Emoticons for hire!

Here we are in a 3rd World Country wanting to keep in touch with our kids in this electronic age. It's the end of a long day so--we Skype Jon on our computer. He suggests that we make it a conference call with Bek who just happens to be checking in with her brother. We confer for a while but 3 to 4 people on one call leaves too much dead time for me while waiting for that perfect word picture to add to the conversation. My eyes lazily wander over the Skype home page and a bright yellow funny looking face stares back at me--Emoticons. So while the girls are talking I insert a little funny face on a side bar. Eventually it gets noticed. What's this? So we start throwing Emoticons around like slow-pitch soft ball. Soon we are all laughing at each other's latest barrage of funny faces. The conversation goes totally downhill (thanks, Joe! Hey--how WAS I to know?) We confer on our conference call with funny little faces for the rest of the evening with plenty of laughter. So much for intelligent conversation but a very memorable evening was had by all AND it was all free.

Until next time here is my homemade emoticon ;)

PS Pray for Terri as she teaches ETA tonight and has her knee procedure on Monday.

Dead Works

Here is a picture of 2 generations of followers of the Lord.

We went to a Hindu home today. Ever been there? This is what we saw: Today was a special day to do a “Dead Work” in remembrance of a 14 year old boy who drowned in the waters by the sea where we take our walks! The service was most interesting—conch shells for a nice trumpet sound, a brass gong with wooden mallet for a “gonging” sound, and a long steel rod that is stuck to make a “chinging” sound. So then there are prayers that are sung and all kinds of Hindu worship that is done with lily pads, flowers, food, oil lamps and more.

That was what we saw with our eyes but now here is what we only could see with our spiritual eyes. The boy named Vijay had attended the Nigg VBS this summer and we are sure that he responded to the gospel presentation and we think he “trusted Christ to save him!” His parents are oblivious to this—ahh—but God isn’t oblivious, for Vijay trusted the Lord in the knick of time! The angels rejoiced before God on this one! This is our passion and reward.

Many speak to us about the success we have had in raising a family where all our kids are passionate about sharing Christ and His glory to the nations. We are cautiously optimistic but we should all be vigilant so that we do not slip from our steadfastness. May we continue to encourage each other especially since the rapture is nearer than when we believed.

Our prayer, like Asaph’s recorded in Psalm 78:5-8
is that our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren will keep their confidence in God, not forget the works of God, but keep His Word.

Jehovah jireh!

I am so encouraged about a special answer to prayer for one of the ladies I am discipling, Sister Nalin. Nalin, who is a single mother with two boys 16 and 18, has raised those boys alone. She has to work hard to keep food on the table. Joe is actually discipling her older son, Vishal. Nalin is one of the most committed ladies I have ever had the privilege to know in Guyana. Her love for the Lord just bubbles over and she is such a joy to be with. One thing that really discourages her is that she can barely read - how she desires to pick up her Bible and read it for herself and be able to share it with others. Watching her struggle to read is a rebuke to me, as I can so easily pick up the Bible and read it for myself. It is hard for her to memorize very well. Every time we meet we try to sing Scripture songs, and of course read the Word together. She so much wants to do it without help. God gave me the thought that it is possible to get the Bible (NIV) on CD's. I even found out that you can download from BibleGateway.com which I would be be more than happy to do. Also, there are nice Scriptures choruses that would really encourage her and help her learn Scripture. Only problem is she did not have a CD player. We began praying that God would provide - I thought about contributing some money towards getting one but couldn't cover the whole cost - to get a good one here you have to pay $75 and up. I did not give her any money because I wanted to pray about it and see if the Lord would provide. Would you believe that when I went to meet with her on Wed. she had a CD player? She could not wait to show it to me. This may not seem like a big deal to you, but it was very significant to us. You have to realize that it takes a month for Nalin to earn this amount of money. Some one sent her some money from the States, which she was not expecting. That along with a little bit of savings was exactly what she needed to buy this particular player. God is so good! Now I need to get downloading - I asked her which book of the Bible would she like first and she said "Job, because God saw him through terrible times." Wow! Don't you love that faith and desire to learn more of God? If anyone knows a reasonable way to purchase the Bible(NIV), or at least the New Testament on CD would you let me know. Hold on! Let's pray about it.

Here's looking at you--I wished!

I am not too inspired today. Mosquitoes. Mosquitoes will do it to you. Actually not too many really but when they buzz around and you know that killing them would not really change the percentage of the house's population--why get flustered. Every night it is the same thing. Maybe eventually we will get our screens installed. This isn't the wet season so this is the better time.

Actually the reason I wrote was that a great thing happened on Sunday. A young lady came to church that I had witnessed to while buying some ginup (local fruit) the day that we went to Here's one guy I wished was looking @me!
talk with people after the bank robbery. She is
going to the Ladies Class too. She may have
trusted the Lord between the 2 presentations. :)
She knew some of the young people at church too so that is a plus. Thanks for your prayers.

Well, it continues to be quiet here in Guyana after the election. This is the first time in the 40 years of Guyana's short history that there has not been election violence. Personally it is such a relief too.

At the last election back in 2001 it was an entirely different story. I had gone to Georgetown to buy ceramic tiles so we could finish up the church before we left for furlough in the States--a necessary trip at that time. While in town one of the sales guys that I had befriended said "you know that you will have to pay a toll to get back to Berbice where you live, right"? I asked him how much the toll was--he said "everything you have"! Gulp.

While still in town, an entire city block worth of businesses were burned up in protest. The nurses at the hospital where I was visiting were excited about it--"like isn't this great, you can see the fires from here."

Another friend of ours had tried to get back to Berbice but had to turn back after protesters started throwing bricks at his windshield.

Then while talking on the phone with Terri explaining the situation and telling her about the fire, we were disconnected and unable to get a connected again!! Do you sense the pressure rising. After praying with the other missionaries in town I decided that I would try to drive back at 4 in the morning. There were smoldering bridges but no road blocks and burning tires on the asphalt roads. The money I had was in the aircleaner of the engine. All the tile was there under the protection of I don't know how many angels. I admit I didn't pay much attention to the speed limits on that trip. There was no traffic, no protesters, no problems. Closest I have even been to war. But God.......

I shared that just for praise for this time. YES!

Walking to the sea

We enjoyed a brisk stroll to the ocean with our neighbors, Manet and Zena. They walk there 3-4 times a week. Usually, they don't go all the way to the ocean, just to one of the trenches that runs into the ocean. Pray for us as we search for creative ways to get to know these and many other neighbors.

Terri is getting ready to send out the following update. You will get it first (with her express permission.) The picture represents our 45 minute "one way" walk to the sea with some neighbors.

It is hard to believe that as of September 8, we will have been in Guyana 6 months. Time flies when you're having fun! (or not!!) Really, we are thrilled to be back in active ministry. However, that is tempered with the realities of life in this third world country. Election Day has come and gone. Everyone was anxiously waiting for the official results to be announced. Last night, the announcement was made and the same party is back in office again. Up until today, it has been so quiet and peaceful. So far, so good! However, tensions can boil over if the losing party is not willing to accept the outcome. In the past, there has been rioting, looting, burning buildings and bridges, stopping, robbing and sometimes injuring vehicle occupants as well as threats of disruption of business in many areas. This has not happened this year. Other than an upsurge in crime prior to the elections, things have been unusually peaceful. Praise the Lord for this peace, and pray for it to continue.

The month of August was very fruitful all around the ABC (Association of Bible Churches) with the help of teams from the US. There were 9 nights of crusades and VBS held at 3 different churches. (One church staffed their VBS with mostly Guyanese workers and had no help from teams) It was a joy to help with personal counseling at the different crusades and see people respond to the Gospel. In Kwakwani, another part of Guyana where two CrossWorld families minister, there was an eye team that cared for over 500 individuals. All of these special ministries resulted in many decisions for Christ. Please pray for effective follow up and growth.
While all the special ministries were going on, we still continued with our discipleship program. Since we are developing our own materials, it is a constant challenge to tailor what we are doing to correspond with the maturity and literacy levels of each individual. Many of them have been experiencing trials and difficulties that have needed special attention, such as deaths, illness, rebellious children and depression. We are very encouraged with the growth taking place and the desire to share what they are learning with others. That is what discipleship is all about – learning, growing and sharing with others!!

We received some wonderful news from Indonesia. It looks like the Potter family is growing and an addition to the family is expected in April 2007. As you know, they are in Salatiga, Indonesia, on the island of Java, and are in language school five days a week. Pray for Joel and Bethany as they search out doctors and all medical options and for good health and energy for Bethany. Bekah enjoyed a little break in her hectic summer schedule and is now gearing up for the beginning of school and start up of all regular Sunday school classes and children’s programs. Pray for the ongoing need for volunteers to work in different departments. Jon is still seeking a full time job at a local orthopedic company. He has begun taking Hebrew at Grace Seminary, and is able to work his library and computer jobs at the school while waiting to get a more permanent job. Christine has settled in at Black Forest Academy and needs prayer as she masters driving a stick shift van and continues to adjust to the many responsibilities of a “Resident Assistant” in Germany for one year.