The Christian Dream

We all have heard of the American Dream and as we live here in the States, we all get caught up in fulfilling that dream. We want a certain size house with plenty of bedrooms and bathrooms, 2-3 car garages (and a gourmet kitchen; that‘s me). We want nice cars, boats, golf carts, or whatever other recreational playthings and lots of memberships to programs of exercise, sports, music, etc. We want our children to have lots of things, activities, lessons, and learning, then later cars and homes and all that we have wanted, plus more so they’ll take good care of us in days ahead. The longer John and I live here at home, the more pull those things have on us. In pondering these things, I ask myself ‘if I could have anything I want from life, anything at all, what would it be?‘ And looking back on all our experiences, I know there is absolutely nothing that has satisfied John or myself like being in the middle of a Jesus meeting, watching people get born again, baptized, healed in body, soul, and spirit. Nothing ever equals up to that.

As I began writing this, I was thinking it was to be titled “The Missionary Dream” but upon reflection, I know from God’s Word that it is for every believer. So how is a Christian dream different from the “American dream”? It is simply fulfilling the call and cry of God’s heart that every tongue, tribe, and nation hear and be given the privilege to choose Christ. It is the Great Commission to make disciples, baptizing and teaching them to walk in the Spirit. That call is to every believer, hence “the Christian dream“. It isn’t a replacement of the American dream, it is a priority, a love call to serve God first with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; to seek first the kingdom of heaven and (then) all these things will be added to you. (Matt. 6:33) We all, always need a reminder of our priorities. We all, always need to keep and promote the Christ Dream. We all, always need to be looking for the proverbial woman at the well who needs love, prophecy, truth, revelation, new life, and all that Christ has to offer. We all, always need to prioritize our finances, our time, our thoughts, our plans, our very lives to make every effort to fulfill the Great Commission through the greatest commandment of loving God and loving others.

When I make a list of what is involved in each and compare them, they look like this to me.

Christian Dream American Dream

Praying for others big house w/big garage

Seeing people born again, boats and cars, etc

healed, baptized higher education

Giving financially to other’s needs memberships

Counseling from God’s Word smart clothes

Seeing spiritual growth lots of toys, gadgets

Giving encouragement

Total: eternal reward Total: earthly possessions we won’t take with us…but could be good tools to reap eternal rewards.

We all, always will be called to sacrifices. Setting priorities calls for sacrifices. But all the earthly possessions in the world will burn and be no more. Everything we ever sacrifice in this life for advancing the Kingdom of Heaven will reap eternal rewards that we will enjoy forever. Lets live with an eternal perspective!

Lets sacrifice! Lets keep our priorities in answering the call that is ringing through the whole earth today! The Lord of the Harvest is calling: “Rescue the perishing quickly; rescue them from the coming wrath“.

Added blessings

Amish hand pump

One of the goals we have had is to get a hand pump that will allow us to access our well water without electricity.  We were so happy to get that accomplished this summer.

Our new-to-us gas grill given through a dear friend and supporter.  We had time to try it out once before we headed south to Mexico.  Wow!  It's a keeper.

Three trailer load of fresh manure/hay composting through the winter so spring garden will be freshly fed.

The electric company dumped a truck load of ground trees and leaves for free mulching.  That was the week just before we left but we were able to get it spread around. 

Summer’s End

It is mid-August and we plan to head south to Cacalotte, Mexico September 4th. Our summer’s work is drawing to a close here at home. Well, almost.

As we reflect, we realize we have been blessed with a good garden of fresh produce to eat and share.

We have so enjoyed our time with many different family members and friends both in reunions, celebrations, church meetings, and through phone calls. We completed two more rooms of our small abode: the bedroom, upstairs, and the bathroom, downstairs.

We leave the sitting room and laundry room to complete next journey home and possibly the west wing which will be at least half greenhouse. The fencing remains following the building projects and new avenues will have to be cut again by that time as the trees and brush have replaced the open areas cut through along the property line two or three years ago.

So, in preparation for going, we have been repairing the truck and replacing the oil. Since we drive around 2,000 miles one way, we have to do that every time we come home and every time we leave again. We praise the Lord God our provider who has taken care of the repair expenses.

We’ve made arrangements for our sister, Nancee Clouse to take care of mail and bills, but financial support will still go through LAMP ministries. We have the house to clean up and close. We have wood to cut in preparation for a return next April. We have last minute shopping and packing. And, it looks like we have bible and music school book packages to pickup for delivery and people to meet in route.

We will be traveling alone this time and we sincerely covet your prayers that we can go in safety, that the truck will be faithful, and that we can find our way without big mishap. We ask the Father to be our Hiding place, our Shield. We ask your prayers for grace to learn the Spanish language and live a Christ-likeness among the village people; not offensive to their culture. We pray for hearing ears to open eyes to see all that God is doing and to walk obediently in His plans. We pray for contentment to live simple, and always keep the Great Commission the priority of our lives (see blog entitled: Christian Dream).

There are some of you reading this who wish you could be with us. Daily, as you read the Word, pray what you read over us and know you are with us in the most vital way; with us in spiritual warfare, alongside us in the battle. Keep us constantly in your hearts and prayers and whenever you get opportunity, please write us. Nothing is as encouraging as hearing from friends.

Yours in Christ,

John & Joyce

homesteadmailbox-jc@yahoo.com
Ourlifeandministry.blogspot.com

P.S. Please agree with us in prayer for John to have four new teeth. A previous dental plate was attached to four teeth by wires that caused those four teeth to be badly damaged.

Home ministry

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.

Release of the baby sea turtles

We had an interesting experience last evening. James and Cassie invited us to come over and visit but when we got there, they wanted us to go with them to a "turtle release" down the beach a 10-12 minute walk. We arrived at a small palapa, that's a thatched roof with no sides so that it gives shade but allows the breezes to cool you. Next to it was a tight fence made from the ribbing of palm leaves around an area about 20x20' . The palm leaf ribs are thin but are sturdy strips that when placed close together can make a good barrier for about anything. Villagers here often used them to wall up their houses or at least their outdoor kitchen. This gives privacy but allows air flow. This fencing was erected to keep dogs and other people from digging up the turtle nests and eating the eggs. One of the local village men had taken the initiative to get several volunteers to help him and nightly they have spent hours combing the beach with flashlights, watching for the big sea turtles to come in, dig a deep 2-3' hole, and lay their eggs. These volunteers then took the eggs and reburied them in the fenced-in area and marked them as to where the eggs were buried and how many days till their expected hatching. There can be 150 or more eggs in a single nest and they hatch out between 50-70 days.

Turtle nest



Baby turtle in hand


















We walked into the fenced in area where Oscar, the man who initiated the program, was kneeling on the ground near a marker. By the number of wooden markers in the ground, it looked as though there were about 30 nests. He explained that each day, he unburies a top portion of them and finds the baby turtles that have hatched and that are working their way to the top. Between Dec. Jan. and Feb. he and others are thus working to bury the eggs and release the babies as they hatch. While we were watching along with several other observers from the base and from the village, he dug into six of the nests and removed close to a hundred baby turtles. He put them all in a big tub and hauled it out of the fenced area to release them on the sand just outside the fence. We were probably still 35-40ft from the sea. Some of the baby turtles took off heading for the sea right away. Some remained in the same spot where they were placed. We waited about 15 minutes then loaded the active ones into the tub to take them closer to the sea. The remaining ones who either stayed still or moved very slowly would go back to a crib to be held till they were fully active and ready.

Release test

Catching to carry closer to sea

The tub was set about 15 yards from the incoming waves and we all selected and picked up several each. He drew a line in the sand and counted to three so that everyone would release them at the same time and we could watch them together. Of course some were far more ready and therefore faster than others but it was very exhilarating to watch them instinctively head for and reach the sea. They would often be tumbled in the strong flow of the wave as it came in but then receded quickly before the baby turtle could be fully washed out to sea. Usually by the second incoming wave, the baby turtles had flapped out far enough that the outgoing water would carry them on out. We were told that by releasing them at dusk, their coloring would blend with the water so that they would be less visible to their prey, and it would be a time when the fish were less likely to be in their eating frenzy. Thus, it might ensure a few more of the turtles surviving. The usual percentage of survival has been recorded by marine biologists as only 1%.

The sun set was beautiful on the horizon as we walked back along the sandy beach towards it, talking about the fascination of the earth and inhabitants God has made, the instincts He has put within them, and will of all to live.

John & I are both taking Spanish classes four hours daily here on the base. We have some interesting people in our classes. There is a doctor and wife (an RN, herself); she is already in level three, he is just beginning. There is a Dutch couple in their fifties that spent two years in Sri Lanka and now live in Canada. They drove six days in their Toyota car to reach here. We have a young man, a high school graduate studying Spanish while taking a year break before college. We have a black man from Tulsa, a heart surgeon's assistant. We have another man, late 40's, from Hawaii....don't know much about him yet. We have the New Zealand couple that have already been here 6 months and will go to their post in March.

There is Jolynn, a single woman of 50 that is a nurse practitioner; another single lady, Cleo, who has already been living among some nationals but has come for a couple of months of classes. The Andersons, Coreen & Eric, whom we live with. In fourth level, there is a Korean young lady that they say is whizzing through and will be posted to work with missionary children in March. She has served in Albania before coming here. Then, the last I can remember, is James who we drove down here with. Quite an interesting variety. We have hours of homework every night so we probably won't have as much time for communications but we will do our best.

Three Church Sunday

January ….Sunday trip

Ever have someone come ask you for a favor with that look like…“I’m not sure what you are going to think about this.”, kind of look? Linda came with just such a look asking us if we would consider leaving at 4am, driving all day to attend three different churches, with the expectation of arriving home around 10pm….if all went well. We looked at each other with a grin and then at Linda and said, “Why not?” It was a great trip and we want to tell you about some of it.

Four in the morning is very early for going to church but when you have two and a half to three hours driving, sometimes on some pretty rough roads, you want a good start. We carried a thermos of coffee and set off arriving a little ahead of time. The church had a hot drink and bread ready for us. It was about 62 degrees so the hot drink was appreciated. People began pouring in so that during that first morning service, there was at least 200 plus in attendance in the mountain village church of Panix. (We shared pictures of this church when we attended their Bible school graduation ceremony in Feb.)

Linda had a great power point presentation to show them about the commission we have all been given to share Jesus with everyone, everywhere. She gave some statistics of missions around the world but, she also showed us the specific statistics of Mexico. The scriptures say we are to take the "good news" to every tongue, tribe, and nation. The word "nation" does not mean a country but, rather, it means ethnic groups in which are found the same idioms and cultures. There are 16,890 such groups around the world. There are still a good number regarded as “unreached”. To qualify for being “unreached” requires a population of less than 2% Christians. In Mexico, there are 317 ethnic groups (nations) identified and 14 of them are unreached. Of those 317 ethnic groups, 154 are found in the state of Oaxaca, where we are presently located, with 7 of them being unreached people groups. This state then, has the most density of unreached people groups in all of Mexico. Along with presenting mission statistics, Linda was telling each church about two upcoming trips. We mention those at the bottom.

Juquilla church w/Carmelita



Juquilla church tacos

We traveled an hour down the mountain to Juquila, the village famous for a doll that is worshipped. Thousands of people prigrimage to the village every year in large conveyances. Many walk or biked in groups at least part of the distance to view the doll idol. A small, thriving church with a lady pastor, a former Bible school student named Carmela is just relocating at the outskirts of the village. What began as a house church is now a growing congregation on a new property. They have a concrete pad with metal roofing with a small kitchen room and an outhouse. We were in the great outdoors, sitting on a mountainside under towering pine trees with a brisk, cool breeze blowing through the tabernacle. We arrived there for at 11am for the second service of the day and sought jackets quickly. They could never adequately rig up the screen for the presentation but after an hour of trying, it was on a white sheet that vaguely showed bits of the pictures and information. Linda didn’t let any of that slow her down in putting forth the call to missions. The church blessed us with egg and bean tacos afterward which we chased down with Jamaica, a kind of flower tea drink.

Ladies Bathroom

Juquilla bathroom

The third church was a two hour drive back up the mountain another direction. Its usual worship time was 6am but for this special service, we were meeting with them at 4pm. It was quite cold there; the truck thermometer read 58 dg. Its hard to imagine how cold it would be to worship so early in the morning but, they generally have a very rousing worship time that would help anybody stay warm and then, they are packed like sardines into the building so, along with coats, they probably do pretty well. The Mixteco Indian people are very short. They often reminds us of the Nepali people. It seemed very special to be there in that place among such a very old native people group.

San Juan church

 



San Juan dancers



The three churches were very attentive and only time will tell how many heard the call and will answer it in their hearts. Each of the churches gave offerings and prayed over the three who will be traveling to Nicaragua. We now understand that there are 30 pastors in Nicaragua who are wanting to begin Bible schools in their churches. Linda, Eli, and Victor will be going to carry the DVD's for these new schools and training their teachers/people how to use them. That will be Feb. 4th-12th so keep them in prayer. Then, the end of April, the second year Bible students, along with teachers and the medical team, will go to one of those unreached areas here in Mexico to open the door to a new work. How exciting to be a part of reaching peoples who have NEVER heard the name of Jesus or known of His love and salvation.

The road was very rough, extremely curvy, dropped off in all the wrong places, and demanded all our attention to drive safely. The time with each church seemed very short as we enjoyed the wonderful worship, fellowship, and teaching. The last church was very gracious to shorten the worship considerably and allow us to leave promptly after teaching so that we arrived back down the mountain around 9:30pm. We stopped for a late dinner of tacos, continued our last short leg of journey, and fell into bed about



11pm. It was a LONG day but everyone was very satisfied, very contented that the Lord was with us as a mighty Awesome One. Thank you so much for covering us, lifting us, and interceding for us in prayer. This was a new message for these people and just as was prayed before beginning every service, "may their eyes be opened to see as God sees".

The following day began our first month of Spanish language school. But that is another story.