Hi Folks!
Time for a little reflection on
this missions trip from another perspective. I still don't know why,
but Jessica, the pastors' wife, took to calling me 'Foreman' right
when she picked us up at the airport. Maybe it was a bit prophetic!
Throughout the time here I spent a lot
of time getting people tools and supplies, figuring out why things
didn't work, became the lead electrician, and chief cookie eater.
Have you ever had a day where
everything you tried to do took longer than you expected? When the
tools you would use to do the job didn't work because they needed
maintenance too? I had such a day on this trip. “Let's mow the
lawn!” The lawnmower broke. “Let's do the weed whacking!”
The weed whacker broke. “Let's fix the chairs in the sanctuary!”
The drill bits were dull and the batteries in the drills were dead.
All these things were repaired and the team carried out all of the
tasks... eventually.
There is a tool shed here on the
property, as well as four large shipping containers loaded up with
various supplies. I got into the habit of saying to myself, “Get
back out to the tool shed, Bob! One more trip to the tool shed,
Bob!” I have to admit, it was never a chore or drudgery. The
Lord knows each of us and the activities that bring us joy. I'll
just say that he has been very good to me this trip!
Working on projects and doing the
maintenance here at the school and church is only one part of what we
are doing here. Another part is visiting people where they live,
asking them what is on their hearts that we could lift up to Jesus
together with them in prayer; Many of the people we have visited are
our brothers and sisters! This year it is clear that the people are
asking for two things specifically. The first is for their personal
health. There are many who suffer because of poor diet and previous
exposure to some nasty pesticides. The second is for the country.
This year, in particular, the local people have been talking a lot
about the unusual heat and drought. If the Lord puts it on your
heart, please pray for the crop in the fields. If the there is no
harvest of food in the countryside, there will be less food in the
city.
Even with the heat, our team has
been accomplishing a lot of tasks and making a lot of visits, praying
for many along the way.
Today we bought food supplies for a struggling family. In a very small way, yet very emotional, we visited for almost an hour with a woman who has twin teenage girls and whose husband has abandoned them. Very much like in the days of Jesus, there is no real help for women in this predicament in Nicaragua. The body of Christ, showing itself in this small way, lets her know that she is not forgotten by the one who loves us the most. She calls us brothers and sisters - as that is what we are - and had trouble expressing her gratitude.
Thank you all for lifting up the
team in prayer.
As you know from other parts of
this blog, Jayleen, my daughter, suffered from the heat severely. It
was serious and I am glad I was here with her. Being out of the
country puts additional stress on the situation, but our confidence
comes from Jesus, the one we have a relationship with. The
relationship we have with this, our sister church, has incredible
value. Jayleen was well taken care of. And at the end of it, she
spend only two hours in the hospital and bounced back extraordinarily
well. The next morning she was asked how she felt. She responded
with, “Ravenous”, and proceeded to serve herself a good helping
of scrambled eggs. We are blessed!
Bob
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