Their testimony of hope is written in stone here and in other places as well.  Remember that, while so many others play with death and fear this month, Death holds no sting for those in Christ;  He took that on Himself.  If we belong to Christ, His Spirit dwells in us-there is no greater spirit than His, and we need not fear other spirits.  This is a good time of year to rejoice in our freedom from fear!

1Co 15:55-58  O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?  (56)  The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.  (57)  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  (58)  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Found this in my Fort Bragg pictures-now it's my desktop!

I love it, since you can "see" the wind, which is part of your visit to the beach at Fort Bragg.  This day was bright and beautiful, but the wind was gusty and playful and cold.  And it smelled wonderful.  I miss the family we played with while on the beach!  My brother and his wife and kids made the day extra special.

October 19, Happy Birthday Elisabeth!

My little snugglebug.

She loves to dress up!

She is not afraid of dirt, and it likes her too!

Last year when we visited Fort Bragg, CA.  (I can't believe it's been so long!)

Her second celebration of September 15.

This was right after she was baptized last month.

I love you so much little one!  Elisabeth is a precious little soul.  She feels everything she feels intensely. She is compassionate and exeptionally loving.  She thinks hard about everything, and when she's been sitting very quietly thinking, you know something unusual is going to come of it!

Peek into the mind of Ruth

"So fruits are girls and vegetables are boys!"
"Really?  Why do you say that?"
"Girls are sweet!  And I really like brocoli, but it's not sweet, so it's a boy.  The vegetables are the good guys, and they are good for you to eat, so that's why they are boys."
"Oh, so if the vegetables are the good guys, who are the bad guys?"
"Bread!"
"You don't like eating bread?"
"Nope, unless it has peanut butter on it."
"So bread is a bad guy unless it has peanut butter on it?  The peanut butter changes it to a good guy?"
"Yup!"
"So what is peanut butter?"
"Peanut butter is the magic fairy!"

For my parents

A little apology. You sent us Ruth's Bible a while ago, and while I acknoledged that it had been recieved, I forgot to post this picture Ruth made for you when she got it.  I thought it was so adorible, I took a picture of it,  but then I forgot got distracted and only just found it. I though you would need to see it!

Newsflash!

 It's done!  Praise the Lord!  God put on the heart of a Christian here in Mexico to help this ministry with a building.  While he already invested in a small plot of land for us, he believed that the church needed more land, so he asked us to keep looking for the owners of the property on either side of us, or find two plots together somewhere.  We did find a plot that the owner was willing to trade with us, and allow us to purchase the neighboring plot from him as well.  Then his parents, who owned the plot on the other side, found out that we were looking for more land, and offered to sell us their plot too.  When Bro. Jaimez called his friend who was helping us, and asked him if he wanted to go ahead with this opportunity, he said, "That's so exciting!  This morning I was praying about your land, and God gave me this verse. Isa 54:2-3(2)  'Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;(3)  For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.'  Do it!"  So the church owns three plots together, and is ready to plan a building that will be big enough for our growing church.   This is wonderful to watch, and I feel privileged just to be a part. God is faithful!

So, do you like Mexico?

People are starting to ask me if I really do like it here. We've been here a good six months now, and my Spanish is hobbling along a little faster, so they are curious.

What can I say about Mexico?

I love first and foremost that I was made specifically for what we are doing here and now. God is so good to me to give this privilege, and every day I wake up to work that I don't deserve to do.

If you aren't doing what God made you to do, I pity you.

I love the patient, gracious people, who have been so good to me, helping me learn this language, laughing abundantly at my mistakes with me, but no one has shown me scorn. I know this is not always the case with missionaries learning new languages, but it has been the case with me, and It is something I love about these people.

I love that I can get fresh, warm tortillas at my door every day! This may be selfish to post in a "spiritual" piece, but hey, if you haven't tried them, you have no idea! When I bring them in, I have four little birds chirping around me wanting to eat one right off the stack. Yes, they are that good.

I love watching my kids learning to make friends and speak Spanish. They are coming along great!

I'm glad that God doesn't think I'm Superchristian, and leave me to my own devices. I used to think missionaries were some kind of super mutant minister or some such nonsense-it's kinda hard to surrender to God's will for your life when you think like that.  (If you know what you are.) I had to take another turn through I Corinthians 1, where it says the foolish, weak, and base things are His fist choice.  He's still a workin' on me!

I love being in the ministry.  We get to watch God work. Is there anything more amazing and wonderful?

I love seeing the lights come on in a person's eyes as they see that Jesus paid the price for their sin, and if they repent and believe on Him to save them, He will. I love being a small part in God ransoming a soul.

I really like the pozole. And the huaraches. And the sopes. And the chile rellenos. And the pastes, and the carne asada.

I could go on, but I don't have time. I'm busier than I've ever been in my life, having more to do than I can quite get done in a week, and I'm overwhelmed. but not by the work. It will always be there. I'm overwhelmed by God's goodness, His faithfulness, His power.

It's such a blessing to be in God's will for my life, knowing we are in His hands and He is doing with us what He made us for.