Updates
Hitherto.
2018 has just flown by! I don’t know about you, but every passing year seems to pass quicker than the one before. This month has been so full of lovely happenings with people that we’ve loved a long time, and some that are brand new to our lives!
The most exciting of events this month for us personally was our Corynn’s baptism! She has been expressing a desire to be baptized, and asked to be baptized by her Daddy in our pool with her youth group as witnesses, so that’s exactly what we did! This happens to have come in the same month of her Sweet Sixteenth Birthday!
We are so very proud of the lovely, kind young woman that she is, and can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store for her future!
It had come to our attention that the lady that now helps me keep our house clean and presentable for all of the events and hosting that we do, lives herself with her family of four growing boys in a shack that floods every time there is a torrential rain. Which is half of the year. And when it rains, it not only floods her house with rainwater, but it brings with it the sewage water of half of the neighborhood. They have put all of their beds on blocks, and when it’s especially high, they have to wade through half a foot of water to walk through their house. It’s really bad. Her family is sick so much of the time, but through so many years of living this way, she has done her best to trust God for patience. As she and her husband continue to struggle to make ends meet, we felt that the Lord would have us help them in a big way this Christmas. We bought fourteen truckloads of fill dirt, and coordinated for a tractor to spread and pack it down to lift their home up out of the mire and muck. It will take a rainy season to help the dirt settle and pack down further, so they’re not immediately out of the sewage floods, but this is a huge step forward! She feels hope for the future for the first time in a long time, and that is a gift in and of itself!
There have been so many events and visitors here this month that it continues to be evident that the Lord is truly putting this house to use for the service of the saints, and for the kingdom. From Christmas parties for the missionary community to our neighbor’s 40th birthday party, youth groups and wedding preparations with hair and makeup and with the house as “The location” for engagement photo shoots, there hasn’t hardly been a quiet moment. It has been an epic month for serving, and hosting!
It took five days to get here trying to catch a standby flight, but my mother has finally made it here! We are super blessed to have her here with us! It is hard to put into words the blessing that family is to us. We knowingly signed up to live a life so far removed from them, so when we do get to be together, it is a treasure. She is a treasure.
We were also super blessed this Christmas season as a young missionary lady came to join our week of holiday celebrations! She brought so much warmth and kindness with her gentle and caring spirit, that not only were we super blessed by her and her help with hosting, we are also so excited to watch and see all of the great things that God has in store for her life as a missionary here in this jungle!
As we look back on this year, and all that the Lord has done for us, and for this mission that He has called us to, we are encouraged that He is leading and guiding us every step of the way! John Newton wrote, “He who has helped me hitherto will help me all my journey through.” We are so certain that with all that God has brought us through so far, He will continue to lead us, guide us, care for us and provide for us. What a comfort! I hope that you know His comfort and help as His child. If you do not, seek him out! His gift of coming to earth as a baby and purchasing our salvation through His death is still the most wonderful gift ever given! He conquered sin and death and is our LIVING Lord and Saviour! What better way to start a new year than to start a relationship with the God of the universe as your Heavenly Father? May He bless each of you with His peace, and keep you in His loving hands.
“Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.” – Oswald Chambers