Thankful for ...

Thanksgiving is in season not just in November when we are with our family around a table filled with turkey and and the trimmings.

A place in which live We are grateful for a completely furnished home in which to live in Marion, Indiana. It is place for needed restoration and renewal.

Wheels We were able to purchase a used but good second vehicle for Rachel to use while David is visiting churches and partners in other states.

Micah going to Bible college Thank the Lord for how He is working in Micah’s life. Micah had plans to go into one of the branches of the armed forces, but in July, Micah told us that God was directing him to go to Bible college at Kentucky Mountain Bible College. God has helped us put all the requirements together in a short amount of time.

Leah’s school Thank God that Leah has had a good start to the school year. She is in the 10th grade in a local high school. She enjoys their highest level Spanish class with the seniors. 

The opportunity to visit you David has gone to Iowa to begin visiting our partner churches and friends. This year will be good time to reconnect with friends. 

SCCLC being able to start classes The Santa Cruz Learning Center in Bolivia had to delay the beginning of the school year because several teachers were delayed due to visa problems. Ila Ordoñez, Rachel’s sister, has been ask to be the elementary principal this year. Pray for her in this responsibility. 

Journal on an Open Door Project Trip

This is one of many evangelistic trips we made into the Andes Mountains. There were furstrating moments when our plans where changed.  God worked through our team in ways beyond what we could see.  God also also impacted each of our lives.  

To tell the truth, I was not looking forward to the trip with my team into the Andes Mountains in July 2010. I had been involved with each team that my husband, David, took out, helping with lesson planning, preparing visuals, and printing invitations and verses. Now it was time for me to go with my team of Alan, Carina, and Micah. David goes on all of the trips as the driver, leader, and contact person. After a frenzy of preparation at home and with the team, we began the trip into the mountains early one morning. I asked God to help me change my attitude and to help me be open to what He wanted to do in my life on this trip.

At our first stop in Brealito, a delightful and serene place closed in by red mountains, we waited for the children to come to school. They all arrived about noon when school starts. The director gave us permission to present the program before the children started the school day. We shared our planned program of games, an introduction skit, songs, the lesson, and a Bible verse. It all communicated the importance of God’s Word, since that is how God speaks to us. The director and teacher invited our team to join them and the school children for lunch, and we were delighted since that was one more step in which they expressed their confidence in our group.

We drove up, down, and around more mountains along long stretches that were barren, desolate, and rocky. No cell phone signal could be reached there. We stopped at a place called Cieneguilla and had planned to spend the night there in the adobe community center. David went to let Elvira, the lady in charge, know that we were there, and when he came back, he found one of the rear tires was flat! We planned to change it and continue on to the next town, but the anti-theft nut on the tire became the anti-removal nut. It was impossible to get it off without more tools, so David, Alan, and Micah started to walk to the next town to look for tools. Fortunately, they got a ride in a tractor that was transporting hogs. They were able to borrow tools and found a ride back. It still took a while, but they finally ground the stuck nut off and changed the tire. They put the spare in place, but it was very low on air and it was too late to do anything about it.

Carina and I set up the place where we were to stay. Mattresses were available to use on the dirt floor in the adobe building, so we arranged a place for the guys and another for the girls. The bathroom...well, it was outside and made of canes that were tied together. The builders had forgotten to install a door, but, hey, you couldn’t beat the majestic mountain view from the bathroom. Can you believe there was running water in a faucet outside the house? We had electricity when we ran the generator. The adobe building kept the cold mountain air out, so we couldn’t complain. We were very grateful that we had the tire problem there and not at some totally isolated place.

The next day, the event on everyone’s mind was the big game of Argentina versus Germany in the World Cup games in South Africa. How do you watch the game in a remote part of the Andes Mountains? Answer: with satellite TV and a generator. Maybe we should not have watched the game, because it was agonizing to watch Germany not just beat Argentina, but cream them. Now what? We needed air in the tire. A local merchant had stopped to watch some of the game and David asked him to take the tire to the next town to get air in it. It was about then that the grocery store came rolling by. Carina and I agreed that it was nice to have the grocery store come to our door. Mobile grocery stores are merchants who load up goods in big trucks and drive around the mountain communities, selling produce. Elvira bought a chicken and some salad items. About an hour later, Elvira came in with a grilled chicken, steaming rice, and a salad. We were amazed and enjoyed the delicious meal. The afternoon was slow as a children’s program had been planned and announced, but with the activities like the Argentina game and local football championships, only a few came to the program. We also had to wait for the tire. Around 10:00 p.m., a truck stopped and David went to talk to the man who had taken the tire.

He said he couldn’t find anyone to put air in it. David exclaimed, “What will we do now?” The man laughed at his own joke and pulled out the tire filled with air. On the final day, we were all ready for the activities. We arrived in Villa el Monte and found out that the community leader would let us use the sports complex for our presentation. Our team divided up to invite children to the program. A 7-year-old girl named Magali walked with us through the whole town with her younger sister in tow. She was enthusiastic about the program and wanted to make sure everyone was invited. She pointed out each home where kids lived. She made sure no one was missed. My heart was warmed. We had prayed as a team for someone who would respond to God and seek Him. Was this eager little girl that person?

After that program, it was time to drive home to Salta. It had been a good trip and we were confident that all parts of it, including the delays, had been orchestrated by the Lord. As a team, we had presented God’s Word and had blessed others, and now we were also full and blessed as we returned home. The drive home seemed short as we joked, laughed, and listened to music. Maybe it was also the prospect of a shower,clean clothes, and our own bed that had us excited. One of the songs we listened to on the way back was a ballad about the parable of the sower. That song hit home because we had been intentionally sowing the seed of God’s Word in a hard and thirsty land. I believe God will bring fruit from our labors.

Has God been calling you to serve in a way that you aren’t really looking forward to? Matthew 25:40 (NLT) says, “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’” Take time today to ask God to change your attitude and ask Him to work through you. God will bring fruit from your labors too.