Home ministry…
We are home in Missouri for the spring/summer. Our Spanish classes will resume in September where we left off. We brought our books home but do you suppose we have cracked them? Well, actually we have cracked them, but…that is about it. Ooppss! We have been pretty involved in home ministry.
Our first month was spent in caring for Joyce’s dad up to his death, then caring for her mother as she went through the various adjustments. Coming home means getting back into the frame of mind to handle home business affairs, meeting with people you haven’t seen for several months, getting on a schedule that is different from what you have been on the past several months. Can you believe it? We actually got used to eating at 7am, 10am, 3pm, and 7pm. Chuckle. We had to adjust from weather being in the 90‘s to the 20‘s (and below). We went from mental labor to physical labor, cutting wood as fast as possible to get the wood stove going before we froze. Lots of sore, stiff days and blisters but we are getting back up to speed! We live two different lives back and forth throughout the year and love them both.
We love Mexico, its people, food, and culture. We love being with God wherever He is, doing whatever He is doing. We are still in training in Mexico to become more effective, by learning the language. We are in training at home to find how we can fit back into our culture as ministers, not just as visiting missionaries. We truly have a heart to serve God in His calling for us whether at home or abroad.
I was reminded of a piece of scripture from 1 Timothy, “a workman worthy of his hire.” It has caused a prayer to come to our hearts that we would indeed be worthy of the support you so generously give to us; that our labors would be to bless the Lord as ministers both at home and abroad. We chose to give our lives to service wherever we are. That prayer has created some very interesting results. We have found ourselves doing quite a variety of things from landscaping, to garden counseling, to phone prayer meetings, to speaking engagements, to attic cleaning, painting, and more. We still have a few months to fill and we continue to prayerfully consider what God has for us in these months at home. We hope you will continue to keep in touch with us, to pray for us, and to send your prayer needs so we can pray for you. Please contact us if we can help you or speak to your group of friends or church family concerning Missions. The times are pertinent to calling more to the “harvest” through “going” or “sending”. Time is running out before God calls out in the words of Jesus on the cross, “It is finished!” and the world ends as we know it.
