Go Hoatzins? :)

Thanksgiving has come and gone. Is it now the big rush to get ready for Christmas? Not quite. Give me a minute. My son, Joel sent us a Thanksgiving greeting and entitled it “What does your Thanksgiving look like?” Good question--What do you think?

When I was kid it was awesome—we got a 4 day weekend with a great meal on Thursday and turkey sandwiches for a week with mayo and mustard—great stuff. Mom (the more spiritual one in our family) would make sure that we invited others to dinner that were lonely or needy so I never remember a meal at Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter with just our family. We would play sandlot softball or football in Florida or just play outside a lot. We did a lot of visiting too as I remember--oh, the good ole days, eh? Later on I always tried to be thankful for the blessings God had given me and not focus on Christmas yet. For me it was great. Share a memorable one with me, wouldya?

The Thanksgiving we just had was great. After speaking on Sunday in the interior of Guyana at a river town called Kwakwani and helping to dismantle an old house (I love being positively destructive—destructive in a good way) in order to build a new church building, Thursday found us with another missionary family remembering Thanksgiving back at the coast. We had a swell (that is a retro word, I suspect) time singing, praying, reading a couple of Psalms, sharing and eating together (victualizing, if you are inclined to play Scrabble.)

After dinner while you perhaps watched football to settle your stomach we bounced around in the back of a truck to a special area in the bush called the backdam where we were able to observe the National Bird of Guyana, the Canje Pheasant also called the Hoatzin (It is quite unique with spurs on its wings, I think.) ¾ of the residents in Guyana have never seen it so we are blessed.

So what really made Thanksgiving special for me was the worship time and fellowship that we had with our friends—the food didn’t hurt the day either, believe me! Our God is so compassionate to forgive our life-long sins, provide eternal life and a relationship with Him through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Do you know Him for sure? Write me.

I miss you all, especially at the holidays but I have found that if I pray intensely for those I miss I become quite content knowing that God will bless them in my absence and provide people in my neck of the woods to befriend or have fellowship with.

Well as I sign off I want you to know that we have been treated real well down here lately. I am sipping “Yuban Coffee” from my French Press Starbucks cup because I am running low on coffee filters. The entire country of Guyana seems to out of stock of them. However—as God would have it, I mentioned my need to a store owner who is friendly with me and he said that he would have his wife pick some up for me when she comes from Canada for Christmas on December 3rd. You see how God provides even in little insignificant ways as well as the major ways. I also used our microwave for the 1st time since in Guyana this go around because we have full voltage now (115 V instead of 90-100 V). We now have hot water for our shower too so I starting to feel guilty as a missionary—like I am not really being deprived of much!

I am thankful and trusting that the Lord will use us for His Glory as we interact with others this Christmas. I prayed this morning that I would not be in such a hurry this season that I would not listen to the Holy Spirit as He leads me to opportunities to share the Love of Christ with my neighbors and those I interact with this during this special, wonderful season.

Love to all ~ Joe

One hop ahead this Thanksgiving

After our work was done in Kwakwani we took a relaxing
boat ride up the Berbice River with our new friend,
Candace--a teacher with WorldTeach.

You know those big, big toads that we used to say give you warts? (or was that from kissing girls?) Well that is our story in the States but here in Guyana there is another side to that old toad story. The old timers here have told me that the extremely deadly Fer-De-Lance snake in Guyana called here the Cropa-Labariah eats these toads and gets it’s venom from them. Incidentally the name of the toad here is “Cropo.” Well guess what? I think the toads here in Guyana are related or are one in the same since the US years ago imported the toads from down here to help control mosquitoes. So watch out if any snakes up there eat the Cropos.

This reminds me of what I was reading in Psalm 119:25ff.

The psalmist says that he is lower than a snake’s belly.
He talks to God about his bad days and God answers him.

His response to God's answer in his grief is:

“Strengthen me and teach me—
Make me understand Your ways—the truth,
Then I will stand amazed with my awesome God."
This is "the faithful way" he says.

Take away the “false way—my distorted thinking”
because I have chosen “the faithful way—help me to not slip!”

I have put Your Words before me,
I cleave to Your Words
I will run in Your Ways
Strengthen my heart for the journey.” (This is the Faithful Way.)

So like I must choose between the "old wives' tale of the toad and the snake or the truth, I must choose between "the faithful way" and "the false way."

I chose the Faithful Way of His Word and reject the False Way of my own choices without regard for God. (Lord, give me your strength to run in it.) I have been on that False Way many times but I am more quickly coming back to Him. :)

May this Thanksgiving find us gratefully in His “The Faithful Way” and not embracing some false toad ideas! I have had enough of that in my life.

On a current note we are spending Thanksgiving dinner with the Colbys--another missionary family here. How about you?~Joe

Delays

There seems to be a theme here these days - delays, in little things and big. The third world lends itself well to this theme. Here they say: "just now." Joe has been searching for certain car parts to repair our car that was damaged back in April. He still hasn't gotten them. The streets where we are living were supposed to be paved, hopefully before rainy season. There are piles of dirt everywhere, but little has been done.Rainy season is almost here. Delays. We have been praying continually for Jon to get a job. Nothing has developed yet. Our co-workers, Jeff and Cheryl Garr, have to go back to the States to treat a medical problem. They treated the problem while on furlough, but it has gotten worse. As much as they want to be back in ministry, God has other plans. Delays. Just today we were on the road with Scott Adams and the Glovers driving to Kwakwani for a brief visit. We started smelling burning rubber and had to stop to check it out. Praise the Lord for cell phones! Scott was able to call the mechanic who said it sounded like wheel bearings and should be repaired ASAP. So, we turned around and went back. Delays. The list could go on and on. It appears that the problem has been fixed and we plan to head out early Thursday morning. I couldn't help but think of Proverbs 16:9: "Man makes his plans and the Lord directs His steps." We have been planning and praying for this trip for weeks. God knows. I am so glad I can trust Him. There may be delays in your life right now. The Guyanese believers like to say:"God knows the best." What peace comes from placing ourselves completely in His hands because He knows the best!