Friday, October 30, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Health Update
Thanks for so many who prayed and are likely still praying for Beth's health.
She had a coughing spell in the middle of the night, I don't think I even woke up. She took another dose of something and she said after that the cough began to break up the congestion in her chest for the first time. So, with this development and the advice we did finally get from our doctor in Austin, TX (he was not able to write until quite late b/c he had seen 39 patients that day and 3/4 with the flu!), we decided that she has something less than the swine flu or pneumonia, at least.
If her condition should worsen, I'll be sure to post. At this point we hope a few days rest will be just the treatment to get over this.
Appreciate your prayers and concern.
She had a coughing spell in the middle of the night, I don't think I even woke up. She took another dose of something and she said after that the cough began to break up the congestion in her chest for the first time. So, with this development and the advice we did finally get from our doctor in Austin, TX (he was not able to write until quite late b/c he had seen 39 patients that day and 3/4 with the flu!), we decided that she has something less than the swine flu or pneumonia, at least.
If her condition should worsen, I'll be sure to post. At this point we hope a few days rest will be just the treatment to get over this.
Appreciate your prayers and concern.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Your Prayers Appreciated
Beth has not been feeling well for about a week now and had some minor flu-like symptoms for a number of days. Her health has taken a turn for the worse and she appears to have either bronchitis or pneumonia. We've struck out with every doctor we've ever tried here who might be able to see her due to misdiagnoses or suggestions that were so off-base medically that we have no trust in them. So she is not interested in seeing a doctor, but she really needs to see a doctor.
Appreciate your prayers for her health and for either a lead on a good doctor or perhaps good advice from a doctor in Texas that I emailed this morning. He has been very helpful in the past. Beth wanted to self-medicate (since we can get most medicines upon request at pharmacies) but I'd prefer to be sure we're on the right track with the right medication than to just guess out of the blue.
Thanks for praying.
Appreciate your prayers for her health and for either a lead on a good doctor or perhaps good advice from a doctor in Texas that I emailed this morning. He has been very helpful in the past. Beth wanted to self-medicate (since we can get most medicines upon request at pharmacies) but I'd prefer to be sure we're on the right track with the right medication than to just guess out of the blue.
Thanks for praying.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Only Pray in Closets
I can't tell you how much joy it is to disciple a new believer, but do let me tell you...it's awesome!
Jason loves to read and will read most anything we throw his way. We started up our Monday night study time last week and I decided we'd just forget reading good books and go with THE BOOK. There's nothing better than reading the Bible. It's time to stop reading books about the Book and just get down to reading the Book.
So, we started tonight with a review of Matthew chapters 1 to 6. He hadn't gotten a chance to read today's reading so we didn't get to chapter 7 as planned. We're simply reading a chapter a day and doing the old "God's Message To Me Today" kind of thing...Promise From God, Command to Keep, Timeless Principle, Application, etc. Very simple.
The main thing is to begin developing the daily habit of reading the Word...the writing is just something to help think about what the Scripture means. Sometimes rigid questions like these don't really apply to every chapter so there isn't always an answer for each one without really forcing an unintended meaning. So, we're flexible, and I don't care at all if he can't answer each entry. As long as he's reading each chapter, we're in great shape.
I love just teaching extemporaneously about the Scripture...I don't know as much as a lot of others but compared to a baby believer...I know plenty. So, it's great to just hit each chapter and run with it. There's so much we can glean from the living Word.
One thing I discovered is that I can learn a lot too from the heart of a new believer who reads the Scripture for the first time. Sometimes that fresh perspective is quite...well...refreshing!
One thing I "learned" from Jason tonight was that in chapter 6 Jesus said that we should only pray in closets! Ha-ha...well...it does sound that way doesn't it? I had to stop and think for just a moment to be sure I didn't plaster over some great truth with my "professional lifelong Christianity"...but I assured him that while it's great to pray in a private place, it's fine to pray anywhere and everywhere. It's the heart that matters. Praying to be seen and heard was the point of that instruction from Jesus. The fact that even Jesus prayed in public tells us that praying in public wasn't the issue but pride in being seen and heard while praying in public. That was the point.
Nonetheless, it was refreshing to hear the misinterpretation. It was a little funny but at the same time...just trying to read the Scripture for what it says right on the surface...that's not so bad. Maybe when it says other things like, "Don't store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal," that on the surface it may just seem like that means...don't have so much stuff and use the resources that God makes me a steward of for His glory and His purpose and plan and not my own. And you know what? That's exactly what it means.
All this reminds me of the lyrics to a song written and sung by Michael Card. It blisters my heart to read them. I pray we'll leave behind everything except footprints in the direction of Jesus and the long, furrowed mark of the cross we're bearing up each day.
The Things We Leave Behind
There sits Simon,
so foolishly wise
proudly he's tending his nets
Then Jesus calls,
and the boats drift away
all that he owns he forgets
More than the nets
he abandoned that day,
he found that his pride was soon drifting away
It's hard to imagine the freedom we find
from the things we leave behind
Matthew was mindful
of taking the tax,
pressing the people to pay
Hearing the call,
he responded in faith
followed the Light and the Way
Leaving the people
so puzzled he found,
the greed in his heart
was no longer around and
it's hard to imagine
the freedom we find
from the things
we leave behind
Every heart needs to be set free,
from possessions
that hold it so tight
'Cause freedom's not found in the things that we own,
It's the power
to do what is right
Jesus, our only possession,
giving becomes our delight
We can't imagine the freedom we find
from the things we leave behind
We show a love for the world in our lives
by worshiping goods we posses
Jesus has laid all our treasures aside
"love God above all the rest"
'Cause when we say 'no'
to the things of the world
we open our hearts
to the love of the Lord and
its hard to imagine
the freedom we find
from the things we leave behind
Oh, and it's hard to imagine
the freedom we find
from the things
we leave behind
-Michael Card from "Poeima"
Jason loves to read and will read most anything we throw his way. We started up our Monday night study time last week and I decided we'd just forget reading good books and go with THE BOOK. There's nothing better than reading the Bible. It's time to stop reading books about the Book and just get down to reading the Book.
So, we started tonight with a review of Matthew chapters 1 to 6. He hadn't gotten a chance to read today's reading so we didn't get to chapter 7 as planned. We're simply reading a chapter a day and doing the old "God's Message To Me Today" kind of thing...Promise From God, Command to Keep, Timeless Principle, Application, etc. Very simple.
The main thing is to begin developing the daily habit of reading the Word...the writing is just something to help think about what the Scripture means. Sometimes rigid questions like these don't really apply to every chapter so there isn't always an answer for each one without really forcing an unintended meaning. So, we're flexible, and I don't care at all if he can't answer each entry. As long as he's reading each chapter, we're in great shape.
I love just teaching extemporaneously about the Scripture...I don't know as much as a lot of others but compared to a baby believer...I know plenty. So, it's great to just hit each chapter and run with it. There's so much we can glean from the living Word.
One thing I discovered is that I can learn a lot too from the heart of a new believer who reads the Scripture for the first time. Sometimes that fresh perspective is quite...well...refreshing!
One thing I "learned" from Jason tonight was that in chapter 6 Jesus said that we should only pray in closets! Ha-ha...well...it does sound that way doesn't it? I had to stop and think for just a moment to be sure I didn't plaster over some great truth with my "professional lifelong Christianity"...but I assured him that while it's great to pray in a private place, it's fine to pray anywhere and everywhere. It's the heart that matters. Praying to be seen and heard was the point of that instruction from Jesus. The fact that even Jesus prayed in public tells us that praying in public wasn't the issue but pride in being seen and heard while praying in public. That was the point.
Nonetheless, it was refreshing to hear the misinterpretation. It was a little funny but at the same time...just trying to read the Scripture for what it says right on the surface...that's not so bad. Maybe when it says other things like, "Don't store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal," that on the surface it may just seem like that means...don't have so much stuff and use the resources that God makes me a steward of for His glory and His purpose and plan and not my own. And you know what? That's exactly what it means.
All this reminds me of the lyrics to a song written and sung by Michael Card. It blisters my heart to read them. I pray we'll leave behind everything except footprints in the direction of Jesus and the long, furrowed mark of the cross we're bearing up each day.
The Things We Leave Behind
There sits Simon,
so foolishly wise
proudly he's tending his nets
Then Jesus calls,
and the boats drift away
all that he owns he forgets
More than the nets
he abandoned that day,
he found that his pride was soon drifting away
It's hard to imagine the freedom we find
from the things we leave behind
Matthew was mindful
of taking the tax,
pressing the people to pay
Hearing the call,
he responded in faith
followed the Light and the Way
Leaving the people
so puzzled he found,
the greed in his heart
was no longer around and
it's hard to imagine
the freedom we find
from the things
we leave behind
Every heart needs to be set free,
from possessions
that hold it so tight
'Cause freedom's not found in the things that we own,
It's the power
to do what is right
Jesus, our only possession,
giving becomes our delight
We can't imagine the freedom we find
from the things we leave behind
We show a love for the world in our lives
by worshiping goods we posses
Jesus has laid all our treasures aside
"love God above all the rest"
'Cause when we say 'no'
to the things of the world
we open our hearts
to the love of the Lord and
its hard to imagine
the freedom we find
from the things we leave behind
Oh, and it's hard to imagine
the freedom we find
from the things
we leave behind
-Michael Card from "Poeima"
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Sundays, hymns and spiritual songs
Sundays are a whole new routine for us here in late 2009. This past Sunday was our 2nd experience with this new event in our home. We're still learning and developing the format...albeit, it's all quite informal.
Jason and Kristin and Justin arrive around 10:30. Generally, they've been more ready than we have been. We're working on that. We have coffee and tea ready and there's nothing like some "Jesus Java" (to borrow a horrible phrase) to 'caffeinate' our fellowship and time of worship.
Justin is...well...I don't know how to describe him. To overuse a word or to use a word that is overused, Justin is truly a hyper boy. No, he's ultra-hyper. Maybe even super-ultra-hyper. Whatever redundant type of 'hyper' he is, man is he ever busy! He seems to delight in being sure that his arms, hands, mouth, and legs are in constant motion and that the floor never lacks for a gazillion pieces of puzzles, toys and anything else he can get his hands on. One moment the world is calm and at peace, the next moment, Cyclone Justin has entered the room. I don't think I've ever seen a little person quite as active as he is...and I've seen a bunch of 'em.
I mention that about Justin b/c his disposition defines part of what we do and what we don't do on our Sunday mornings with this family. He typically starts in the living room with us but since no one can focus or hear anything with him in the room, he doesn't stay in the room long. Beth has decided to take him outside for as long as possible to play in the grass with Peanut (our dog) and/or a ball or something. She knows that Jason and Kristin really need to hear the lesson and it's more important for them to be learning than for her to join us. I miss having her in the room with us for her presence and input, but with Justin in the room, no one would be learning anything (other than either patience or loss thereof!).
So with Justin taken care of, this past week we began with each of us offering a simple one item prayer of thanksgiving to God. I really want our times together to develop a "full-inclusion" of everyone in prayer. There's no sense saying we're believers and disciples of Jesus and then being an assembly of mutes when it comes to prayer in His name.
After our brief prayers, we moved into our lesson.
Each week the lesson starts with a kids devotional story book (that we've been going through with our kids and are simply continuing), and then transitions into a short Bible study relating to the topic of the devotional.
We concluded with our repertoire of one song (and growing! lol).
We've got no musicians here and though Jason told me months ago that he used to play the guitar pretty well, he doesn't know any Christian hymns/songs. Thus, at this point I'm handling the music to at least sing some praise, thanks, and worship to God. I can play the chords and pluck the strings and nearly keep some semblance of rhythm. As long as it's joyful, heart-felt, and heard, I think we've reached the pinnacle of what we're going to accomplish with my musical input, and that's all good.
So...the first week...we taught them an old hymn that we'd been learning as a family before home assignment: Trust and Obey. It's an oldie but a goodie, right? I must say it is rather exciting to teach Jason and Kristin to sing this song and to discuss the lyrics and meaning of it.
Before last week, they'd never, ever heard it before. In fact, apparently, they've never hear ANY hymns before. I was trying to imagine what it would be like to hear and sing a hymn for the first time. I'm sure there was a moment like that in my past when I first heard and sang this very hymn.
I grew up in traditional churches from the time I was a baby, so I have no idea what hymn I first heard and probably from some old Baptist hymnal. No doubt I heard Trust and Obey many times in my childhood. I don't remember what I thought 40 years ago when I heard a hymn sung for the first time. Since I was so young, I probably wasn't thinking too much about the words but more about the catchy tune, the piano playing, my dad's bellowing voice, or the piece of chewing gum wrapper someone left somewhere in the hymnal that had just fallen out onto the carpeted floor. I really don't remember at all, but all those experiences are somewhere trapped in a forgotten closet of my mind.
So, it was fun to watch them try to digest the meaning of the lyrics and they were intent on doing so. A good reminder perhaps when it seems all too easy to let the words of songs, hymns and spiritual songs fall from our lips as they dribble effortlessly from our spongy minds after years and years of knowledge and experience in singing them.
And so after one more prayer our church service ended. We're not doing "church" and we don't "go to church." We are the church, right?
I'll share some more of our "church experiences" as we discover them in Sundays ahead. The whole experience for me takes me back to the book of Acts. This is all so new...new believers in Jesus...learning from the very start what that means...dealing with the new experiences of walking in the Spirit, battling and sometimes failing in battle against the old nature. Confession anew. Reading Scripture and singing hymns, songs and spiritual songs for the very first time.
I like new stuff, don't you? And in Christ we're new creations...new...NEW! Wow! May we all walk aNew in the Spirit today and experience the joy that comes from living a life of trust and obey.
Excuse me...I need to go choose and learn our second song now. Pray for rhythm.
Jason and Kristin and Justin arrive around 10:30. Generally, they've been more ready than we have been. We're working on that. We have coffee and tea ready and there's nothing like some "Jesus Java" (to borrow a horrible phrase) to 'caffeinate' our fellowship and time of worship.
Justin is...well...I don't know how to describe him. To overuse a word or to use a word that is overused, Justin is truly a hyper boy. No, he's ultra-hyper. Maybe even super-ultra-hyper. Whatever redundant type of 'hyper' he is, man is he ever busy! He seems to delight in being sure that his arms, hands, mouth, and legs are in constant motion and that the floor never lacks for a gazillion pieces of puzzles, toys and anything else he can get his hands on. One moment the world is calm and at peace, the next moment, Cyclone Justin has entered the room. I don't think I've ever seen a little person quite as active as he is...and I've seen a bunch of 'em.
I mention that about Justin b/c his disposition defines part of what we do and what we don't do on our Sunday mornings with this family. He typically starts in the living room with us but since no one can focus or hear anything with him in the room, he doesn't stay in the room long. Beth has decided to take him outside for as long as possible to play in the grass with Peanut (our dog) and/or a ball or something. She knows that Jason and Kristin really need to hear the lesson and it's more important for them to be learning than for her to join us. I miss having her in the room with us for her presence and input, but with Justin in the room, no one would be learning anything (other than either patience or loss thereof!).
So with Justin taken care of, this past week we began with each of us offering a simple one item prayer of thanksgiving to God. I really want our times together to develop a "full-inclusion" of everyone in prayer. There's no sense saying we're believers and disciples of Jesus and then being an assembly of mutes when it comes to prayer in His name.
After our brief prayers, we moved into our lesson.
Each week the lesson starts with a kids devotional story book (that we've been going through with our kids and are simply continuing), and then transitions into a short Bible study relating to the topic of the devotional.
We concluded with our repertoire of one song (and growing! lol).
We've got no musicians here and though Jason told me months ago that he used to play the guitar pretty well, he doesn't know any Christian hymns/songs. Thus, at this point I'm handling the music to at least sing some praise, thanks, and worship to God. I can play the chords and pluck the strings and nearly keep some semblance of rhythm. As long as it's joyful, heart-felt, and heard, I think we've reached the pinnacle of what we're going to accomplish with my musical input, and that's all good.
So...the first week...we taught them an old hymn that we'd been learning as a family before home assignment: Trust and Obey. It's an oldie but a goodie, right? I must say it is rather exciting to teach Jason and Kristin to sing this song and to discuss the lyrics and meaning of it.
Before last week, they'd never, ever heard it before. In fact, apparently, they've never hear ANY hymns before. I was trying to imagine what it would be like to hear and sing a hymn for the first time. I'm sure there was a moment like that in my past when I first heard and sang this very hymn.
I grew up in traditional churches from the time I was a baby, so I have no idea what hymn I first heard and probably from some old Baptist hymnal. No doubt I heard Trust and Obey many times in my childhood. I don't remember what I thought 40 years ago when I heard a hymn sung for the first time. Since I was so young, I probably wasn't thinking too much about the words but more about the catchy tune, the piano playing, my dad's bellowing voice, or the piece of chewing gum wrapper someone left somewhere in the hymnal that had just fallen out onto the carpeted floor. I really don't remember at all, but all those experiences are somewhere trapped in a forgotten closet of my mind.
So, it was fun to watch them try to digest the meaning of the lyrics and they were intent on doing so. A good reminder perhaps when it seems all too easy to let the words of songs, hymns and spiritual songs fall from our lips as they dribble effortlessly from our spongy minds after years and years of knowledge and experience in singing them.
And so after one more prayer our church service ended. We're not doing "church" and we don't "go to church." We are the church, right?
I'll share some more of our "church experiences" as we discover them in Sundays ahead. The whole experience for me takes me back to the book of Acts. This is all so new...new believers in Jesus...learning from the very start what that means...dealing with the new experiences of walking in the Spirit, battling and sometimes failing in battle against the old nature. Confession anew. Reading Scripture and singing hymns, songs and spiritual songs for the very first time.
I like new stuff, don't you? And in Christ we're new creations...new...NEW! Wow! May we all walk aNew in the Spirit today and experience the joy that comes from living a life of trust and obey.
Excuse me...I need to go choose and learn our second song now. Pray for rhythm.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Co-op Week 2
Last Thursday co-op was off and running for our 2nd week. It is going great and we're definitely at capacity or a little beyond capacity for science class. It's a great problem to have so we're not complaining!
Below are two pics of the grades 1 to 6 (or 7ish) enjoying their science class. Below that is a pic of the Jr/Sr high speech class and the last pic is of the community center. This is not the community center here in San Juan del Rio that I've mentioned so many times in the past. This is the new community center in Queretaro and is part of the outreach of the New Birth Bible Church. The graffiti is extra.
I was busy teaching my literature circle the first hour so I didn't get any photos of those. We have 1st and 2nd grades, 3rd and 4th grades, 5th and 6th grades, 7th and 8th grades and 9th to 12th grades each with their own literature circle. I also didn't get a photo of the PE class with all the science kids...but I was helping teach that as well and it was threatening to rain (and did rain). I didn't want to risk getting the camera wet since PE is at the park across the street.
Below are two pics of the grades 1 to 6 (or 7ish) enjoying their science class. Below that is a pic of the Jr/Sr high speech class and the last pic is of the community center. This is not the community center here in San Juan del Rio that I've mentioned so many times in the past. This is the new community center in Queretaro and is part of the outreach of the New Birth Bible Church. The graffiti is extra.
I was busy teaching my literature circle the first hour so I didn't get any photos of those. We have 1st and 2nd grades, 3rd and 4th grades, 5th and 6th grades, 7th and 8th grades and 9th to 12th grades each with their own literature circle. I also didn't get a photo of the PE class with all the science kids...but I was helping teach that as well and it was threatening to rain (and did rain). I didn't want to risk getting the camera wet since PE is at the park across the street.
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Back to the Routine of the Unpredictable
I think the longer we're in Mexico, the more we expect the unexpected. We can still be surprised and disappointed but I suppose that like a pier that makes a stand out in the surf, waves of all sizes and velocity come to be expected...even on calm days.
I suppose that's a little like what we've experienced in the week we've been back in Mexico. In fact, we had just crossed the border when we learned over our Mexican cell phone of a very serious situation back here in San Juan that was going to need our immediate attention. One thing we're learning about discipleship is we have to deal not only with the good times but the bad times too...and this was sounding about as bad as we could imagine.
I can't really even go into detail about what occurred. I can say that after arriving home we had some very critical conversations with some folks we know and even a deep conversation with a Mexican man we had never met and may never see again. The bottom line to all this is that we're trusting that through God's grace, mercy and strength, we'll see a true work of repentance and forgiveness...not just on the outside...but a very real change. It seems we're on the right path (and I mean "we're" as in the people directly involved...not us personally...but we're holding hands through this). I'm sorry I can't spell this out. It is very sensitive, very serious and very private. Please pray for God to be honored and glorified in the aftermath as it unfolds or rather as lives continue forward from this point.
Other than that situation, pretty much everything else has been much more of the type of routine that we like to share with you.
On Thursday we helped start up the educational co-op for this school year. What a GREAT day it was. We sincerely missed the Downs and Le'Ann's leadership and encouragement, but everyone pulled together and got it moving. Parents did their part in teaching their classes and the students all seemed to enjoy the classes and especially the social interactions with other MKs. It was very encouraging to watch it all happen! (sorry...we were so focused on the day we forgot to take photos!)
In all we had 3 students from San Juan del Rio (3 more were missing for the day), 3 from Amealco, 6 from Celaya, and 12 from Queretaro (3 more were missing for the day). That gave us a total of 24 students this first day and with the 6 that were missing, we'll end up with a full "enrollment" of 30 students! Wow! Praise God for making this such a great ministry to these families.
26 of the students are North American missionary kids, 2 are Mexican missionary kids and 2 are Mexican kids from a Christian family who are trying to homeschool their two girls in English. It is quite a challenge for them (using mostly aBeka), so we're happy to have them come for as long as we have room for them to join us.
Finally, today we began our new Sunday fellowship! Jason, Kristin and Justin joined Beth and the boys and me for a very "homemade" church service...in English! It was our first time ever doing this so we were curious and apprehensive about how this would look. I was struggling to even figure out how to put the "service" together. Finally, I got out of the way, the Lord took over, and it was an awesome time of worship and teaching.
Beth ended up taking Justin outside b/c as a rambunctious 3 year-old, he just couldn't sit still nor do anything quietly! I was prepared to just try and talk over him but Beth realized that J&K really needed to be able to listen and hear God's Word and the lesson on joy. It was a strange place to start but it turned out to be just what the Lord wanted for us all. It was really a kids' lesson but with digging into some Scripture and a little amplification of the theme, it was an excellent lesson for these young believers and the rest of us as well.
Afterward, we enjoyed a good meal of BBQ pork (compliments of some recently imported Sweet Baby Rays!) and some time for conversation and friendship.
We're looking forward to getting back into our weekly Bible study times with Jason and Kristin individually as well. We have a conference the next two days and this leaves the rest of the week filled with perhaps too much for me to fit in the study with Jason. Beth and Kristin have a plan though. Jason read all the books I left with him so I need to come up with a new study.
Pray that I'll understand what the Lord would have us study together next. Please also pray for Jason, Kristin, and Justin and our family as well as we continue these Sunday morning times of fellowship and worship.
I suppose that's a little like what we've experienced in the week we've been back in Mexico. In fact, we had just crossed the border when we learned over our Mexican cell phone of a very serious situation back here in San Juan that was going to need our immediate attention. One thing we're learning about discipleship is we have to deal not only with the good times but the bad times too...and this was sounding about as bad as we could imagine.
I can't really even go into detail about what occurred. I can say that after arriving home we had some very critical conversations with some folks we know and even a deep conversation with a Mexican man we had never met and may never see again. The bottom line to all this is that we're trusting that through God's grace, mercy and strength, we'll see a true work of repentance and forgiveness...not just on the outside...but a very real change. It seems we're on the right path (and I mean "we're" as in the people directly involved...not us personally...but we're holding hands through this). I'm sorry I can't spell this out. It is very sensitive, very serious and very private. Please pray for God to be honored and glorified in the aftermath as it unfolds or rather as lives continue forward from this point.
Other than that situation, pretty much everything else has been much more of the type of routine that we like to share with you.
On Thursday we helped start up the educational co-op for this school year. What a GREAT day it was. We sincerely missed the Downs and Le'Ann's leadership and encouragement, but everyone pulled together and got it moving. Parents did their part in teaching their classes and the students all seemed to enjoy the classes and especially the social interactions with other MKs. It was very encouraging to watch it all happen! (sorry...we were so focused on the day we forgot to take photos!)
In all we had 3 students from San Juan del Rio (3 more were missing for the day), 3 from Amealco, 6 from Celaya, and 12 from Queretaro (3 more were missing for the day). That gave us a total of 24 students this first day and with the 6 that were missing, we'll end up with a full "enrollment" of 30 students! Wow! Praise God for making this such a great ministry to these families.
26 of the students are North American missionary kids, 2 are Mexican missionary kids and 2 are Mexican kids from a Christian family who are trying to homeschool their two girls in English. It is quite a challenge for them (using mostly aBeka), so we're happy to have them come for as long as we have room for them to join us.
Finally, today we began our new Sunday fellowship! Jason, Kristin and Justin joined Beth and the boys and me for a very "homemade" church service...in English! It was our first time ever doing this so we were curious and apprehensive about how this would look. I was struggling to even figure out how to put the "service" together. Finally, I got out of the way, the Lord took over, and it was an awesome time of worship and teaching.
Beth ended up taking Justin outside b/c as a rambunctious 3 year-old, he just couldn't sit still nor do anything quietly! I was prepared to just try and talk over him but Beth realized that J&K really needed to be able to listen and hear God's Word and the lesson on joy. It was a strange place to start but it turned out to be just what the Lord wanted for us all. It was really a kids' lesson but with digging into some Scripture and a little amplification of the theme, it was an excellent lesson for these young believers and the rest of us as well.
Afterward, we enjoyed a good meal of BBQ pork (compliments of some recently imported Sweet Baby Rays!) and some time for conversation and friendship.
We're looking forward to getting back into our weekly Bible study times with Jason and Kristin individually as well. We have a conference the next two days and this leaves the rest of the week filled with perhaps too much for me to fit in the study with Jason. Beth and Kristin have a plan though. Jason read all the books I left with him so I need to come up with a new study.
Pray that I'll understand what the Lord would have us study together next. Please also pray for Jason, Kristin, and Justin and our family as well as we continue these Sunday morning times of fellowship and worship.
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