Almost finished!!!!

Greetings everyone! Last night at 11:00 we hit the halfway point of reviewing the entire recording. We are soooo close! We hope to be completed by Wednesday night. Please keep us in your prayers, we are very tired and working hard to push on. God is so good! We are looking forward to the blessing this work will be to others. Pray for deliverance from all the things the enemy will try to bring in the next few days to stop the work.

The smell of rain…

Don't you love it? It is a fragrance like no other. Fresh, refreshing, indefinable. Sometimes it hits you when you least expect it. I was riding on the bus this afternoon, reading a book on prayer, and not paying attention to the outside world, w Closhen suddenly the intoxicating fragrance of rain filled my nose. It has been so hot and dry lately that the scent startled me. Turning my eyes from the pages that held my attention, I was surprised to see the sky covered with clouds. It was then that I noticed the scorching heat had given way to a refreshing cool edge on the air. Soon, light rain began to fall, settling the dust and changing the mood to a peaceful lull. The bus rumbled on, bouncing and jerking on the rough road, and I settled back to continue reading. Others raised their windows, but I left mine open, relishing the scent of fresh rain, and the brightness of the breeze. My reading was once again interrupted, this time by loud cracks as thunder followed lightning flashing through the air. I closed my book and settled in to watch the welcome dry season storm, and as I did, I thought…

Life is often like that sudden dry season storm. Just when the heat of life is bearing down on us, and we toil along, wondering when relief will come, God sends a bit of refreshment; a word of encouragement, an answered prayer, something to manifest His presence, just like the refreshing whiff of fresh rain. Often in our distress over the hard circumstances that are consuming us, we fail to recognize the gift. Next, rain drops come, more blessings from the Lord along our path, but perhaps we close the windows to them and keep on. Finally, with a loud crash, God orchestrates circumstances to call our attention to His bountiful goodness in our lives. Then, just as quickly as a passing storm, life settles back and we are left with refreshed spirits, and a reminder to look for His glory in the glaring heat of the sun, as well as the refreshing breeze of the rain, in the hard times and in the easier, He is always there.

God brought some refreshing rain in the past week or so. We had a little over a week long break from the recording, so that gave us some rest. During this time we worked on organizing the office, filing papers, and revising the translations of the first Bible study lessons. It was great to be able to catch up on some of this neglected business!

A team from Kansas came for 12 days, doing some work on churches in Big Falls and Hicatee. We are always blessed when others come and encourage us through their care for the people of Toledo! Rev. John Wright has brought a team down here four years in a row, and they are always a blessing, especially to the pastors and their families, bringing care packs and encouragement for them.

This year, they wanted to provide the pastors with a lasting source of income, so they decided to buy young pigs to get the pastors started raising and selling pigs. 18 pastors x 3 pigs each = 54 pigs. I gained a new title: pig hunter. I had hoped to have all the pigs here for the team to give out, but unfortunately, I was unable to locate that many pigs in time, but we did have fun collecting at least some of them and taking care of them overnight before sending them home with pastors the next day. The fence around the satellite dish became a pig pen for the night, but we were somewhat concerned about the fact that a jaguar has been prowling around our premises. Two young guys from Big Falls came armed with machetes and spent the night on the roof of the shed, guarding the piglets from becoming jaguar snacks. Now for the task of getting the rest of the pigs…

Recording started back today. Please pray for Andres, Mark, and Lauren as they work hard to finish reading their parts. Pray for all of us, as we will be pushing hard to get the recording completed this week, so we can spend next week doing the final review.

His truth is marching on!

Greetings! It has been a busy week, but the recording of God's word in Mopan Maya continues! The parts for Paul were a major portion of the New Testament, and Clifford finished reading those on Sunday. We are down to a couple small parts and the final longer parts: narration of Luke & Acts, narration of John & Revelation, as well as all of Jesus' words. Please keep Lauren, Mark, and Andres in your prayers as they read these important words of truth.

A team from the States arrived here Wednesday night, so that has presented a challenge with the recording, because of the noise level, but we are all working to make things work for everyone.

Next week we will not be recording, as Carlos and Isidro (the technicians) will head back to Guatemala for the Holy Week. Please pray for their safe travels tomorrow. Those of us on T.E.A.M. are greatly looking forward to a week without recording!!!

We are grateful for the team from Kansas that is here to help with one of the churches. Please pray for their safety as they work.

We greatly appreciate your prayers!