are we home yet?

If you squint your eyes, you just might see it. Or at least you think you can. Do you even know what you are looking for?

I think I have found it. It being that little something. Yes, that little something that God says is mine to keep. It is no longer on the horizon for me. It is right here. Right here with me. It is inside of me and before me. It is a promise and a mystery. It is hope in uncertainty. It is that little something. It beats, it keeps me alive. It is warm, it was once cold. It loves to love and be loved. It was once hard, but now soft. It held no water and now rains with feelings. It was once dead and now lives with a new life.

Do you ever wonder if it was real. That day you made the choice. You know. The choice to accept Christ not only as your saviour, but as your Lord. I know it was real. I have the proof. He gave me a present that day. And it has made all the difference. You find yourself so thankful of what has been done for you that you serve out of the joy of your heart. There it is. Did you catch it? Did you read what I said? "out of the Joy of your heart". I do not think that mine was ever alive until that day. Ya I know what you are thinking. I always had one and now that I have accepted Christ I have become a softy. I have laid down my manhood and become a whoose. I do not think you are right( and I know not all of you thought that). I studied Romans with my small group and we pivited on Romans 12: 1+2

Therfore, I urge you, brothers. In view of Gods mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will.

That day I gave up my life. Yes, the one that I used to know. The one that lived by the worlds standards. I was raised from the dead and given this new life. This I know, because of the gift, that little something. That thing that lets me serve in joy. Give in joy. And someday pass from this world in joy. My Lord, My saviour gave me my heart and it feels. When Jesus Said let the children come to me I know how he feelt. When he had compasion for the lost and confussed of this world I understand how he feelt. He gave me my heart. It is one that works the way it is suppose to. Like his.

This is the dilema. He gave me my heart. And I am home sick. I never feel as though I am home any more. The place I was just at did not feel like home to me. When I am home I do not feel as though I am home. There is a restlessness now. I feel, I need to go. Go? Go home. go back, go again, go on, go forth and give. Give what has been given to me. No I am not talking about leaving my wife and kids. That is not at all what this is about. So don't go there. I am talking service to my Lord. Out of the joy of my heart. And I am no longer content sitting at home not doing it.

Sometimes I sit and stare off in a daze and ask myself this rhetorical question, "are we home yet?"

My body flew, but my soul took the bus

We are all still trying to adjust. Get back to the groove of being here back in a country that is blessed by prosperity and freedoms you just do not see around the world. I think it is common for some to make the comment that they are getting used to the real world again when in fact we are in a sheltered society. That was the real world we were in. Life for most there is real. It is harsh, It is raw. There are no safety nets that catch you as you fall. These people live on the tight rope 30 floors high with no safety net.`

This example was played out over and over again. The woman with the foot soars. We were attempting to deal with the infecting. The comment was made is that her situation was a matter of the chicken or the egg. The attention that was given to her feet was to deal with the infections and ulcers to see if that would help her comfort level. The real view was that we were there and we cared and we gave from the heart and she could see Jesus moving around her as we became his hands and feet.

Another example was the 80 something woman who had breast cancer and it had gone unchecked for so long it was growing outside her body(if I understood the med jargon correctly). There was nothing that we could do for her. The truth was that Jesus was there and he was doing for her what she needed. To know that someone cared. That some one loved her. Jesus.

The real world is in turmoil. It is not a sheltered society where we constantly ask what is in it for me. We have been given a blessing from God. And if we are real Christians, Followers of Jesus Christ, If we truly love our Lord. We will use those blessing to bless others. Did you ever stop to think why God would give you more than you needed.

This week my kitchen, dining room and downstairs family room were destroyed by water damage from a mechanical failure in the ice tray of the freezer. This seems like a horrible thing to go through. In the real world like Cerro de Oro. Your house(hut, shanty) is made of a tin roof, corn stalk walls corn stalk door and a dirt floor. your oven consists of a fire pit in the middle with the stone above it for cooking tortia. No chimney, so the smoke rolls across the ceiling and lingers in the room for the whole family to breath. If you call that a house. We are going through a "recession" in this country, but are we really giving from our poverty. I don't think most in this country understand what poverty really is. We have it here, right here in our own country. It is just hidden. That is because it bothers people to look at it. And they shelter there eyes so they can go on living the way that they do, with out the guilty conscience. Building these house was a major gift. It gives real security, real shelter, and a real understanding of how God provides. Not one of us did this on our own. We all had help.

We all had help from people like yourselves that were move to support us in this mission. Please do not think for one minute that this was a vacation to a beautiful tropical country that we relaxed and got tans. We worked, we loved, we sweat, we cried.

Yet you look at this society of people. People you can honestly say are "dirt floor poor". They stick together. They think about each other. When we were handing out the unders and dental hyg. stuff they were not greedy, they were considerate. They did not want to take too much and deny someone else. We practically had to twist there arms to take what they needed.

This is also a society that does not " sit on its a-- waiting for a hand out. Like a lot of this one. These are people that are creative with there resources. They make life work with what they have. For example, Our mission auction provided funds to build two houses. The material was bought and delivered. It was not sitting there waiting for us to get started and build these house for them. We showed up and the house were half done. We just provided the means, they already had the initiative.

We are still trying to adjust to this privileged life style . I for one am not here yet. It is like my body flew on the plain, but my soul decided to take the bus.

(from left to right)

T=translater

T-Pablo Majus

T-Luis Hernandez Fernandez

Guate coordinater- Gloria Ca'ceres

T-Jose' Roberto Fernandez

T- Suzy Frank

T-Pablo Mazariegos

OOR, Liason- Katherine Cheng

Josue'

What an awsome crew. We all had a lot of fun. And they work so hard for us.

Thanks Guys/Gals, it has been a memerable experience.

A hard day is coming

We started the morning in the village. This is an experience that I think every Christian should have. To be humbled. To show the love of Jesus. To surrender to his love and let it pour out on these people who try so hard to have the simplest of staples to live.

"I finding myself at a loss for word

and the funny thing is, it's ok

The last thing I need, is to be heard.

But to hear what you would say.

(Chorus)

Word of God speak

Would you pour down like rain

washing my eyes to see

your majesty

to be still and know

that you are in this place

please let me stay

and rest in your holyness

word of God speak.

I am finding myself in the midst of you

Beyond the music,beyond the noise

All that I need is to be with you

And in the quiet, Hear your voice


(chorus)x2

Mercy Me "Word of God Speak"

I thank you Lord for allowing us to come here and share your love with these people. Lord you have given me so much. You have given me my next breath to breath. The least I could do is love like you.

I have been with this team for 8 day and the amount of love that has poured out of these people has been amazing. It is not something to have pride in, but to have comfort in. To know that God is here in THIS place. That God has chosen a few weak people and shown his majesty through them. To have a group of believers who cannot communicate through word, but are perfectly understood because of the love of Christ that is spoken through our actions.

We are going to the school to say good bye this morning. I know it is going to be hard to go. The comfort we have is that God is here. Yes he is in this place.He is the hope we have. He is the hope they have. I am at a loss for words. Because he has said everything he needs them to hear. And I am grateful that I have been a part of it. Thank you Lord, you are amazing.

He will shelter us with his love

Today is our last day in the village. It is Thursday. We are going to the village to hand out extra underwear, socks, toothpaste and toothbrushes.

The title: "He will shelter us with his love" I will let the picture speak for them selves. I slept last night (Yes 5hrs of sleep !!!!!) And did not worl on the blog.

Please pray for my water tank. I have not been able to get it to stop leaking and tonight will be my last chance to get it done.

The title: "He wil shelter us with his love." I will let the pictures speaks for themselves. I gotta get going. I slept all night and did not blog. Yes!!!! I slept. 5hrs last night.

The test of impossibilities

(Chris Tiegreen)"At his feet"

"Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?"

Jn 6:5

IN WORD

Jesus asks Philip this probing question. It seems innocent enough, but there is a test in it. Jesus gives Philip an impossibilty to consider. And Philip's response indicates a mind set with which we can all sympathize.We look at the situatio, think of how to solve it in human terms, and lament about our lack of resources. There isn't enough money. There isn't enough time. There aren't enough people. We have insufficient means.

We, like Philip, forget whom we are dealing with. The situation is never too big for Jesus. He is not bound by our resources. In fact, if we had sufficient means, He probably would choose to work with someone else. His power cannot be demonstrated among people with self-sufficiency. He is waiting for Andrews of the world to come to him with a pityfully limited supply and ask, full of doubt, " But how far will this go?" (v9) Having brought His people to the point of knowing their own poverty and limitations, He is ready to work.

I will end with the above devotion I read this morning. and let the pictures speak.

Jesus is here.

Love , a blessing that speaks a infinit amout of words.