Fun, food and fellowship

Some time ago, we had a special opportunity to get together with our national co-workers and families for a day of fun, food and fellowship. Most of the group participated in playing games such as Uno, Rap, Dominoes and Hopscotch. Later on, we feasted on many Guyanese delights such as chicken curry, roti, fried fish, rice and dhal, katahar, pumpkin and shrimp, mittai, sweet rice and cake. This enjoyable gathering concluded with a time of singing rousing choruses and songs. (See pictures above.) “A good time was had by all.”

Kites at the seawall, Georgetown, Guyana

Happy Kite Day!

It is Easter Monday here in Guyana. What an interesting collection of people, vehicles, kites, etc. We have a ringside seat here at the Bible College as the center of all the action is right across the street at the seawall. When we went out to fly our loaner kite this morning, there were only a few people. The crowd kept building and building. By 5:00 PM it was quite a mob with people, vehicles and kites everywhere. With plenty of loud music in the background. Police were at various posts regulating traffic. It seem like a pretty orderly bunch of people. There were lots of vendors selling food, drinks and snacks of all kind. We haven't seen any drunkenness to speak of. Maybe that will come later. This is a highlight of the year for most Guyanese. Even up where we live in Berbice, most people go to the beach or a ball field or any open space to fly their kites. Many of them make their own. It was fun seeing the colors, sizes and varieties. We enjoyed success with the kite we were flying until a neighboring kite (The store bought variety with nylon string) flew too close and clipped our string. One of the boys we had befriended ran across the road and retrieved the kite, so we gave it to him. Joe had a neat time sharing the Gospel with the other boy, Chris. It has been an enjoyable time for us here. After a "rousing" game of ping pong we went out to get some burgers and delicious ice coffee drink and milk shake. Now, the crowd is slowly dispersing. The loud music is gone and the kites are, too. People are still milling around, enjoying the sea breezes and end of the long holiday weekend. We are thankful, as always, to know that the real meaning of this Easter season, is the joyous reality of Christ's resurrection. What a blessing to fellowship with Guyanese brothers and sisters in Christ! What a privilege to have a message to share! What a responsibility to do all we can, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to reach the many who do not know this joyous reality of Christ, who is risen. "Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death has no mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God." Romans 6:9, 10

Anniversary Reflections

This is a special anniversary. One year ago today we returned to Guyana, after an absence of four years. There is much to praise the Lord for. Five years ago, on this same date, we left Guyana. What a difficult time that was. We have certainly come a long way! I (Terri) am awed at the wonderful healing God brought about in me personally. A counselor we were seeing at that time even made the statement: “Five years from now, you will be amazed to see what God has done." Here we are five years later, back on the field, actively serving and ministering to the people we dearly love, a little stronger and wiser. We are so grateful for the prayers and encouragement that many gave us in our journey back. It was a painful process, but God blessed so much along the way. Just this week I was sharing with a 20 year girl a little of the journey God has taken me on. She is going through a lot of trouble and trials in her family, and is really hurting. I thank God that He can use me to help bring comfort and encouragement because of the way He comforted me.
Some of the ways God has blessed me:
1) A closer walk with my God and my Saviour.
2) A greater appreciation for my wonderful husband, Joe, who stayed close by me through everything.
3) Three fantastic kids, Joel, Bekah and Jon, a new daughter, Bethany, and new daughter-to-be, Christine.
4) An awesome grandson, Jack, who I love and miss so much.
5) Many special friends who were so supportive and affirming all along the way.
6) A great group of faithful supporters and prayer partners.
7) Open doors of ministry here in Guyana.
8) The privilege of being ambassadors for Christ in this very needy place.
I could go on and on. Let me close with some verses from the NLT: “All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Christ. He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us. He comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God gave us.” 2 Cor. 1:3, 4

Not a Cloudburst but a Songburst!

We have our share of Cloudbursts here in rainy Guyana but we also get Song bursts! Sometimes in the morning shortly after 6am during my Intentional Time with God the Songbirds that hang out around our house :) go crazy--each bird with his/her own songs but bringing praise to their Creator by singing what God has put in them--loud rambunctious chirpings. I add my thanks for the sounds too.

My prayer today is that I can make a difference for Christ in the long run here in Guyana. I do want to show Christ's love today and yearn for disciples to carry Christ's love and obedience to future generations. Have a great weekend for the Glory of Christ.

Joe

Growing older gracefully

Now I remind you that I am not, I repeat, I am not getting older any faster than anyone else out there reading this frivolous message. Terri is still my inspiration to stay young at heart! And I have to say (quietly you know) that I am glad she does.

My 59th birthday was not without all the special attention that practically embarrasses one. Different celebrations including Apple Pie, Chocolate Cheese Cake, and Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting stretched over a week including 4 missionary families with three great MK’s and 3 home staff missionaries as well. Really though our Guyana Field Conference brought everyone together in Georgetown so I was psyched to have a lot of extra fellowship and fun times concurrent with my birthday week.

I am grateful that I am only 59 and able to continue serving my Lord and Savior with all my heart as a discipling missionary here in Guyana. We head back to Nigg Saturday to begin discipleship in the Edinburgh Bible Church but we will continue to fellowship at the Tain Bible Church and maintain the relationships that we have already made there.

My tumultuous life with Buzz, the parrot

It is Sunday afternoon and I am relaxing at the keyboard waiting for 4:30 pm to come so we can call Bekah via our computer for only 3 cents per minute. How civilized. Speaking of civility, I am sipping one of my last cups of Barney’s coffee named Santa’s White Christmas and the 8 O’clock Hazelnut brand combined. This coffee is so good that Buzz my pet parrot, who is on my shoulder pesters me for a nip as well. Thanks Bekah for the Java/Joe/ Cafe. Then it is back to “New ERA” Guyanese coffee which I like too so it’s a win/win situation. I hope Buzz's former caretakers don't mind the coffee--really it will not continue. He gets too much of a buzz from it.

I have “discovered” a money saving scheme that works for me but I wouldn’t want to publish it too much except when we need the extra income! Right? I DON’T THINK SO! One can re-use a paper coffee filter for up to 10 times by just dumping out the grounds and rinsing the filter and replacing it carefully while still wet back into the filter bin. Has this Baby Boomer crossed the line on gourmet coffee etiquette or what for all you Busters or is this something that you have known about for years but never admitted to like eating Sugar-Frosted Flakes? I would really feel quite guilty now to use just one filter per pot of coffee. In spite of all that—please do not send me your used coffee filters. All this came about when the country ran out of coffee filters—yes the country. “The” distributor must have run out just before Christmas. A friendly business man had his wife bring back some for me via his wife who was returning to Guyana for the holidays. I was using paper towels—ohh this story is getting worse. Anyone for another cup before I send this?

We had a wonderful Church service with a great time to worship God too. We were able to bring 2 new people to church today. One asked for prayer because she regrets that she has believed in the wrong things all her life and wants to now make a change. Her recently deceased husband of 26 years just trusted Christ before he died. Pray for Pastor Mike and his wife Maria as God works in this vital church. Pray for us too as we mentor them and disciple others down here.

Bye for the 2 of us.

The wayward sheep has returned!

Did I tell you that the wayward sheep has come home? Well, he has so they are all accounted for now. We are working with them again to help them be stronger for the next trials.

Thanks for all the prayers. God is merciful, has been and always will be merciful—and His righteous kingdom is in my view. God is teaching us as we go in this discipleship thing and has encouraged us tremendously as well.

How is God working in your life? Let us know. We would love to hear a short story from you. Bye, Joe

Life with the hiccups

We love what we are doing here and God has blessed us immeasurably while we have been doing it. We trust you can say that too. However life also comes with a hiccup or two!

Here is the hiccup. Discipleship is a give and take proposition. Sometimes its “we give our all to them and they take it all for granted anyway.” Thankfully it’s mostly not like that.

We love what we are doing and know that you know that it’s not all peaches and cream. Recently a situation has come up in our church involving some of our disciples that has required a lot of extra counseling and attention. Thank God that it is mostly all dealt with now but pray that those involved will now become stronger and wiser in the Lord because of it and that the church will become better as a result of the personal growth. Pray for one holdout too!

Satan is still a roaring lion looking for weak Christians to devour. "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil prowls about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen 1Peter 5.8-11

~Written by Joe on safari with the hiccups

All the best...

... for the New Year! That is the common greeting here. This is "Old Year's Night" and we will "see in" 2007 at church. It has been a busy week or two, but we have enjoyed many opportunities to share the love of Christ in different forms. After going to church at 6:30 AM on Christmas, we had our own time of worship and opening gifts. Then we went to deliver cake and goodie bags to our neighbors and had some good conversations with several about what Christmas means to us. Our Christmas dinner was spent with our national pastor and his family and another national leader and his family whom we have worked with and mentored in various ways over the years. Later on in the week, it was a joy to have two long term missionaries from the interior of Guyana, Bev Dawson and Chic Ruth, spend some time with us. They are working on translating the New Testament for the Wapishanas, an Amerindian tribe, and the project is within 5 years of completion. Then, another national pastor and his wife, came over with 7 of their 9 kids for games and a hot dog roast. It was fun having children at our home running around enjoying themselves. As this year comes to a close we want to praise the Lord for the many ways He has shown Himself faithful to us, and to our family. There are some exciting times ahead in 2007 for the Potter family - a new grandchild (Owen Daniel - they have confirmed a boy) due in April, and a new "daughter" Christine Tomlinson, recently engaged to Jon and planning to be married in the summer. Although we are far apart physically, we keep close in spirit and mind. "Sing to the Lord, for He has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world." Isaiah 12:5

I'm Dreaming of...

…. A bright Christmas! What kind of Christmas are you dreaming of? The only white Christmas we can have here would be if it rains. Our temperature may go down to a “cool” 80 degrees with the breeze blowing. What is Christmas for you – good food, being with friends and family, opening gifts, singing carols, eating sweets you don’t normally eat? The list could go on and on. How very different from that first Christmas. There wasn’t snow, good food, shopping, time with family and friends – not even a warm or comfortable place to sleep. This will be a very different Christmas for us – far away from loved ones and many of the usual traditions. Yet, we will still have good food to eat, friends to celebrate the day with and times of enjoyment. It isn’t easy being away from parents, brothers and sisters, children, grandchildren and close friends, but God wants to work through and use all of us in wonderful ways. There have been and will be many opportunities to share that Jesus is the true Reason for the Season. This Christmas may be a sad time for those who grieve the loss of a loved one or are going through serious illness. Only Christ can bring comfort and peace. What will make my Christmas bright? Knowing why I am celebrating and taking the time to share that wonderful message with others. So many people live in darkness. Christmas will never be bright for them. Please pray with us: “Father, may you be the focus of missionaries who are away from family during December. Minister to them and show each one, as well as missionary children, that You are all they need. May those who celebrate the holiday rather than the Son be made aware of the true meaning of Christmas. Make this Christmas one that is focused on Jesus and not the traditions of the season. Use this time as an opportunity for all believers, whether they are missionaries or not, to tell people what Christmas truly celebrates.” Have a “bright” Christmas! “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” Isaiah 9:2
(written by Terri 12/18/06)

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!

Polly wants a cracker.

Saturday night and all's quiet here per usual. I am wiped out, not looking forward to older age if it is any worse but looking forward to heaven more than ever especially since I realized that the new earth will be similar in physical features to the present earth with the exception of no curse. That means there is a good chance that I can get some serious hiking in when I have time too. I would love to take up snow shoeing too.

Tomorrow being Sunday and all I have an interesting project that I could use some ongoing prayer for. A man I met at a wake house (nights preceding the funeral) in Tain has asked me to visit him at his house. His mom and sister really need the Lord as they are Hindu and having plenty of difficulties in the home. It makes for very uncomfortable living at home. He has asked me to come to meet his mom and sister and if possible talk to them about salvation or at least how to have a better home life. I plan on taking one of my disciples and the pastor with me. Terri wants to go too so it will be a real opportunity. The same disciple that I am taking tomorrow has led a friend of his to the Lord and is quite excited. He is growing and getting quite involved at church so I am quite encouraged at that. Thanks in advance for the prayers.

Boy third world countries give you ample opportunities with basic science projects like clearing air out of water lines for the house so the toilet, pure water system and washing machine work.

I will close with an observation of my 2 parrotlets (green and red small 8" long) Well, Benjamin told me to give them crackers every afternoon at about 4 pm. So dutifully I do that. Then comes the reward. One bird will descend, pick up the cracker with her beak, and carry it back up to the branch at the top of the pen. Then he/she will dip the cracker in her water dish, transfer the cracker to her claw and then proceed to eat it. His/her partner bird will try to crowd in for a hit on the cracker if possible. Then when they are finished they will return to their obilatory destruction of the limb that they are standing on. Interesting at the least. Well, my eyes are buggy. Good night. joe

Knock, knock, who's there?

And you thought this was a joke!
No, it is only a question? I wanted to know the audience of our blog site, if possible so if you check this at times drop me a short email telling me that you are there. I know the family uses it from the comments but I am not sure of others.

Love to all. Joe

One of Those Weeks

This has been "one of those weeks." It started out with a phone call at 6 AM on Monday with the news that Saby's father, (Saby is a lady I am discipling)
died. "Uncle Stanley" accepted the Lord about three months ago and we had been praying that he would get well enough to come to church. God saw fit to take him home instead. That same day, I went to the doctor to remove the stitch from my knee and he said I could walk a little more and do more around the house, but still take it slow. Every night we went to Stanley's home to hold wake services. God enabled us to share the Gospel and encourage a few people at the wake house and we are always thankful for these opportunities. People in this culture "keep wake" at the home by playing card games, dominoes and just "gaffing." (Drinking among the men, too.) It is grueling for the family because they get very little rest. The funeral was on Friday. We also had workmen here most of the week building screens and washing the house. Things have been in some what disarray and disorder. Then, Joe had to run down (I mean, drive) to New Amsterdam 3 different days because of some business matters. Meanwhile, I was at home trying to do my ETA prep. Some how, it got done and I was able to teach. The screens are almost done, and the housewashing, too. In spite of everything, I have tried to take it easy and not do more than I should. The knee seems to be healing well! We have to remind ourselves that not every week is like this week. God does give extra strength, but we are tired today. TGIS - Thank God it's Saturday!

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.