PRAISE
Ahh...the infamous “chapel class.”
Always a challenge, yet always a
joy. The other day the children
were amped up and bouncing off
the walls as kids can sometimes
do. I was without ideas about how
to regain focus so I just waited,
hoping each child would eventually
settle down. After a short time,
Adrian’s conscience got the best of
him and he came and sat next to
me. He snuggled in as if to say
Adrian
“I’m sorry.” Then, one by one, the kids huddled around me in a big group hug. But, it
was 11 year old Adrian that looked at me and signed, “I’m not saved. Not yet.” I
concurred. Then he continued, “My heart is dry and Jesus is not in my heart. Not
yet.” We continued in conversation for about 15 minutes about the state of his heart
and how Jesus died on the cross to remedy that “dry heart” situation. After reviewing
the entire plan of salvation, I asked him if he understood and if he would like to “be
saved” and ask Jesus into his heart. Well, he did! So at that moment Adrian signed
the sweetest, purest prayer into the welcoming, loving eyes of the God of the
universe and his soul is now forever sealed in heaven. God showed Himself to
Adrian that day, but also to me. He showed me His grace as He so often does –
when my morning was shaping up to be a total loss, God intervened and redeemed
the situation. Our lives, our actions would be counted as a loss without the Holy
Spirit of God stepping in and making them count for eternity. That morning the
Almighty God tipped His hand so I could see a glimpse of His powerful work in the
spiritual realm. I am honored and humbled to be part of the Father’s work.
THE FUTURE
“The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” Prov. 16:9
We are still praying about starting a new work in Guatemala. We are in regular
communication with our contacts there, and unless God closes a door or leads
differently we will be in Guatemala by 2009 or very early 2010. We may need to travel
there again next summer to scout out locations and fine tune our mission
statement/ministry plan.
We are also praying about a new opportunity here in Mexico. This is still in the
beginning stages but we may have three deaf young adults who would be ready to
start Seminary training in the Fall of 2008. If the logistics all work out, the number of
students could likely grow to 6 or 7. We are extremely excited about this and we are
fervently praying for God’s will and direction.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
~ The Seminary Training mentioned above.
~ Guatemala. Plans are steadily moving forward even though we are working long-
distance. Thelma, our Guatemalan team member, may be able to visit our work
here in Mexico in January.
~ Mireya, the mother of one of our students (Gerardo) is gravely ill. She has cancer
but has no health insurance so she has not started the much needed radiation
treatments. Then, last week she came to visit Gerardo and informed us that her
husband (Gerardo’s step dad) left her. She is also unemployed since she
worked with her husband. It is a sad and tragic situation and we do not know if
she is a Christian.
~ We would like prayer for God to comfort her and sustain her during this
time.
~ That her doctor will be able to find a way for her to get treatment for her
cancer.
~ We will be able to extend arms of love and mercy to this dear lady – and
always be ready to share the hope that is within us.
~ That dear little Gerardo (8 yrs old) will be able to process and persevere
with all that is going on in his family. Thankfully he has love and security in
abundance here at RSM.
was 11 year old Adrian that looked at me and signed, “I’m not saved. Not yet.” I
concurred. Then he continued, “My heart is dry and Jesus is not in my heart. Not
yet.” We continued in conversation for about 15 minutes about the state of his heart
and how Jesus died on the cross to remedy that “dry heart” situation. After reviewing
the entire plan of salvation, I asked him if he understood and if he would like to “be
saved” and ask Jesus into his heart. Well, he did! So at that moment Adrian signed
the sweetest, purest prayer into the welcoming, loving eyes of the God of the
universe and his soul is now forever sealed in heaven. God showed Himself to
Adrian that day, but also to me. He showed me His grace as He so often does –
when my morning was shaping up to be a total loss, God intervened and redeemed
the situation. Our lives, our actions would be counted as a loss without the Holy
Spirit of God stepping in and making them count for eternity. That morning the
Almighty God tipped His hand so I could see a glimpse of His powerful work in the
spiritual realm. I am honored and humbled to be part of the Father’s work.
THE FUTURE
“The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” Prov. 16:9
We are still praying about starting a new work in Guatemala. We are in regular
communication with our contacts there, and unless God closes a door or leads
differently we will be in Guatemala by 2009 or very early 2010. We may need to travel
there again next summer to scout out locations and fine tune our mission
statement/ministry plan.
We are also praying about a new opportunity here in Mexico. This is still in the
beginning stages but we may have three deaf young adults who would be ready to
start Seminary training in the Fall of 2008. If the logistics all work out, the number of
students could likely grow to 6 or 7. We are extremely excited about this and we are
fervently praying for God’s will and direction.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
~ The Seminary Training mentioned above.
~ Guatemala. Plans are steadily moving forward even though we are working long-
distance. Thelma, our Guatemalan team member, may be able to visit our work
here in Mexico in January.
~ Mireya, the mother of one of our students (Gerardo) is gravely ill. She has cancer
but has no health insurance so she has not started the much needed radiation
treatments. Then, last week she came to visit Gerardo and informed us that her
husband (Gerardo’s step dad) left her. She is also unemployed since she
worked with her husband. It is a sad and tragic situation and we do not know if
she is a Christian.
~ We would like prayer for God to comfort her and sustain her during this
time.
~ That her doctor will be able to find a way for her to get treatment for her
cancer.
~ We will be able to extend arms of love and mercy to this dear lady – and
always be ready to share the hope that is within us.
~ That dear little Gerardo (8 yrs old) will be able to process and persevere
with all that is going on in his family. Thankfully he has love and security in
abundance here at RSM.
HOME CHURCH
Howard is still pastoring our home church every Sunday – we absolutely love
opening our home in this way. We’ve added a third person to our worship team –
Brittany, who plays the guitar and sings beautifully. Howard just finished teaching
through Colossians and he will start Philippians on December 2nd. We met with a
young Mexican man today, Victor, who will start attending our home church. Victor
only speaks Spanish so we will have three languages going simultaneously. This is
a really wonderful experience and we’ve all trained ourselves to hone in on the
language of choice!
DAY TO DAY
“Our girls” are still a joy. They are growing into beautiful young ladies – Marvella and
Julissa meet with Janet each Thursday to learn sewing, along with another girl,
Joselyn. Vania is busy with her studies since she is working toward graduation in
June.
We both work with smaller groups of students for “Tuesday afternoon work
program.” Howard is constantly repairing water pipes and now he has taught two
older boys to do the repairs which will add workers to his workforce! We've started a
new tradition with the girls, which is especially fun during the holidays. When their
work is done, they come to our house and hang out until dinner. This gives Janet an
opportunity to spend time with the girls and with Katie, the dorm mom (Janet’s
knitting partner!).
Howard is still pastoring our home church every Sunday – we absolutely love
opening our home in this way. We’ve added a third person to our worship team –
Brittany, who plays the guitar and sings beautifully. Howard just finished teaching
through Colossians and he will start Philippians on December 2nd. We met with a
young Mexican man today, Victor, who will start attending our home church. Victor
only speaks Spanish so we will have three languages going simultaneously. This is
a really wonderful experience and we’ve all trained ourselves to hone in on the
language of choice!
DAY TO DAY
“Our girls” are still a joy. They are growing into beautiful young ladies – Marvella and
Julissa meet with Janet each Thursday to learn sewing, along with another girl,
Joselyn. Vania is busy with her studies since she is working toward graduation in
June.
We both work with smaller groups of students for “Tuesday afternoon work
program.” Howard is constantly repairing water pipes and now he has taught two
older boys to do the repairs which will add workers to his workforce! We've started a
new tradition with the girls, which is especially fun during the holidays. When their
work is done, they come to our house and hang out until dinner. This gives Janet an
opportunity to spend time with the girls and with Katie, the dorm mom (Janet’s
knitting partner!).
Vania - Marvella - Julissa
| NOVEMBER 2007 |