A different season

Ecclesiastes 3:1 states, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven." How quickly life passes through its seasons! Some changes are hailed with great joy, while other seasons bring tears as they depart. What great peace and joy is there for those who trust the Master of the Universe to change the seasons as He sees fit - He does it for the great glory of His kingdom and the joy of His dear ones. He can be absolutely trusted!

Season changes have been the order of the day for T.E.A.M. lately! One we are very grateful for - a break in the intense dry season we endured for what seemed like forever! March - May are usually hot here, but oh my, we had quite the dry season this year! However, God has graciously sent rain to the land and we are very grateful.

The other change is almost as predictable as the dry season and rainy season: my annual summer trip to the States. I think by now I would have realized the fact that I experience the hottest season in Belize only to follow it up with the hottest time in Oklahoma! Well, I HAVE realized it, but you would think I would make a change in my schedule to hit some better seasons! Ah well, what can I say?

This season change brought both tears and happiness. I have been so blessed to have my very dear friends living in the house adjacent to me since January, and it was sad to break up our little "family." There were seven of us in all, Sandra and I in my house, William, Irma, their two precious boys, and Clifford in the other. What a blessing this time was! We gardened, mowed lawns, celebrated birthdays, traveled, had devotions, and generally kept each other company. I was blessed by their presence, and the way they helped me in so many ways. It was a precious time that I am sorry to have come to a close. However, I am always grateful for an opportunity to see my family here in the States. Thus the reason for the mix of emotions at the change of seasons.

I miss these bright eyes!

I left Belize on the 17th, after spending the 16th in Spanish Lookout doing some pricing for the pig project. We are making great progress on plans - streamlining efficient models for the pastors' pig raising facilities, looking at property, and finalizing equipment lists for the processing plant. Of course the most important preparation for the project is prayer. We know it is far bigger than we can handle, and we do not have funds to move forward, but we know that our Father is not limited by our inabilities or lack of funds, and if He wants to be glorified through this project, He can certainly provide the funds for it! We pray that we keep in step with His leading, so that His will might be done!

One of the properties we are looking at.

The same evening I left, Clifford, Magdalena, and at least six others (I forgot to get the exact count) headed out to Poite for Bible study again. We are thankful that the Lord had His hand on the truck and allowed them to arrive safely. I heard good reports of their time. This was the last study for a while until I get back. The truck is still not running well, and we felt it best to hold off until I can bring the part from the States. Also, it takes some pressure off the gas budget for the time being. While continuity in the studies would have been a good thing, we trust the Lord's leading and that He will continue the work He is doing. After all, it is His work and not our own!

I would appreciate your prayers for me while in the States. I am trying to make progress on a website, continue with research on the pig project, as well as prepare for some intensive discipleship we are planning for the beginning of September. I also hope to have some speaking opportunities as the Lord gives opportunity.

I would also appreciate your prayers for Magdalena and Clifford while I am away. Magdalena continues to work with her husband in their small vegetable shop, and Clifford is seeking a job to make some extra money in the interim. Pray for God's hand of blessing on both of them!

Cooler weather, and still rolling...

Greetings once again!

Last Monday brought welcome relief... it was the first morning in probably two months that I woke up to a temperature of less than 80 degrees in the house! I was excited to finally see a break from all the heat we have been having. It was such a hot dry season!!! Most of the country only received 20-25% of its usual rainfall. Everything was dry, fires were burning, and crops were not growing. But God mercifully sent rain last Monday, and it has continued since then. We are all so blessed and thankful for the rain, in spite of the muddy roads and the difficulty getting clothes dry!

We appreciate your prayers for the truck. We ended up not going to Poite that Friday after all... it was still in the same shape as the previous week when we didn't make it all the way there. Since then we have found out it MAY be the air flow sensor. We haven't been able to get a new part yet, but modifying the existing part with a phone card and a sieve has helped a great deal!! All six cylinders actually kick in, which is a far cry better than three!

So... we made it to Poite this past Friday. It was wonderful. Pastor Martin was soooo thrilled to see us. They had been worried. We had no way to call them, but had passed on a message with someone on the school bus. However, as is typical in these areas that lack good means of communications, there were several versions floating around of how far we had made it when we attempted to go, that we had arrived in the village at midnight that night, etc. Poor Pastor Martin did not know what to believe! He was greatly relieved to see our little white pickup pull up to his house.

Bible study went well, although the crowd was understandably a little smaller due to the fact that they didn't know if we were coming or not. We talked about God calling Abram to leave his family and familiar surroundings and go to a land... that God would tell him. I am always blown away by the faith this required. Abram believed God, and because he believed, the very next verse said that he went out as God had said. Faith and obedience... and it was counted to him for righteousness.

As I brought the lesson to a close, I talked briefly about the different things that God might be calling us to do that seem impossible, unreasonable, scary, overwhelming, etc. For some of the people present, it might mean giving their lives to Christ for the first time, for others it might mean forgiving someone that has hurt them, for others, making a difficult stand for Christ. Whatever the situation, I encouraged all of us to be as Abram, to believe and obey, and suggested taking a moment to pray at the altar before we closed. The Lord was at work, and most everyone came up to pray. Please join us in praying for a continued work in all of our hearts!