Thank you to so many of you who have prayed for us! We traveled many miles during our short furlough, and now we have safely returned to Guatemala. We arrived here in the capital around 1:30 PM on the 24th. We then bought the necessary groceries, dropped our things off at the house, and then headed to Sumpango for a Christmas Eve service. It has been great to reconnect with folks from the church who have also been praying for us! I gave a testimony on Sunday of all that we did during furlough and also shared some things that God has taught us.
*Here are some photos I just loaded on facebook from the months November & December 2008.
Scientists have discovered that the longer people stay married, the more they begin to look alike. Maybe we'd better start putting name tags in our underwear!
Today, Mindy and I celebrate 9 years of marriage. We are dropping the kids off at some friends' house and spending the day together... alone... or at least kind of alone, considering all of the other people in the mall, restaurant, etc. I am very thankful for a wonderful, talented, beautiful wife who puts up with all of my nonsense. She even ministers with me and willingly went with me to serve in a third world country. God must have known what He was doing when He put us together!
My wife, Mindy, recently wrote this for our newsletter.
As we end our time in the States and prepare to return to Guatemala, we can't help but take a few moments to reflect back. Here are some things that made our first furlough fun:
Top Ten Things We Enjoyed About Furlough
1. Eating a delicious, homemade meal after several days of fast food on the road 2. Meeting someone who has been praying for you by name every day for years 3. Having your 6-year old ask why there aren't any guards with guns outside his grandparent's neighborhood 4. Seeing old friends again, sharing prayer burdens and rejoicing in what God has done 5. Telling the same story time after time and getting blessed yourself 6. Staying with "perfect strangers" and leaving four days later as "dear friends" 7. Wearing the same clothes every Sunday morning and feeling great because nobody knows 8. Missing an undergarment and hoping it was left in a hotel and not in the last missions apartment 9. Seeing someone give to meet a need that was never even mentioned 10. Watching your ministry video for the 58th time and crying because you miss the people and can't wait to get back
Our first furlough has been wonderful! We have traveled over 25,000 miles in the past few months, visiting friends and churches all throughout the southeastern United States. It was great to reconnect with friends and prayer partners, and we loved being able to report back to faithful supporters.
We fly back to Guatemala on December 24, Christmas Eve. People hear that and then question me, "Why are you going back on Christmas Eve?" "What about your family?" they ask. Well... my wife's wish was to be home in Guate by Christmas, and the cheapest day to fly is the 24th. Our kids will be able to be in their own beds 12 nights in a row before they return to classes again at CAG (Christian Academy of Guatemala). Like I already mentioned, we are returning HOME.
*Coming tomorrow, Mindy's "Top Ten Things We Enjoyed About Furlough"
A Prayer for the Election November 3, 2008 By: John Piper
Father in heaven, as we approach this election on Tuesday, I pray
1) that your people will vote,
2) and that they will vote with a sense of thankfulness for a democratic system that at least partially holds in check the folly and evil in all our hearts so that power which corrupts so readily is not given to one group or person too easily;
3) that we would know and live the meaning of being in the world, but not of it, doing politics as though not doing them, being on the earth, yet having our lives hidden with Christ in God, rendering to Caesar the things that are Caesars, and to God the things that are God’s;
4) that we would discern what truths and values should advance by being made law and which should advance only by the leavening of honest influence;
5) that your people would see what love and justice and far-seeing wisdom demand in regard to the issues of education, business and industry, health care, marriage and family, abortion, welfare, energy, government and taxes, military, terrorism, international relations, and every challenge that we will face in the years to come;
6) and above all, that we will treasure Jesus Christ, and tell everyone of his sovereignty and supremacy over all nations, and that long after America is a footnote to the future world, he will reign with his people from every tribe and tongue and nation. Keep us faithful to Christ’s all important Word, and may we turn to it every day for light in these dark times.
Yes, I have facebooked, posted missions videos and newsletters. But I have been meaning to post my first official blog for a few months now. I never imagined that it would be about Delvis!
I remember the first time he came to church, as a ten year-old --- riding one of our buses. He was a handful on the way to church that day, so much that they threatened to bring him back home. He said, "I promise I'll be good!" And so he came and enjoyed every minute of it. He accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior! He then brought about a dozen friends with him to church over the next 6 weeks or so. Many of them also became followers of Jesus. Delvis then stayed faithful to church during his high school years. He was a regular helper of our Sunday Bus Ministry, bringing even more kids to the saving knowledge of Christ. He also became a great athlete, then a Marine reserve, and just recently a trainee for the Sarasota Police Department. What a testimony of a generous, caring person!
May God be glorified! I pray that more would come to Christ as a result of Delvis' testimony, and that we would all would strive to please God with our lives. May we love all those around us unconditionally -- just as Delvis did!
Revelations 14:13Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord... that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them.
Thank you to so many of you who have prayed for us! We traveled many miles during our short furlough, and now we have safely returned to Guatemala. We arrived here in the capital around 1:30 PM on the 24th. We then bought the necessary groceries, dropped our things off at the house, and then headed to Sumpango for a Christmas Eve service. It has been great to reconnect with folks from the church who have also been praying for us! I gave a testimony on Sunday of all that we did during furlough and also shared some things that God has taught us.
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